Archive of Our Own

The dorm-wide meeting is only a few minutes away from starting and Ace has managed to snag his favorite red velvet sofa in the corner, the one that provides him with the best view of everything going on in the lounge while also being not in the middle of the foot traffic.

“Sorry, this seat’s taken already,” he places a hand on the empty space next to him, the arch of one copper eyebrow daring the other first year eyeing it to challenge him. He doesn’t, of course. Not that this wouldn’t be easier if he could just kick his feet up on the other side and sprawl out on the full length of the thing, but that’s likely to get him scolded by the dorm head and he’s not in the mood to draw that much attention to himself.

Eyes still on the doorway, he lifts a hand when Deuce finally appears, four minutes to spare, his dark hair mussed and windblown. He catches Ace’s eyes and holds up his prize as he weaves through the room, plopping down beside his friend with a whoosh. “Did I miss anything?”

“Nah,” Ace says, holding out his hand for Deuce to drop the bread into. “Just Riddle micromanaging a few of the others carrying in boxes from god knows what storage closet.”

“Thanks for saving my seat,” Deuce grins, tapping the end of his bread against Ace’s.

“Makes sense,” Ace shrugs, carefully popping open the wrapper. “You run faster, I have no problem scaring off anyone trying to steal your seat, and we both needed a really good snack if we were gonna survive whatever this dorm holiday decorating meeting is going to entail.”

“There’s like half a dozen different kinds of cookies that Trey made for everyone to eat, you know,” Deuce points at the table with his bread before taking a chomp off the end of it.

“But I wanted bread~” Ace grins at Deuce with a twinkle in his eyes. “Besides, you know I’ll thank you properly later.”

“You better,” Deuce rolls his eyes at Ace, Ace elbows him, Deuce elbows him back, and somehow Riddle manages to look up from what he’s doing at precisely that moment to give them one skeptical eyebrow raise before it gets any further.

The meeting starts a minute later, exactly on time, with Riddle calling the entire room to attention and making some lengthy speech about the holiday traditions of their dorm which Ace is only half listening to as he munches his way through the rest of his snack and leans comfortably against Deuce.

Trey reads off a list of teams and names, assigning everyone to different tasks for the decorating, and a few minutes later, they’re joining one third year, a handful of second years and two other first years that are not their roommates to untangle some annoyingly fragile rose garlands with lights in their centers. There’s no thorns, at least, and Ace has to admit that they’re really pretty once they’re actually hung in the archways and along the walls in their designated places alongside the fresh pine greenery. Tiny sprigs of peppermint candies and yards and yards of red, white and gold ribbon adorn the greenery, all of it dusted with snow that’s too unreal to be anything but magical.

Back in the lounge, one enormous tree has been erected in the center of the room and just as thoroughly decorated, but no one seems to be paying attention to it, because most of the dorm has crowded around one of the biggest tables in the room instead.

Curiosity piqued, Ace grabs Deuce by the wrist and drags him closer so they can see what’s going on.

At the center of the fuss is Riddle, of course, with a Cater on either side of him making sure that he has enough space to work properly. On the table is a golden box with a fancy red bow on the lid, which their dorm head lifts out of the way and sets carefully aside. Reaching in with the most delicate touch, Riddle gently withdraws what at first appears to be a completely unremarkable bit of greenery.

Little snickers and whispered mutterings echo around the room – mostly from the older students, Ace quickly notes – and the sea of students parts as Riddle turns with a flourish, marching carefully but pointedly back towards the entrance to the lounge, heels click-clacking on the tile.

“The last and arguably most important Heartslabyul holiday tradition is the Enchanted Mistletoe,” Riddle tells them as he holds out a hand for the now singular Cater to hand him the scepter that holds his magical pen. With a quick twist of his wrist, the mistletoe floats up and out of his grasp, fastening itself to the center of the arch above the entrance to the lounge. “The spell that enchants it must be renewed each year and can only be performed by the dorm head.”

Riddle then softly speaks some words in an ancient magical language that Ace isn’t certain they’ve even studied yet and a golden shimmer ripples over the mistletoe before cascading out into the room to dissipate in a smoke of golden sparkles.

“Wait, mistletoe?” Deuce whispers into Ace’s ear, his breath making all the hair on the back on Ace’s neck stand on end. “Isn’t that the stuff where people are supposed to - ”

“Ssh,” Ace murmurs, because for once, he actually wants to listen to what their dorm head is saying.

“...pass under it, you must kiss. Obviously, if you’re traveling alone or with a group, the spell will not regard you, but if you pass under it as a pair, then you will be stopped.”

Gesturing with the curl of one black-gloved finger, Riddle summons Cater to his side to help demonstrate. Once the two of them are standing alone under the mistletoe, it shimmers again, but this time the cloud doesn’t dissipate, but instead appears to form a bubble around them, just barely visible as it flickers in the light.

Riddle reaches out with his scepter to tap at the golden glitter and the scepter ricochets off of it with a sound like thick glass. Cater then reaches out with a hand, only to have it hit the glitter as if it were a solid wall, and then, for show, he leans against it, demonstrating the complete lack of give.

“The spell will not release you until you’ve kissed,” Riddle continues, next holding out his hand to Cater in what is an obviously pre-practiced routine. “And no simple chivalrous kiss of the hand...” And here, Cater grabs their dorm head’s gloved hand and presses a kiss to the back of it “Or friendly kiss to the cheek will do...” and then straightens up to press a kiss to Riddle’s proffered cheek with a barely contained grin. “These are the rules.”

More whispers have started to echo around the room, but the students of Heartslabyul know far better than to question the strange and myriad number of rules that govern the absurdity of their daily lives living in this dorm. No one wants to spend the last few weeks of the year weighed down by Off With Your Head!

“Now, if you simply and quickly abide by the rules, you’ll be on your way with ease, so take care not to hold up the traffic in and out of the lounge by making things more difficult than need be.”

All eyes in the room are absolutely glued to Riddle as he tips his face up towards Cater, who leans down to give him a most polite and proper kiss on the lips. Sure enough, the moment their lips touch, the magical barrier dissipates out into the room much the same way it had when first activated.

“This concludes my explanation of the dorm’s holiday traditions. I will now come around to inspect all of the decorations before the dorm is dismissed for dinner.”

Ace eyes the mistletoe with uncomfortable trepidation before drifting back to the corner of the room and his favorite sofa, Deuce trailing habitually after him. “Listen,” he says quietly as Deuce sits down beside him again to await their dorm head’s verdict on the decorations. “We are not getting caught under that thing.”

“Oh?” Deuce’s eyebrows furrow a little bit, but he nods, waiting to see if Ace will further explain his thoughts.

“It’s different...” he whispers urgently, because he can tell that Deuce is not automatically following his line of thought. “What we do when we’re alone is different.”

“I...well, yeah...” Deuce agrees hesitantly, but there’s a strange unease in his eyes that Ace can’t quite decipher.

Ace’s eyes dart around the room to make sure no one is in earshot or paying them any attention before he reaches over and squeezes Deuce’s hand briefly. They haven’t put any kind of label on what they’ve been doing when they’re alone lately, but it’s definitely more than friends and absolutely not something Ace wants anyone else to know about.

“It’s not that I don’t want to...” After all, making out with Deuce is certainly one of Ace’s favorite pastimes, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready for the entire dorm to see them kiss. “But… I worry that two seconds under there and everyone would figure out that you and I, that we...”

“….oh. Oh!” Deuce nods again, squeezing Ace’s hand back before the other boy pulls it away. He thinks maybe Ace is making a bigger deal out of this than they need to, since it’s pretty obvious that plenty of absent-minded or forgetful students – probably himself, as loathe as he is to admit it – are going to get caught in the spell. “Well, I’ll do my best?”

“I’m not planning to get caught under there with anyone,” Ace emphasizes again, but it’s hard to tell whether he’s saying it to convince Deuce or himself. “Don’t have to worry about silly rules if we just avoid them completely.” He holds out his fist to Deuce, who bumps his own against almost immediately.

“I’m with you,” Deuce whispers back, his nod much firmer this time around. Besides, it’s not like he wants to be caught under there with anyone besides Ace.

The conversation ends abruptly as they’re cleared to depart for dinner, but they both make extra certain that they’re in the middle of a cluster of other students when they exit the lounge.

~

The first Mistletoe Mishap, as Ace comes to dub the incidents in his own mind, happens the very next afternoon.

There are no club activities after class today, and as Ace and Deuce head out the door and back towards their dorm, Jack jogs up beside them with a friendly wave. “Mind if I follow you back to Heartslabyul?”

“Nope,” Ace shrugs, gesturing to the open hallway beside them. “Are you coming to pick up a cake order?”

Trey’s custom holiday cakes have been the talk of the entire school for the last few days and the very first batch is supposed to be complete today, so it’s a logical assumption that proves to be right on the mark.

“I am,” Jack nods, falling into step beside them. “Ruggie told me this morning that Leona asked him to pick up Savanaclaw’s first order and he passed the task along to me.”

“That’s odd,” Ace comments casually. “Usually if there’s food involved, Ruggie’s the first one in line.”

“Wait up!” Another familiar voice calls out behind them and the trio slows for a moment to wait for Epel to catch up with them. “Are you talking about the holiday cakes?”

“Yeah,” Deuce answers this time as they reach the Hall of Mirrors. “Apparently they’re a super big deal, so I can’t wait to try one, but they’re so popular that there’s a really long order list, so I don’t know if we’ll get to, at least, not yet.”

“Then I might as well come along too,” Epel nods and follows his fellow first years through the mirror before explaining. “I know I heard Rook talkin to Vil this morning about pickin up Pomefiore’s first order personally, but, if y’all are headin that way anyways, I could do him a favor.”

“I checked out the ordering sheet,” Ace adds as they head towards the front entrance of Heartslabyul. It’s a pretty mild day for December, so they’re not in a hurry and Ace takes the time to ramble down the entire list of cake flavors, fillings, icing flavors, decorations and extra add-ons as they meander down the path together.

“I don’t know how you can remember that entire list after reading it once,” Deuce shakes his head in amazement. “I can’t even remember the notes for next Friday’s test and I’ve read them over at least a dozen times already.”

“Well, I care way more about cake ingredients than History of Magic,” Ace laughs, reaching over to shove at Deuce good-naturedly.

A little too caught up in the casual flirting that Jack and Epel are used to ignoring, both Ace and Deuce fail to remember about the previous evening’s events until it’s a little too late.

Their friends are only about three steps ahead of them as they head towards the main lounge where the cake pick-up location is, but it’s just a little too far.

“Oh, shit - ” Ace remembers a heartbeat too late, darting forward with one hand in an attempt to grab the back of Jack’s uniform jacket, but his fingers only just barely graze the fabric before the force of the magic spell knocks him backwards and crashing into Deuce.

“What the hell?!” Epel yelps loudly, unsuspectingly colliding into the golden barrier that’s suddenly glimmered to life around him and Jack.

Jack just barely stops short, one arm snapping out to keep Epel from crashing to the floor as he ricochets off of it. Turning to look back at Ace and Deuce, his eyebrows furrow as he asks them. “Is this some sort of prank?”

Ace groans as Deuce looks at their friends rather sheepishly and then the two of them quickly explain the situation.

“You couldn’t’ve warned us?!” Epel hollers at them, banging one fist against the barrier.

“Sorry, we, uh, forgot?” Deuce winces and Ace shrugs apologetically.

“So, to be freed...” Jack says slowly, glancing from Ace and Deuce to Epel and back again. “We must kiss?”

Ace and Deuce nod simultaneously in a rather comical fashion and Jack turns back to a still-stewing Epel.

“Ugh,” Epel mutters under his breath, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks as he looks up at Jack. “Vil’s gonna roast me for this...”

Jack, too, has flushed a shade of pink that none of them have ever seen on him before, which worsens as he realizes they are also now decidedly holding up traffic in and out of the lounge. “S-shall we…?” he tries to ask Epel politely.

But Epel is having none of being treated like a girl in this matter. Without even bothering to answer, he simply marches forward two steps, grabs Jack’s blazer by the lapels, and yanks him down into a hard, brief smack of their lips.

Their kiss is greeted with applause and laughter from the surrounding students and Ace and Deuce eye each other with a mixture of guilt and relief.

They are going to need to be a lot more careful about this going forward.

~

Ace is supposed to be studying for their History of Magic exam, but really he’s enjoying a handful of leftover sugar cookies he swiped out of the kitchen earlier and scrolling through Magicam, keeping Deuce company as he copies and re-copies his notes to try and cram them into his brain. Every now and then Ace turns another page in his textbook book too, though, just in case Riddle, who is tutoring several other second years a few tables away, happens to glance in their direction.

It’s been pretty busy in the lounge due to the endless parade of cake pick-ups and Ace has witnessed a few mistletoe kisses, but most of them were between Heartslabyul students who promptly followed the rules, especially with their dorm head sitting only a few feet away.

All in all, the drama of the day has been mild, but Ace can sense that’s about to change when they acquire some rather notorious visitors.

Floyd enters first and beelines straight for Riddle.

“He~ey~” he singsongs at their dorm head with a wave, and Ace has to hide his face behind one hand to keep in a snicker as he watches Riddle visibly flinch. “How’s my favorite little goldfishie doing today~?”

“Not now, Floyd,” Riddle hisses as Floyd leans down, both hands on Riddle’s shoulders, his chin resting on the top of Riddle’s head. “Can’t you see I’m trying to tutor?”

But Floyd isn’t deterred that easily, pouting and sighing until Riddle excuses himself from the other students for a few minutes, shoving him off and then rising from the table to glare at him.

In the meantime, Jade has entered the lounge too, because where there is one twin, the other is almost certain not to be far behind.

Octavinelle’s Leech twins must be here to pick up the enormous order of cakes for Mostro Lounge that Ace knows Trey’s been working on all evening. Unlike his twin, Jade waits patiently by the designated pick-up spot, watching the exchange between his brother and Riddle with at least as much interest as Ace himself. After all, it’s rare that anyone manages to get under Riddle’s skin quite as quickly as Floyd does. He might be even better at it than Ace is.

Riddle is weaving all around the lounge trying to avoid him, but Floyd just laughs when Riddle continues to tell him that he’s being a pest.

Ace would almost think that they’re flirting.

Maybe they are?

He elbows Deuce and nods towards the entire exchange just as Trey appears from the kitchens with two tall bags that must be filled with at least half a dozen cakes. Jade immediately moves to greet him and accept the bags. They can’t quite hear the conversation from here, especially with how loud Floyd and Riddle are being, but it seems friendly and familiar as Trey walks Jade back to the entrance of the lounge.

Ace can tell what’s going to happen a few seconds before the magic activates, but Trey and Jade are too engrossed in conversation, and Floyd is too busy repeatedly draping an arm around Riddle’s shoulders that he just as repeatedly keeps shrugging off for any of the four of them to notice.

The magical barrier glimmers to life and the mood in the room instantly changes.

Jade looks the most unaffected, simply glancing up to confirm the source of the spell, but Trey looks a bit sheepish at having forgotten about the Enchanted Mistletoe.

On the other hand, Riddle’s definitely shifted a shade redder, but Ace can’t quite tell if he’s just angry at Floyd, or...

“Ja~ade~!” Floyd whines at his brother, obviously the most visibly upset by the turn of events and immediately distracted from annoying Riddle.

Jade laughs, a soft little amused sound, and then he turns to Trey, who leans in dutifully and gives him the quickest little peck imaginable.

Ace watches all of this transpire with an insane amount of curiosity at the dynamics, which become even more confusing when Trey hurriedly steps out of the way and Floyd flounces back towards the entrance.

Jade holds out one of the cake bags to him as the spell re-activates, which Floyd accepts with a suddenly beaming smile.

Then, as if they are a perfect mirror, they lean in simultaneously for the sweetest, most unhurried kiss.

“Well, that was unexpected...” Deuce whispers, just barely loud enough for Ace to hear him.

“Maybe it’s a twin thing?” Ace whispers back, because after spending enough time with Floyd during basketball club, he’s somehow not as surprised as he would have thought. Floyd does spend an awful lot of time rambling about Jade...

Floyd links his arms through Jade’s as the two of them leave and the last thing Ace hears him saying is, “It’s really too bad Azul didn’t come with us~!”

Trey is still standing somewhat awkwardly by the doorway that leads to the kitchen, looking very clearly as if he can’t decide whether to try and say something to Riddle, who’s just been staring at him silently this entire time. After a long moment of hesitation, he finally takes one step towards Riddle, but their dorm head marches right past him and out of the lounge, the clicking of his heels somehow managing to sound like stomping instead.

Sighing, Trey disappears back into the kitchen, and Ace turns to Deuce with a raise of one eyebrow.

There’s an awful lot to consider about what just happened, but that kind of gossip is better left as pillow talk before bed, once their roommates are both snoring.

~

After that event, Ace starts hanging around the lounge constantly out of curiosity, and so he can’t help but notice how in the following days, Riddle seems to be making as certain as Ace & Deuce are not to be caught under the mistletoe with anyone.

That is, until he walks into the lounge after dinner two days later and runs right into the golden barrier.

“What?!” Riddle exclaims loudly, placing both hands against the barrier in surprise.

Ace looks up from his History of Magic notes (the test is tomorrow morning, so he’s actually reviewing with Deuce properly this time) and is just as confused as Riddle is… because their dorm head appears to be alone underneath the mistletoe.

Riddle turns in a slow circle, hands on his hips, his ire warring with his curiosity. “You have a lot of nerve, trapping me here unsuspecting.”

Having heard the startled exclamation, both Trey and Cater dash in from the kitchen doorway, Trey in a ruffled black and white checkered apron with a tube of red icing in his hand, and Cater with his phone already out.

“My spellwork is not faulty,” Riddle is in the middle of insisting to the thin air beside him, one finger wagging as he lectures. “This will not activate unless there are two people present, so you might as well show yourself!”

Ever so slowly, two golden eyes appear mid-air beside Riddle, followed by an extremely toothy grin. A fluff of purple hair follows and Trey and Cater both instantly relax as Che’nya finally fades into view.

“Was that really necess-” Riddle starts to complain, but he doesn’t even get the chance to finish his sentence.

Instead, Che’nya takes Riddle’s face between both hands and kisses him soundly – not once, but an enthusiastic 1-2-3 times, followed by an enormously delighted peal of laughter.

Cater has, of course, captured all of this on his phone and Trey has the fondest little smile on his face as he watches Riddle splutter indignantly in response.

Riddle does appear to be in a better mood once he calms down, and all four of them disappear back into the kitchen together shortly afterwards, unfortunately putting an end to Ace’s nosy observations.

But Ace has to admit that now he’s really confused about the relationship dynamics, and he’s fidgety waiting until their roommates are asleep again so he can tiptoe across the room and climb into Deuce’s bed for another round of whispered gossip and speculation.

“But really, why would Riddle get pissy at Trey for kissing Jade, if Trey’s then all smiley over watching Riddle with Che’nya? Is it just some childhood friends thing or you think something else is going on there?”

“I dunno,” Deuce shrugs lightly. “Starts to sound like one of those drama series my mom likes to watch.”

They’re laying on their sides on top of the blankets, nose to nose, only a few inches apart, and Ace watches as Deuce’s aqua eyes drift down to focus on his lips, then flicker back up to meet his gaze again.

Giving Deuce a cheshire grin of his own, Ace rolls onto his back invitingly. He knows that look in Deuce’s eyes by now, and sure enough, Deuce rolls right after him, hooking an arm across Ace’s middle and tangling their legs, nosing just underneath Ace’s ear.

“Do let me know if my speculations are boring you?” Ace teases, sliding his fingers into Deuce’s hair.

“Nah,” Deuce says and then he presses his lips to Ace’s neck and Ace shivers, breathing out a soft and shaky little laugh.

“But?”

“...I’d rather...”

Deuce doesn’t finish the sentence, but that’s because his mouth is already against Ace’s, insisting him into a kiss that quickly becomes a hot and open-mouthed slide of their tongues against each other. They kiss until they’re both flushed and breathing fast, and then Ace pokes Deuce in the side with one well-practiced finger.

Deuce breaks away and muffles his groan into Ace’s shoulder as Ace laughs almost silently. “I should get back to my own bed,” he whispers into Deuce’s hair, his pulse pounding in his ears and his fingertips.

There’s a moment of silence before Deuce whispers back with the tiniest note of hesitation, into Ace’s ear. “Ace… you know I wouldn’t care if you fell asleep here, right?”

“I think if I stayed, we wouldn’t end up sleeping much...” Ace smiles, the expression softer than usual with no one to see it. “...and I wouldn’t wanna risk waking our roommates either.”

“Guess we do have that last test tomorrow too...” Deuce acquiesces, lifting his head to graze his lips against Ace’s cheek before rolling off of him with a little sigh. “See you in the morning.”

~

With the final test of the year over and the last basketball club practice complete, Ace is in a pretty damn good mood. He’s also starving and since the cake orders have finally started to chill out a little, his life is probably not in too much danger if he decides to raid the kitchen for a snack. This idea becomes even more foolproof when Jamil jogs up to join him just as he’s about to head into the Hall of Mirrors.

“I’ll walk with you, Ace,” Jamil doesn’t ask so much as tell, “I’m picking up some cakes today.”

“Oh yeah?” Ace says, and then once they are through and headed up the path to Heartslabyul, he pulls his jacket around him as the wind picks up and continues. “Thought some first years picked up Scarabia’s cake order a few days ago?”

“Ah, well...” Jamil now looks the slightest bit awkward as he shrugs. “Kalim specifically requested a second batch and I need to taste test them first, since I didn’t make them myself.”

“Well, you’re in luck,” Ace grins back cheekily. “Or maybe I am~”

“How so?” Jamil raises a skeptical eyebrow.

“I was looking for a good excuse to be in the kitchen during cake-making hours and politely escorting you to Trey is a perfectly acceptable reason.”

This time Jamil rolls his eyes, but Ace only laughs in response, and he’s distracted enough by his good mood and the conversation and the thought of one of Trey’s homemade chocolate chip cookies that he almost, almost, screws up.

In fact, he would be standing in the middle of said screw-up if Jamil wasn’t already entirely aware of, and an expert at avoiding, the Enchanted Mistletoe of Heartslabyul.

Stopping short just in time, he waits for Ace to walk under the arch before two quick, smooths strides cross him into the lounge too, awkward magic thoroughly thwarted. Perfectly aware that he’s just spared both him and Ace, Jamil gives his junior a smug little smirk before heading towards the kitchen, a slightly sheepish Ace trailing behind him.

Trey definitely seems a little less harried today, but Ace still thinks it’s smarter to stay out of his way, so he absconds with his snack as quickly as he can, leaving Jamil behind to talk with their vice dorm head.

Returning to the lounge with a huge chocolate chip cookie in hand, Ace finds that yet another Mistletoe Mishap is in progress, but upon second glance, he wonders if labeling this one a mishap would be both incorrect and inadequate.

This time it’s Cater and one of his music club friends, Lilia, under the mistletoe – which isn’t terribly surprising, as Ace swears he’s already seen Cater under there with at least half a dozen people, both in and out of their dorm – but it’s remarkable for the fact that they are kissing with tongue, to the picture-taking, laughing and yelling of everyone else standing around. Another Cater is even taking video. The barrier has long since faded out.

It’s quite the display and even though Ace shuffles further into the lounge so it’s not super obvious that he’s watching, he can’t actually tear his eyes away, and apparently, neither can anyone else.

The two don’t actually come up for air until Jamil returns with his bag of cakes and huffs loudly before he pointedly asks, “Do you mind?”

Both Cater and Lilia laugh at the ruckus they’ve caused, but they do shuffle out of the way to let Jamil pass… only for him to immediately directly collide with someone trying to enter the lounge from the opposite direction.

“Ahahaha!” Kalim’s delighted laughter gives away who it is before he can actually say anything.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jamil groans, but it makes no difference – the collision is perfectly timed to have set the spell off again, the golden barrier glimmering around them.

Kalim hangs off of Jamil, hands wrapped around his arms, looking up at him with obvious amusement at their predicament. “Oh~? I get a kiss from Jamil~?” he practically singsongs and Ace can’t help but snicker as he watches Jamil’s hackles rise even further.

“What are you even doing here?” he hisses at Kalim, frustration growing.

“We came from Music Club! I knew you were picking up my cakes, so I thought I’d come and meet you, and then - ”

“Nevermind,” Jamil mutters, lowering his voice as he realizes how many people are watching them with curiosity. “Just. Do it already.”

Looping his arms around Jamil’s neck to pull him down, Kalim grins and then rises on tiptoes to give his childhood friend a kiss that definitely feels, to Ace’s eyes, far more comfortable than Jamil’s annoyance would suggest. It’s not the make-out session that Cater and Lilia have probably uploaded to Magicam by now, but… Ace knows enough from how he and Deuce are together to feel a suspicious kinship with the vibe they’re giving off.

Really, Ace has begun to wonder if there’s a lot more people hooking up at this school than he’d dared to suspect back in September.

Or maybe... he’s just been too damn sensitive about this whole mistletoe thing all along?

Maybe getting caught under there – with Deuce, obviously – wouldn’t be the worst thing ever?

~

Ultimately it’s Grim’s fault when it finally happens.

Ace and Deuce have been using Yuu as a convenient and willing buffer as often as they can in the last few weeks. They are engrossed in a conversation about the last Unbirthday Party of the year, which will take place the night before everyone heads home for the break, and none of the three is paying quite enough attention to their small, furry friend.

The smell of something truly delicious – strawberry tarts, of course – is wafting out from the kitchen this afternoon, and upon Smelling it, Grim jumps off of Yuu’s shoulder and goes dashing under the arch and towards the kitchen.

“Ah! Grim!” Yuu yells, darting after him, hand outstretched to grab for his tail. “Don’t run! You’ll trip someone again and get us in trouble!”

And BAM – Ace and Deuce are trapped, with a sheepish Yuu and a flailing Grim on the other side of the golden barrier they’ve just crashed into.

“I’m sorry!” Yuu apologizes immediately, but it’s also clear that he’s trying to stifle a laugh too.

It should be no big deal.

And at first, they both try to play it off like it’s no big deal, shuffling a little closer... but Deuce is already turning shades of red and Ace can’t quite look him in the eye.

There’s not a lot of people around at the moment, but Cater is ever-present in the lounge lately, and he joins Yuu and Grim, immediately pulling out his phone to take pictures of them as he teases. “Well, it’s about time that ADeuce manage to get themselves caught under the Enchanted Mistletoe~!”

In that moment, Ace kicks himself for the fact that they’ve been so intent on avoiding this that they never stopped to talk about what they’d do if their efforts failed. Should he take the lead? Should they play it as a big joke? Will everyone be able to tell that they’ve kissed before – many times?

Are all of his complicated feelings written all over his damn face?

Ace is startled when Deuce very suddenly grabs him by the wrist, tugging him off-balance. Their eyes meet for less than a second before Deuce is bumping their lips together in an awkward graze that Ace doesn’t have a chance of returning before it’s already over.

The barrier fades out, Yuu apologizes again, and Cater holds out the immortalized photographic evidence – the barely-there liplock, Ace’s widened eyes of surprise, and Deuce’s scrunched up face of concentration.

“Thanks, I hate it,” he tells Cater, and brushes past their friend to head towards the table he, Deuce and Yuu usually hang out at when they want to play cards, which had been their plan until dinnertime.

Ace loses almost every hand they play, distracted by an unsettled feeling in his gut that he finally determines to be… disappointment? (Which is SO dumb – he can kiss Deuce anytime he wants, right? So why should it matter...)

Deuce gives him concerned looks over the tops of their cards and even nudges him under the table with his foot once, but Ace ignores the overtures and tries to play it off like Yuu is just exceptionally lucky tonight.

But Ace also doesn’t crawl into Deuce’s bed later that night either, instead claiming that he’s tired. He hides under his blankets until the lights in the room have all been turned off and then falls into an uneasy doze.

~

Ace avoids Deuce the next morning, which turns out to be a grievous error in judgement.

There’s no classes, so it’s fairly easy to sleep in and skip breakfast. From there, he just sort of wanders the school and the botanical gardens, never staying in one place for too long, but eventually he grows tired, hungry… and a little lonely.

Deuce probably thinks Ace is mad at him by now, but he’s not.

He doesn’t even know exactly what he’s avoiding besides his own complicated feelings. After all, he was the one who’d insisted to Deuce that they shouldn’t get caught under the mistletoe, so what would Deuce think if he now took issue with how it had gone when they did?

He doesn’t actually want to pick a fight. Not at all.

So then... what does he want? What would make the tight feeling in his chest subside?

Ace has no idea and that’s the most frustrating part.

So… maybe he should just (ugh) talk to Deuce about it?

Lunchtime is already long over, so when he gets back to Heartslabyul, Ace ducks into the kitchen first to swipe some more cookies and a soda. His usual sofa is being occupied by some third years he doesn’t want to mess with, so he chooses an over-sized armchair closer to the windows, a little bit turned away from the arch over the entrance.

It’s flurrying lightly outside, dusting everything with sugar, and for awhile, Ace watches the snow fall as he shoves cookies in his face and pretends to be scrolling through Magicam. Really, though, he’s watching the entrance to the lounge, and when he finally sees Deuce walking in, he sits up, ready to lift a hand and wave at him.

Deuce’s eyes are clearly scanning the room, but just as they settle on Ace and he lifts a hand in response, someone steps in front of him, disrupting the connection… and trapping Deuce under the mistletoe.

Ace is too startled by the turn of events to even react at first, and then he realizes it’s just Cater, who’s been under the mistletoe with practically everyone in their dorm by now, it seems like.

But instead of an immediate kiss, Ace watches as Cater slings a casual arm around Deuce’s shoulders. He can’t hear their soft conversation from here, but Deuce certainly looks a lot more comfortable than he had with Ace under the mistletoe yesterday.

As the two of them lean in and exchange a kiss that definitely lingers a little, a hot firework of emotion explodes in Ace’s chest where the knot has persisted all day. It’s a strange combination of jealousy, frustration and arousal, and it overrides his rational thoughts in a rising tidal wave of feelings he can’t keep in.

He’s jumping up from his chair and blowing past both of them before he even has the time to think it through, breaking into a run as he reaches the front entrance of their dorm, not wanting anyone to see the hot tears gathering in the corners of his eyes.

Deuce is ordinarily faster than Ace, but he’s a little too slow to process what’s happening, and Ace disappears straight into the maze of the rose garden by the time he reaches the front door.

“ACE!”

Ignoring the sound of Deuce calling his name, Ace runs until he reaches a fork in the hedges and then he rips his magic pen from his jacket pocket. Letting a blast of his wind magic churn up the newly fallen snow, obliterating his footprints, he runs until he’s deeper into the maze than he’s ever been before.

I just need to be alone until I can -

It’s snowing harder now. The cold is freezing Ace’s tears into his eyelashes and by the time he finally slows to a stop, he can’t feel his fingers wrapped around his magical pen anymore.

He’s already slid from the white hot tidal wave of his feelings into quietly cursing himself for his own foolish and over-emotional reaction to something that’s just supposed to be in good fun, convinced he’s made an ass out of himself.

“...why am I taking it so seriously?” he murmurs to himself, finding one of the gazebos to take temporary shelter in. Sitting down on the bench inside it, he rests his elbows on his knees and rakes a hand through his hair, damp with melting snow. “No one else seems to be!”

Tucking his frozen hands into the last dredges of warmth under his arms, he sighs in a frustrated huff he can see in the air. “I should just drag that idiot under there myself when I get back and...”

And what? Let everyone see them kiss?

Let them speculate and wonder?

Let them fucking talk.

Ace stops for a second over that thought, groaning inwardly.

Is that... what he’s been so worried about all this time?

What other people will think of him?

That’s part of it, definitely, he begrudgingly admits to himself. Ace is not an idiot and he’s perfectly aware of how much he likes appearing smart and cool to those around him. (And while he hates to admit it, for all of his big talk, maybe he doesn’t quite have the self-confidence to be making out and putting it up on Magicam for likes.)

“...and this is probably the dumbest thing I’ve done so far,” he groans. “Even dumber than Deuce-level dumb.”

In fact, his best friend would have every right to laugh in his face for getting so bent out of shape about the stupid mistletoe, and yet… he never has, not at all.

Instead, Deuce had readily agreed to avoid the mistletoe with him, listened to all of his gossip about it, chased after Ace when he was upset, after very clearly wanting to talk to him, after very obviously seeking him out even though Ace was avoiding him and…

Oh.

Deuce cares about my feelings.

Ace swallows hard, stepping out from under the gazebo and looking back at their dorm in the distance, red and white and black, blurred in the falling snow.

Maybe Ace doesn’t deserve Deuce’s concern and care and loyalty if he’s too scared to put even a little of his own feelings on display in front of the rest of their dorm and everyone else they know.

But… maybe he’s also afraid of spoiling what they’ve got going on by giving anyone else the space to comment or place expectations on it.

Ugh.

Okay, and maybe he’s also a little more burned by his past relationship than he’s let on – gutted by being with someone who didn’t give a shit about his feelings, and haunted by other people’s opinions and judgements of the failed relationship and his so-called fault in it.

But that is not this.

...so.

So... maybe Ace ought to go back and try to sort this out with the one person whose opinion, whose… feelings... actually do matter to him.

Deuce.

It takes Ace a long time in the dark and the snow to find his way out of the maze, and he’s frozen half to death and a little delirious by the time he trudges up to the front door of their dorm. Pushing it open, he winces when the first thing he hears is the loud exclamation of his own name.

“Ace Trappola! Where have you been?!”

Ace sighs and shivers, but he’s too relieved to finally be back inside where it’s warm to respond to their dorm head with any sense of coherence or propriety. “Could you just not?”

“Excuse me?” Riddle rises from the chair beside the door that he’s obviously been sitting in awaiting Ace’s return. Crossing his arms over his chest, he glares up at his troublesome first year. “I don’t think that’s any way to speak to your dorm head, especially when you’ve been missing nearly all day.”

“So what?” Ace retorts, a little bit surprised that Riddle’s noticed his absence with everything else going on to prepare for the final Unbirthday Party. Their Dorm Head has been running around fretting over everything all week, even more tightly wound than usual, but he still found time to notice Ace’s behavior? “There weren’t any classes today.”

Ace tries to brush past him, but Riddle reaches out to snag Ace’s wrist in a surprisingly iron clad grip, his ire at war with his patience as his voice rises. “You missed breakfast, lunch and dinner, and expected me not to notice? To care?”

Shrugging, Ace tries to wrench his arm away, but he doesn’t really have the strength for it right now, instead sort of dragging Riddle down the hallway with him. “So then take off my head,” he snaps, but it comes out far more weary than angry.

Riddle frowns, but doesn’t let go of Ace, letting himself be towed towards the lounge. “In that condition? What kind of dorm head do you think I am?”

That’s not at all an answer that Ace is expecting, despite the fact that he is exhausted, soaked through, and starving. Is their dorm head… is Riddle... really… worried about him?

“I’m sorry, I –”Ace very suddenly stops short as he apologizes, and Riddle, who’s been resisting his tug-of-war, goes crashing into him with a noise of surprise.

They both stumble together in several tangled steps until they collide heavily against the golden, glittering barrier, ricocheting off of it from the force.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Riddle’s temper finally boils over and he stomps his foot angrily, glaring up at the mistletoe.

“Enchanted Mistletoe,” Ace points up as he recovers his footing, unable to help his sarcasm. “That’s kinda how it works.”

“Oh, don’t you sass me right now, Ace,” Riddle barks sharply, trying to rein in his anger in favor of logic.

“Then maybe explain what you’re all worked up about?” Ace snaps back at him. “Aren’t you just,” and he makes air quotations as he mimics Riddle’s manner of speech. “Making things more difficult than need be?”

“So, you do listen to me once in awhile?” Riddle shakes his head, but Ace mimicking him seems to have cut through his anger instead of exacerbating it.

Ace shrugs unapologetically, but before he can come up with another sarcastic retort, Riddle starts talking again.

“I… I’ve been wondering if the mistletoe isn’t working right, in the last week,” he finally admits with obvious frustration. “I’ve walked under it with Trey thrice in the last week and it didn’t stop us any of those times. I found reasons to excuse it – we were more out of sync than I thought or there were other people too close by, but...”

“Well, it must be working,” Ace shrugs, reaching out to knock one fist against the magical barrier. “’Cause here we are!”

Stating this out loud leads Ace into remembering that his only way out of this predicament is kissing his dorm head, who most probably wants to take off his head by now. He’s also never exactly considered the idea of… kissing Riddle before? Or should he let Riddle kiss him, instead? Maybe ask for permission first?

“I should have taken it down and examined it,” Riddle shakes his head, talking mostly to himself, reaching into his jacket pocket for his magical pen, not concealed in his scepter the way it often is. “Re-done the spell, maybe? Or talked to someone about it? But who – no one knows more than I do about the rules and traditions of Heartslabyul, after all.”

“Can’t we just… break the spell?” Ace suggests, more because of Riddle’s reaction than any of his own feelings on the matter. “I mean, if having to kiss me is too awful a fate to be subjected to~”

Riddle peers up at the mistletoe, his pen held out, outright ignoring Ace instead of fighting back.

“Dorm Head?” Ace lifts one eyebrow, studying Riddle as he studies the mistletoe… only to slowly realize… that Riddle is not only frustrated, he’s also embarrassed, and that is yet another thing Ace was not expecting out of his dorm head tonight.

Now that he’s warmed up and slowed down enough to really perceive the situation, Ace can see that Riddle actually looks about as strung out as Ace feels right now. When he gets no answer, he tries again, a little softer this time. “Riddle?”

There’s a long moment of silence between them before Riddle finally whispers, so softly that Ace almost misses it. “I’m supposed to be looking after everyone in this whole dorm...” He drags in a breath, and his words come faster and louder as he talks, “But the mistletoe isn’t working properly, everyone’s exhausted from the end of the semester and party prep and the cake-making, and we’re Behind. Schedule. And you’ve been missing all day and I don’t even know why and I… I...”

“It’s okay,” Ace says suddenly, reaching out a hand to touch Riddle’s shoulder lightly. “We’ll get it all done in time. We always do. And… and it’s not your fault that I went missing – it’s my own. For getting too bent out of shape over…” Ace squeezes Riddle’s shoulder as he points up again with his other hand. “A Heartslabyul tradition?”

Ace’s lips quirk into the first smile he’s had all day and then, without thinking anymore about, and without asking for permission either, he leans down and kisses Riddle.

Riddle starts for a second, but then he kisses Ace back – and not a polite peck either, but an actual kiss that neither of them pulls away from until the glow of the barrier has faded out completely.

Ace straightens up, letting his hand slip from Riddle’s shoulder as he asks hesitantly, “Are you going to punish me now?”

“You broke some rules today...” But Riddle hesitates as he seems to see something in Ace’s eyes – some measure of pain and exhaustion that strikes a chord of empathy – and then he relents. “I think tomorrow you’ll be my personal gopher for last minute party preparations, but for now… you should go drink a hot cup of tea and get some sleep. I think I shall do the same. The rest can be sorted out tomorrow.”

“Thanks...” Ace’s shoulders sag with relief. Tomorrow’s Ace might grumble about the extra work he’s going to have to do, but the Ace of right now is grateful to be allowed a good night’s sleep first.

Riddle reaches out with one hand to touch Ace’s arm gently. “Thank you too, Ace.”

Ace watches Riddle leave before turning towards the kitchen, and it’s only then that he realizes that Deuce has been waiting for him in the lounge all this time, sitting on their favorite sofa. He’s obviously witnessed the entire Mistletoe Mishap, and his expression is a strange mix of relief, confusion and hurt that Ace knows he’s entirely responsible for. “Deuce...” he murmurs.

Deuce rises from his spot and walks towards Ace, stopping short a few feet away – too far to touch, but close enough for Ace to see the weariness in his eyes. “I’m going to bed.”

“Deuce...” Ace tries again, because there are so many things he wants to say, but he feels completely tongue-tied as he stares at his best friend. He’s also dripping water all over the floor and really just wants to sleep for about a million years. “Deuce, I...”

“...you should go get that cup of tea,” Deuce finally says, and Ace doesn’t try to stop him when he leaves.

For the first time since the day they met, Ace has a real moment of wondering whether or not they are in this together anymore.

It’s possibly the worst thing he’s ever felt.

All alone in the lounge, Ace finally trudges toward the kitchen and finds everything – kettle, teacup, teabag, sugar – already left out for him. He recognizes Trey’s brand of kindness with another pang of guilt – yet another friend he’s probably worried today.

Ace sets the kettle to heat the water and leans against the counter to wait.

Somehow, kissing their dorm head under the mistletoe has shifted something within him, forced him to step back and consider that… that maybe he’s his own worst enemy.

He’s really been ruining this for himself – for both he and Deuce – this entire time, hasn’t he?

Maybe he’s inadvertently ruined what he and Deuce have going too.

Maybe he’s even jinxed himself by not taking his dorm’s traditions in good faith and merriment!

The kettle whistles, jarring Ace out of his melodrama and he carefully sets about making the tea, and even more carefully puts everything back in its proper place. He’s already broken enough rules today.

With the cup of hot tea between his hands to warm his frozen fingers, Ace treads quietly back to his room.

It’s past midnight now and all the lights are already turned off, but the storm has subsided and the reflection of the moonlight on the snow through their window gives the room an otherworldly glow. It’s just enough for Ace to traverse it without tripping over anything.

He moves to set the half-finished tea down on the corner of his desk only to discover that there’s something else unexpected already there.

Ace leans in closer to inspect it.

……….it’s a slice of cherry pie.

Chest constricting, Ace sits down hard on his bed.

I’m always calling Deuce an idiot, but who’s the idiot now?

Ace wants so badly to crawl into Deuce’s bed, but a quick glance over at him reveals that Deuce is already sound asleep, one arm flung carelessly over his head, the rise and fall of his chest slow and even.

Ace settles for eating the pie in glorious little mouth-watering bites in between stripping off his wet clothing.

With a stomach full of his favorite food and his bed feeling like marshmallows underneath him, Ace dozes off promising himself that he’s going to make things right tomorrow.

~

The day of the final Unbirthday Party of the year starts too early for Ace, but he bears the burden of his own poor choices faithfully, dragging himself out of bed on time for breakfast in the cafeteria with his fellow first years.

There’s no time for the talk he wants to have with Deuce when their dorm head is waiting on him, but he does manage to lean down and whisper into Deuce’s ear as he’s being summarily dragged off by Riddle to play gopher all morning.

“Thanks for the pie.”

He’s rewarded for his efforts with a surprised little smile from Deuce, and he keeps the moment close as a bright spark of hope through the list of chores Riddle’s assigned him. He was expecting a lecture, honestly, but Riddle only tells him If you ever need someone to talk to about anything, you can come to me before handing over the list and running off to an annoyingly last-minute meeting of the dorm heads called by Crowley.

First on the list is carrying – ugh, no magic allowed – two dozen jugs of cider from the cafeteria to the dorm for Trey to mull, followed by helping Trey to carry and set out all of the sweets for the party, and then, just to add insult to injury, to go do a final check on all of the flamingoes and hedgehogs, since the party is being held inside and they won’t be playing croquet today.

Ace takes the whole punishment in better spirits than he normally would, especially considering the alternatives could easily have been not being allowed to attend at all or being forced to try and explain all of yesterday’s drama to his dorm head.

The party won’t begin until Riddle and Trey return from their final all-dorm leadership meeting, so it’s not a big deal that Ace is one of the last people to arrive to the lounge.

All of his focus is on seeking out Deuce, and he could blame that for not paying such careful attention, but the real truth is that he’s finally over his anxiety about the mistletoe.

When Cater catches him by quite literally using two of himself to blockade Ace underneath the arch, Ace isn’t even that bothered aside from the fact that it’s yet one more delay on his too-long quest to make up with Deuce.

Cater grins at Ace in a rather cheeky way, but Ace isn’t ready to immediately give in.

“So...” he drawls, one hand on his hip and skepticism in his eyes. “Tell me the truth: is there some sort of secret bet on how many people you can catch under here?”

“Before I answer that, and I will,” Cater chuckles softly, then steps in closer so that no one can overhear them, despite the noise coming from inside the lounge already. “I want you to know what I said to Deuce yesterday.”

“Oh?” Ace’s eyebrows lift. He hadn’t intended to bring up yesterday, but he wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to find out.

Cater’s expression softens a little bit, less teasing. “I outright asked him why he hadn’t dragged you under here for a proper kiss when you both so clearly wanted it.”

“You – you what?” Ace gapes at Cater, genuinely surprised, more by the audacity than by the idea that Cater’s figured out that he and Deuce are...well… a thing.

“You heard me,” Cater nudges Ace with one elbow playfully, and the second Cater outside the barrier winks at them, adding: “And he said...”

“He said…?” Ace echoes, that little note of anxiety creeping up on him again. He can tell Cater is enjoying milking every second of this, though and he elbows him back with a huff. “Well?”

“He said he was intending to, as soon as I let him go,” Both Caters grins’ widen as he enjoys the way Ace’s cheeks instantly flush pink, the same way Deuce’s had yesterday when confronted.

“And then you kissed him - ”

“Yep.”

“To break the spell - ”

“Yep.”

“So he could -”

“Yep.”

“But then I - ”

“Yep.”

“Fuck.”

Cater laughs again, nodding, and then he reaches out to squeeze Ace’s shoulder. “Also, there’s no bet, except with myself! In case you weren’t listening when Riddle hung it up: this is an enchantment for gathering luck for the new year – we’re supposed to have fun with it!”

The second Cater nods in agreement, leaning in closer to stage whisper at the two of them. “…but I think some people around here are a little too uptight.”

Glancing from one Cater to the other, Ace wonders if he’s referring to Ace himself, or perhaps their dorm head, but before he can come up with a snarky response, Cater slides the hand on Ace’s shoulder around the back of his neck and tugs him forward the last few inches into a kiss.

Ace kisses Cater back, his ever-spinning mind coming to three conclusions:

He should really listen to Riddle more often and more carefully,

He really does want to kiss Deuce under this stupid mistletoe again,

and

Cater’s absolutely been cheating.

Is it accurate to call it that? Ace can’t think of a better description and as the kiss breaks, he playfully accuses his friend. “Have you been using Split Card the whole time? For more than just taking pictures of everyone?”

Both Caters’ faces splits into the widest grins imaginable. “Isn’t it obvious?” says the one standing next to Ace.

“There’s been one of me here for weeks, as long as I’m not asleep,” the second adds. “Usually at least two.”

“Do both of you still count if you’re split? Does the spell still work even if you’re not… all of you?”

The curious question comes not from Ace, but from Deuce, who’s wandered close enough to stand beside the other Cater, having very obviously witnessed at least the latter part of this exchange. Or maybe all of it? He has the most amused little smirk on his face and Ace aches to kiss it off him –

“Well, shit!” one Cater remarks to the other, green eyes lighting up with curiosity. “That’s something I haven’t tried yet!”

Cater gestures for Ace to go stand beside Deuce, but he’s already moving in that direction, coming close enough to him that the backs of their hands brush. Ace smiles at him – an actual genuine smile and not one of his usual smirks – and Deuce grins back, and suddenly, things don’t seem so bad anymore.

They are in this together again and Ace’s world is back in balance.

They both turn back just in time to watch Cater join himself under the mistletoe and sure enough, the spell reactivates with a golden glimmer.

“They both count!” Deuce’s jaw drops in surprise and Ace starts laughing, because he’s already jumped ahead to the fact that -

“Only one way out~” Both Caters sing-song at each other with matching grins.

Cater kisses Cater – and not just a quick get out of jail peck – but a full-on make out that forces Ace and Deuce to dissolve into hysterical howls of laughter as the glitter of the barrier fades out again.

It’s simultaneously the best and worst thing ever and they can’t look away, their loud reactions only drawing more attention from other students behind them.

Obviously, this is the perfect situation for Riddle and Trey to literally walk right into as they return from their meeting.

“W-what are you - ” Riddle starts, his eyes wide with disbelief as the kiss breaks and both Caters turn to grin at him.

“You sure you want the answer to that?” Trey cuts him off, but it’s obvious that he’s only barely containing his own laughter.

“Cheating, apparently,” the first Cater answers, stepping back with a flourish to stand beside Ace and Deuce.

“Couldn’t wait for us to get back?” Trey turns to ask the second – perhaps the real – Cater, who actually blushes and twirls a piece of his hair around one finger before answering with a deflection.

“I was setting the stage!” he winks at Trey, and, thinking he’s finally found the perfect chance, steps back to leave Trey alone with Riddle under the mistletoe.

But to everyone’s surprise, the spell doesn’t activate.

Unable to hide his upset about it anymore, Riddle’s words tumble out before he takes the time to think them through. “Why is it only broken when it’s the two of us underneath it?! Is there something I missed in the rules, some clause about dorm head and vice dorm head...”

Ace thinks back over his list of mistletoe mishaps, just as curious as to why it’s not working properly and not willing to believe their dorm head’s spell work could be faulty. “Nah, we saw Kalim and Jamil one afternoon.”

“Then why?!” Riddle is actually more upset than angry, stubbornly blinking back tears of frustration as he looks up at the mistletoe.

Trey reaches out to Riddle with one hand, wanting to comfort him, but also not wanting to inadvertently make things worse. “There’s got to be a logical reason if there’s nothing in the rules.”

As if in answer to Trey’s words, a soft little bubble of laughter echoes around them – beside them?

Both Riddle and Trey freeze, knowing the sound instantly, and putting the puzzle pieces together almost as quickly.

“Damnit, Che’nya,” they both mutter in one breath, Riddle turning in a slow circle while Trey’s gaze darts around.

The echo of laughter grows louder as two golden eyes appear, and before the mischievous cat’s form has even fully become visible, he gives Riddle an impolite shove from behind that sends him careening into Trey’s arms.

The Enchanted Mistletoe’s spell activates the moment Che’nya steps back to stand between the two Caters, the golden shimmer surrounding Trey and Riddle.

“I’ve been trying to catch Riddle underneath the mistletoe again for ages,” he complains. “But it’s impossible when he’s always trying to catch someone else under there instead~! So, hurry up and kiss, so I can get another kiss too!”

Trey’s eyebrows lift in surprise, his hands still on Riddle’s shoulders from catching him, but all he can see is the top of Riddle’s head and the tips of his ears, flushed entirely pink with mortification. “You could have just said you wanted to...” he starts softly.

Riddle is aware that at least half the dorm is watching them have this conversation and despite his embarrassment, he lifts his head and glares at Trey. “That’s not the point!”

Ace mock gasps, grinning directly at Riddle. “Wait, is our dorm head admitting to breaking the rules?!”

“Not at all!” Riddle insists sharply, immediately seeming more himself with an explanation to give. “There are no rules about either ambushing someone,” he narrows his eyes at Che’nya, who only snickers, “Or purposefully trying to be caught,” his gaze shifts to both Caters, who merely grin back, “Or trying to avoid it...” and next to Ace and Deuce, who both have the grace to at least look sheepish about it, “Or outright asking someone...” and finally to Trey, who listens unflinchingly. “None of those are the original intention, but...” Riddle pauses again, suddenly a little hesitant as his gaze drifts between each of his friends. “I suppose all of those things reach the same end point.”

One Cater points up at the mistletoe while the other casually pulls out his phone. “Right! And the point is kissing for luck, so you’re both stuck there until - ”

But he doesn’t even need to finish the sentence, because Trey moves one hand from Riddle’s shoulder to tilt the shorter boy’s chin up, leaning down to kiss him, soft and sweet.

No longer caring if all of his dorm is watching, Riddle refuses to waste the opportunity to have what he’s wanted since the day he enchanted the damn mistletoe. He kisses Trey back without reservation, both of them allowing themselves a minute’s grace to not be thinking about the entire dorm’s welfare.

The kiss only ends when Che’nya starts clapping and then just as promptly inserts himself between Trey and Riddle to demand the next kiss.

Trey steals one from Cater without any mistletoe involved at all, at right about the same moment that some of the third years start a very loud chant of CUT THE CAKE! CUT THE CAKE!

“This is not turning out to be a typical Unbirthday Party,” Deuce murmurs to Ace as they watch their dorm descend upon the tables of sweets and the vat of mulled cider with no restraint at all.

One of the Caters – there are three milling about that Ace has counted – turns on music as Trey prepares to slice into the ridiculous 3-tier holiday cake, which is covered in intricate fondant roses and cards of all suits, made especially for their dorm’s end of year party. There’s a flash of the knife descending and then the room bursts into spontaneous, excited applause.

“It’s maybe a little bit Mad, but definitely not too bad,” Ace grins appreciatively at they survey the unusually large amount of chaos, finding Deuce’s hand and interlacing their fingers. “What do you wanna have first?”

Deuce debates his answer until Ace turns to him with one of those truly delighted little grins he’s so fond of and then he blurts out the first thing thing in his mind. “...you.”

Ace instantly blushes, then laughs, then gnaws his bottom lip before answering. “...still? Even after yesterday?”

Tilting his head a little, Deuce squeezes Ace’s hand and laughs at him as he nods. “Wait, I thought I was the one who asked stupid questions all the time?”

“You are,” Ace retorts immediately, and if they weren’t already holding hands, they’d probably be poking or swatting at each other by now. “Must be rubbing off on me.”

But since they are holding hands, when Che’nya finally drags Riddle from the mistletoe towards the cake being handed out and his tail catches Ace in the back of the legs, it’s not one of them that goes crashing down, it’s both.

“Done in by a goddamn cat for the second time!” Ace complains, but not really:

He’s currently sitting sprawled on his ass with Deuce kneeling over him and they are squarely underneath the golden glow of the Enchanted Mistletoe. No one’s paying a terrible lot of attention to them, but even so, they’re right here in the middle of the party with any number of spectators.

And he doesn’t care about anything other than the intense way that Deuce is looking at him right now.

“We’re not fucking this up again,” Deuce insists, leaning down with want and determination in his eyes.

“Then you better hurry up and kiss me,” Ace teases back, arching up towards him with a playful glint in his own. He always really enjoys when Deuce allows this fierce side of himself to show.

Their lips meet in a kiss that Ace can’t help but smile into, one that finally eases the ache in his chest.

Rolling off of Ace, Deuce then extends a hand to pull his best friend back to his feet. The grin they exchange is warm as Ace slings an arm around Deuce’s shoulders and Deuce answers by sliding one around his back.

Their current desire is obvious and mutual: If they don’t get their asses over to the cake handout immediately, there’s not going to be any left for them, and that would be a true tragedy.

~

By the end of the night, Ace is well-fed and truly wiped, and he only barely manages to change into his pajamas before passing out diagonally face down on top of his bed.

When he wakes a few hours later, it’s from the scratchy edges of a dream he can’t quite recall, and as he rolls onto his side, he realizes that someone – Deuce – has draped a blanket over him at some point.

It’s dark and quiet in the room, and Ace contemplates climbing into Deuce’s bed despite the late hour, but as he sits up and glances over, he realizes that Deuce’s bed is actually empty.

That’s unusual, because while Ace is often up late scrolling his phone or practicing card tricks when he can’t sleep, Deuce is almost always out cold all night long.

It could be something as simple as a trip to the bathroom, but when Ace lays there awake for a few minutes and Deuce doesn’t return, his curious and restless nature finally pulls him out of bed. Maybe it’s a snack run?

The dorm is silent, with everyone trying to catch a few hours sleep before the mass departure for the winter break holiday tomorrow, and Ace treads with carefully light steps down the stairs, heading towards the kitchen.

He finds Deuce alone in the lounge, sitting on their sofa, studying the mistletoe pensively, and Ace is immediately worried all over again.

“Deuce…?” He murmurs, passing under the arch and weaving his way across the room to where his best friend is sitting. “Everything okay?”

Deuce rises from the sofa and meets Ace halfway, searching for words. He’s never been the best at having to think through complicated things, but if this feeling is strong enough to wake him up in the middle of the night, then it’s important enough to share with Ace. “Truthfully?”

Ace swallows hard and nods, and when Deuce seems to realize he’s made Ace nervous, he reaches out and touches Ace’s shoulder lightly before continuing.

“It’s going to come down tomorrow morning before we all leave...” Deuce inclines his chin towards the mistletoe. “And I never got the chance to kiss you under it.”

Ace blinks at Deuce like he’s gone crazy and then laughs, anxious moment shattered almost instantly. “What the hell are you talking about? We’ve kissed under it twice already.”

“Not the way I really wanted to,” Deuce finally admits with a gentle shrug. “...which I only realized after I fucked it up the first time. But you didn’t really give me a chance to tell you that.”

“...oh. Well. I...” Ace stammers awkwardly, neither of them looking each other in the eyes. “I’ve been thinking the whole thing was my fault, from the start, for trying to convince both of us to avoid it...”

“It’s both our faults,” Deuce disagrees immediately with a sharp shake of his head, but then his tone softens again. “But that’s just it.”

“What is?”

Deuce turns and waits until Ace meets his gaze before answering seriously. “I didn’t fight you on it at the start… because I don’t want to do something like that unless we both want it, Ace.”

“I do!” Ace insists immediately, his cheeks coloring with the verbal admission. “...and I’m sorry I’ve been such an idiot about it. When I ran out of here yesterday… I realized I wanted to tell you the same thing.”

“Tell me what?” Deuce prods him gently.

Ace gestures towards the mistletoe, suddenly unusually tongue-tied, and Deuce laughs at him this time for not being able to outright say it. He’s used to Ace always having the right words on the tip of his tongue, so to see him at such a loss is a rare thing.

“Well, we’re both here now,” Deuce says, slowly heading back towards the entrance, Ace trailing after him. “So, what are we waiting for?” Deuce takes one more step, until he’s standing directly under the arch. Holding out a hand to Ace, he asks with an awkward little smile. “Do you wanna kiss me under the mistletoe?”

Ace reaches out to take Deuce’s hand and steps forward, the golden, glittering magic of the Enchanted Mistletoe coming to life around them. “Yeah, I wanna kiss you under the mistletoe,” he echoes softly, heart hammering ever so quickly in his ears, unable to keep the dumb grin off of his face.

Deuce’s answering grin is just as ridiculously huge and he lets go of Ace’s hand, but only so that he can take Ace’s face between both of his own and kiss him. Ace winds his arms around Deuce, hands spreading across his back, pulling him closer until they’re flush against one another.

This time, they kiss the way they really want to, the way they do when they’re alone – deeply and passionately, until they’re both breathless and they’ve completely forgotten that anything else exists in the universe besides the two of them.

“Ahem.”

A soft voice from the direction of the kitchen is what finally snaps them back to reality, but they don’t jump apart immediately at the sound either. After all, with Deuce’s hands buried in Ace’s hair and one of Ace’s hands halfway up the back of Deuce’s t-shirt, there’s really no hiding what’s going on here.

“Much as I hate to interrupt such an enthusiastic following of the Enchanted Mistletoe rules, I would appreciate returning to my room before my cup of tea has gone entirely cold.”

Disentangling themselves, Ace and Deuce both step out from under the arch with matching dazed and sheepish expressions as Riddle regards them with the most amused little smirk.

“And unless you’re also planning on a late-night cup of tea or one last cookie, I trust you’ll kindly see yourselves back to the privacy of your own room?”

They both nod their heads up and down multiple times like bobble-head dolls as Riddle strolls past them in his red satin robe and matching fuzzy slippers, neither daring to utter a single word of sass in return.

Instead, they reach out to link hands again and snicker their way back to their room as fast as their feet can carry them.

It takes three deep breaths to compose themselves enough for Deuce to push the door open and they both exhale gratefully to find their two roommates still passed out and snoring, unaware of their shenanigans.

Ace keeps hold of Deuce’s hand until they reach his bed, letting go only to crawl in after him. Deuce pulls the blanket over them as Ace loops an arm around him, his head resting on Deuce’s shoulder, their legs tangled together.

“...it’s really okay if I stay?” Ace whispers, eyes drifting closed as he listens to Deuce’s heartbeat under his ear.

Deuce weaves his fingers into the fluff of Ace’s hair with a contented little sigh, warm and sleepy. “All night. Any night. Every night.”

They’ll come up with some excuse tomorrow morning if need be, or maybe their roommates won’t even care since at least half the dorm has kissed someone under the Enchanted Mistletoe in the last month…

But… right here and right now... on the last sleep before the holiday, they are both feeling lucky to be exactly where they want to be – no regrets.