Work Text:
“Dormhead…”
“What is it, Ace? You know I’m doing paperwork tonight.”
Yes, Ace knew this. He knew this very well. His boyfriend was a creature of habit in the utmost sense. Every other Thursday was a paperwork night, with a two-hour block dedicated to filing out whatever papers crossed his desk in the past two weeks, including incident reports, budget notations, and whatever work Crowley had shoved off onto him for the Housewarden meeting the next day. Riddle was meticulous about it, as he was with everything, dotting his I’s and crossing his T’s with a critical eye. He always got this furrow in his brow about thirty-five minutes in, wrinkling the bridge of his nose and putting tension in his cute face. Every time he saw it, Ace got the urge to press a kiss right on the furrow and see it smooth out. It took an incredible struggle not to do so on paperwork nights, but he persisted. He did not want to get kicked out into the hallway like a dog who chewed on the wrong slipper. It wasn’t even a worthy walk of shame, and Deuce always laughed at him when he showed up at their room pouting.
Ace was allowed in Riddle’s room during study and paperwork hours with the promise that he’d let the sophomore focus and complete his own schoolwork in the meantime. Truthfully, working parallel with Riddle did wonders for Ace’s concentration and his own schoolwork, barring the times when he was so nervous he forgot how to read in the early days of their relationship. Or when he got so distracted by Riddle’s cute concentration face that he let his pen bleed through his notebook. Or when there was a hedgehog video on his feed that Riddle just had to see, come on take a two-minute break–
Okay, he was still easily distracted. His boyfriend was incredible but he couldn’t singlehandedly cure ADHD. Not that he’d put it past him to somehow figure it out.
Still, paperwork hours were not Ace’s favorite. He’d finished all the homework he couldn’t put off until tomorrow, and then did some of that too just to stave off the rising boredom. He watched Magicam reels Cater had sent him until he reached the end of their DMs, reacting with the appropriate emojis and pretending not to glance up to see if Riddle was reacting whenever one got a genuine laugh out of him. He texted his brother, texted a couple friends back home, and even checked his email's spam folder, but no dice. He was restless and bored and craving his boyfriend's attention during the dreaded paperwork hours.
He rolled over from where he had sprawled on Riddle’s bed, feeling the static cling to his hair as he lay on his stomach; He rested his head on his hands, groaning lightly. His feet hit the bed with light thumps as he boredly kicked, frowning when Riddle didn’t look up from the stack of papers that never seemed to get much smaller.
“Riddle…” Ace whined, purposefully petulant.
“Yes, Ace? I heard you the first time, you know,” Riddle sighed, putting down his pen and finally looking up. “Distracting me won’t work, which you should be well aware of. The paperwork has to be done tonight, and then we can–” Riddle’s slightly annoyed face flushed, and he cleared his throat, “-and then we can cuddle, or play a game if you’d like.”
Ace resisted the urge to giggle. No matter how long they had been dating, or how private the moment was, Riddle never failed to fluster himself with matters of romance.
It was so ridiculously endearing.
“As much as I would love to do those things—and you know I really would—I have a better idea, and it just requires a quick little break~!”
“No.”
“Aw, come on Rosebud!” Ace rolled off the bed, coming forward to approach Riddle’s desk. He took a quick lick of pleasure in how Riddle’s cheeks burned further at the pet name. “Just a five-minute break, not a moment longer, I promise!”
“And I should trust your time-telling ability?” Riddle raised his brow, smirking softly. “If I seem to recall, you were nearly late to breakfast this morning.”
Ace sputtered for a second, averting his gaze.
“That was this morning; I’m a changed man now.”
“Oh, I’m sure.” Riddle rolled his eyes, a motion he probably learned from Ace himself. “Since you’ve distracted me this much, I might as well hear your wondrous idea out. What is so pressing I must break my concentration to entertain it?”
“The sunset.”
“Excuse me?”
“Let’s watch the sunset together.” Ace’s face burned. This was so damn cheesy, and yet he didn’t regret it. He really wanted this. “It’s apparently real pretty tonight. We should get a good view from your balcony.”
Ace specifically did not mention the magical story stalking he’d just finished doing, where he checked a dozen-or-so people's pictures of the sunset to make sure it was worthy of dragging Riddle away from his desk for.
Riddle stared at Ace, his large gray eyes unreadable as he studied his boyfriend's expression.
“You really want to?” His voice was warm and fond, and Ace flustered under it being aimed at him. All he could do was nod. He really did want to. He wanted to stand at Riddle’s side, pressed close together in the cool night air. He wanted to hold his hand, staring out at the skyline. Maybe Riddle would lean his head on his shoulder. Maybe they’d even—
“Sure. Let’s do it.”
“Huh?” Ace blinked.
“Oh, have you changed your mind?” Riddle teased, clearly telling he’d been lost in thought. His partner knew him too damn well.
“Not at all!” He was not letting Riddle’s rare agreement to Ace’s shenanigans go to waste. He went around Riddle’s desk and tugged at his arm. “Come on, up you go; the clock is ticking on our five minutes.”
Riddle let himself be led away, laughing lightly as they went to the doors of his room's balcony. The heart soldier eagerly opened them, shooting Riddle a quick grin as he did.
The balcony was small, only just enough room for them to stand comfortably out there, and the air smelled of roses and the incoming autumn. The two settled shoulder to shoulder on the balcony, and let their eyes linger on the skyline.
Riddle’s breath caught slightly. The sky was painted in shades of orange, pink, and purple, with the darkest blues chasing the edges. White clouds dotted the landscape, stained multicolor by the glow around them. It was beautiful.
Riddle let his fingers bump against, and then intertwine with Ace’s own. It was pleasantly warm, despite the brush of night air on the rest of his skin. He nudged his head against Ace’s shoulder, shamelessly leeching at his body heat.
“It really is a beautiful night.” He whispered, not wanting to break the quiet calm. “Thank you for dragging me out to see it.”
Ace turned his head, pressing a kiss into Riddle’s hair.
“It’s basically my job as your boyfriend,” He joked, voice bellying his deep sincerity that he so rarely let anyone hear. “I gotta show you all the prettiest things.”
“...I appreciate it.” Riddle rubbed his cheek against Ace’s shoulder. He laughed softly, “even if it makes my work take longer.”
“How else am I gonna get you to relax a little?” Ace teased, turning his face so his breath ghosted Riddle’s skin.
“I can think of a few things…” Riddle smirked.
(They did not make their five-minute timer. Neither really minded.)