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Ace was completely and utterly sick of it.
He’s all they kept talking about, no mater the type of conversation the two of them would have, Yuu would find a way to stir it towards him, the current object of their affection.
“He’s just so cool, did you know he can project himself with a sword by using magic? Wouldn’t that be cool if mages here in Twisted Wonderland could do the same? I would fall a little for any guy who could do that, I think.” And then they’d laugh that annoyingly beautiful laughter of theirs, as they threw back their head and revealed their teeth.
“We get it, we get it, geez, you’re screeching at my ears, stop laughing!” Ace would complain, causing them to only get mad at him as they punched him in the arm. Little did they know Ace was the type to make fun of the things he liked the most about Yuu. The tiny details he found to be the most endearing always became the punchline of his jokes.
What did he have that guy that Ace didn’t anyways? Sure, he was a prince, heir to the throne, and was handsome, he’d give him that, and perhaps Ace couldn’t use a sword and project himself with it, yeah, but he knew how to use magic, too! He was no prince, but he was easy on the eyes as well… Was he?
Did Yuu think he was… Cute?
Aaaah, he wanted to scream into a pillow now.
Worst thing of all, dude was fictional! He wasn’t even real! And Ace was losing to him, he was getting completely crushed, obliterated, defeated by some 2D guy Yuu seemed to have fallen in love with. He saw the way Yuu looked at him, how utterly smitten they seemed to be. There was so much fondness in their eyes whenever he showed up on the screen of their TV, a controller in their hands as they played as him. Why couldn’t Yuu just look at Ace the same way they did with that guy?
For God’s sake, what did they even find in him? How could a non-existent character be more attractive than the real deal? Ace talked to Yuu every day, he was right there, always next to them… And yet it looked like they didn’t have eyes for anybody but that pretty boy of theirs. He would glance their way only to see them smile at their phone. He would sneak up on them, as he told himself: “I’m not curious! I don’t care what the prefect is smiling about!” Only to see, once he had approached them, that they were looking at an edit of that guy that they had saved on their phone, alongside perhaps thousands of pictures of him and hundreds of other edits.
“Dude, seriously? Him again?” He’d ask, rhetorically. It was fun teasing them at first, but now it was just becoming too much.
Of course it was him.
How could it not be?
“He’s got a name, you know?” Yuu would complain back, glaring at the gingerhead as their grip on their phone grew tighter.
And of course Ace knew that, but he absolutely and peremptorily refused to learn it.
No, he would not let him win.
This was war.
“What do you even like about him anyway?” He finally got around to ask them, as his cheeks tenderly got tinged of a light shade of pink. He turned his head away, but his eyes were fixed on Yuu.
“Well, he…” Yuu started replying as a smile grew on their visage, lips stretched softly. They looked down at their phone as they stared at the man who had conquered their heart. “He looks unapproachable, but he’s kindhearted and just so adorable at times and a little awkward. He’s a huge dork.” Yuu concluded, their smile was now reaching their eyes.
Before Ace could stop himself, he exclaimed: “But I’m a dork, too!” As he put a hand over his heart and leaned slightly towards the prefect.
Oh, were his cheeks burning now? They totally were.
Needles to say, Yuu was now looking at him dumbfounded. “You… What?”
Well, at least he didn’t say he was also adorable.
“Real smooth, Trappola.” Deuce interjected, patting the gingerhead on the shoulder.
Where did he come from now!?
It was now time to play it easy.
C’mon, Ace, you’ve got this.
Take a deep breath and…
“I could do better than him.”
What?
Yuu’s lips parted as they stared at Ace, mouth agape. A few seconds passed and their expression slowly turned into one of amusement and disbelief. “Ace Trappola, are you… Jealous?”
Ace, don’t mess this up. You can still save yourself from this. You can still get away.
“You wish! I just don’t understand how one can be absolutely smitten with a 2D man. I think that says a lot about your inexperience with actual relationships, prefect.”
“I’m not inexperienced!” Yuu almost shouted, their tone of voice maybe too high as they were perhaps too fast in rebutting Ace.
Oh?
They weren’t what?
Ace wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that.
“Yuu, were you in a-?”
“No! I mean… It doesn’t matter!” They shouted, cheeks bright red as they turned away from the pair: they scurried away. Or, to be more precise, they fled from the crime scene.
Ace and Deuce looked at each other as they stared at Yuu’s back.
“The prefect was…” The blue haired boy starting saying.
“In a relationship!?” The gingerhead concluded.
Oh, boy.
Ace didn’t like the sound of that at all.
What do they mean they were in a relationship? There’s someone out there Yuu loved? And what if they still loved them? Seeing how utterly smitten Yuu was with that 2D guy, perhaps their feelings had subsided by now or so Ace hoped. It was much easier to compete against someone who didn’t exist, after all.
Ace was rolling from side to side as he laid down on the bed of his dorm room, ruminating about the prefect. He let out an exhausted sigh: he was tired, but no sleep would greet him.
Perhaps he could go crash over at their place, at Ramshackle? Yes, he could simply knock at Yuu’s door, see them smile at him upon the sight of Ace and…
Sigh.
For a moment, for a single brief instant, Ace imagined greeting the prefect with a kiss on the lips: the image of him taking their face in his hands and capturing their lips in his appeared in his mind. He wondered what Yuu’s lips would taste like: perhaps of the sodas they would drink sometimes late at night? Or maybe of mint flavored toothpaste?
He smacked his forehead with one hand. There was no way he was crushing on a certain magicless someone from another world, yet Ace’s body moved on its own: he lifted himself up on his arms, rolled out of bed and started walking towards Ramshackle, still in his pajamas. He didn’t even know what was he going to say after knocking on their door.
Ace had three possible conversation starters in mind:
1) "Hi, prefect! Can you tell me all about your ex lover? What were they like? Am I your type, too? Who do you love more: them, the 2D guy you’re crushing on or me?”
2) “Yo, prefect! Are you still in love with your ex?”
3) “Prefect, did they hurt you? Drop their name and they’ll see just what Ace Trappola is capable of.”
Needless to say, none of them seemed right.
Arrived at Ramshackle, Ace stared at the door for a good minute. He then took his phone from his pocket and tapped its screen to check the time: it was almost 3 am.
There’s no way the prefect was still up.
He had his doubts, until a certain screeching reached his ears. Fairly high pitched, followed by a loud thud.
What the hell was that?
“THEY’RE RELEASING A WHAT NOW?”
These were the words that Ace thought he caught. It was Yuu’s voice.
Well, at least he now knew they were still up. For whatever reason, but Ace had a hunch he felt pretty confident in.
He took a breather, inhaling deeply. Then, he knocked as he waited for the prefect to arrive. He heard muffled footsteps coming from the other side of the door, until it got swung open, revealing a certain silhouette that had became so familiar to Ace over the past few months. They looked an utter mess, hair completely disheveled, a crooked shirt that revealed their collarbone and baggy pants, dark circles under their eyes.
“You look…” Ace started saying before the prefect could even greet him.
Still utterly breathtaking.
“Like shit.” He commented.
Ace watched as Yuu folded their arms and glared at him, slightly pouting as they pushed their lower lip forward. “Look who’s talking. With your hair like that, you have no right to comment on my looks.” They rebutted as they raised an arm to fix Ace’s hair. Yuu lightly patted it, putting the rebellious locks that were facing the sky down. “Why are you here?”
“Oh, you know. Just out for a stroll until I heard a witch screeching. Had to go check to make sure you were alright.”
“Ah-ah, very funny.” They deadpanned. “If this is your way of asking to come in, you’re not doing a good job at persuading me.”
Despite saying so, the prefect still moved to the side, leaning onto the door jamb to let Ace go into the dorm. “C’mon, get inside. It’s cold outside.”
Ace didn’t need to be told twice. “Much grateful.” With an arched eyebrow in that classic Ace Trappola-style, he teased, slightly bowing towards the prefect, a hand on his heart as he sauntered into the room. “So what was that all about? I heard you shout something.” Ace said, plopping down on the sofa.
“Oh, that...” Yuu’s cheeks slightly became pinker as they rubbed the back of their neck. “Look, I’ll show you.” They took their phone and tapped the screen as they shoved it to the gingerhead, leaning towards the boy with their body, a sparkle in their eyes. A picture welcomed him: a mini statue of that dude the prefect kept yapping about.
“It’s a new figure they’re releasing next year! Isn’t it gorgeous? They must have opened the pre-order just now because, man, I check every day to see if there’s new merchandise of him and-” Yuu suddenly stopped, halting every movement. Then, as if realizing how close they were to Ace, they leaned back. “Ah, sorry… I talked too much, I know you don’t care.” They let out a bitter and self-deprecating chuckle.
“Nah, it’s all cool.” He started saying.
I like it when you get all excited and sparkly-eyed, he thought.
“I don’t really mind, you know? It makes it easier for me to tease you.” He nudged the prefect, flashing a grin to them.
“Don’t try to be nice to me, it’s weird.” They laughed. “It doesn’t suit the Ace I know.”
“‘Weird’? C’mon, I’m not that mean.” Ace almost looked offended.
Yuu snorted. “Oh, yes, you totally are. Have you forgotten how you treated me when we met for the first time? You were the meanest! You acted all nice only to start teasing me and insulting me then. You even called me a janitor.”
Ace rubbed his nape, abashed, as he averted his eyes. “I did that? Aha…” Then, he asked, his voice almost a whisper as his laughter trailed off: “Are you still mad?"
“About that? Mh… I thought you were mean at first, yeah.”
“And now?” Ace slowly glanced back at the prefect, who seemed to be lost in thought. Then, after a few moments of dwelling it over, they replied as they grinned.
“You still are.”
Ace felt like crawling into a hole: Yuu was right, but he still hoped they’d see him under a better light.
“But that’s okay, I wouldn’t want it any other way.” They then added, making Ace swiftly glance back at them: a gentle smile was lingering on their lips, a smile who had that fondness Ace had wished he could see being directed at him. He felt his heart skip a beat.
He had to say something, so he joked around, the only way he knew how to cope with reality.
“Hey, prefect, don’t say things like that. You’re gonna make me think you like me and that I’m totally your type.” He smirked, grinning from tooth to tooth.
Yuu chuckled, beaming at him. “I do like you, Ace.”
He felt his throat go dry.
“Or I wouldn’t keep you around. You’re my best friend.” They continued.
Best friend.
Right.
“Say, prefect… Have you ever been in love?”
Yuu eyed him from under their eyelashes. Hearing Ace ask such a question was… Weird. “I didn’t know nights such as this would turn you into the sentimental type. But yes, of course! With him!” Yuu exclaimed, shoving their phone towards Ace once more. There he was: the villain of the story to Ace’s eyes, the author of his dismay, his bitter enemy. Ace waved a hand mid hair in frustration:
“No, no, I mean with someone real! He doesn’t count, dude.”
He saw the moment as the sparkle in their eyes disappeared and the prefect looked down, how quiet they went as they gripped their phone in their hands.
“… Yeah.” They finally said, their voice was feeble, low, almost shaky in their tone.
“It didn’t go well?” There was no need to ask such a question: Ace could already tell. Anybody could.
Yuu shook their head.
“Love is a knife I’ve always held by the blade.” They laughed bitterly. “I know getting engrossed into fictional men is stupid, but it’s not like they can ever betray you or hurt you. Perhaps this is why. I’m sorry it gets annoying at times.”
It’s not annoying… I’m just jealous.
But Ace said instead:
“So you’re not interested in dating anymore?”
Yuu forced a grin to stretch on their lips. “I mean, if my beloved became real then maybe I’d give it some thought. I know for certain he would never ever hurt me on purpose.” They declared as their eyes seem to find their lost sparkle again. “But I dunno… I’m just tired, I think. It’s hard to believe someone could ever actually love me instead of simply lusting over me.”
A smile lingered on their lips as Yuu tried to keep the atmosphere lighthearted, but Ace didn’t like that one bit. That self-deprecating smile of them was haunting him.
“That’s not true, you are lovable.” He whispered, not looking their way.
Yuu laughed a miserable and sad laughter. “Well, can’t say I believe you.”
No, Ace didn’t like this one bit.
“Maybe I can make you believe me, Yuu.”
He said, finally looking their way: his cheeks were a bright shade of pink, his ears red. He could feel himself burning.
“Ace?” Yuu tried to seek answers in Ace’s eyes, they looked for any sign he was joking around like he always did, any trace of playfulness and mischievousness, but nothing could be found if not utter truthfulness and absolute determination. “Are you okay?” They tried to laugh, nervously.
“Never been better.” He replied, placing one hand over Yuu’s as he leaned closer.
As of now, the Ace Trappola who was sitting in front of Yuu looked nothing like they remembered him to be: no smirk was plastered on his visage, no witty and sarcastic remark was ready to escape from his lips. He looked completely defeated, hurt even, but determined, ready to face the consequences of his actions. Of his words.
“Give me a chance and I’ll prove to you I can be better than anybody who has hurt you.”
Yuu’s eyes widened as all the pieces of the puzzle came together, as realization hit them. “Are you… saying you like me?”
Ace rested his forehead against Yuu’s as he inhaled sharply, briefly closing his eyes, his bangs were caressing their skin.
“Took you long enough to figure it out, dummy.” He opened his eyes again to smile. At them.
“Ace, I…”
He could tell they still weren’t ready: their lips were inches apart, making Ace highly strung as his body screamed at him to place his lips on them, to tenderly capture them in his, to cup their cheeks and to give in in the feeling, in the sensations, in the sensuality of it all. But that would not have been right. He was going to show Yuu he could be better than that, he would show them all that he was better than them.
“It’s okay, stupid.” He grinned, leaning back and letting go of Yuu’s hand. “Just wanted to let it out. Don’t worry too much your pretty head over this, I’m going back to my room.” He declared, getting up and leaping toward the door. “Goodnight, Yuu.” He simply said, waving a hand, but refusing to turn around to look at them, as he shut the door close behind him.
As days passed, Yuu and Ace didn’t speak a single word to each other, but nothing stopped their gazes from seeking the other: Ace always a felt a pair of eyes set on his back, Yuu always had the sneaky sensation someone was staring at them during class. When meeting in the hallways, upon the realization the both of them were looking at the other, their eyes would drift away, they’d look away for a second, only to then redirect them towards the other once more. Their cheeks would get tinged of a dark shade of pink and their ears would redden, much to Deuce and Grim’s confusion.
“What happened to them?” The blue haired boy once asked.
“Dunno, but they’re giving me a headache.” Replied the weasel.
It was a little after 1 am, almost a week after the ‘accident’, that Ace felt knocking at the door. Deuce was snoring loudly on his bed, unaware of the uninvited guest that was now waiting outside of their room. Ace, on the other hand, barely had managed to fall asleep ever since he had confessed, he was passing insomniac night after insomniac night.
He heard another knock at the door, that made him curse under his breath.
Geez, he was going, he was going!
He swung the door open. “It’s almost 2 am, who the hell- Oh.”
It was Yuu.
They were wearing their usual pajamas, baggy pants and crooked shirt. Their hair was as messy as the last time.
“You look…” Ace started saying, taking their looks all in.
“Like shit? Yeah, I know.”
“No, I was gonna say breathtaking.” He smiled: the fondness that lingered in the way the corners of his lips were tugged upwards almost made Yuu weak in the knees as their breath caught in their throat. They gulped.
“Can we talk?” They simply asked, urgency in their voice as they tormented their fingers.
Ace nodded as he glanced towards Deuce. “Let’s go out, ‘kay?”
The pair walked through the bushes of roses, down the paths of Heartslabyul. It was a chilly night, as a cold breeze breathed on the two of them.
“It’s kinda cold…” Yuu commented, rubbing their arms.
“I bet you’re expecting me to give you my sweatshirt now, right?” Ace grinned, an eyebrow arched up as he nudged Yuu on the side with his elbow.
“I don’t want your sweaty clothes!” Yuu protested, cheeks burning a bright shade of red. They could never confess that’s exactly what they were hoping for the gingerhead to do.
“They’re not sweaty…!” Ace retorted. “Well, I guess that then there’s no helping it…”
Yuu turned around to glance at the boy. Under the dim light of the moon, they were ready to bet they saw his cheeks turn pinker. “What do you mean?”
Ace swiftly turned around and wrapped his arms around Yuu, engulfing them in a warm embrace. Both of his arms were enveloping Yuu’s body, as he sank his face into their hair.
“What are you doing?” Yuu asked, but there was no annoyance in their voice, no traces of disbelief or anger either. Their voice was soft as Ace struggled to catch their words. “Keeping you warm the only way I know how since you ‘don’t want my sweaty clothes’ as you put it.”
“When you’re so kind to me I don’t recognize you, Ace.” Yuu said, as their hands found their nest on Ace’s back, as their fingers dug in the fabric of his sweatshirt.
The gingerhead huffed a laughter. “I’m just trying to win you over. I have competition to beat. And maybe you’ll like me more this way.” He chuckled, obviously referring to their fictional crush.
“… I already like you, though.” Yuu confessed. Upon hearing these words, they felt Ace’s body become stiffer under their touch.
“Yeah, as your best friend, right?” He laughed. He hated the hesitancy and uncertainty he could hear in his own voice.
“… No…” Yuu finally let out, their grip on Ace’s back tightened and was now crumpling the cloth of the sweatshirt.
“No…? Wait, Yuu are you-” Ace tried pulling away, but Yuu clasped him even tighter, hugging him with more necessity.
“Wait!” They simply exclaimed, making the boy halt. “Give me a moment, I don’t know if I can face you right now…”
“Why not? Are you blushing?” He teased, haunting them with a fluctuating tone of voice.
Yuu, in all response, simply sank their face into Ace’s chest, gripping the cloth of his sweatshirt with more strength.
“Cute.” The boy commented, incapable of suppressing a smile. He bit down on his lips, but that wasn’t enough to stop himself.
“I’m not cute…”
“You are. You’re cute and lovable. And I want to see your blushing face. C’mon, Yuu~” He sang-song, as he pulled away from Yuu, without breaking the embrace. They let him, but peremptorily kept looking down, on the grass beneath them, as they refused to look him in the eyes. So, Ace moved their arms from Yuu’ shoulders to their cheeks, to cup them, and gently lifted their face up to make their eyes meet. Their face was a bright shade of red and their cheeks were so warm Ace was sure he could have fried eggs on them. He felt his smile grow bigger and no amount of biting down on his lips now would have been enough to suppress it.
“Ah, my Yuu is so cute.”
That, in all response, just made their cheeks redden eve more, much to Ace’s amusement.
This was a battle Yuu was definitely losing, but no, they weren’t going to accept a defeat. They were going to make the gingerhead just as flustered. If not more.
They leaned forward, closing the distance that separated their faces to give him a peck on the lips while the boy was still smiling. Their lips touched for no more than a single instant, but that was enough to short circuit Ace. His smile froze on his visage. Then, he brought two fingers to his mouth as he gently brushed them against his lips, a dumbfounded look of utter disbelief on his face. Defeated, the boy dropped his head onto Yuu’s shoulder as his cheeks became a deep shade of red: now Yuu could have fried eggs on those had they wanted.
“Yuu, you can’t kiss me just like that…” His voice trailed off. His hands were now clasped around Yuu’s waist.
“Well, Ace, you can’t tease me just like that…”
Ace quickly looked up. “Then that means I can kiss you, too, right?” He asked. Not seeing Yuu pull away or object, he shut his eyes and closed the distance between his lips and Yuu’s once more.
The kiss lasted longer than the previous one, it was clumsy and awkward, yes, but nothing had ever felt as kind to Yuu; as they melted into it, they couldn’t help but wonder if that was Ace’s first kiss. That would have explained the boy’s frustration and deep embarrassment.
In that chilly night, under the dim light of the moon, among bushes of red roses, Ace’s lips felt the warmest. His arms were wrapped around Yuu’s body, whose fingers tightly gripped his sweatshirt.
In that chilly night, under the dim light of the moon, among bushes of red roses, Yuu didn’t feel cold any longer.