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“Trey, the second years will be trimming some hedges in the garden later today, please supervise them.”
“Uh … I can’t,” Trey mumbled, eyes darting between the textbook he’d been reading and Riddle suddenly standing in his doorway. “I have- I mean, I’m already supervising the first years later.”
“The first years?” Riddle raised an eyebrow. “What are they doing?”
“Baking.”
“Oh. Hmm. Well, that is indeed your area of expertise. I suppose I am content with you assigning yourself where you are most valuable,” Riddle huffed, scratching his chin. “However, I still need-”
“I’ll do it,” Cater chimed in from his bed, barely looking up from his phone.
“You?” Both Trey and Riddle questioned him immediately.
“Sure! I’ve got trimming experience,” Cater laughed. “Mostly with my bangs, but whatevs. Hedges are fine too.”
“... Trey, if this goes awry, it will be your responsibility.”
“Duly noted,” Trey nodded.
“Well, good luck to both of you with your duties today. They are no doubt quite heavy ones! I will be in my room if you need me,” Riddle shrugged and bid his goodbye.
Trey stared at Cater as the door closed, and mentally counted up. He hoped he’d at least get to seven or eight, but by four, Cater had already burst out laughing.
“Ha! Haaaa! Hehehehe!”
“Are you done yet,” Trey sighed, knowing he kinda deserved it this time.
“Baking! Baaaaaking! Ahahaha~”
“Mhm.”
“The first years are baking! ” Cater rolled around on the bed, giddily kicking his feet.
“It is not technically incorrect.”
“The first years,” Cater rolled his eyes, mimicking Trey’s voice, “are baking!”
“As I said, it is not technically incorrect,” Trey frowned, fixing his glasses. For how few buttons he had, Cater sure knew exactly how to push them.
“Come on man, you gotta let me have it at least a little bit,” Cater pouted at him with puppy dog eyes. “Plus, you owe me big time for getting you out of hedge duty without spilling your beans.”
“Sure. What do you want?”
“Let me stay at your place next winter holiday.”
“It’ll take more than one coverup to purchase that privilege,” Trey crossed his arms.
“I’ll accumulate my points then. Do you hand out stamp cards or anything?”
“I’ll stomp on your phone if you don’t behave, how’s that sound?”
“Meanie! Trey-Trey is such a meanie!”
“Oh shut up.”
“And aggressive too,” Cater smirked. “Stomping phones is so super straightforward, the Trey I know would never suggest something like that.”
“It was just a figure of speech.”
“Ah, is that so? And here I thought the hot-headed Deucey was rubbing off on you.”
“Shut up, Cater,” Trey grumbled, throwing the textbook at Cater’s head.
“Oh he is so rubbing off on you,” Cater caught the flying object masterfully with one hand, only grinning wider. “You’re becoming quite impulsive lately. Not to mention lying to the housewarden! Ah, what has become of our sweet and innocent boy?!”
“I have never been even one of those things, and for the last time, it’s not lying if it’s technically true.”
“Sure,” Cater shrugged. “So is that what you tell Deuce, huh? You’re supervising him?”
“Yes. Because that’s what I’m doing.”
“Geez, romance really is dead with you in the room.”
“They are just dates for us to get to know each other, they don’t need to be romantic!” Trey insisted.
If he could cross his arms any further, his elbows would be inside his ribcage by now. But Cater still did not relent.
“That is precisely when you need to be the most romantic! So he falls for you ASAP! Damn, I don’t even know what poor Deucey sees in you.”
“We agree on one thing, finally.” Trey sighed. “It’s all your fault anyway, you’re the one who put it in his head that I like him!”
“Ya know,” Cater clicked his tongue. “A wise man once said, it’s not lying if it’s technically- ouch!?”
“I’ll need that back, actually,” Trey pointed at the textbook that just hit Cater’s forehead dead on.
“Have it, you bully,” Cater threw it back at Trey’s head.
“Fair enough,” Trey took what was coming to him, wincing in pain as the textbook fell into his lap. “Agh, why do you always drag me into these childish squabbles …”
“Because you’re so fun to tease,” Cater answered honestly. “Maybe I should teach Deuce how to turn up the heat on you, eh?”
“I’ll have you expelled and publicly ridiculed online.”
“As if Riddle would believe I did something to warrant expelling me,” Cater chuckled.
“He has no reason to trust you over me.”
“I don’t know, Trey. I don’t know!” Cater mused. “‘Cause you see, one of us is here volunteering for extra work, and the other is sneaking out on a date behind Riddle’s back.”
“Yeah but he doesn’t know about that.”
“Weren’t you texting me last weekend to make sure he was asleep while you and Deuce were sneaking in late? I have the receipts, my dude!”
“... fine. Let’s drop it.”
“Cool. So how’s it going? Getting to know Deuce, I mean.“
If Trey had more textbooks at hand, he would eagerly use them.
“Cater. I know you don’t particularly excel at literature, but ‘to drop it’ means to shut up, not change topics.”
“Well I shut up about your newfound delinquency. And then I brought up your budding relationship as a completely unrelated new topic. That’s fair game, right?”
“Nothing is fair game with you.”
“Says the mastermind who’s three diversions deep into dodging the question. How’s it going with Deuce?”
“... unremarkable. You know I don’t know how to comment on these things!” Trey complained.
“And here you are shitting on my literature skills,” Cater clicked his tongue again. “Okay, I’ll give you prompts for the essay! Do you like spending time with him?”
“When do I ever voluntarily spend time on something that’s not beneficial to me,” Trey grumbled.
“You can just say yes,” Cater completely ignored his obfuscation. “Does he make you happy?”
“I have to come back to deal with you at the end of the day, any happiness is fleeting at best.”
“Again, you can just say yes. Next question, have you at least taken my previous advice and held his hand yet?”
“It was dark outside when we went for a walk and I didn’t want him to get lost.”
“And did you kiss-”
“That’s private.”
“You totally have not kissed him yet!” Cater gasped in shock.
“I said that’s private!”
“Yeah but if the answer was yes you’d make up some bullshit like you did before,” Cater called him out. “Geez, you are so right and proper with these things.”
“We are merely going on dates to get to know each other!”
“Have you told him you like him?”
“Private!”
“Has he told you he likes you?”
“... couple times.”
“Geez …“
“What?”
“I don’t know what to do with you sometimes,” Cater smiled, with no ill intent for once. “Deucey is a totally honest guy who’s so super into you, you’re like an idol to him. And I know I set you guys up a little but let’s be real, you can’t stir shit if there’s nothing in the pot to begin with. He really does like you! He’d just never approach you first because he’s not stupid, he’s got self preservation instincts like the rest of us. But if you’re spending time together now, don’t waste that. Sometimes I worry it’s not just me who’s getting the cold shoulder when it comes to this relationship.”
“It’s not a relationship. We are just going on dates. But if it were a relationship, of course you’d get the cold shoulder - you’re not part of it!”
“So you treat Deucey better than me?”
“By a wide margin, sometimes.”
“Good!” Cater smiled. “You should. I bring it on myself, but he really doesn’t deserve it. You should spoil him lots. Tell him how you feel. And just kiss him already, come on. It can’t be that hard.”
No, it definitely was. And Cater should know that! He’d held Trey up multiple times on their way to class because he had to frame the perfect shot of something for his Magicam. And he was routinely running late because he spent obscene amounts of time doing up his hair and following Vil’s skincare routines in the morning. How was he, of all people, expecting Trey to just go for it on something as important as a kiss!
Not that it was any of his business.
Not that it was anyone’s business what he did with Deuce once all distractions were removed and the kitchen door was locked behind them.
“No one saw you coming here, did they?” He quietly asked, standing behind Deuce and tying up his apron.
“Nope! I told Ace I’ll be studying in the garden so he won’t be looking for me.”
“Good,” Trey praised him, taking a small hairpin out of his pocket that looked suspiciously like one of Cater’s pins - but he had a million of them lying all over the room, so surely he wouldn’t miss one. “Come here,” he motioned for Deuce to tilt his head so that he could secure his hair away from his face. “Perfect.”
“T-Thank you, Clover-senpai!”
“Don’t mention it,” Trey’s hand slipped down the side of Deuce’s face, holding on for just a moment before he let go and stuck his nose inside the flour cupboard to hide his blush.
“... Clover-senpai, would you be in trouble if someone found out about us? Is that why it’s a secret?”
“I actually don’t know,” Trey sighed. “Last thing anyone in here wants is to give Riddle ideas for more rules, so I never asked. Never had a reason to.”
“That’s okay! I don’t mind sneaking out at all!”
“I know you don’t. You’re pretty good at it too. Kinda shit at baking though,” Trey chuckled.
“I’m sorry!”
“Hey, that’s good … means I have something to teach you. I’d be kinda useless otherwise.”
“I’d still need help with math, and quizzing me on the dorm rules, and getting along with other first years! There’s so much I rely on your advice for, Clover-senpai!”
“That’s … cute …”
“But I also hope to one day become someone you can rely on too!”
“Oh come on,” Trey rolled his eyes and yet failed to hide the stupid smile plastered on his face. “You don’t need to worry about that … just take care of your things, and I’ll … take care of you.”
“Wow! I’m so lucky! Clover-senpai, you’re so romantic!”
At least the guy who actually mattered thought so, Trey figured as he stared at Deuce. As usual, he was all in on mixing the pretzel dough, and pretty handsome while he was at it. He was also spilling flour all over the counter, but whatever … Trey could overlook that for now. Kitchenside manners were advanced curriculum anyway.
“You’ll throw your elbow out with the spoon like that,” he finally stepped in to stop him before Deuce would accidentally break one of the few remaining wooden spoons they had. “Here, let me show you …” he stepped behind Deuce, grabbing the mixing bowl with one hand and Deuce’s hand holding the spoon with the other. “You have to go like this, circular motions and really work it in. It’s not soup, you’re not really mixing at this stage, it’s more like pre-kneading while it’s still wet enough to take more flour.”
“Y-Yeah! I-I got it!”
Deuce was blushing up to his ears. Trey couldn’t stop himself from making it worse.
“Of course you do,” he leaned down, gently pecking the edge of Deuce’s ear with his lips. “You’re such a fast learner, Deuce. I’m proud of you.”
“C-Clover-senpai!!”
“What?” Trey softly laughed in his ear, letting go of the bowl and sneaking an arm around Deuce’s waist instead. “You don’t like positive encouragement?”
“I do! I do! I do … like it.”
“... me too.”
Deuce finished mixing and kneading the dough all under careful supervision in Trey’s arms, complete with compliments and critiques whispered into his ear the whole way through. When it was time for the dough to rise, they usually sat across from each other at the table and passed random questions back and forth: usually ones that Trey came up with and Deuce then copied, because it was only right that he knew everything about Trey that Trey wanted to know about him.
But today, Trey joined him on the same side for the first time, and seemed more intent on meticulously fixing Deuce’s hairpin than asking him anything. But Deuce didn’t mind: it meant he got to see Trey super up close, and he was even cooler than usual from this angle.
“I feel like one day, we’ll run out of things to ask,” Trey finally justified his silence, slowly letting go of Deuce’s cheek again. “... depending on how many dates you’ve envisioned for us, I guess.”
“... there’s a limited amount?” Deuce asked quietly, startled by the idea.
“I just thought … probably, after you’d spend some time with me … you’d find me boring,” Trey mumbled, nervously fixing his glasses. “And a little too strict, or … cold. Cater’s always on my case for not treating you right anyway. Not that I tell him much of anything, but … you know. I’d understand if you got disillusioned with me somewhere by the third or fourth date … but this is already our seventh.”
“I haven’t gotten disillusioned at all!” Deuce immediately insisted. “I haven’t been illusioned in the first place! Clover-senpai, you know so many things that I don’t so you’re definitely not boring, and you’re super passionate about having things your way so you’re not cold either, and being strict about the rules is good! It’s very honorable and it inspires the rest of us to work hard and follow them too!”
“I’m pretty sure that’s just you,” Trey shook his head, smiling in disbelief. “The other first years are terrified of me. Or they think I’m an ass.”
“... well you maybe are a teeny tiny bit stricter on some of them …” Deuce quietly offered his observations.
“Tch … who knows, I might have a favorite,” Trey shrugged, sneakily reaching for Deuce’s hand on the table.
“I-Is it me?”
“What do you think?”
Trey slowly intertwined their fingers, reaching around Deuce’s back and pulling him closer. He could feel himself blushing, which was all Deuce’s fault because damn it, it was so hard to be serious about his schemes around someone so honest! But still, he found solace in the fact that Deuce was blushing too: way more than him. Way, way more than him!
“I-I-I … I think … I think it is me …” Deuce cautiously whispered. “I think I’m Clover-senpai’s f-favorite …”
“You are.”
“Ah?!”
“But don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret …”
“M-Mhm …”
Deuce eagerly nodded, tightly squeezing Trey’s hand. He was such a good boy … this felt almost criminal. Why’d he get fixated on Trey, of all people? He’ll totally ruin the poor kid’s reputation, and he’ll have no friends if it gets out that he’s canoodling with the vice housewarden. He’d be better off with someone else, probably.
But Trey didn’t want to give him to someone else.
It was rare for him to completely misread people. Deuce was like an open book, and yet a complete mystery to him: almost as if Trey’s usual schemes were thrown for a loop by how terribly earnest Deuce was. So he wanted more: to get to know him, to keep tabs on him, to find him entertaining and amusing, to … have him all to himself in locked rooms that others wouldn’t disturb.
“Deuce … do you want to share another secret?”
“Yes!”
“Haha … so eager,” Trey mumbled, letting go of Deuce’s hand and tracing the edge of his jaw with his fingers instead. “Where did your usual shyness go?”
“... is it a shy kinda secret?”
“Oh. You didn’t- I mean …”
“Clover-senpai?”
So much for making this all casual and smooth.
“... you didn’t read that as me wanting to kiss you?”
“E-eeh?!”
Yup, there it was: the signature deep blush and wide, shocked eyes. Deuce was so gorgeous like this, Trey almost wished he could spend the rest of his life spooking him a little bit. But that was probably impolite, and unromantic, and should get him dumped or whatever. Geez, when did Cater sneak into his head?!
“I’d like to kiss you, Deuce. Is our seventh date too early for that?”
Trey was sure he had seen ovens literally on fire and still less red than the poor Deuce in his arms. Okay, maybe he did go too- huh.
No. Ouch, actually, he thought as he found himself with a reverberating headache and what would surely turn into a bruise where Deuce had just hadbutted him. But their mouths were pressed together, and Trey found his lower lip being bitten down on, hard.
What a mess. Baking and kissing were both a complete disaster with this guy, huh? Perfect. It just meant Trey would get to teach him everything.
“Was that good?!” Deuce nervously blurted out, gasping for air as he pulled away.
“No,” Trey found himself spilling the tea that Cater would undoubtedly murder him for. “It was pretty bad. Was that your first kiss?”
“Y-Yeah …”
“Then I am so lucky it was mine,” Trey smiled, cupping Deuce’s chin with his hand. “I want that kiss and all your future ones all to myself. I want you all to myself, Deuce.”
“Clover-senpai …”
“Hey … if you’re gonna ram into me like I’m the castle gate, at least call me Trey.”
“Eh? I couldn’t p-possibly-”
“I’m sure you can,” Trey cut him off, bringing their lips together for a proper kiss.
He approached carefully, didn’t bump into anything and didn’t suck onto Deuce’s face like a deflated pufferfish. Not that any of it was particularly noteworthy, but given the kiss he’d just been subjected to, he sure hoped Deuce was taking notes.
He slowly moved his lips against Deuce’s, biting gently and smoothing over his playful nibbles with his tongue while slowly, slowly moving closer to where the lips parted, asking for entrance that Deuce gave without question.
“Clover-senpai ….”
His tongue fell deeper, exploring as much of Deuce as he could reach while his arms pulled him even closer, pressing their chests together.
“... Clover … s-senpai …”
“It’s Trey,” he corrected him, accidentally pulling the hairpin out of place as his hand slipped to the back of Deuce’s head. “Please …” he sighed, starting to run out of breath from how long Deuce let the kisses drag on.
Stupid sports club people with their stupid stamina and increased lung capacity … he was so out of his depth here … he’ll get completely dominated in this once Deuce gets a grip, he could already tell. And that was unnerving if not straight up embarrassing. He was always in control of things. But maybe he could let Deuce have this … if he wanted it … because now that he thought about it, Trey also kinda … wanted it.
“Trey …”
Oh. Oh … he wanted everything.
He’d let Deuce have everything.
“I didn’t hear that,” he lied through his teeth without shame, their lips still brushing against each other. “Say it again.”
“Trey …”
“Again.”
“Trey …”
“Again …”
“Trey!”
Before he knew it, Deuce charged at him again, and- yeah, he was taking notes apparently. This was already better. Still extremely aggressive, but … better. Or maybe Trey’s glasses had spilled over with rose tint by now, and he was a little more tolerant of shitty kisses if it meant …
“Trey … Trey … Trey, I like you … I like you so much …”
“I like you too,” he sighed breathlessly, cupping Deuce’s face as they kissed.
“Was it better? Trey, was it …“
“It was.”
“Trey …”
The things it did to his heart to have Deuce purring in his arms like that … Trey almost didn’t have words. Cater had joked so often, incessantly in fact, about Trey being in love, but he really wasn’t one to fall so fast, if at all, and yet …
“... Trey …”
So what if he was in love?
It was all Deuce’s fault for being so intriguing, and interested in Trey for some bizarre reason.
The pretzels could wait.
Trey would be a fool not to make the most of this.
He was late when returning to his room: hallways dead quiet, dawn breaking outside, Cater waiting for him with eyebrows raised and enough caffeine in his system to kill a horse kind of late.
“Welcome back, young man.”
“Hey,” Trey mumbled, barely keeping his eyes open as he took off his shirt.
“So … how was your casual date with a random first year you’re getting to know?”
“Cater, shut the fuck up. That’s my boyfriend and I’m in love with him,” Trey sighed, falling face first into his bed with the droopiest of smiles.
“... I’m sorry, what?”
“I’m in love with Deuce.”
“Geez, what the hell is in those pretzels …”
“Right … remind me to finish them tomorrow …”
“You didn’t even finish them?!”
“We just made the dough.”
“Trey, you were gone for fourteen hours! What did you guys do!?”
“Kissed.”
“Kissed!?”
“A lot,” Trey clarified as if that made it any more reasonable.
“Man, I have seen tart cream less whipped than you,” Cater sighed, putting down his phone and fluffing up his blanket. “So, is Deucey any good at kissing?”
“He’s phenomenal.”
Yup. The live yeast they were storing in the kitchen must have gone bad and filled the whole place with alcohol fumes, Cater reasoned. There was just no other way Trey would ever be so openly professing his feelings and praising someone.
Or maybe Deuce was special
Like, really special.