Chapter Text
The card kingdom- dark, gloomy, intimidating to some. Cold, quiet… except for certain moments. Oft involving performances, other times quarrels between fellow castledwellers… that of which-
“JEVIL!” An annoyed voice called out.
The jester rolled his eyes begrudgingly, ears drooping in a similar response. Rouxls was such a stickler for the rules, *what* could Jevil have done this time..?
In the near pitch-black walls of the castle, the two of them met up. Rouxls leaned down and tapped his foot impatiently, Jevil giving a low grown in return. They obviously didn’t enjoy eachother.
A jester, donned in purple and black. Fitting attire for a heart kingdom member, with green to accompany such a gothic, warm palette. But his demonic appearance isn’t *suit* for such a conventional castle. Not as if they weren’t all monsters either way…
A Duke, with only those of white and blue. His colors compliment his King, but it’s a wonder that he doesn’t leave a slime trail wherever he goes. Fortunately, his flamboyance can make the obnoxiousness more tolerable to most.
The jester grinned spitefully. If this *slime* thought he was going down without a fight… “FINE, FINE, OH GREAT ONE!” They finally spoke. “IF THIS IS ABOUT THE PIPPINS, I ONLY-“
“WHAT was thoust DOING? During your performance??”
Jevil blinked. “EH..?”
“You can’t just throweth yourself around like that- you’re goinge to get thoustself KILLED!” Rouxls threw up his arms.
Jevil *did* have a performance nary an hour ago, yes. And admittedly, it’s been getting more… *reckless,* to say the very least. But what threw him off the most was the fact that Rouxls brought it up in the first place- he only ever nagged Jevil about pulling pranks on people or gambling and such rather than practicing for when the next performance would be.
And either way, it was going to take him a minute to think on a response, regardless- for he was constantly puzzled by Rouxls’s play on English. It wasn’t Jevil’s *first* language, so hearing the made up cacophony of words messed with his brain constantly. He liked it.
Jevil flicked his eyes back at Rouxls, who was awaiting an answer. The concern made his gut hurt, but he considered himself more than an expert at masking things.
“YOU WORRY TOO MUCH, SLIME!” The jester dismissed, walking towards the other direction. “MAYBE YOU SHOULD GET YOUR EYES CHECKED BEFORE YOU ACCUSE THINGS SO HASTILY.” He chuckled with a crooked grin.
Rouxls huffed and followed them.” You’re so careless!” He scolded. Jevil flicked his tail in response. It obviously didn’t care for the statement.
“IS THAT SO?” He laughed beneath his own breath. “YOU FAILED TO TELL ME PRIOR, SO THE IMPORTANCE OF SUCH MUST BE TERRIBLY LACKLUSTER.”
“*Lacking*.” Rouxls grit his teeth. “Your grammar is as stubborn as your recklessness-!” Jevil grinned evily at the Duke’s frustration. It was hardly a guilty pleasure teasing him so much.
The jester, about to make another remark, flinched as Rouxls erubtly grabbed his shoulder. They both halted in their tracks.
…
Rouxls let go of his shoulder in a panic, as if he’d just regained consciousness. “AHHah, well-!” He laughed nervously, clapping his hands together. “You getteth the pointe-“
Jevil left again, with an annoyed silence rather than an obvious remark. Whatever Rouxls was trying to pretend to say, it *wasn’t* working.
…
Right?
——————moments later…——————
Jevil groaned out loud as he flopped onto his “bed.” It wasn’t particularly a *bed,* more so a hammock that was strung to the ceiling above his actual bed. Not that anyone quite understood his way of comfort, but they tolerated it nonetheless.
Tch. Rouxls.
Who could stand him? Constantly enforcing rules that the Spade King never told him to- it made them want to rip their hat into a million sharp, jagged pieces of broken glass and shove Rouxls face flat into the pile and watch him bleed and beg for his life- and even that wouldn’t fulfill the agonizing pain that drove them mad about him. And Jevil *didn’t* feel guilty about feeling such a way.
Jevil’s ears perked up at a sudden noise echoing through the halls, barely loud enough to intrude his thought of torment. He then fixed his glance to the faintest sound of heels clicking onto the ground outside his door. He had memorized the sound of everyone’s walking at this point, and thank angels it wasn’t Rouxls walking by.
Jevil floated down towards his already open door and leaped into a hug with the person walking past.
“BAYTAT!” He beamed.
The short Pippins attempted to shove Jevil off of him. “IT’S *BATTAT* you MORON!” He corrected loudly. “And that’s not even my name!!” The jester squeezed him tighter to the point he gave up trying.
Jevil blinked in realization. “YOU DON’T LIVE IN THIS CASTLE.” He remarked.
“And?” Battat (who of which I will be referring to as Battat for the rest of the fanfiction) hissed. “I’m still a *duke.* My Diamond just had a message for *your* king.” He responded, fiddling with the jewel-encased garment around his neck. *obviously* a gift…
Jevil let go of him and chuckled to himself. “MY DIAMOND~” it teased, sticking its long, purple tongue out in a playful manner. “HOW COURTING, HOW ROMANTIC!”
“CAN IT, clown.” Battat crossed his arms, giving him a stern look before his expression calmed. “Now, what’s bugging you *this* time?”
Jevil tilted his head.
Battat groaned as if he didn’t expect the need to explain himself. “Whenever you come over to me at random, you either want me to go gambling with you or something *just* as troubling-“ he sighed. “Which we did EARLIER today…“
The jester flinched as Battat put an arm around his shoulder. “OR, you want to vent to me about your ‘problems’ and shit.”
“SUPPOSEDLY.” Jevil admitted flatly. His eyes turned the opposite direction in an admitted ‘pick-me’ sort of manner.
Battat groaned. “So you might as well get it over with before it gets *annoying,* riiiiight??” The Pippins said in a tone that sounded like it was to make Jevil feel stupid. Not that either of them minded.
The jester flicked his tail. “ROUXLS.” He said in a spiteful tone. “BUT SOMEONE AS BORING AS YOU *WOULD* SYMPATHIZE FOR SOMEONE AS BORING AS HE.” Complaining must have been the only way he could talk about Rouxls if he wasn’t making fun of him.
“THE NERVE, THE NERVE!” Jevil hissed. “HE STARTED BOMBARDING ME ABOUT MY-“
“Performance.” Battat interrupted. “He said the same thing to me.”
Jevil glared at him.
“He’s right, you aren’t invincible or anything- any of the kingdom could’ve noticed how dangerous it was if they knew how experienced you *actually* were.” He muttered standoffishly.
The Pippins let go of them and leaned his arm against the wall. A smirk crossed his face. “It’s kind of sounding like you’re obsessed with him.”
The conclusion ticked Jevil off indefinitely, but such accusations were proven true. Err, not quite in a positive light, of course…
Jevil turned his head in a nonchalant expression. Even if it bothered him, he wasn’t going to fail himself in such a manner. Albeit, the comment *did* make his face turn purple- either in anger, or…
“Listen- I can’t get involved in your homoerotic mumbo-jumbo, a’ight?” Battat pushed himself off the wall and began walking away. “Just like-“
He sighed and turned to Jevil.
“Don’t go screwing things over between you guys, alright?”
Jevil thought on those words as Battat walked away.
He thought… what *did* that mean? Not in their own, but the dice’s own head.
Jevil thought on this as he lied awake that night. Did it mean… he was doomed to ruin the relationship he and Rouxls shared? As if the two of them- no, they did indeed care for one another. To Jevil’s knowledge, they were eachother’s first… friend? No, never. If they were friends, then Jevil would be happier.
Jevil thought on this as he roamed the dark, endless halls of the castle. Perhaps, it meant that they were closer than meets the eye. They have had ups and downs, lefts and rights, their relationship in which they agree and disagree with eachother has gone every single direction, topsy turvy and such- something Rouxls wouldn’t like, now would he? But it drove Jevil mad in a sort of perplexing way.
Jevil thought on this as he and Rouxls spoke. Yes, he had the words stir through his mind as they spoke on yesterday. What Battat must have meant was not to go and ruin the relationship he and Rouxls already had- well, it was too late for that, now was it?
The jester and the Duke- well, it’s doubtful that either of them knew what happened during their conversation. Did they exchange opinions, apologies, or perhaps, a kiss? Yes, perhaps all of the above- for words, words can go a long way between two as close and caring as them. Jevil’s tail wrapped around Rouxls’s leg as he bent down to reach his height-
..!-
Rouxls backed away from Jevil frantically. “J- oh- I’M hah- My apologies, I-“ he panicked, more than unsure on what or how to respond. “We shouldn’t- what if someone-“
“Tch- YOU *NEVER* SHUT UP, DO YOU?” Jevil hissed in an annoyed tone, though it was hard for even himself to tell how much of it was playful.
The Duke sweated intensely. “I- I have-th work to get back t-“ he was silenced as Jevil leaned into him again.
Jevil didn’t care if Rouxls liked him or NOT, even if he obviously did. But Jevil didn’t know what he himself felt and wasn’t going to leave without figuring it out first. Whether that took just a minute, or hours. Whether that took… experimentations, so to speak… heaving, heart-pounding, experiments…