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Sebek wanted to make one thing extremely clear, he had ZERO underhanded intentions seeking out Jack.
Granted, afterwards, Jack kept referring to their meeting as a "Study session", which annoyed and flustered Sebek to no end, but the point still stood!
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It'd all started when he was ranting to Epel about Lucius' incessant mrowing, to which the Pomefiore student had suggested that he ask Jack for help.
"Why ever would I do that?" He'd asked, grumbling to himself.
"Jack takes good notes," Epel had said, as if it were the most obvious thing ever.
"Hpht! My notes are just fine!" Sebek had insisted, shoving the half empty page into Epel's face as they walked.
"... Uh, maybe just compare?"
"Hm? Oh! You mean Howl is insecure about his notes and wishes to check their accuracy!?"
"Ah, not quite." Epel shook his head, "Actually, never'ind, just ask to see them."
"Do you use Howl's notes often?"
The lavender haired boy had laughed nervously, scanning the two's surrounding for any of their upperclassmen. "Not so loud! Wha'if Vil hears?" He whispered, "But yeah, sometimes."
"When?" Sebek felt compelled to ask, he couldn't remember ever seeing it aside from one or two times, Ace needed notes to copy more than Epel did.
Epel shot him a confused look, "Normally whenever I can."
"Just for the notes?" Sebek pressed.
"Do ya think I'm using him to cheat? Because ya better off talkin' ta Ace if that's what your lookin' for." Frustration intertwined with his accent had crept into his voice, "He'd never let me anyway." A thin lace of hurt woven in that didn't seem to fit with simple academic matters wrapped around the words.
No, Sebek had realized when he thought back to the conversation. It wasn't the prospect of cheating that caused his chest to tighten at the thought of someone else being near the beastman and seeing the way his lips pressed together when he thought or the way his ears twitched when he was getting distracted or how his tail started to sway when someone said something humorous or-
But Sebek hadn't thought that far, all he knew was the image of someone else being near Jack made his heart hurt. But he had chalked it up to the image of Jack's likely mediocre-at-best notes being treated as some grand resource. They couldn't be that good! Could they?
Sebek decided he needed to find out for himself.
He was only doing this for the notes.
The notes.
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So now he was here, sat across from Jack, who looked up at him over the edge of his paper. "Oh, hey Sebek." He greeted casually, setting the sheet down.
"Howl!" He slammed his hands on the table in return.
"Shh." Jack corrected, ears flicking left then right. Sebek knew that meant his mind was in a mix of pure exasperation and annoyance, but anyone who paid attention to Jack's mannerisms would know! Just like how his tail would twirl and wag weakly whenever you happened to just mention botany.
"Do not shush me!" Despite his words, his volume lowered. "I need to see your notes."
Jack looked surprised for a moment. "Did Luc-"
"It has nothing- well.. I can take notes just fine even with his yowling! I just wanted to make sure you did!"
"..You wanted to make sure my notes are adequate?" Jack asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes!" Sebek nodded, digging through his bag.
He looked up hearing Jack chuckle. The wolf's hand hid his mouth, his head leaned on said hand, his hazel eyes squinted.
"What's so funny?!" Sebek demanded, his voice going shrill again.
Jack lowered his hand, looking to the Diasomnia student with that amused look that made Sebek's heart do a funny little thing that he would never admit it did. His face burned.
"WHAT?"
"Shush," Jack repeated, face returning to it's usual serious expression. "You can admit you need help."
"I do not!" Sebek snapped back.
Jack hummed,not looking convinced, but he pulled out his notes nonetheless.
"What did you need specifically?"
"I do not 'need' any part! I just wanted to ensure their accuracy."
".. Here." Jack unceremoniously tossed them across the small table after a short pause, picking up the sheet of paper he'd been reading over.
Sebek huffed, snatching them up and comparing them to his own.
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They were... Frustratingly well taken.
"How did you manage to take these with that cat's constant interruption?" Sebek demanded after about an hour of comparison. Well, more so ten minutes of comparing and fifty-ish of grumbling and tapping his foot.
"It doesn't bother me." Jack shrugged, not looking up from the book he'd started reading.
"How? He's so loud!"
"You're loud, but you don't bother me anymore."
Sebek hates, hates, hates, how that makes his heart lurch, how... Insulting! Never mind the heat in his chest. "How dare you?"
Jack sighs, ears flicking once more. ".. I's because of my siblings."
"Your siblings?" Sebek repeated.
"Yep, I got used to being able to tune out noise with them around. I often had to cut my losses and figure out how to study with them playing five feet away." The Savanaclaw freshman leaned back in his chair, shrugging.
Sebek briefly wondered if either of his siblings had gone through such, before recalling how, every time one of them needed him quiet, they told him as much. Did Jack?
"Couldn't you just order them to be quiet?"
"They were kids, it's only natural they were loud."
"Didn't your parents ever ask them to? Or grandparents?"
Jack fell silent, ears pressing against his head for a split second before they shot back up. "Working." He said simply.
Sebek waited.
The beastman got the hint, ".. Not always, but they were still gone when we got home from school."
"Oh." Sebek nodded as if he understood.
".. Are you finished with those?" Jack asked, pointing at his notes. He set down the book between them, resting his weight on folded arms. "I need to check on my plants."
".. Just a moment." Sebek lied, in truth he... He didn't want Jack to leave. Somewhere in the hour he spent pouring over the notes, he realized with sickening clarity that he liked being around Jack. Maybe it was their shared values in strength? "Do you ever miss them?" The half-fae asked without thinking.
"Definitely." Was his answer. "I know they're probably doing fine, but... I can't help but worry. You wouldn't really get that."
"Excuse me?! I 'get it' perfectly!" He continued, "I miss my siblings often!"
Its an admission that he hadn't allowed past his lips since he arrived at Night Raven. It feels.. A bit nicer than he expected to say it.
"I don't doubt that." Jack replied without missing a beat. "I mean as the oldest, I'm just.. Used to looking out for them."
".. So that's why you're so smothering." Sebek stated, mirroring Jack's pose; arms crossed and leaned back in a chair, he wasn't sure if Jack was also crossing his ankles.
Jack rolled his eyes, a small smile tugging up the corners of his lips, revealing sharp canines, not entirely unlike his own. Sebek watched, hyper aware of the sparse crowd that was also occupying the library, which was surely the cause of the sudden wave of heat and panic that washed over him.
Jack was handsome, he found himself thinking. It was a fact, but acknowledging a fact did not mean a thing-
"But.. That's only really because I care, about you guys. And yes, you're included." Jack laughed. Actually laughed. Eyes squinting shut and all, the sound was pleasant.. Far more pleasant than Sebek anyone would want to admit. It was warm and comforting and shockingly soft and was he talking about Jack or the laugh?
".. Sebek?" Jack's voice was quieter now, not quite whispering but not its normal volume. "Are you okay-"
THUD
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Sebek hauled the thick tome that was sat between them towards his classmate's head, the book barely missing it's mark by inches. Jack stared back at it, now sprawled face-down on a random page.
But Sebek didn't care. His breath grew eradicate, his hands tightened into fists, his eyes locking onto the table below him.
His stomach churned as he realized with a sinking feeling that he was in love.
He was in love with Jack Howl. With stupid, infuriating, righteous, stern, handsome Jack Howl. With every single part of him. His laugh, his grimace, his pride, his love for cacti, his everything. His quirks and habits and flaws. All of him.
And he had no idea what to do with this information.
"Go pick that up." Jack said, pointing to the book.
"Wh-why should I?!" Sebek snapped back, standing up so fast his chair fell.
Jack looked momentarily surprised, but quickly recovered and pointed again. "You threw it."
"It was your book!"
"That you threw."
"You're closer."
"You threw it."
Sebek grumbled, any other time, he probably would've just gotten the book but... He didn't want to. His mind was still reeling from his realization. Everything was too much right now.
After a beat of silence, Jack stood, picking up the offensive weapon with a tired sigh.
"What are you doing?" Sebek asked, watching Jack walk away.
"Putting this away." Jack called back, seemingly having lost his care for the fact they're in the library.
Without a second thought, and perhaps to escape the stares of a few students, Sebek followed.
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The back shelves of the library were vacant, twisting corridors of dust forming a labyrinth. The candle light flickered overhead as he followed Jack deeper and deeper into the inky darkness.
"Why are we all the way back here?" Sebek asked.
"Because this is where I got it from." Jack said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"What were you doing back here?"
"None of my dorm-mates..," Jack paused, both his sentence and his steps. ".. It's a quiet place to think."
Sebek could fill in a few blanks, he knew Jack was frequently hassled by his dorm-mates (Which Kingscholar did nothing about! This issue was faced by more than just Jack!), and most Savanaclaw students tended to avoid the library for whatever reason. With the prime exception in his mind being Jack.
Sebek followed until they reached a shelf, the written letters had seemingly faded long ago, but Jack confidently slid it back into place.
".. You have my apologies!" Sebek blurted, stepping in front of Jack.
Jack blinked, tail swaying as he was caged against the shelf. "For the book?"
"Yes."
".. I'm sorry too." Jack suddenly apologized himself.
"Wh- for what?!" Sebek sputtered out.
"Clearly I offended you somehow, why else would you throw a book at me?"
Because you're maddeningly handsome
"Pardon?"
Sebek's stomach lurched, and he nearly spilt the contents on the floor. Had he said that out loud...? Yes. Yes, he did.
Sebek didn't say anything, just leaned a little closer.
Jack looked even more surprised, asking him what he was doing.
The best answer Sebek came up with was denying he was doing anything.
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They were so close their breath mingled, Sebek's body was vibrating with adrenaline, his eyes wide and piercing through Jack's soul. And Jack's did the same right back.
".. Sebek?" Jack tried again, raising a hand to his classmate's shoulder.
".. What now, Howl?" Sebek said, trying to not breath too hard.
"What are you doing-"
"I meant it when I said you're handsome." Sebek blurted. "You are.., and I.. I do admire your dedication,"
"Sebek."
"And loyalty, even if to a scheming coward." Sebek rambled on.
"Sebek"
"But you still really annoy me and sometimes I what you to shut up so I don't have to actually respond and I can just keep looking at you-"
"Sebek!"
"I really hate this, because I know you don't feel the same way and now I'm being distracted from my duties as Lord Malleus' retainer by how much I want to kiss you-"
Sebek was finally cut off by Jack's hand covering his mouth. "Then kiss me." The beastman ordered simply.
This half-fae stood shocked, eyes widening at the bluntness, but Jack had always been blunt. Without another thought or doubt, he leaned in, pressing his lips to Jack's.
And oh. It was felt better than anything he'd ever read, ever dreamed.
One of Sebek's arm wrapped around Jack's waist, pulling them impossibly closer together. His other hand carded through his hair. Jack's hands went to Sebek's hair, tugging him deeper.
"You-" Sebek tried to say something, but only succeed in deepening their kiss, he tilted Jack's head ever so slightly.
He could feel his fellow first-year's tongue running over his fangs, a faint taste of metallic dripped across his tongue. Jack's heart beat fast yet steady against his own erratic one.
They pulled away from each other far too soon for Sebek's liking, a thin trail of blood and saliva connected them, Sebek went red, quickly wiping his mouth and taking a small step back.
"You.. You're ridiculously good at that." He muttered stupidly.
Jack's cheeks reddened, ears folded back ever so slightly, tail thumping against the shelf. "I.. Beginner's luck."
"I thought you didn't believe in such?"
"I do now, you were good too."
It took him a moment to realize what Jack was insinuating, "Oh, so you just assume I've never kissed anyone?!" He gasped, affronted.
"Have you?" Jack's ears twitched.
"... No." Sebek admitted.
"Good, because then I'd feel a little inadequate."
"You've never kissed anyone?" Sebek asked, a bit dubious of such a claim.
Jack was quiet, then shook his head. "Almost."
"'Almost'?" Sebek repeated.
"I don't want to talk about it, nothing bad happened but it's just kinda embarrassing."
"Hamph! Well, even if you didn't, I'm sure my skill surpasses them."
Jack cocked an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"
".. Do I need to prove myself again?" Sebek asked, already moving closer.
"You don't have to prove anything, but I would like to kiss you again."
Sebek stuttered, but was cut off by Jack leaning in the rest of the way to kiss him again.
Sebek wrapped both his arms around Jack's waist this time, leaning as far into his space as possible. This time, the kiss was gentler, steady, but still strong and firm, kind of like Jack.
But it still ended far too soon.
"What are we?" Jack asked, warm hands heavy on Sebek's shoulders.
The half-fae made no effort to move, trying to calm his racing heart. "I.. I'd like to." Court you hung on the tip of his tongue, but... Did he really want to court Jack? Did Jack even want to court him? Did he truly feel so strongly he was willing to begin a process most typically reserved for future spouses?
He looked back at Jack, a hundred different memories flashing behind his eyes. He loved him, he really did. But could he handle the inevitable heartbreak that came from their differing life spans?
He realized that such worries only cemented that he did want a life with Jack. But how could he, when his life span would likely take more than two of Jack's combined?
"Sebek?" Jack pulled a hand away, moving it to cup the Diasomnia student's face.
"I.. I would like to start a relationship with you."
"So we're dating? Officially?"
"Yes." Sebek nodded, already leaning into Jack's hand.
Jack smiled that radiant, perfect smile. "I'm glad." He said, stroking just under his eye.
Sebek looked from his boyfriend's, (he actually has a boyfriend!) Hand to his face.
"Is there anyone you want to tell?" He asked.
The beastman shrugged, "I dunno, maybe our friends?"
"What about dorm-mates?"
"Not mine, they'd give me so much shit."
"Then I'll give them tenfold. You're in relation to Lord Malleus now!" Sebek said, moving his gloved hand to cover the one still on his face.
"Heh, that's weird to think about. But I don't think I'm going to tell Leona or Ruggie yet."
"Hm, if you're okay with it, I'll tell Silver."
"What about Draconia and Vanrouge?"
"What-?! What do you mean?"
".. Never mind, I should've known you would tell them."
"Of course I am! Do you take issue-"
Jack shut him up with a peck to his lips. "No, I don't. You don't have to get so upset."
"I am not-,... Fine!" He huffed.
"But really, I don't care if you tell them." The beastman assured him.
"Great! Then it's settled!" Sebek nodded, already weighing whether to try a steered conversation or a blunt statement approach to announcing the news.
Jack smiled that radiant, perfect smile. And then he pulled Sebek back in to fully kiss him thrice. Slow and steady, that's how they'd take this.
But even then, Sebek doubted he would ever get used to this.
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