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One thing Deuce hadn’t expected when he came to the Land of Pryoxene was the sheer amount of snow literally everywhere.
Sure, he knew it was cold. When Cater had rushed up to the dorms, phone in hand and a worried look on his face, telling them to grab as many warm coats as they possibly could, he surely expected they were heading to some sort of chilly area… but this?
A field of white graced the driveway, as soon as they all stepped out of the car, a wave of snow might as well have smacked him in the face. His boots sunk deep into the glistening white, bringing a cold chill down his spine. It was fair to say, Cater’s homeland was absolutely horrible.
He heard Ace laughing beside him, the snow gracing his eyelashes making it impossible to even slightly open his eyes to glare back. Deuce had never been in such bad weather before- the Rose Queendom hardly ever got below zero degrees, so suddenly stepping out into the winter wonderland that was Cater’s driveway? It was horrendous.
Eyes trying their best to stay open, Deuce finally finished hauling all their luggage out of the car. Apparently one of Cater’s sisters wanted him to visit for the holidays, but with a deathly fear of going home alone, Cater had managed to drag almost everyone in their small friend group with him.
Riddle, of course, remained at the dorms. He apologized profusely, but with Trey going on the trip as well, he insisted he must stay as part of rule #521’s description. “With no one watching the dorm, I’m worried it’ll fall into chaos without me.” Well, Deuce couldn’t say that he was wrong.
So then, here they were. Dragging the rest of the suitcases through the door, Cater’s sisters nowhere to be seen.
“They said they’d be here to help out! What gives?” With a small pout, Cater slammed the door behind him. Deuce planned to ask where they could possibly be, but by the time he looked back up at his senior, all the past sadness was completely gone from his face in a matter of seconds.
He’s come to the conclusion he must not like his sisters that much.
Though Deuce couldn’t imagine why. Cater never talked about his sisters much, but from the sounds of it, they were nothing but caring. They cooked for him, bought him presents, and even did his hair! What sort of brother wouldn’t love that?
As he thought about it more, maybe this was just a sign Deuce lacked basic life skills. The best meal he ever properly cooked himself only turned out good because Ace’s friends from the basketball team dropped in to help him after all. Jamil seemed like the only one out of the four of them who could actually cook though, so his help was greatly appreciated.
It made him wonder, could Ace actually cook? Jamil definitely could, and though it may not look edible, Floyd worked at the lounge all the time too. Therefore anyone trusted with the honour of cooking half the dishes for Monstro Lounge must be able to cook to some degree, right? So it begged the question, could Ace cook as well?
Not that he'd ever eat anything he made, of course. Knowing Ace, he’d probably fill the food with thorns, then trick him into eating it. Anything to make Deuce suffer.
Still, he wondered if he’d be any good at it… he’d have to ask later.
Being lost in the thought of Ace’s questionable cooking skill, Deuce awoke from his daydream to find a shoulder jabbed into the side of his stomach. He jumped, holding his stomach in pain. Ace just laughed at him, patting him on the back- despite being outside earlier, his hands were warm.
“Well, I don’t see a problem. Knowing Deuce, even being next to a girl, let alone two, would totally freak him out! I bet he’s never even talked to a girl before.”
“I have so!” He hasn’t.
Turns out, girls aren’t as attracted to people who regularly beat people up behind the school as Deuce thought they would be, and with NRC being an all boy school, there really wasn't much opportunity to properly speak with.. females. Still, he couldn’t let Ace have the upper hand.
“If anything, I bet you’ve never talked to a girl either! Probably scared them off with your… um…” He looked Ace up and down, attempting to find something to insult, but to no avail. Deuce had failed to realize his best friend(?) happened to be extremely attractive.
Even he’d admit, the way the snow had melted upon his eyelashes, leaving small droplets along them, the way his eyes blinked confused at Deuce’s statement. It was all incredibly breathtaking, the way Ace smiled after a few seconds, reckless and prideful, made it all the better.
“Lost for words, Deucy? I’ll have you know, ladies love me! I even had a girlfriend once.”
Ace? A girlfriend? He feels like he remembers a small conversation about this before, whispered between Ace and some of the other dorm mates, but nothing was said to him directly. Deuce felt… well, confused. It wasn’t unbelievable, but the only response he could form was a small, “Really..?”
Ace’s smile dropped, his previous confidence washing down the drain. His shoulders slouched, hands going to fiddle at the base of his scarf (a present from Jamil- or well, Kalim. They had gotten it for him as an early present when the trip was announced.)
Had Deuce upset him? His heart gave a small pang. Both boys stayed silent after that, the small entryway seeming much larger within the quiet. The only sound was a faint laugh from Trey.
“Come on now, you two. We’re only here for a few days- try to get along, alright?”
Deuce gave a nod, his eyes fixed on the ground.
-
Around three hours had passed since the four of them had arrived, Cater’s sisters were still nowhere to be found.
Apparently, Cater received a message saying they were doing some welcome present shopping- though he hardly seemed excited. Deuce, himself, was curious though. Would they be buying for him, as well? Cater did tell them about the extra guests, so he could only imagine the shopping was for them.
From where he was standing near the window, Trey turned to face the other three. “It’s really getting bad out there. I hope your sisters return soon, Cater.”
“This is nothing! I’ve lived here all my life, after all! Don’t worry your cute little face off, TreyTrey.” Cater beamed up at him, patting the seat beside him to urge Trey to come sit. If anything, it seemed he just didn’t want to continue conversation of them any longer than he had to.
“Besidessss, even if it did get bad, I’m sure they'd find some new cafè to seek shelter in, anyway! That's just the kind of people they are.” Trey finally gave in and sat next to him, flashing his best “whatever you say” smile back at Cater. He took it happily, going to squeeze him as hard as he could.
It was a sweet sight to behold, though nothing out of the ordinary. Cater always was rather affectionate, constantly going out of his way to post as many photos of him and Trey as he possibly could, almost as if he was trying to prove some sort of point.
If he got a girlfriend, or.. boyfriend- would he be like that too? Deuce never was the most photogenic guy in the world, but he can’t say he wouldn’t mind taking photos with a partner someday. Ace likes to take photos with him, so he can’t be that horrible to look at. Even if Ace claims they’re to make fun of later, Deuce thinks he just likes remembering they’re friends.
“I mean, if the snow does get worse, I’m more worried about us, than anything else. Is this house, like… snow proof?”
A voice from below him drew Deuce out of his thoughts. Resting on his lap laid Ace’s head, his legs stretched out across the rest of the couch, and a game displayed on his phone. To Deuce’s surprise, he’s been rather.. touchy, lately. Leaning against Deuce as much as he could, always touching some sort of limb. He didn’t mind, but it was still out of the ordinary.
He lightly patted Ace’s head, fiddling with the front of his bangs. Soft. It doesn’t look it, but Ace’s hair was extremely soft. He gave a small smile.
“All houses are snow-proof, Acey! We’ll be fineeee~ smile!”
Before Deuce had time to process what was happening, the familiar click of Cater’s camera went off, capturing the moment between the two of them. As soon as it did, Ace’s torso went flying upright- his head hitting the base of Deuce’s chin in the process. He jumped in pain, bottom teeth being pushed up into his top ones.
Ouch.
“Shit- sorry, Deuce.”
Ace crawled back over to him, hands moving gently towards his jaw. His touch was light, gentle even. He softly moved his head around, as if he was examining it.
“You’re fine, right? Nothing seems to be bleeding, so-“
Deuce felt speechless.
Ace, who was usually so harsh and brash, was now caring for him? Was he dreaming? The gentle touch of his calloused hands, rough from years of different attempted sports, no softer than Deuce’s own, felt unreal. The pounding in his ears grew louder, and his face felt hot- just when did Ace get so close to him?
“Oh- yeah, I’m fine. Just stung a bit… don’t worry.” His voice trailed off, turning to a murmur by the end of his sentence. Ace nodded, removing his hand, but not before another click of Cater’s camera could be heard.
The two shot annoyed looks at him, but he only laughed in response. Trey could only roll his eyes, but the action was filled with a sense of endearment. Besides, it’s not like he could really tell Cater to stop bothering them- it would make him sad! Deuce admired Trey, he truly did, but the way he melted around Cater all the time was almost sickening. How could someone love another person that much?
“Hey, um- not to like, ruin everything but the snow is starting to build up. Do we have like… shovels and stuff, just in case?”
Attention drawn to the window, Deuce could see what Ace was talking about. Over the past few hours, the snow had been getting worse and worse- apparently, it was now to the point it slightly began to build up against the window. Looking back to Cater, the previous carefree expression was dropped. He seemed much more genuinely worried, he honestly couldn’t blame him.
“Yes, we do. In the shed, I think? It’s been a while, but that’s where we always kept them. Butttttt, would you two mind getting them for me? I’d be totes’ grateful!” And almost instantly, his seriousness was abandoned.
Though Ace seemed annoyed at the situation, Deuce didn’t fully mind. He and Ace always seemed much closer when alone, they'd end up spending hours together, finding dumb ways to pass the time. It felt nice, calming even.
So with the two of them throwing on their coats (leaving mittens and scarves behind for the quick trip), they ventured into the land of white that was Cater’s backyard.
“Christ, it’s cold out. How’d Cater manage to spend like fifteen years of his life here?” Ace’s hand latched to the door of the shed, fiddling with the lock, before prying it open.
It didn’t seem that old- well furnished actually, and kept in good condition too. Different tools were spread across the walls, a few different chemicals and bottles left across the floor. An average shed, actually, much like the one Deuce had at home.
In silence, they located the shovels. It was comfortable, but Deuce was somewhat disappointed, he secretly hoped they’d talk more while searching around. He really did like the sound of Ace’s voice after all.
It was slightly raspy, boyish too, but not too deep. In all honesty, it fit him perfectly, and was decently pleasing on Deuce’s ears, too. He gave a faint laugh at the thought, remembering past memories of dumb things Ace had said to him. Whispered questions during class, quips used to insult Sebek when he got too annoying, and dumb pickup lines he had tested out on Deuce. With a smile on his face, his hands gripped the shed’s handle, attempting to push it open.
But it didn’t work.
He tried again, but nothing. Over and over, he tried to get the door to budge- Ace quickly realizing he couldn’t do it alone and jumping in to help. Both boys had abandoned the shovels by now, and were poorly trying to pry the door open, even at the risk of destroying the shed in the process, but nothing seemed to work.
“Are we snowed in?”
He turned to Ace, taking in the worried expression on the other's face. He nodded back at him, plopping to the ground.
“Seems like it.”
-
It’d been five hours since they entered the shed- or at least, that’s what it felt like. In reality it was around twenty minutes, and it was a miracle Cater and Trey hadn’t come to rescue them yet.
Both of them had resorted to sitting on the ground now, backs against the shed wall, slightly apart from eachother, sitting in silence.
It was freezing.
With the lack of anything but a winter coat, Deuce was shivering nonstop. In an attempt to warm himself up, he curled up into a weird ball-like position, but nothing worked. Along with the wind, the only audible noise was the chattering of his teeth.
“Are you cold, Deucy?”
He turned towards Ace, nodding a bit- as if it wasn’t obvious.
“Y..yeah.. Guess the weather here is different than back home- how are you not freezing, too?”
Ace simply shook his head, scooching closer towards Deuce. “‘Dunno, guess I just don’t get cold easily.” A silence fell upon them, until Ace spoke up again.
“C’mere.. I have an idea.”
Deuce, of course, did as told. He did his best to try and move closer to Ace’s side of the room, but the numbness of his limbs made it hard. If anything, he probably looked dumb as hell right now, but Ace didn’t dare laugh. Instead, he opened up his legs, and cupped them around Deuce. Pulling his back towards his chest, arms wrapped around his torso.
The warmth of Ace flooded over Deuce- though maybe that was just the blood rushing to his head. Either way, embraced in Ace’s arms, Deuce instantly felt warmer. He leaned back a bit, nuzzling his face into the puffiness of Ace’s coat.
“You’re warm.”
Ace simply hummed in response, dropping his head on Deuce’s shoulder. The sudden awareness of another person near him made his heart pound even faster than before, the ends of Ace’s hair tickling the back of his neck didn’t help, either.
Though the position was oddly romantic, this wasn't even Deuce’s first time being cradled in Ace’s arms like this. Maybe that’s how he managed to stay calm for this long.
On off days, where they’re alone studying late in the dorm, it wasn’t rare for Ace to lay on Deuce in some way, or to prompt him to lay on his lap instead. He’d wrap his arms around his lower stomach, and pull him close. It’s been happening more than usual recently too. The first few times, Deuce got all flustered, but he’s been accepting it more and more recently.
Ace was weird like that. Not bad weird- good weird, but still weird. He’d do all these romantic things with Deuce. Buy him presents, cuddle him weirdly, sometimes he’d even try to weirdly flirt with him. It was a lot to handle, but it makes sense that he’d want to practice for a future girlfriend someday. Deuce had to say, though, he appreciated the attention. More often than not, he finds himself wishing Ace would initiate stuff like this more often.
With a soft, tired sigh, Ace began to mumble into the folds of Deuce’s shoulder. The fur of his coat smothered him, though his words were still audible.
“Y’know, you’re really pretty, Deuce..”
He smiled, leaning back a bit so he could make better work of Ace’s facial features. His face was burning red, no doubt from the cold- eyes lidded and tired looking, but Deuce couldn’t blame him. Silently, he returned back to his original position, until Ace looked back up again.
“We should do something- like play a game. Who knows, maybe it’ll distract us from the weather.”
Deuce blinked. “What game would we play, though? Not like Cater’s shed came equipped with Yahtzee.”
“No, dummy. Like a word game- like truth or dare!”
It wasn’t an awful idea, they’ve played it before with the rest of the first years, but it almost always ended with disaster. Worst it got was when Epel had dared Sebek to go insult Leona to his face.
Of course, knowing Sebek, he did it, because who was he to deny a challenge? Little did he know, his pride would soon be his downfall as landed himself in the school nurse's office for the rest of the day.
According to Ruggie, Leona was extra cranky the morning prior, so Sebek was the last straw before he finally broke. Deuce remembers how all the first years then pitched in to pay for flowers for Sebek afterwards. They ended up apologizing for a month.
The memory warmed him up, his heart feeling full of happy thoughts- but there was one issue with the plan.
“It’s too cold to do dares, and we don’t really have enough space, anyway. I don’t really wanna move..”
“Fine, then truth or truth!”
He laughed. Ace always has a way of making him laugh. Even in the worst of situation, his dumb humour always got to Deuce. Maybe that’s why they worked so well together.
Deuce started the game, though asking the question seemed pointless to him, he did it for authenticity. Of course, Ace picked truth.
“Why’d you break up with your girlfriend?”
A beat of silence followed.
Ace adjusted their potions a bit, turning more to look at Deuce properly. A mix of confusion and embarrassment laid across his face, Deuce almost felt guilty for asking.
“Getting personal right off the bat, man.. but eh, ‘dunno. She kind of started to seem uninterested, so I guess that made me uninterested too.” Ace shrugged a bit, the tone of voice being used being one of casual conversation- it was like he didn't care at all.
“Being honest, when I called things off, she didn’t even seem shocked. Guess that part kind of hurt, but it’s whatever.”
In Deuce’s mind, the girl was dumb. He would never say it outloud, but the thought someone could lose interest in Ace? It almost made him angry.
Out of everyone he had met so far at NRC, Ace was by far one of the most creative and funniest people he'd seen. No one else can stand up for him like he does, no one else can make him laugh, drag him into dumb situations, no one else could be Ace.
For someone to not love him, it just didn’t make sense to him. Deuce could never imagine not liking Ace anymore- the thought feels so foreign, he didn’t even want to imagine it.
Sure, they bicker and fight, but everyone does that. It’s what’s deeper that counts, the way you work off each other, the way you balance eachother out. If that girl couldn’t see that, then she clearly didn’t understand how lucky she really was to be dating Ace.
Deuce blinked. Then blinked again.
A sudden realization hit Deuce, one that maybe, wasn’t so sudden after all.
Did he like Ace?
Like… like like.
The kind of like his mom had told him about, the kind of like everyone said he was weird for avoiding in middle school.
In concept, it honestly didn’t sound too bad to him.
Deuce turned to Ace once more, the other boy confused by the sudden expression change on his face. From calmness, to anger, to confusion- it’s nothing he hadn’t seen before, but normally, there’s at least an explanation as to why it was happening in the first place.
Though instead of explaining, Deuce simply shook his head, indicating he wanted the game to go on- and so it did.
More turns had passed, so many so Deuce completely forgot to keep track of time. The position they were in kept him warm, and the small facts he was learning about Ace made it all the better.
Each small detail he learned, from things as pointless as his favourite colour, to the way he liked to cook his eggs, each small detail made Deuce realize more and more how in love he was.
“Truth, hit me.”
“Ace, do you like anyone?”
The shed fell silent- or as silent as it could be with the harsh wind still racking against the wooden walls.
He could feel Ace’s arms stiffen around him, he tensed uncomfortably, and though Deuce couldn’t see his face, he imagined he looked pretty uncomfortable, too.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. It’s not like Ace willingly told Deuce mushy stuff like that all the time, anyway. It was out of line for him to ask. He bit his lip, turning back to look at him.
“Ace, I’m sorry, you don’t have to-“
“Yeah, I do.”
Oh.
Oh.
He did?
The thought made Deuce stammer, his brain paused, a final chilled breath leaving his lips before he fully went silent.
Did Ace like him?
It was an absurd thought, right? But he had been rather comfortable with him lately. They’ve always been touchy, but recently it’s been different. He moved his hands to wrap around Ace’s- even now, they’re acting like a couple.
“Who..?”
The words came out shaky, almost like a whisper, though he tried to at least sound coherent. The last thing Deuce wanted was to reveal that he’s only just now figured out he liked Ace, and was absolutely going ballistic in his mind. Especially not if it turned out Ace didn’t like him back.
Instead, the other just laughed, moving his arms more upwards to be wrapped around the curve of Deuce’s shoulders. Ace leaned in, his signature jerky-smile flashing back at Deuce.
“Nope! My turn, I get to ask you a question first.”
Stupid Ace.
“Oh, right. Um. Go ahead.”
Deuce would kill to have Cater rescue him right now. In fact, he almost prayed it would happen. Even at the risk of their embarrassing position being photographed and posted on every corner of magicam in a matter of seconds, he’d give anything than to have to hear Ace reject him.
Times like these made Deuce realize how pathetic he was when it came to the topic of romance.
Never having dated before- hell, never even having a crush before, the sudden ringing in his ears was becoming way too much to handle. As Ace asked his question, all Deuce could focus on was his newfound hyper awareness of romantic feelings.
“Alright then, Deucy. Do you like anyone?”
He could feel his heart stop.
Was this normal?
Surely, he was dying.
“Oh, yeah.. I guess I do.”
Ace only laughed in response, removing his hands from around Deuce’s waist, and using them to shift the other boy around.
Deuce stood still. He was now properly seated in Ace’s lap, legs on either side of his torso, hands resting comfortably on his chest. As he breathed, cold clouds of air escaped him, the world stood silent,
“Ace.. I think-“
As if knowing what he would say, as if capturing the words directly from his mouth, hands were swiftly cupped around Deuce’s face, creating a new sense of warmth to fight the cold chill around them. And then?
Ace kissed him.
Eyes shut tight, he had kissed Deuce with all the passion he seemed able- even pushing against him a bit, before Deuce finally melted into the kiss too.
A newfound heat bloomed in his chest, his lips, his everything. Embraced with Ace, with love, Deuce almost found himself crying. It wasn’t anything at all like first kisses described in movies- it was far better.
It was like his brain had completely exploded. Ace. Ace was all he could think about. Him. His hands, his eyes, his hair… all of him. All of Ace. All of the boy who he loved, and always would love. Ace.
Finally, they broke apart. Heads resting against each other, panting for whatever breath they could. Deuce felt amazing, overjoyed, even. He could hear Ace humming a bit, moving back to hug the boy in front of him.
“I really like you, Deuce.”
The words made his heart sing.
“I like you too, Ace.”
They sat in the presence of each other for as long as they possibly could after that. Examining each other's faces, taking in every small noise the other made as deeply as they could. All of it, Deuce thought, felt like heaven.
Then the shed door shook open.
The sudden noise caused Deuce to startle, standing up way too fast and awkwardly tripping over Ace. His head slammed against the wooded floor, letting out a distorted “Shit!” before fully toppling down to the ground.
“There you guys are! I swear, we for realz thought you were like.. dead!”
When the world stopped spinning, and his head felt significantly less like it was split open, the upside down image of Cater, and a snow covered Trey appeared in Deuce’s eyeline. As fast as humanly possible, he shot up once more, Ace following behind him.
“What the hell took you guys so long? We were in here for at least an hour!”
Trey sighed, giving a short glare at Cater before ushering the two younger boys out into the snow.
“I fell asleep and somebody decided to watch a MasterChef episode instead of wondering where the two people he sent into a snowstorm were. He only remembered when he got a text from his sisters that they were on their way.”
“You’re such a meany, Trey! At least I remembered now!”
“You made me dig them out with my bare hands.”
“I said I was sorryyy! I’ll make it up to you, kay? Certified CayCay promise!”
The conversation continued on as they walked back to the front of the house- Ace and Deuce’s hands linked secretly together, savouring the last bit of warmth they could from the shed. He almost missed being locked in there with Ace, but he’d take a nice warm house over a cold wooden shed any day.
Well, that was before Cater started questioning what they were up to in there, but with Ace covering it up saying they were simply huddled for warmth, the topic dropped pretty quickly.
Both boys smiled to themselves, returning to their original position on the couch. As they settled in, Ace’s head back to its rightful place on Deuce’s lap, a small laugh was shared between the two.
After all, the hidden kiss he placed upon Ace’s forehead seemed to go completely unnoticed between the other couple in the room. Fingers running through Ace’s hair, Deuce could feel nothing but sheer happiness.
He wanted this feeling to last forever.