Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yuu knew that any time they were woken by a sound in their dorm, it was either from the ghosts or from one of their friends, but if one of their friends was here at four in the morning, they were about to throw a fit.

Yuu had a policy for their friends since they lived alone in a big empty dorm hall. If they wanted, they could come over anytime. Usually that meant after classes or late at night for some of their friends. They didn’t need to give a warning, though most of them did as a common courtesy, and Yuu always enjoyed seeing their friends while they were still trapped in this unfamiliar world.

So, despite being grouchy and upset that their beauty sleep was interrupted, they rubbed the sleep out of their eyes and got out of their bed. They were careful not to wake Grim as they crept down the creaky stairs of their dorm. The Ramshackle Prefect tried to be as quiet as they could, but like the dorm’s name suggested, their place of residence was very rundown and could very much break at any time.

As they made their way downstairs, a pleasant smell hit their nose. They immediately felt their stomach growl and their mouth water. They only have six friends they allowed into their home at all times, so their options of who could be in the kitchen emitting such a delicious aroma were limited. Who in their friend group even cooked?

When they finally got downstairs, they saw Deuce’s silhouette in the kitchen making pancakes, bacon, eggs, and sausage. Yuu watched as he methodically worked with all of the necessary ingredients, like he knew exactly what he was doing. They were a little surprised as they watched him work. No offense to the former delinquent, but Yuu didn’t even think he knew how to cook.

“Morning,” they said, announcing their presence to the dark haired boy.

Deuce jumped in surprise, turning around with his eyes wide like a deer in headlights. “O-oh! U-uh, hey Yuu!” he exclaimed nervously, belatedly realizing that his voice was loud enough to wake everyone else in the dorm. Not that ghosts really needed sleep or that Grim was going to wake up from his deep sleep, but still. “Uh, sorry I crashed your place so early.”

“It’s okay,” they replied. They walked closer towards him, peeking over his shoulder to see his progress. Almost everything looked perfect save for the pancake batter, which he appeared to still be working on. Yuu was very impressed with his ability. They would dare say they found this more appetizing than Trey’s sweets. “Everything smells so good,” they sighed.

“Thanks. You can start eating some if you want. You’re probably starving.”

The Ramshackle Prefect was in fact starving. They immediately began plating the available foods, glad that Grim was still sleeping so that he wouldn’t eat everything in sight. As they sat down and began to eat, they watched as Deuce worked, his expression calm. They didn’t realize that Deuce had this different side to him.

As they took a bite of the perfectly fluffy eggs, Yuu remarked, “I didn’t know you liked to cook.”

The dark haired boy was surprised for a few moments before he shrugged his shoulders in response. “Oh, yeah. I guess you’re the only person I’ve told.”

“Is it some big secret or something?”

“No. I just…” Deuce thought for a few moments before explaining, “I’ve always liked cooking. I used to help my mom all the time before I started hanging around my former middle school friends. They’d always make fun of other guys who were into stuff like cooking and sewing or anything that they thought was girly. So I just didn’t tell anyone and I slowly stopped helping my mom until I decided that they sucked and I sucked just as bad.”

Yuu frowned slightly. They were saddened to hear how their friend felt ashamed to do what he wanted, but at least he doesn’t seem too bothered now. “I’m sorry if you felt like you couldn’t tell me, or that I’d judge you.”

“Oh no! No it wasn’t that I swear! It’s just never really come up in conversation before and, uh, I’m still trying to get better at it.” He went back to mixing up the batter. “It’s also kind of relaxing. Like, only getting to focus on just one thing at a time or something. I don’t know.”

The Ramshackle Prefect nodded their head in understanding. “It’s just… I can’t eat all this food by myself and I was thinking when you were done I’d invite the others over. You’ll be okay if they know you cooked all of this?”

“Yeah that’s fine,” Deuce said far too quickly. “They’re cool. They wouldn’t care about this sort of thing.”

“They’re not gonna judge you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I know. I’ve just never really shared my cooking before. I hope everyone likes it.”

Yuu smiled. “They will.”

With that, Yuu texted their group chat about breakfast being in Ramshackle. Slowly, as their friends began to wake up, all of them immediately responded with excited messages and emojis signaling that they were on their way. As they piled into the kitchen and began to plate their food, the compliments rolled in.

“Shit man you actually made all this?” Ace asked, scooping more eggs and pancakes onto his plate.

“Yep.”

“It’s really good,” Epel said.

“I don’t eat food but judging by everyone’s physical reactions I’d say you cook better than most of their mothers!” Ortho exclaimed.

“Not confirming or denying that,” Jack replied.

“Anything is better than Lilia’s cooking, but this is very adequate for a beginner,” Sebek chimed in.

Deuce could barely contain his smile as he finally sat down and began to eat with the rest of his friends. It felt nice to finally have friends that he could trust with his most private secrets and not be judged for them. He let himself relax and enjoy his company and his food that he prepared himself.

Chapter Text

Yuu was struggling to find what they needed in the library when they saw Sebek sitting at a table, looking like he was doing an assignment. They knew that he was often in the library and probably knew its layout the best out of the rest of their friends. He could definitely help them out with finding out where the book they needed was.

“Hey Sebek,” Yuu greeted as they walked up to him.

To their surprise, the half-fae boy immediately moved his arms to cover up what he was working on. “Human!” he shouted. As if realizing how loud he just was, he flinched and lowered his voice. “You should not sneak up on people like that.”

Yuu raised an eyebrow. Sebek was weird, as were all of their friends, but he wasn’t secretive. He wore his heart on his sleeve, prideful to the point that it sometimes made him insufferable. It wasn’t like him to hide things. It only made the prefect even more curious.

“What’cha doing?” they asked nonchalantly.

“Homework.”

Sebek was always the worst liar out of all of them. Ace would weep knowing his friend was such a bad liar. Or laugh uncontrollably. “Uh huh,” Yuu replied, eyes glancing between Sebek’s face and his notebook. “So what subject are you working on?”

“Magical Analysis.”

“Uh huh. And wasn’t that homework due yesterday?”

“This is the new assignment.”

“We don’t have a new assignment.”

“It’s-”

Yuu leaned closer to try and snatch the notebook. “What’cha writing in there?”

“Nothing!” They suddenly frowned and widened their eyes knowing Sebek couldn’t resist their puppy dog stare. It only took a few more moments of staring before Sebek finally caved and handed over his notebook. “Don’t judge me, okay?” he mumbled before turning away from Yuu with pink cheeks.

Yuu began to scan the words he had written, eyes widening in surprise when they found prose and poetry on each page. It was beautifully written with proper grammar and everything. Honestly, every word felt like it was written by a professional poet who’s been writing for centuries. Had Sebek secretly been taking writing classes or something?

“Okay you can hand it back now,” Sebek said suddenly, cutting through Yuu’s train of thought.

Yuu quickly handed the half-fae’s notebook back to him. “Sorry. I just really liked reading your work.”

Sebek scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You do not have to lie to me. I know it’s amateur work.”

“They were really good, Sebek. Probably the best things I’ve ever read.”

“Then you have never picked up a book in your life.”

Okay. Harsh… but mostly true. Yuu hadn’t read much since getting transported to Twisted Wonderland, but still. They read a lot of good books, and Sebek’s writing was amazing. Why would he think it was anything less than stellar? “I get being hard on yourself and your creations but how come you’re so adamant about your work being terrible? I’m sure if the others read it they’d say the same thing.”

“This is no more than a trivial hobby. There is no need to make such a big deal out of it,” Sebek explained.

“Okay then why are you hiding it?”

Sebek looked ashamed for a few moments before confessing, “It is personal. No one should know that I am neglecting my duties to my studies and to Malleus because I am entertaining some childish hobby.”

Yuu felt a pang of heartache hit their chest. “You’re allowed to want to do things that bring you happiness and enjoyment.”

“You are forgetting my duties to serve my liege. I shouldn’t-”

“You’re still a student here. Your “duty” is to get good grades and pass your classes. Students are allowed to do things they find fun every once in a while.”

“I am not just a mere student though.”

The perfect shook their head. “You’re still allowed to be yourself. You’re not just Malleus’ retainer. There’s more to you than that. You’re allowed to be more than that.”

Sebek just looked away in shame, as if having a hobby that he enjoyed was enough to condemn him to hell. Yuu wanted to argue more, but at the end of the day, they had no right to tell Sebek what he should and shouldn’t do. The half fae boy had his reasons for keeping his talents to himself, and Yuu would just have to respect that.

“Well whatever. I didn’t come over here to pry anyway. I actually wanted to ask for your help.”

“What did you need help with?”

“I can’t find this book for History of Magic. You know the library better than I do.”

“What book is it?”

And just like that, the topic was dropped, and the two began to scan the library for the book Yuu was searching for.

—

The first years were sitting at the cafeteria when Ortho came in with a paper in his hands. Yuu immediately noticed how his eyes were crinkled in their corners. “What’s got you so excited?” they asked.

“I was scanning the bulletin board and saw the winners for the writing competition!”

“And why were you doing that? You care about the future of literature or something?” Ace followed.

“I wasn’t intentionally looking for it, but I saw Sebek Zigvolt’s name listed as the first place winner.”

Everyone turned to look at the green haired boy in shock. Sebek’s cheeks slowly began to turn pink from embarrassment. “I didn’t know you liked to write,” Jack said, being the first to break the silence.

“It is simply a hobby,” Sebek replied, snatching the paper out of Ortho’s hands.

“Still, it’s really cool that you won,” Epel said with a soft smile that only made Sebek’s cheeks flush more.

“It takes a lot of courage to submit your own stuff to something,” Deuce followed. “You must feel pretty good about winning.”

Sebek remained silent, his eyes briefly meeting Yuu’s. Their eyes were filled with nothing but pride, and his face went even redder as everyone continued to congratulate him.

Chapter Text

“Have you heard from him at all?”

Deuce shook his head sadly. “No. Sebek and Ortho haven’t heard from him either.”

It had been nearly a week since anyone had heard or even seen Epel and everyone was starting to get worried. Yuu wasn’t witness to it, but apparently Epel and Sebek had gotten into an argument after the Pomefiore freshman already had a tough day with Vil. And now it’s like he’s disappeared off the face of the earth.

“I’m guessing Jack and Ace haven’t seen him either.”

Deuce shook his head. “I’m supposed to have class with him in the next two periods, so hopefully I’ll get a chance to talk to him then.” Yuu nodded in understanding as the bell began to ring. Deuce quickly rushed to his next class, leaving the Ramshackle Prefect alone with their thoughts as everyone transitioned to their next class.

Once the hallways were empty, they began to roam aimlessly around the school. It wasn’t like Epel to just randomly disappear like this without telling anyone. Even people in his own dorm hadn’t seen him around in a while. Or at least not long enough to have a whole conversation with him. Neither Rook or Vil seemed very concerned about his lack of presence around the school, so he at least must be okay physically at the very least.

“Yuu!”

Yuu jumped at the sound of their name being called, whipping around to see Ace walking up to them. “Oh, hey Ace,” they replied.

“You got your head in the clouds or something? I called you like five times.”

“Sorry. I was just thinking about Epel.”

Ace looked confused for a few moments. “He hasn’t texted you?”

Yuu mirrored his bewildered expression. “No? Has he texted you?”

“Yeah?”

“Why did he text you out of everyone in the group?”

Ace shrugged his shoulders. “Probably ‘cause I’m the only one that can track him down.”

The Ramshackle Prefect did a double take. “Wait, you’ve also actually talked to him?”

“It’s not that hard to find him.”

“Speak for yourself. All of us have been trying to catch him before, during, and after classes and it’s impossible to try and find him.”

The redhead considered their words for a few moments, slowly nodding in understanding. “Okay, yeah, I get that. But you guys haven’t been trying to find him during his free periods?”

“None of us have enough free time to try and find him. And that includes you.”

“Well friendship requires effort. I was concerned for our dear friend Epel and sought him out.”

Yuu gave him a disappointed look. “You’ve been skipping your classes.”

Ace rolled his eyes and began to walk past his friend. “So? Everyone’s been so worried about him, so I decided to just take matters into my own hands and try to find him myself.”

“That’s actually… really nice and considerate of you.”

“I have my moments.”

“So where is he now?”

“In the library.”

The prefect’s expression morphed into bewilderment. “But we’ve checked the library during this time. He’s never there.”

“Have you not been to the second floor?” Yuu simply blinked at the redhead for a few moments before he added, “Do you not know there’s a second floor to the library?” Their blank stare said it all. Ace sighed and shook his head. “Can’t really blame you I guess. The stairwell is pretty hidden. Come on. Even if he runs away at the sight of you you should at least know how to get to the second floor.”

The two walked towards the library. Once they were there, Ace took Yuu straight towards the back of the library where normally second and third years stayed since the more advanced textbooks were there. To their left was a dark hallway that led to a set of doors which was presumably where the staircase was. They turned down the hallway and began to climb the stairs to the mysterious second floor of the library.

Once they arrived, Yuu looked around in awe for a few moments before realizing it looked almost the exact same as downstairs, just eerily silent. There were almost no people in sight, and the few people that Yuu did see were all students they didn’t recognize. Still, it was a good place to be if you didn’t want to be found.

Ace nudged Yuu and gestured towards a table where a familiar lavender haired boy sat scribbling in a notebook. “I was never with you,” he whispered. Yuu ran their fingers over their lips in a zipping motion and gave the redhead a thumbs up. He then walked back down the stairs, leaving Yuu alone with Epel.

The Ramshackle Prefect walked up to their friend and sat down next to him. “You’re a lot harder to find than I expected,” Yuu spoke in a hushed tone.

Epel jumped in surprise, eyes widening for a few moments before realization dawned on his face. “Ace told you where I was,” he replied in that same hushed tone. Yuu just smiled sheepishly while Epel sighed and closed his notebook. “I don’t blame him. I know I’ve been avoiding everyone and ignoring everyone’s texts.”

“We’re just worried about you. Are you okay?”

“Yeah I’m good, I just needed some space. And yeah, I know. And I know I’d normally just go man up and apologize to Sebek but… I’ve just been too tired to deal with any kind of emotional talk. It was easier to just stay away.”

Yuu nodded in understanding. “You still could’ve texted.”

“Yeah, I know I know. Sorry. But at least Ace knew where I was.”

“That’s true. How’d he even know where to find you anyway? I had no idea the library even had a second level.”

Epel shrugged his shoulders. “Beats me. Usually no one’s able to find me. I guess he’s as good at hiding as I am.”

The prefect gave their friend a smile. “Well, at least I’ll know that if I can’t find you that you’re probably hiding away somewhere safe and not kidnapped or lying dead in a ditch.”

The boy laughed nervously to himself. “Alright, yeah. I get it. Won’t do something like this again. Though I did say that last time too.”

“Last time?”

“Ah, it’s nothing I feel like talking about right now.”

Yuu placed their hand on Epel’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Are you good to rejoin society now? I can back you up when you eventually talk to everyone again.”

“Yeah, thanks Yuu.”

Chapter Text

“Uh, whatcha doing Ortho?” Yuu asked as they walked into the empty classroom to find the android surrounded by what looked like hundreds of different origami creations.

The boy froze, unsure of how to explain himself. “Origami?” he replied, sounding unsure.

Yuu took a few steps closer, careful not to step on any of the paper creations scattered around the room. “Are you going through a crisis? Should I talk to Idia?”

“I would prefer it if we did not involve my brother.”

“But are you alright?”

The young freshman seemed to ponder for a few moments before declaring, “I believe so. I was overthinking for a few moments.”

“You? Overthinking?”

“Yes. It shouldn’t happen, but it’s a “testament to my humanity” or something Sebek and Ace were saying. It didn’t make much sense to me.”

Yuu nodded slowly in understanding. “What were you thinking about?”

He gestured to the whole room filled with his little paper creations. “This.”

“And what is all of this?”

“It’s my secret hobby.”

The Ramshackle Prefect attempted to wrap their head around this. Ortho was always the one with a head on his shoulders, the most logical and arguably stable of their friends. This did not look like the work of someone who was stable. “I think I’ve gathered that, but why keep it a secret?”

Ortho was quiet for a few moments, eyes blank like he was buffering. “I did not think it was something you would find interesting about me.”
Yuu frowned. “I like learning about all my friends. Even if you think I won’t find it interesting.” They stepped closer to the android, still tiptoeing around his fragile creations. “But I don’t think that’s the only reason you haven’t told anyone about this.”

“Have people told you that you are very emotionally intelligent?”

“I don’t think people like to point that fact out very much.”

“Mm.” Ortho suddenly took a piece of paper from the pile on his desk and began to fold it. “There are many things people do not like to point out about me either.”

“Like this?”

Ortho nodded. “I once showed Idia one of my creations. My software at the time was not updated to read emotions but there was something… not pleasant in his gaze. I could not help but think that I- the original Ortho, had a similar hobby before his death. This presumption has made me question if this is simply something I’ve been programmed to enjoy-”

“Stop.” The young freshman silenced himself as Yuu placed their hands on his shoulders. “Ortho, listen very carefully when I say this. You are you. It doesn’t matter what you were before, or why you were created. What matters is that you’re here and it’s your life. Not his. You should get to enjoy what you want. And maybe your interests and wants overlap, but that shouldn’t stop you from doing something if it makes you happy.”

Ortho blinked at the Ramshackle Prefect for a few moments before nodding his head in understanding. “Words fail to describe how I value our friendship.”

Yuu pulled the young freshman into a hug. “We all love you Ortho, no matter what. Just don’t kill anyone without sound reason.”

“I like how you added “without sound reason” as if murder is excusable in our friend group.”

“As if one minor inconvenience wouldn’t be enough to convince Epel and Ace to start conspiring to kill someone.”

“...You may have a point.”

—

“I come bearing gifts!”

Ortho was beaming as he handed out his paper creations to his friends. “What are these?” Deuce asked as he carefully picked up the small paper chick, cradling it carefully.

“I made you all something!” Ortho watched as everyone picked up their origami creations, carefully studying their expressions. “I’ve been told that hand made gifts are sometimes more meaningful than material gifts and I wished to express how much I appreciate you all.”

Epel wrapped the boy in a side hug. “Yer too darn adorable for your own good,” he said, his southern accent slipping out.

“Your paper creations are very well crafted,” Sebek followed, examining each and every fold in the paper.

“You’re too sweet Ortho,” Ace replied with a smile while Jack nodded in agreement, his cheeks slightly pink from embarrassment.

Ortho turned to Yuu with the brightest smile they had ever seen on the boy. Yuu couldn’t help but smile back at him.

Chapter Text

Yuu sighed as they walked through the botanical gardens, looking for the ingredient they needed for the potion Crewel assigned to them. Every plant looked the same to them. How were they supposed to identify which plant was which just from a few photos? They weren’t a botanist.

As they completed another lap around the gardens, they suddenly came across a familiar friend hunched over a few plants with gloves on. “Oh, hey Jack,” Yuu greeted with a smile. The beastman jumped slightly, but turned to the Ramshackle Prefect with a small smile.

“Hey Yuu. I didn’t know you were here,” he replied.

“Crewel’s got me looking for an ingredient but everything looks the same to me.” Yuu peeked over the wolf’s shoulders to see what the boy was doing. “Are you gardening?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Just helping out.”

Yuu gave the beastman a smile. “You didn’t get in trouble with any of our professors, right?”

“No. This is… just something I like to do.”

Yuu was surprised for a split second before their smile widened. “Oh, that’s cool then.”

The two stared at each other for a few moments. “You want me to tell you why I haven’t told you.”

“Yes I do.”

Jack simply sighed and shook his head. “It’s not too complicated. I just didn’t want to tell anyone.”

“But why?”

The wolf glared at them and snapped, “No one has to know everything about a person. Can’t I enjoy doing something without the whole world having to know?”

Yuu was taken aback for a few moments. Jack was probably the second most private of their friends, but he usually never outright refused to talk about something. Unlike a certain redhead. They nodded slowly in response. “You’re entitled to your privacy. I was just curious. But if you really don’t want to tell me you don’t have to.”

Jack sighed and took off his gardening gloves. “I don’t mean to get snappy. I just wanted to keep this to myself.” Yuu nodded in understanding. “I don’t really get a lot of time to myself in general. Even back home. So I just wanted this to be private for my sake.”

“I get it. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thanks.” The beastman stood up and asked the Prefect, “Did you need help with finding that ingredient for Professor Crewel?”

“Please, I’ve been walking in circles for hours.”

—

Eventually, the two found the plant Yuu was looking for. Jack helped them properly extract the nectar for their professor. “Thanks for your help. I was probably gonna bring him the wrong nectar and then forced to come back here again,” Yuu sighed in relief.

“It was no big deal,” Jack replied with a shrug.

“Still, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Yuu pocketed the vial of nectar and gave their friend a smile. “Well, I’ll let you get back to what you were doing. Thanks again.”

“Actually, wait. I, uh…” The boy scratched the back of his head nervously. “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier.”

Yuu’s smile dimmed. “It’s alright Jack. I know you didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t deserve that.” He crossed his arms and explained, “I don’t really have anything I like doing outside of this, and even then most things that I do enjoy often end up becoming obligations. Like track. I mean, I still enjoy track but this is something that’s just for me, if that makes sense.”

The Ramshackle Prefect nodded in understanding. “I understand, and I’m sorry for pushing about it earlier. I was genuinely just curious, and I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.”

A small smile appeared on Jack’s face. “Thanks.”

Yuu smiled right back at him. “Of course. Now do you want me to leave you alone and get back to what you were doing?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

“Alright. See you around Jack!”

Later that day, Yuu found a plant sitting on the kitchen table with a note detailing how to best take care of it. They smiled and placed it by the window so it could get the maximum amount of sunlight it needed.

Chapter Text

Yuu wandered the halls with their shoulders slumped and head a mess. They had no idea what kind of beef went down between Deuce and Epel, but whatever it was, apparently their friend group was taking sides. It was too much for their brain to handle, and it was probably about something stupid anyway.

Still, they wished they could just sort it out and not have them act as their therapist.

Yuu didn’t know exactly where they were going, but they were going to find somewhere none of their friends frequented often. The third floor of the building was where most of the art rooms were, and even though the school had a fairly prestigious art program, the rooms were mostly empty almost all of the time. They figured they could sneak into a room and just sit there for a bit while they tried to gather their thoughts.

They were about to turn into a room when they saw a familiar figure sitting on top of a ladder painting on the walls.

Yuu watched as Ace Trappola sat there with headphones on as he painted the wall in front of him. “Ace?” they questioned. The boy didn’t respond, too enraptured in what he was doing to notice someone had walked in. The prefect took the time to explore the room. Their eyes immediately fell on an open sketchbook that was sitting right by Ace’s bag. The open page had a beautiful sketch of what looked like the rose garden at Heartslabyul. If it was colored, Yuu might’ve thought they were looking at a photograph of the place.

Suddenly, the sketchbook slammed shut, and the Ramshackle Prefect turned to see Ace glaring at them, headphones now hanging around his neck. “I wasn’t prying!” Yuu exclaimed, immediately going on the defensive. “You left it open on the table I thought-”

Yuu cut themself off as Ace’s gaze softened, his tired eyes meeting theirs. “It’s fine,” he replied. “At least you didn’t get to the embarrassing stuff.”

I could barely even get to that open page. Yuu averted their gaze from Ace and instead at the wall he was painting. It wasn’t finished yet, but Yuu was in love with the abstract swirls and shapes blending together. “This is beautiful,” they remarked.

“Thanks.”

“I didn’t know you were so good at this.”

“Yeah well no one does.” Ace washed his brush and dipped it into a new color. “I’ve been consistently practicing making art since I was at least five.”

“Well you’re really good.”

The redhead paused for a moment. “Thanks.”

“Seriously. You could win competitions with your talent.”

Ace was quiet for a few moments before he replied. “I have, actually.” Yuu’s eyes widened as he confessed, “I actually won one recently. I’m supposed to show up to the exhibit and answer any questions people ask me.”

“That’s amazing!” the Ramshackle Prefect exclaimed. “Why haven’t you said anything?”

The redhead shrugged his shoulders as he pressed the tip of his brush to his canvas. “Never really had support for my art, so I figured this wasn’t important. My parents never really took an interest, so I didn’t see why anyone else would.” He turned back to Yuu and added, “Besides, I don’t think our friends would all gather in the same room and act normal for a few minutes right now.”

Yuu simply stared at the boy. How could he just write off his incredible achievement like this? How could he think celebrating himself and his art wasn’t important? “Can I at least come?” they asked. “You deserve to have someone take an interest.”

Ace’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he replied nonchalantly, “Yeah sure. I can text you the address when I’m done with this.”

“Sounds good.”

While Yuu watched Ace paint, they quickly pulled out their phone to send a few texts.

—

Ace stood by his painting, head down and scrolling through his phone. People had been coming up to him infrequently to ask questions about his art. He never minded, but the longer he talked to strangers, the more he just wished he were back at the dorm instead. Not like it was much better there than here though. His dumbass friends were still fighting, so it wasn’t like he was gonna get much of a chance to hang out all together.

Just then, Ace saw Yuu walking towards him. His eyes widened when he saw the rest of his friends following them. He nearly dropped his phone from the shock. “Uh, hey guys,” he greeted them.

“Hey Ace,” Yuu replied with a soft smile. “I brought the others. I told them about your competition and they wanted to come congratulate you. I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s, uh-”

“You painted this?” Deuce asked, staring at the oil painting of Heartslabyul’s rose garden with awe in his eyes.

“Uh, yeah.”

“It’s amazing,” Epel followed, also in awe.

“I never would’ve taken you to be a fan of art Trappola. Your work is quite impressive,” Sebek said. Jack and Ortho nodded in agreement as they analyzed the painting.

Ace just stared at all of his friends, an unfamiliar warmth growing in his chest. Yuu nudged him gently, offering another soft smile. “Feel supported now?” they asked.

“You suck,” the redhead replied, unable to keep a smile from spreading across his face.

“You suck more.”

Ace just stood there as the rest of his friends admired his work, finally feeling like all of his hard work actually meant something for once.