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Chapter Text

Ace Trappola was objectively not great at showing his friends he cared.

He knew this very well unfortunately, and his attempts at showing his friends that he truly cares has been… difficult. He truly did care. He just made some shitty first impressions and now any attempt at adjusting to his friends’ love languages was turning out to be a struggle. Words often failed him and actions were never believed to be genuine.

It didn’t help that his own was physical touch, which they all have openly stated they don’t like very much. In turn, he knew that he wouldn’t receive much physical affection from them in turn, no matter how much it hurt since he couldn’t show how much he cared without making any of them uncomfortable. It was either that or get accused of trying to get something out of them. And he’d rather not have his friends think he was weird and clingy thank you very much.

He wasn’t good with feelings. He always said or did the wrong thing. Touch said and did all the things he couldn’t say or do for his friends. For anyone. How the hell was he supposed to show that he cared like they did for him?

“What about you Ace?”

Ace was snapped out of his thoughts, looking up from his food at his friends. “Hm? What’d you ask me?” he asked.

“We were talking about our love languages and realized we didn’t know what yours was,” Epel said.

Everyone looked at him expectantly and Ace felt trapped. He could tell them and risk getting fully rejected by his friends or just lie like he always did. He chose the latter. “I never really put too much thought into it,” he said with a shrug.

“So you don’t know?” Yuu asked.

“Not really.” Before anyone could ask anything further, Ace stood up, taking his tray with him. “I gotta meet Floyd and Jamil for a quick basketball club meeting, but I’ll see you all later at Yuu’s?”

The boy left, leaving his entire friend group dumbfounded and slightly hurt. Why didn’t Ace want to talk about it?

Chapter Text

Jack wasn’t feeling very well. In fact he thought he might be on the verge of passing out. He felt way too exhausted after the last run. But he needed to study for his upcoming History of Magic exam when he got back. Plus there was a track meet in a few days. He needed to be in top condition. But he also really needed to lock down his studies. He couldn’t just do track forever.

“Hey, Jack, you coming?” Deuce asked. Jack looked up from the bench to see Deuce about to leave with Ace, who had just come from basketball practice. Normally the three of them would go and find Epel and Sebek to grab food at Ramshackle before retiring to their respective dorms.

“I’ll meet you in a minute,” he replied.

Deuce looked at him in surprise while Ace just narrowed his gaze suspiciously. “I’ll hang back with you,” the redhead said, moving to sit next to the wolf beastman. He turned to Deuce and said, “Tell Epel and Sebek that we’ll meet you all at Ramshackle in a few minutes.” The dark haired boy looked between the two worriedly before nodding and walking away.

Jack and Ace sat together in silence for a few moments. Now, it wasn’t that Jack didn’t appreciate Ace taking the time to sit with him (though he probably wouldn’t let Ace have the satisfaction of telling him that he did) but usually when Ace did something like that he was always looking for a favor of some sort. He wondered how much longer the silence would stretch on for before Ace popped the question. He felt himself growing more and more tired the longer they sat there.

“So,” Ace started, “you gonna talk about what’s going on?”

Jack turned to look at him, his eyebrow raised in suspicion. “What makes you think something is going on?”

“Uh, you look like you haven’t slept in days, you’re tired for once, and you’re staying behind. Need I go on about how you’ve been acting weird lately in the halls as well?” Jack grumbled underneath his breath and Ace let out a laugh. “I swear, I’m the only good liar among our friends. I should be having you guys take classes from me.”

The beastman’s gaze narrowed. “That’s not exactly something you should brag about.”

“Mm, maybe, but learning how to fake a smile through something is a valuable life skill in my ever so humble opinion. Gets people off my back at social gatherings I’ll tell you that.”

Jack’s gaze softened as he sighed and turned away, defeated. Leave it to Ace to find a pro to being a pathological liar. It kind of pissed Jack off. “You know you don’t exactly inspire a lot of trust.”

“I’m fully aware of that.” The two sat in silence for a few more moments before Ace asked again, “So what’s up?”

The two freshmen shifted their gazes back to one another, almost challengingly. Ace always found a way to annoy the shit out of one of them at the worst times. Jack didn’t understand why he always tried to push people’s buttons, but he tried not to take it personally. “I just have a lot going on right now,” he confessed.

“I bet.” Ace leaned forward so he could fully look at Jack’s face. “You got that track meet right? And you’re gunning for that scholarship?” Jack nodded, clenching his jaw in frustration. “Don’t we also have like, three exams this week alone?”

“Do you have to rub it in?” Jack growled.

“Someone’s hostile.” Jack nearly snarled, causing Ace to give him a strained smile. “I get it though. Jamil has been on our asses about our upcoming match with Royal Sword. I keep telling him “hey Riddle will kill me if I don’t study” and he normally lets me go but jeez it’s like everyone’s a tyrant nowadays.”

“You don’t seem very worried.”

Ace seemed to think on that for a moment, crossing his arms with a contemplative look on his face. He shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. “Eh. I think some part of me deep down is worried, but I also know that it won’t help much in the long run. If I spend all my time worrying I won’t actually do the things I need to do. Just getting through it one day at a time.”

“This is my whole future here, Ace. If I don’t get this scholarship-”

“You’ll get it, but you need a break. From all this.” Ace gestured to the track in front of them. “You’re gonna tire yourself out before the meet even starts. I mean, you’re clearly already not sleeping much. And why would you? Exams are right around the corner. Doing more track isn’t going to help you if a) your body is already running on like three hours of sleep, and b) is distracting you from the actual thing that you need to focus on, which is your academics.”

Jack just shook his head. “Ace, it's not that simple I-”

A solid yet gentle hand gripped Jack’s shoulder. “Jack. Look at me.” Hesitantly, Jack did so. “You know me, so you know I’m being completely brutally honest when I say this. You need to rest. You are incredibly capable of winning this scholarship I have no doubt, but you won’t if you don’t take care of yourself. Just like how you’ll fail your exams if you keep worrying about performing well in the meet. You are already one of the strongest and smartest freshmen in our grade. And don’t you always need to be in peak condition? You need to sleep and eat to reach that. And before you go on about your muscles atrophying or whatever you are literally built like a Greek god. A few days of rest will not ruin all the hard work that you put into yourself. You need to focus on exams, take care of your body, and then worry about the track meet.” Jack felt the hand on his shoulder grip him a little tighter, but it wasn’t painful. It weirdly grounded him. “You’re a great athlete and a great student. Way better than me and Deuce that’s for sure. You just need to take care of yourself, alright?” Jack just stared at Ace, who gave him a small smile. “Plus you’re kind of the rock of our group, besides Yuu. If you go down we’re all going down. I need to make sure you’re okay.”

Jack chuckled. “So you can be nice,” he said.

Ace let out an offended gasp, letting go of Jack and crossing his arms. “I’m plenty nice. It’s not my fault I don’t like lying.”

“You were literally just talking about how you think we should all learn to lie.”

“That doesn’t mean you should always lie to your friends about stuff that objectively isn’t true. I’m just a brutally honest guy that could be an excellent liar when the time calls for it. I’m just not a fan of lying to my friends.”

Jack gave him a pointed look, smirking as Ace rolled his eyes. “You know that you have lied-”

“Yes yes I know but never about your characters.” The two suddenly fell silent for a few moments, and Jack was suddenly very grateful that Ace stayed behind with him. The feeling of Ace’s touch still lingered on his shoulder. The wolf beastman found that he kind of missed it. Said redhead wasn’t making eye contact anymore, glancing at his shoulder every so often before patting his back twice and standing up. “We should get going before Grim eats all the food.”

Jack just stared at Ace for a few moments before standing up and walking away with him, wondering why he suddenly seemed more closed off than before.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t often that Sebek wasn’t confident in himself. He carried himself with pride for almost everything that he did. After all, he was one of Malleus’s personal retainers. That in itself was an achievement, especially for being so young. Still, sometimes some self-doubt about his heritage and skills crept into his mind.

During times like these, he’d work harder in his studies, hoping to earn some words of praise from his mentor and liege. He even sought out approval from Silver sometimes. When his grades would drop, he did everything to get them back up, anxiety gnawing away at his mind. When he’d underperform in the Equestrian Club, he’d come back and improve so he didn’t embarrass himself the next time. Each minor mistake felt like it would be the end of the world.

“Trappola!” Sebek saw Ace stand up out of the corner of his eye and walk towards their professor. She handed him a packet of paper faced down. Ace took it and walked back to his seat, still keeping the paper face down. Sebek noticed how nervous he was.

“Sevens I feel like I might throw up,” the redhead whispered to Sebek.

“You probably performed adequately if you studied,” the half-fae boy replied. Ace rolled his eyes.

“You sound like Riddle.” Like ripping off a bandaid, Ace flipped over the packet to find a number circled in thick red ink. He breathed out a shaky sigh, weaving one hand through his hair. “Well I didn’t fail so that’s good.” He slid his test towards Sebek so he could see the score.

78. In big bold red. This was Ace’s best subject and his worst grade before this one was an 89.

It didn’t give Sebek that much more confidence in his own score since Magical Analysis was both of their best subjects. If Ace struggled, how did Sebek compare?

“Zigvolt!” Sebek stood and went to retrieve his test. He did the same as Ace, choosing not to look until he returned to his seat. Bracing himself, he turned his paper over to see his score.

84. He felt his heart drop.

He studied incredibly hard for this exam. Only to receive an 84? He clenched the paper in his hands. “You good?” Ace asked, some sort of nervous edge in his voice.
Before Sebek could answer, the professor dismissed the class and everyone started to pack their things. Ace could see how Sebek’s expression hardened into something that looked like anger, but the redhead knew better. “Wanna grab a snack and go over our answers?”

Sebek let out a quiet “hmph” and followed Ace outside to the hallway. “Dude, that exam was awful,” Ace said, sighing exasperatedly. “This was the worst exam yet. And I thought I understood almost everything. Riddle will probably have my head for this grade, even though it’s well above the class average of 65. You know, that should sort of count for something.” Ace stopped at the vending machine and pulled out his wallet. “Anyways, you’re probably already sick of my yapping, so it’s your turn to complain now.”

“What do you think I would complain about?” Sebek asked.

Ace looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. “Um… the exam? Don’t tell me the reason you’re not talking about it is because you did worse than me.”

Sebek glared at him. “As if I’d do worse than an insolent human!” he exclaimed loudly. His voice practically echoed down the hallway. Ace gave him a skeptical look before turning back to the vending machine and punching a few buttons. He inserted some money and patiently waited for his snacks to drop.
The green haired half-fae always wondered if his words were too harsh on Ace. He remembered having a talk with Yuu about speaking quieter and with less insults to avoid hurting anyone’s feelings. He wondered if Ace took his words to heart, even though he didn’t mean them anymore. Nothing on his face or in his body language gave him away. It caused Sebek more anxiety than he cared to admit.

“Yeah? Well you seem awfully defensive of your grade. So it’s either worse than a 78 or you are just feeling like you should’ve done better. ‘Cause I talked to Trey and Cater about this and they said it was the hardest exam of the year. For me, not failing is pretty fucking good.” Sebek didn’t fail, but he wasn’t sure Ace would really understand his disappointment with himself.

“I could have done better I suppose,” Sebek replied.

“Uh huh.” Ace retrieved his snacks and held out a candy bar to Sebek. “But if you think you want to go over those answers and see where we went wrong maybe I can tell you that you didn’t do bad.”

Sebek rolled his eyes, scowling at the redhead before reluctantly taking his favorite candy from him. “You’re insufferable.”

“Thanks.” Ace sat down on a bench and pulled out his test, gesturing for Sebek to do the same. With a sigh, Sebek sat down next to Ace and pulled out his test. Ace immediately snatched it out of his hand. His eyes drifted to the number and then started to flip through the packet. Sebek did the same with Ace’s test, studying every answer he got wrong. Most of them were all multiple choices he got wrong, and even then they were questions that were worded strangely and-if Professor Gothel wasn’t a professional gaslighter–could’ve been correct. And all of the free responses were correct minus a few technicalities he got half-points on. If it were up to
Sebek, he would’ve given Ace one or two points off.

Suddenly Ace scoffed and set Sebek’s test down. “I actually hate our professor. She’s literally just looking for anything she can to criticize! You should’ve gotten 100!” Ace unwrapped his own candy bar and took an angry bite. “And she wonders why the average is so low. Is it so hard for her to believe that freshmen can actually be fucking smart and capable of knowing her content?!” Sebek was caught off guard by the redhead’s sudden outburst. Ace looked over at him, his anger softening into something close to sympathy. He sighed. “Sorry, sorry. You just- You’re beating yourself up over this and I think it’s unfair when you’re already so smart to score an 84 on a really freaking hard test.”

Sebek just stared at him. He knew that his friend was either brutally honest or lying to sweeten someone up. In any other situation, the half-fae freshman would’ve believed Ace to be doing the latter, but he sounded so angry that, against his better judgment, thought he was being genuine. He set down Ace’s own test and fidgeted with his finger. “You really think so?” he asked, uncharacteristically quiet.

He suddenly felt an arm around his neck, pulling him closer to Ace. He visibly stiffened, but Ace didn’t seem to notice. “Sebek, I genuinely mean this, you are extremely smart. You are also kind of a dumbass but not when it comes to this. I don’t know why you’re upset about the 84, but you shouldn’t be. You did good. You’re still doing good. It’s not like this test is gonna drop your grade down to failing.” Something in the green haired boy’s chest flipped at Ace’s words. Rationally, he knew Ace could be lying, but… He just felt safe. “You should be proud, man. I’d be freaking proud if I were you.”
Sebek just stared at Ace for a while, unsure of what to say. Normally there’d be some sort of angle Ace would be working, but the half-fae didn’t feel like he was getting played at all. There was no malice or mischief behind the redhead’s eyes. Hell, Sebek would dare to say Ace was actually trying to comfort him. He hated to say that it was working very well.

There was a small smile on the redhead’s face, but it suddenly fell after a few moments. He stiffened and pulled his arm back, as if burned. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well, w-we should probably study harder for the next exam. Can’t get caught off guard by Gothel’s gaslighting tricks.” He handed Sebek’s test back to him, avoiding eye contact. The half-fae boy hesitantly took it, a little confused as he handed Ace’s own test back to him in turn. He tried to study Ace’s stony expression. Was he… hurt?

Ace hurriedly stood up and started to walk away. Sebek stood with him, carefully hiding his test in his blazer. “For what it’s worth, Trappola, your test should’ve scored nearly perfect marks too. Your application of the knowledge was spot on, if not for a few technicalities here and there. Magical Analysis isn’t your best subject for nothing,” he replied, secretly hoping the words would make him feel better.

He let out a small, disbelieving chuckle. “Yeah. And you want me to start a rant about how I hate the education system and the stupid way they format tests. I swear it’s all a sham.”
The two headed for the track, hoping to catch Jack and Deuce’s meet before it ended. Both love and confusion sat heavy in Sebek’s heart as he followed his strangely quiet friend the rest of the way.

Chapter Text

Given that they’ve almost died about six times, Yuu would say that they have a right to be anxious almost 24/7.

They always felt the need to check up on how everyone was doing, especially the housewardens. The slightest bit of negativity from someone was enough to make them question if they were about to lose their shit. None of the other freshmen blamed them for overreacting to whenever one of them was just having an off day. It was a natural response not only to someone just concerned about their friends, but also to someone who had seen horrors just because of an overuse of magic and emotional instability.

Ace was starting to trigger that response.

Now, Yuu liked to think they knew their friends. They were all pretty open people, except of course; their resident troublemaker. If Yuu was being honest, they didn’t know too much about Ace’s behavior and personality besides what he showed at school. He had a brother they’ve caught with him on call a few times, where he speaks softer and isn’t always immediately covering his true feelings with his troublemaker facade. But that’s as much as they know. Sometimes it causes them to wonder if they truly know Ace, and if they don’t really know him, would they know if something was wrong?

Well that was about to be put to the test.

Ace had been acting a little weird lately. He’s been quieter and more reserved lately, and Jack and Sebek have expressed concerns to Yuu about him. Yuu and Grim noticed it at lunch too. Epel was having a hard time with Vil and Rook and it was taking a mental toll on him. Ace would awkwardly fidget, seemingly drifting closer to the boy before pulling away. He’d been fidgeting an awful lot lately. It worried Yuu, especially when the fidgeting was accompanied by a dead look in his eyes.

But Yuu had a plan. They always did.

At the moment, everyone was currently in Ramshackle playing a video game from Yuu’s realm called Mario Kart. How Sam acquired this game is anyone’s guess, but everyone was having fun. Yuu watched with amusement as Ace, Deuce, Epel, and Sebek all screamed at each other. Jack didn’t want to touch that mess with a ten foot pole as he and Grim ate the food they pilfered from the cafeteria.

In the end, Ace ended up winning and proceeded to flip his three friends off. Deuce immediately demanded a rematch but he suddenly stood up and announced, “This has been fun, but I need to head back to the dorm.”

Everyone turned to him, alarmed. “What? Why? You’re going back alone? It’s dark out!” Epel exclaimed worriedly.

Ace shrugged his shoulders, seemingly nonchalant. “It’s my turn to take care of the hedgehogs.”

Deuce glared at him. “I thought you dumped that on someone else!” Ace rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with an apologetic smile on his face.

“I tried.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

The corner of Ace’s lips turned down ever so slightly. It was barely perceptible, but Yuu noticed it. Their anxiety spiked as he turned to leave. “I’ll see you all later this week yeah?” he said, his fake cheerfulness very apparent to everyone in the room. Yuu couldn’t take it. They knew something was wrong and like hell they were going to watch another friend suffer.

Yuu immediately stood up from their seat and stormed out after Ace, earning worried looks from the rest of their friends. They could care less though. They just needed to make sure Ace was okay.

“Ace!” they called out as soon as they left their dorm. The boy immediately turned around to face the prefect. “We need to talk.”

“Hey, what’s up?” he asked, a little on edge.

“Listen, you’ve been acting weird the past few weeks and don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” Ace gave them a look of bewilderment and Yuu just glared in response. “Seriously, you know what I mean.”

Ace would have acted confused for a few more minutes, but the anxiety behind Yuu’s eyes caused him to sigh in defeat and drop the act. “Okay, sure. I’ve been a little drained the past few weeks. What’s that got to do with anything?” Yuu’s expression softened, searching Ace’s eyes for that mischievous spark it always held. There was nothing. His eyes were blank and it scared them.

Yuu hung their head low, staring at their feet. “Are you- Would you-” Their voice caught in their throat and their hands started to shake. “Y-you need to be okay.” You need to be okay because I can’t watch you lose yourself.

The redhead immediately recognized what was about to happen and grabbed onto the prefect’s hands. “I am okay,” he assured them. “Okay? I’m fine. I’m right here and only slightly mentally ill.”

“B-but you’re not okay. You’re not fine and you won’t tell us what’s wrong.” Please, I need you to tell me so I can help. I can’t not help you.

Ace squeezed Yuu’s hands tighter. “Yuu, look at me. Please.” Reluctantly, the prefect lifted their head, tears streaming down their face. Ace’s gaze was apologetic and full of sympathy. There was something new in his eyes that Yuu didn’t seen before. Or maybe they just hadn’t pinpointed what it was. Ace was suddenly shy, his eyes glancing between their joined hands and the prefect’s face. “Listen. I’m- Well, yeah, I’m not fine, but I’m not not fine either. Nothing bad’s gonna happen to me okay? And you don’t need to help me right this second. I’d come to you if I needed serious help and I didn’t think I could handle it anymore. You’re fine. I’m fine. No one is going to get hurt, understand?”

Yuu breathed in deeply and slowly exhaled. “You promise?” they asked brokenly.

Ace offered them a small sincere smile. “I promise.”

“And you promise that you’ll come to me if something is really, absolutely, completely wrong?”

Ace held on a little tighter. “Yes.”

Yuu breathed in and out a few more times. They needed to get their head straight. Ace was here in front of them, admitting that while everything was not great, he wasn’t going to go off the deep end. He was fine. They let Ace hold their hands for a few more moments before pulling away and wiping their tears. Ace let his arms hang awkwardly at his sides, flapping them slightly. “Okay,” was all they said.

“Okay,” Ace replied. Ace watched as Yuu wiped more tears away and couldn’t help but feel guilty. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hide the urges to touch his friends to offer them some sort of support, but he didn’t think it’d get this response (well, not from Yuu at least). But he knew they’d be uncomfortable. Yuu was already putting distance between them, Jack just stared at him for a while, and Sebek was so tense Ace thought he might have sore muscles later.

He just… He wished he knew how he could be better at this.

“I’m gonna go now,” he said slowly, doing his best to hide the hurt in his heart. He smiled at the prefect. “Hedgehogs.”

They smiled back at them, giggling, “Right. Hedgehogs.”

Ace turned back around and waved as he continued walking. “See you tomorrow Yuu.”

Yuu watched Ace walk away, their anxiety eased but a pit of emptiness making its way into their chest.

Chapter Text

It was often when Ace saw Vil scolding Epel that he realized he got lucky with Riddle as a dorm leader. Sure there were ridiculous rules enforced that have gotten him collared more times he can count on his hands, but Riddle was getting better and not being as harsh with his punishments over the smallest things. Vil on the other hand was firm with his rule and hardly ever wavered. This was especially true when it came to repeat offenders like Epel didn’t follow the strict routines he set for everyone.

Ace hated that any word he said to try and defend Epel fell on deaf ears.

“I can’t believe you,” Vil spat at the freshman. Epel tried not to flinch as he hung his head low. “Have you forgotten everything I’ve taught you? First your accent, then your posture, now you’ve disrupted your sleep schedule and calorie intake? No matter how much I try to teach you, you seem to ignore everything.”

Ace still spoke up. If he wasn’t able to comfort Epel, then he could at least try to defend him. “Hey, do you want him developing an eating disorder?!” he argued. “You’re demanding too much of him!”

Annoyed, Vil shifted his gaze to Ace. “Half of the dorm follows their routines perfectly, as do I. There is no reason this potato shouldn’t be able to do it too.”

“Well not everyone can or even wants to be like you!”

Vil’s face flashed with anger as he whirled on Ace. On instinct, Ace took a step back. He knew what danger looked like, and it was written all over the housewarden’s face. “And what makes you think that-!”

Rook suddenly appeared behind his boyfriend, giving him a small strained smile. “Roi du Poison, you must calm yourself,” he said. “Monsieur Heart is simply trying to tell you to take it easier. Epel has done his best today, and this slip up will not tarnish his beauty.”

“It’s the principle, Rook. You know this. He cannot keep slipping up constantly.”

Ace looked over at Epel to see his reaction. There was nothing but sorrow and defeat. The redhead held his tongue and crossed his arms. “I understand, Vil, but he is only a freshman. Perhaps some leniency would help. After all, exams are already coming up again for our little freshmen.”

“That is true.”

“So maybe forgive him for this?”

Epel dared to lift his gaze, some hope returning in his eyes, only to be met with Vil’s cold stare. “If it were not constant-”

“You put too much pressure on him and you know it!” Ace snapped.

Rook turned to Ace, a fake apologetic look on his face. “Monsieur Heart, both Roi du Poison and I would appreciate it if you didn’t comment on the current situation,” he said, full of sympathy. Epel lowered his head further, hiding the tears building in his eyes. Ace clenched his jaw, quietly telling himself to never talk shit about Riddle in front of Epel ever again.

“Whatever. C’mon Epel, let’s get out of here.”

The lavender haired boy didn’t need any more words as he immediately turned to leave the front of his dorm. Ace followed him close behind, shooting a fierce glare towards the housewarden and his vice. The two walked through the mirror and appeared in their beloved school building. The redhead continued to follow Epel as they roamed throughout the school.

Epel was trying to keep his emotions in check as he and Ace walked. He was aware of the loudmouth, troublemaker behind him being ominously silent. He was waiting for the words he wanted to spit at him. To hit him where it hurt with his brutal honesty. He knew he was holding back if his awkward fidgeting was anything to go on. It just made him want to cry more.

After a few minutes of walking, Epel suddenly stopped and whirled on Ace, anger all over his face. Ace took a step back, even though he knew his friend would never hurt him like that. Still, just in case. “What?! Nothing to say?!” he shouted. Ace stayed quiet. No words could help him convey how he felt right now. The overwhelming urge to hug the boy in front of him surged through him, but he held back. Epel sniffled, furiously wiping away the tears that leaked from his eyes. “I get it, okay? I get that I’m really imperfect and dog shit at all this beauty stuff, but I’m fucking trying sevens damn it. I’m trying really fucking hard.”

Ace continued to stand there silently, flexing his hands a few times. He didn’t know what to say or how he could make Epel feel better. Sevens why the fuck was he so bad at this?! Epel couldn’t take his silence. In all honesty, as much as he hated Ace’s comments, at least he was acting like himself. He hated this ominous silence he’s been projecting recently. “Well?! Spit it out! Say what you want to say to me so bad! Stop trying to be so nice and just-!”

Epel suddenly felt his friend’s arms wrap around him. He was frozen as Ace adjusted his hold, gripping him a little tighter. Epel found himself melting into the embrace, his arms falling limp at his sides. Ace still didn’t say anything as he held him tightly. He didn’t exactly know how to respond to this. Ace has never hugged him before today, and it wasn’t something he did with the others often. The lavender haired boy did not understand why the redhead was suddenly hugging him, but he had to admit that it felt nice.

Then, Ace broke away, setting his hands on Epel’s shoulders. He bent down slightly so that he and the Pomefiore freshman were eye level. He sighed exasperatedly with an indignant expression on his face. “Listen. I’m not good with saying the right thing when it counts, and if you want my brutal honesty, I think you’re being dramatic and wasting your time trying to be something you never achieve,” he spat, glaring at the boy in front of him. The bite in his words made Epel clench his hands into fists. He doesn’t even know why he cared about his silence. “You’ll never live up to Vil’s standards and I get that that’s fucking frustrating. What I don’t get is why you still try when you and I both know it will never be enough for him.”

Epel glared at him. Why did he even goad him into this fight if he knew what he was going to say anyway? He tried to break free of his grip. “Don’t-!”

“I wasn’t finished.” His grip on Epel’s shoulders became firmer, securing the shorter in place but was careful not to hurt him. “You’re right that you do try hard and we all can see it. We all see how hard you’ve been working to appease that tyrant, but he still doesn’t acknowledge everything you’ve put into it! When will you understand that you’re worth so much more than what Vil and Rook force you to be?! You’re not meant to sit by and follow someone else’s will and bend over backwards trying to appease them! You’re meant to be you, flaws and all!”

Ace took a breath and eased his grip on Epel’s shoulders before he got too heated. Epel just stared at him, the tears quickly drying on his face. Why did his chest suddenly feel warm? “And sure, some people will hate you for it. Hell, people hate me for it,” Ace continued, much calmer than before but still passionate. “But you can’t let people dictate who you get to be. You have to see that you’re worth so much more than that. You don’t deserve that treatment after you’ve put so much work in. So fuck the people who think you need to change yourself just to fit some unreachable archetype.”

The two just stared at each other for a few moments. No other words passed between them. Epel was attempting to read the emotions on Ace’s face. He was clearly upset, but the shorter freshman could see that it was for him. He could feel a small smile form ever so slightly before it fell. He gently broke away from Ace’s touch. “You know it’s not that simple,” he said, losing the fight in his voice and now just sounding tired.

Ace let his arms fall to his sides, clenching his hands into fists. He flapped them awkwardly and looked away from Epel’s face. Conflict flickered on Ace’s face for a split second. “Yeah, I know,” he replied, defeated. “I just- You deserve better than that.”

“Thanks for reminding me,” Epel said. The two met eyes again, offering each other a small smile. “I guess I forgot for a minute.”

“Yeah, of course.” Ace flexed his hand a few times before starting to walk past his friend. “C’mon. I’ll get you something from the cafeteria. Your choice.”

Epel followed a little closer behind, wondering why Ace’s smile seemed a little more hollow than before.

Chapter Text

In hindsight, maybe Deuce shouldn’t have provoked those asshole third years, but they were talking shit about his best friend when he did nothing to them. He wasn’t about to let that slide. He felt the insults and taunts roll off his tongue almost naturally, almost like he was back in his delinquent days. The next thing he knew he was on the floor staring up at the ceiling of the hallway he was in.

“...euce! Deuce can… ear me?!” A familiar silhouette was looming over him, cherry red eyes looking over him with worry. He vaguely registered warm hands cradling his face. “Shit… so stupid… gonna kill you.”

He felt his body slowly being lifted from the floor and pressed against another. He let his body go slack against whoever was carrying him. His head was spinning, and he thought he could feel blood running from his nose. He liked how warm he felt though. He could almost forget about the dull throbbing pain he felt on his body.

He wasn’t fully sure what happened next, but when he fully regained consciousness, he saw his best friend wrapping up his hands with such care that Deuce almost questioned if his best friend was really standing over him and taking care of his wounds. “Ace?” he asked weakly. He tried to sit up but was stopped by a firm hand.

“Relax or so help me, I will tell Riddle that it was actually you who let the hedgehogs loose as a prank,” Ace replied, his stare unyielding. The bandages on Deuce’s hands were threatening to unravel. Slowly, Deuce let himself be pushed back onto his pillows as Ace worked on wrapping his bruised knuckles. “You’re so lucky I’m good at sneaking around so you didn’t have to explain this to Riddle.”

“Sorry.”

“Shut up.” Ace gently took Deuce’s left arm and began to disinfect some small cuts Deuce received. He winced and hissed in pain slightly. Ace glared at his best friend’s arm like it personally attacked him. “This is what happens when you fight people a whole head taller than you with twice the amount of muscle than you.”

Deuce glared right back at him, starting to sit up again. Ace didn’t stop him this time. “I wasn’t just gonna stand there and take what they said,” he spat.
Ace met his fierce gaze and matched it. “And look how well that turned out.”

“You didn’t hear what they said about you.”

“I’m sure I’ve heard it a thousand times before.”

Somehow, Deuce’s gaze got angrier. “So you’re just gonna take that?!”

“Yes, because you’re not invincible! You can’t just go around hitting people just because they said some shit about one of us that pissed you off!”

Deuce clenched his hands into fists, hearing echoes of the words the third years said. They didn’t know Ace. For all his faults, Deuce could see that the troublemaker tried, that he did care about things and people that weren’t just himself. He wasn’t good at it, but he was trying. For them to call him those things and judge him without even knowing him made his blood boil. The fact that Ace was disregarding it just made him angrier.

“So what?! You’d just let them call you an emotionless monster and say that you’re nothing but a plague in our school?!”

“Not at the expense of your body!” Ace closed his eyes, breathing in and out slowly to curb his anger. He still held Deuce gently. When he calmed down, he continued to disinfect his friend’s injuries. “They’re just words Deuce. Sure, they might hurt on the inside but I’ll survive that. You on the other hand were nearly passed out in the hallway when I found you. It freaked me out.”

Ace began to place bandaids over the cuts on Deuce’s arms. Deuce watched his best friend curiously, his anger fading into guilt. “I was just trying to defend you,” he said, his tone coming out more whiny than he would’ve liked.

“And I get that, I do. But if you really want to do something for me, you won’t get hurt in a fight like this again.”

This was always the thing that baffled Deuce about Ace. There were just some things he didn’t consider worth doing for himself and others. Deuce remembered the first time he had done something for his best friend, which was doing his chores for the day so he could get to bed early. He had looked at him with such suspicion and kept on asking him what he wanted in return that the two didn’t speak for a week. Yuu and Grim were so done with their bullshit.

Ace seemed to be getting better with that with others, but for the life of him Deuce could not get why he would just roll over and keep taking the insults people threw at him.

“It’s like everyone else matters but you,” Deuce blurted out. He felt Ace’s body tense as he continued to hold his arm. The redhead had finished putting bandaids on all of his cuts and was just frozen at Deuce’s words. “What’s up with that? You’re so quick to defend any of us but once we do it for you… It’s like you think the same rules don’t apply to you.” Ace looked back up at Deuce and the two stared at each other for a few moments. Ace’s expression was neutral, but Deuce could see a flicker of something in his eyes.

The boy sighed, starting to dab at Deuce’s face. He winced at the sting. “When have you ever known me to give a shit about the rules?” the redhead asked. Deuce frowned. He didn’t feel like arguing further. He tried to turn away but Ace suddenly dropped his arm and cupped the side of his face. “Don’t give me that now, idiot. I’m trying to help you.”

Deuce froze underneath Ace’s warm touch. His friend had never treated him this gentle before. He let Ace continue working, unsure of what he should do or say. The two didn’t say anything else as Ace put more bandages on his face and pressed ice to Deuce’s eye. His hand continued to linger on Deuce’s cheek all throughout the process. And once Ace finished, his hand still didn’t leave.

In fact, his other hand, now that it was free, held the other side of Deuce’s face so that he was fully facing his best friend.

“Don’t do something like this again, okay?” Ace asked. “I’m not a fan of finding my roommate lying in the middle of the hallway unconscious.”

Deuce could see it. He saw how much he cared. He didn’t understand it at all but he knew. “Okay,” he replied, feeling his exhaustion kick in.

“Promise me.”

“Ace c’mon-” Deuce tried to pull away from Ace, but he held firm. Ace wasn’t about to let his best friend try to be a hero again. If he didn’t reinforce this now, who knows what Deuce would do during another overblot?

“Promise.”

He knew he cared. He didn’t understand why Ace wouldn’t let him do the same. “I promise.”

Ace nodded, a ghost of a smile on his face. “Good.” His hands still didn’t leave Deuce’s face. His thumbs caressed the boy’s face a few times. The touch was so gentle, brushing on Deuce’s skin almost reverently. As if he was the only thing that mattered in that moment. It made his face heat up and his chest do something weird.

And then, as soon as Deuce was about to say something, Ace’s eyes widened and he ripped himself away. Cold air rushed between them, and whatever moment they were having was now buried so deep that Deuce thought he might’ve been imaging it all. He hurriedly grabbed the first aid kit, shoved it under Deuce’s bed and walked towards the door. “You should rest. I’ll tell Riddle you’re not feeling well,” he said in a rush. Deuce couldn’t see his face, but he noticed that Ace’s ears were turning the same color as his eyes. “Don’t be stupid until I get back.”

Deuce watched as Ace practically ran out the door. He tried to calm his racing heart before he got back.

Chapter Text

Ace was fine. Really.

You know, it wasn’t like he completely embarrassed himself in front of all his friends with all his displays of affection. No, nothing of the sort. He just probably made them all think he was fucking weird for trying to be genuine for once in his life. Sevens why couldn’t he just act normal around his friends?! Hand holding, hugs, pats on the back, small touches of assurance, and holding your best friend’s face in your hands was totally not normal for a friend group like his. It wasn’t even normal for most of the people he knew at this school!

He didn’t know how to take it all back now. Why was it all so-

“Crabby!”

Ace whirled around to find Floyd and Jade Leech walking towards him. Jade had an umbrella in his hand while Floyd let himself be drenched by the rain. Ace just stared at them, unsure of what kind of face he was making, but it made Floyd pout and Jade lean down to look at him curiously. “Is everything alright?” Jade asked. “I find that most people don’t normally enjoy walking in the cold rain. Did you forget your umbrella?”

Ace hadn’t even realized it was raining if he was being honest. He never minded the rain. Oh Seven that probably meant he looked like a drowned rat right now. He internally cringed at the fact that he let the mafia twins find him like this.

He must’ve been quiet for too long because Floyd whined in annoyance, “Eh, I don’t like when you’re like this! You’re so quiet! No energy! Where’s fun basketball Crabby?” He suddenly grabbed Ace’s shoulders and began to shake him violently. “Get out of your own head Crabby!”

The redhead soon began to try and push his upperclassmen off of him. “I’m fine Floyd! Jeez you’re gonna give me motion sickness!” Ace exclaimed, thoroughly snapped out of his self-pity. Floyd soon stopped shaking him, his eyes lighting up in glee that Ace responded to him. He soon wrapped his arms around the freshman and lifted him up to squeeze him.

“Yay! Crabby’s back! Now I can squeeze ‘im.” Ace just sighed and let Floyd give him a bone crushing hug. At least it was something that could curb Ace’s need to touch and be touched. Maybe Floyd’s hug could kill him and he wouldn’t have to face his friends and the painful loneliness being around them was bringing.

Jade chuckled at the display. “Now now Floyd, you need to let him breathe. Besides, Riddle is probably wondering where he is. Isn’t it almost Heartslabyul’s curfew?”

“Goldfishie can wait. Crabby doesn’t really care about that, right?”

“Still, best to put him down before he suffers from asphyxiation.”

Floyd pouted. “You’re no fun Jade.” He gently set Ace back down on his own two feet, who was already missing not being able to breathe. “Why are you out here alone though Crabby? It’s not like you to be wandering around the school on your own?”

Ace just shrugged his shoulders, putting on the best display of nonchalance he could. “Didn’t feel like going back immediately I guess,” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. He was now acutely aware of how drenched his entire body was. Cold began to settle into his bones.

“Well you are guaranteed to catch a cold if you stay out here any longer.” Jade leaned down and held the umbrella over both of their heads while gently pushing Ace to turn around and walk with them back inside. “What kind of vice housewarden would I be if I didn’t make sure my fellow vice’s underclassman was well taken care of?”

A vice with an unrequited crush, Ace refrained from saying. He let Jade guide him back inside, his hand lingering between his shoulder blades. Ace’s heart felt simultaneously heavy and lighter at Jade’s touch. The simple touch, no matter if it was self-serving or not, was making him feel better. He was glad that Jade was taking the time to care about his well being, but also heavy because deep down he knows that not even his closest friends would do this for him.

“Oh, hey Ace,” Jamil’s voice suddenly rang out in the halls. Ace looked up to see Kalim and Jamil walking towards him. “Floyd, Jade.”

“How are you guys?!” Kalim exclaimed. Before any of them could respond, Kalim’s face melted into concern when he laid his eyes on Ace. The Housewarden of Scarabia held Ace’s hands. The freshman was suddenly aware of how pruned his fingers had become. “Oh Ace, are you okay? You’re drenched from the rain. Did you not check the weather and forget your umbrella?” Yeah, ‘cause I’m just really in my feels right now and don’t feel like taking care of myself. But Ace couldn’t say that in front of everyone right now. Kalim seemed to understand and squeezed his hands gently before dragging him away from the twins. “Here, Jamil and I will walk you back to Heartslabyul.”

Kalim began to drag him away from the twins. “Be careful with Crabby! He’s very fragile right now!” Floyd called out to him. Ace’s face flushed in embarrassment as Floyd and Jade’s giggles echoed down the hallway. Jamil shot a glare at the twins before slightly trailing behind Kalim and Ace.

When he was sure they were far enough from the Leech twins, Jamil walked next to Ace and asked, “You okay? Did they cause any trouble for you?”

“No, they were fine,” he replied, his gaze trained on Kalim’s hands in his.

“But are you okay?” Both Kalim and Jamil looked at Ace, awaiting his response. Ace was eerily quiet. His head was hung low, unable to look either of his upperclassmen in the eye. He squeezed Kalim’s hands a little tighter. In response, Kalim released one of the boy’s hands and rubbed his back soothingly.

“You’ll be okay once you’re back in the dorm,” he assured him. Ace nodded, feeling his quick burst of energy from before falling back down. Jamil, quickly figuring out what was wrong, tentatively put a hand on Ace’s shoulder and squeezed softly. He thought Ace was about to cry the moment his hand came down.

Ace could barely think about anything as he and his upperclassmen walked to the Hall of Mirrors. All he could register was the warmth that both Kalim and Jamil were radiating and how cold his body felt in comparison. He could hear the rain pouring outside, even an occasional boom of thunder. He didn’t have the energy to berate himself for nearly getting caught in the storm. He didn’t even have the energy to keep up his appearances around his upperclassmen. He didn’t want to even think about running into his friends in the halls. He didn’t even want to think about them, period.

Before he knew it, he was standing right in front of the mirror that led to his dorm. Kalim gave his hand one final squeeze before beginning to walk away. “Good seeing you Ace. Hope you feel better. Tell Cater I said hi!” he said with his signature bright smile.

Jamil gave the freshman a once over before ruffling his wet hair. It briefly snapped Ace out of his stupor as he shot an annoyed look at the Scarabia Vice Housewarden. He smirked. “Stay safe Ace,” he said before walking away to join his housewarden.

Ace’s lips quirked up briefly before he stepped through the mirror to his dorm. He checked the time on his phone and found that he was two minutes past curfew. “Great,” he sighed, “I’m wet and late.” He slowly walked towards his dorm building and trudged up the stairs to the common area. He just had to pray he didn’t run into Riddle or Trey. He could probably get away with Cater since he was his favorite freshie.

He didn’t even want to think what he’d do if he ran into Deuce.

However, as soon as he walked into the common area, he saw Riddle sitting at a table, his cold gaze on him. Neither boy said anything to each other, and Ace stood frozen at the doorway. He waited for Riddle to say something, possibly throw his signature spell at him without another word. By now he had to be almost five minutes past curfew with how slow he walked back to the dorm.

Ace didn’t know how long he stood there for, but it was long enough that Riddle let out a sigh and walked over to him. “Not only are you late, you’re a mess Trappola. You should know better than to track water in here,” the housewarden chastised. The freshman noted that his scolding lacked its usual firmness. Riddle attempted to fix his underclassman’s hair. “It’s not like you to be so unaware of your surroundings.”

“Sorry,” he apologized half heartedly, trying hard not to melt at the feeling of hands running through his hair.

Riddle exhaled through his nose. Sometimes he didn’t know what he was going to do with Ace. Still, he couldn’t help but have a small soft spot for him despite how angry he always made the second year. “Trey and I set aside some leftovers for you from the party. You should eat before you retire to your room.” Ace nodded absently, feeling Riddle’s hand settle on his shoulder instead. “You will follow me to the kitchen. I frankly do not trust you not to follow even that request.”

A small smirk made its way onto Ace’s lips as he began to trail behind Riddle. “Have a little faith Housewarden,” he chuckled. “I’m not that bad, am I?”

“There are some moments where you are tolerable.”

“So I’m not the worst freshman ever?”

“Get those silly ideas out of your head Trappola.”

As soon as the two made it to the kitchen, they found Cater staring into the fridge. Riddle nearly shouted at him, but reminded himself that he had another priority that was more important than currently enforcing the rules. “Cater-” Said third year practically jumped out of his skin. “-you know better than to sneak more food after dinner.”

“Sorry Riddle,” he replied with a sheepish smile. “Just can’t get enough of Trey’s cooking.” The third year’s gaze immediately shifted to Ace. His smile fell into a worried frown as he closed the fridge immediately upon seeing the state his favorite freshie was in. He was by his side in an instant, warm hands cradling his ice cold face. “Oh Acey, what’s wrong? What happened?”

Ace didn’t say anything. His throat tightened up and he found it difficult to swallow. He tried to fight the tears building in his eyes, but his exhaustion paired with the way Cater was holding him and everyone else’s earlier displays of affection slowly broke down his walls piece by piece today. He was forced to look into Cater’s comforting green eyes full of worry and care for him. The older’s gaze reminded the younger so much of his older brother. Well damn now he felt homesick on top of feeling touch starved and lonely.

When he felt Riddle put a comforting hand on his back, he couldn’t help but let out a small whimper. Why did he have to be so cold when everyone else around him was so warm? Why was he so greedy trying to give or take what other people didn’t want from him? Why couldn’t he just be normal around his friends? And why does he feel so fucking lonely all the time?!

Cater stared at him, and Ace knew he wasn’t hiding any of what he was feeling. Not when he was holding him so gently like his older brother did. “Oh honey,” the boy murmured softly. He gently guided Ace’s head to lean into his shoulder. Ace sniffled, trying his best to keep what little composure he still had.

“I-it’s fine. I’m fine,” he whispered pathetically.

“No you’re not, but that’s okay. You don’t have to be fine.” Cater held Ace close to him. Hesitantly, Ace wrapped his arms around Cater’s torso and held him tightly. The third year held him just as fiercely. Ace finally let his tears fall.

Riddle had said something to Cater, but Ace didn’t catch it. He finally began to feel warm despite being soaked in freezing cold rain. Cater held the back of his head and wrapped an arm around his body, keeping him close. I got you. You’re okay now. You’re safe now. Let it out. That’s how Ace interpreted it. That’s how he understood it. And he knew it was genuine. People can lie with words and actions. Touch was the only thing that felt honest to him. It was what he knew best, and it felt nice for other people to understand that.

He let himself be guided to one of the couches in the lounge. Cater kept an arm around him and pressed into his side. Ace let his head rest on his upperclassman’s shoulder, tears streaming down his face and smearing his makeup even more than it already was. Riddle came back with reheated leftovers and a towel. “Eat and dry off. I don’t want you getting sick,” he said, beginning to dry Ace’s hair for him. He leaned into the touch before Riddle then set the towel down in his lap. The housewarden put his hand on Ace’s shoulder and looked at Cater. “Make sure he gets to bed soon.”

“Of course.” Riddle left and Ace leaned impossibly closer into Cater, sniffling quietly. Cater quickly wrapped the towel around Ace and handed him his food. The boy sat up and ate through his quickly drying tears. “Did you want to talk about it?” Cater asked him. Ace stayed quiet. In response, the third year rubbed the freshman’s back. Cater understood, and Ace would forever be grateful for that. He’d be grateful for all of his upperclassmen understanding him.

He knew he wasn’t alone. Sometimes he forgot that. And people did know he cared.

He’ll get better at it eventually. For now, he would stick to what he knew best.