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Pluto had just finished his second coffee of the morning when his mind started feeling fuzzy.
The edges of his vision started blurring right about when he and Duke had finished breakfast with their friends, and he was tripping over his feet by the time they said goodbye to Berenice, Morella, Eulalie, and Lenore, which invoked some concerned glances from said friends and a Look from Lenore in Duke’s direction, which Pluto missed by a long shot.
He felt so tired. But not the usual lack-of-sleep-tired he constantly felt- this was a strange, unfamiliar, sluggish sensation, not too different from being drunk.
He didn’t like it.
“Woah,” he mumbled, stopping to hold a hand to his head. His brain felt like it had grown wings and flown away, leaving only empty space and not a single comprehensible thought.
Duke, who had been walking beside him, turned to peer at his roommate’s strange movements.
“Ca va, minou?”
“H-huh?”
“Are you alright?” Duke took Pluto’s wrist to stable him, making his face heat up instinctively even through all the fog in his head.
“‘M fine,” Pluto lied as Duke led him towards a wall to lean against. He felt like he was going to be sick. “Gonna go to the washroom.”
Duke raised a brow. “That doesn't sound like you’re alright,” he said with a small smirk, traces of something else in his eyes that Pluto couldn’t bother to figure out.
“I am,” Pluto muttered, making Duke frown a bit at his tone. “I’ll meet you at class.”
“Attends, maybe you should-”
“I said I was fine,” Pluto practically slurred, stumbling past his roommate as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
“Bathroom’s the other way,” Duke informed him, his tone sounding more serious than his words. Pluto ignored him and pushed open a random door leading outside to the grounds, not finding himself with the energy to turn around and walk back.
He didn’t need the bathroom, anyways- as long as he didn’t throw up or pass out on Duke, he’d be satisfied. Another wave of fatigue washed over him and he stumbled to the ground behind a bush, knowing there was a likely chance his roommate could still be watching and waiting for a sign he had been lying before.
“Hnn…” he groaned, placing his face in his palms before snapping back up to attention when he heard voices mumbling from around the bush. Duke?
“-’Think I saw ‘im go this way.”
Pluto groaned again, this time internally. Montresor. Of course.
He grunted and pushed himself up, nearly falling back down immediately as the blood rushed to his head but knowing being near Monty in this state was a worse idea than waiting to feel better. Pluto stumbled his way along the path through the academy’s garden, eventually noticing a bench and not being able to ignore the black spots at the edge of his vision any longer. He was about to go lie down- just for a few seconds!- when the sound of leaves rustling behind him made him jump and turn around, leaving him face to face with Ada and Montresor.
The latter grinned and huffed out a laugh. Pluto did not like it. He was disliking a lot of today so far, actually.
“Montyyyy,” Ada groaned before Pluto had a chance to say anything. “This- She gestured towards Pluto as if he were a disease-ridden stray cat, earning a glare from the dark-haired boy that she didn’t seem to care about. “-is not what you normally do when taking a lady such as myself on a date, you know.”
“Not a date,” Montresor bit back, his grin disappearing as he rolled his eyes. It sounded like they’d had this conversation before.
“You said we were going on a walk together!”
“Ye’ so I could-”
Pluto rolled his eyes as well, choosing to tune out the couples’ bickering as he turned to walk away, deciding it would probably be best if he just skipped class entirely. He didn’t usually get sick, so with any luck this would pass over soon after he got some rest, and-
A hand grabbed his shoulder, causing him to flinch. “Now just where do you think yer going?” someone asked- Montresor, his fogged-up mind informed him.
“To my dorm,” Pluto deadpanned with annoyance, knowing a tone like that wasn’t the smartest to use when he was alone in a state like this around Montresor and Ada but feeling too exhausted and pissed off to care.
Montresor grinned again and grabbed Pluto by the collar suddenly, throwing him to the ground harshly and making him yelp in pain and surprise.
“Nah,” the dirty-blonde sneered. “I don’t think so. See-” he gestured to his leg- the one Duke had broken- and at how he was limping.
Pluto swallowed. Ada rolled her eyes again and crossed her arms over her chest, making no move to help Pluto up as she pouted.
Montresor continued, “-Your little pal, Duke, did this to me, if I recall correctly! ‘Course, couldn’t use my spectre at the time, so it wasn't a fair fight, but thanks to your fuck-ass roommate-” Monty pointed at his leg again pointedly as if Pluto had forgotten it was broken before spitting on the ground on Pluto’s arm.
Pluto grimaced and wiped it off on the ground, glaring up at the taller boy as he started to shakily try to push himself up as Montresor continued his angry spiel.
“I’ve got a disadvantage now,” the taller man finished. "And someone's gotta pay."
Pluto felt a strange burst of anger and protectiveness, remembering the way Duke’s name had flickered on the board just a short time before while the Misfits didn’t know where he was.
“If you so much as touch a hair on Duke’s head, I swear to God I’ll-”
“Heh. Ha!”
Montresor sent a sharp laugh ringing through the air and took another step towards Pluto, who had been able to push himself up and was standing again, cursing the height difference between him and the taller man. Montresor leaned in close to his face, his hot breath making Pluto want to flinch back as he stood his ground and glared at Satan’s blonde incarnate.
“Don’t worry, runt. I’m brave, but I ain’t stupid. That’s why I figured-” Montresor grinned even wider. “-I can hurt Duke more than I ever could if I hurt you.”
Pluto’s breath sped up as Montresor’s words sunk in. He stumbled back, trying to transform into his spectre form but feeling too drained to do so.
No.
“Can we get this done with faster? We’re going to get demerits, and I don’t want another lecture from Prospero. Stupid Prospero.”
Ada!
(Pluto had forgotten she was here.)
He doubted she would be of much help, though- a theory that was confirmed when Pluto made eye contact with Montresor's girlfriend only to be met with an uninterested frown.
Still, it was worth a try. This situation was seeming increasingly desperate.
“Maybe it would be a good idea for you to listen to something other than your brain for once, Montresor,” Pluto snapped angrily, side-eyeing Ada hopefully.
Montresor’s grin faded. “Listen here, you-”
“Hey!” Ada shouted. “Monty’s smarter than you ever will be!”
Pluto groaned. Feck. Why did flattery always seem to work for Duke?
“Otherwise how do you think he’d have been able to drug you, huh?”
Pluto’s world came to a screeching halt as the realization hit.
“W-what?”
Montresor’s grin grew across his face again and Pluto desperately tried once more to call on his spectre, still to no avail. Duke’s former roommate stepped forward to grab Pluto’s wrist, snickering to himself as he twisted the smaller boy’s hands behind his back painfully, making Pluto hiss in pain as he struggled to escape.
“Hh- lemme go!” he snapped, feeling the brain fog take over even more as he fought, only vaguely processing Montry shoving him inside as Ada held the door open.
He tried sending a kick in the crotch in his captor’s direction, but his movements were slow and predictable, giving Montresor plenty of time to move out of the way of his attacks until they reached what seemed to be their destination- an abandoned classroom, Training still written on the door in peeling white paint. Chains covered the entrance along with wooden planks nailed in to board it up. Pluto had never been to this part of Nevermore before. He scanned the empty hallway in search of an exit but was forced ahead after Montresor kicked the rotting planks away and shoved Pluto in through the chains, barely giving Ada a chance to slip in before he slammed the door shut.
“Stay,” Monty sneered like Pluto was a dog as he pushed him forward and onto the ground again, letting the smaller boy out of his grasp as if the threat of him running away or running away was nonexistent.
Which, to be fair, it probably was. Pluto was so high off of whatever they’d given him that he barely even processed that he’d been let go, not that he was in any state to push himself up anyways, let alone fight past Ada to the door.
This meant that yelling for help was the next best option.
“Duke!” Pluto called out as loud as he could in his weakened state. “Len- ow! Feck!”
He groaned and rubbed his head where Montresor had kicked him.
“Shut it,” the blonde muttered as he picked up Pluto by his grey turtleneck (a gesture that painfully reminded Pluto of Duke, although he found didn’t mind when the Frenchman did it), causing his jacket to fall to the floor. Pluto scrambled for an escape from his grasp but was thrown violently (one again) before he could do much.
This time, though, instead of the floor, he hit the hardwood of what he quickly realized was the closet Montresor had been unlocking before.
His eyes widened in horror as his brain slowly processed what was happening.
No.
“No, wait-!”
Slam!
The sound of a lock clicked.
No, no no.
Pluto banged his fists against the locked door as he felt his breath speed up.
Duke- this happened to Duke. Oh, no.
Grinding his teeth together and trying to quell his panic, Pluto spat out, “Oh, very original, Montresor!”
“Yeah, it is!”
“Feck off, Ada!”
Monty’s muffled laughter was his only response to Pluto comment, making the black-haired boy glare as if the blonde would be able to see him through the closed door.
“This didn’t work out for you last time, Montresor, remember?!” Pluto snapped with another bang on the door for good measure. “Duke and Lenore will-”
“Oh, I know.” Pluto could practically hear Monty’s grin as he spoke. “Y’see, that’s kinda the point. Heh.”
Pluto swallowed.
“See that closet yer’ in, there? It just so happened to block out any little magic spectre powers you’ve got, runt. So when yer’ little buddies come along, as they eventually will, to rescue your ass like the heroes they are, I’ll shove ‘em in with you and y’all can starve together. Sound good?”
“...”
“Oh, c’mon. This is perfect, seeing how obsessed you are with all of them ‘new friends’? Specially that Duke- I’ll make sure he’s the first one to-”
“Let. Me. Out.” Pluto banged on the door in between each word, growing increasingly more panicked but trying not to let Montresor catch on.
“Mmm… Nah. Don’t think I will.”
“T-This isn’t going to work! They’re smart, they won’t-”
“Oh, I think we both know they will. Ain’t that right, sugar?”
“Mm-hm!” Ada snarked. “Oh, I can’t wait, sweetheart! Won’t Annabel and Prospero be so proud of us!?”
“Those two won’t give a damn what we did if we’re late.” Monty spoke louder again, letting Pluto know he was speaking to him. “Gotta get to class, Pluto. Can’t wait to see your little group’s faces when you aren’t there!”
“Let me out!” Pluto repeated, receiving another laugh.
“See you never, runt.”
Pluto continued to bang on the door frantically as the sound of Ada and Montresor’s voices got quieter and quieter, yelling until his throat hurt and only stopping when the drug's drowsiness finally took over, his breathing fast and panicked as he slept.
He awoke what felt like only minutes later- although he really had no idea how long it had been- to the sound of his name being called.
Loudly.
By what sounded like Duke.
Feck.
Pluto shrank back into a corner of the closet and held his breath, hoping first and foremost that Duke wouldn’t hear him- he could worry about his own escape later without endangering his roommate.
(Not that escape seemed very likely, but suffocating or dehydrating to death on his own seemed better than the alternative route of forcing all his friends to as well.)
“Pluto?” Duke called again, sounding a mix between annoyed and slightly terrified- the latter a rare emotion for him.
Pluto gulped as he heard the familiar sound of the door to whatever abandoned room Montresor had found creak open.
“Minou, are you-” Duke inhaled sharply as the door closed behind him. “Oh, non. Merde.”
Get out of here! Pluto wanted to yell, wishing Duke wasn’t so stupidly chivalrous so he could tell him to run and he’d actually run.
The door creaked open again.
“Howdy,” Montresor's drawling voice spoke, still just as infuriating to Pluto as before- perhaps even more, seeing as whatever he’d been drugged with had mostly worn off by now.
“Where is he?”
“Straight to the point. I like it, Fancypants.”
“Where is he. I see his coat on the floor, I know he was in here. Is in here, probably.”
“He's in there.”
Montresor must have gestured to the closet because Pluto heard Duke’s footsteps (not that he recognized the sound of them or anything) approaching seconds afterward.
No, no, no-
They stopped. “Non. He’s not.”
Monty laughed. “I assure you, that’s where yer’ little friend is hiding, Frenchie.”
“Non. You would not have just… told me. So I’ll ask you one more time, fils du pute. Where is my roommate?”
Another annoying laugh. “Here, I’ll open it for ye’ and you can take a look for yerself, pardner.”
Another set of footsteps approached, this time followed by the sound of the door being unlocked. Pluto readied himself for a fight, liking their odds- two against one wasn’t so bad, especially when their opponent had a broken leg.
Of course, that didn’t make any difference when Monty opened the closet door just wide enough to fit one person, spun around, and punched Duke in the face before Pluto could even blink.
Bloody Hell. If I didn’t hate him so much, that would be impressive.
The next thing Pluto knew, Duke had been shoved in with him as well and the door slammed shut and locked behind him just as Pluto sprung up at it, nearly catching his fingers in the door.
And then there was darkness.
“Aie…” Duke groaned from beside him.
Pluto sighed. “Bloomin’ heck.”
It took Duke about five seconds to comprehend what had happened to him before he was immediately searching for some sign of escape from the closet.
Pluto- whose eyes were adjusted to the darkness by this point- saw his roommate close his eyes and inhale a deep breath as he concentrated on something, only to look up a few seconds later with confusion on his face.
“Quoi…?”
“Your spectre won’t work. I’ve tried,” Pluto said solemnly.
Duke startled, as if he’d forgotten Pluto was here during his instinctive find-a-way-out plan. Once an escape artist, always an escape artist. Or however the saying went.
“Pluto!” Duke pulled his roommate into a quick hug that lasted a few seconds causing Pluto’s face to turn warm against Duke’s chest until he was let go.. “Mon Dieu, I’m glad you’re alright.”
Pluto coughed awkwardly, decidedly not moving away so that him and Duke’s shoulder were still touching. “Well, ‘m not sure if I would call this alright,” he said, gesturing around even though Duke could probably barely see it.
“Hm. I do have to agree with you there, mon minou. …Are you… feeling any better, at least?”
“Eh?”
Pluto could almost hear Duke’s eyes roll as he spoke. “You were feeling sick before, oui ou non?”
“Oh. Right. Montresor drugged me, actually,” Pluto said, shrugging. Duke tensed up beside him, instantly causing the smaller boy’s anxiety levels to spike.
Shite, is he mad at me? I was being a bit of an arse earlier, and-
“That God-awful hick did what to you?!” Duke exclaimed angrily, making Pluto internally sigh with relief before continuing with a nod.
“Yeh, pretty sure he put somethin’ in my coffee.”
Pluto heard Duke grind his teeth together in annoyance, muttering something about con artists. (A/N: Duke was, in fact, calling Monty a "connard," not a con artist. lock in pluto)
“Once we get out of here, ohh, la la, je vais luis tuer-”
Pluto couldn’t help a small giggle from escaping his mouth. “Pfft!”
Duke ramblings paused. “Qu- What?”
“Nothin’, nothin’,” Pluto said with a slight grin. “'S just kinda funny when you try to threaten someone in French.”
Duke clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Uhm- et- and what is that supposed to mean?”
Pluto leaned back against the closet wall as he tried to suppress a grin. “We-ll, I dunno…‘S not a very threatening-sounding language.”
Duke gasped in fake offense and dramatically flopped his head onto Pluto’s, making the shorter boy giggle again.
“I can threaten people very well, I’ll have you know! You just don’t understand what I’m saying.”
“Well, I can sorta figure it out, and it’s still not very scary. Heh.”
Him and Duke’s familiar banter made him feel like he’d just taken a more pleasant version of Montresor’s drug, with how lightheaded and fuzzy and happy he felt.
Although he supposed that wasn’t a drug. That was just Duke.
“Ah, bien, alors, figure this out,” Duke said, placing an arm around Pluto and pulling him even closer.
“J’peux t’embrasser, Pluto?” he said, his tone implying it had been a question, though Pluto hadn’t managed to decipher any of it, like usual, not to mention he was still reeling from the fact that Duke’s arm was around his shoulder.
“W-what, are you trying to threaten me now?” Pluto joked so that his obvious enjoyment of his current position wasn’t as visible- wouldn’t want to freak Duke out.
Not that it seemed to help, though- Duke let out a tiny sigh and removed his arm from around Pluto, instantly tipping the smaller boy off that something was wrong.
That he’d done something wrong, judging by the look of disappointment on Duke’s face that was barely visible in the dimness of the closet.
“You might say that,” Duke mumbled, adding a forced laugh at the end to try and hide that anything was the matter.
Pluto narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his roommate. “Duke, what did you say? Back there, in French.”
“...”
“Duke.”
“Ça ne fait rien!” Duke moved away from Pluto as if he’d suddenly contracted a deadly disease and stood up, only to immediately bang his head on the low ceiling.
“Aie!” he exclaimed in frustration, crouching back down but still maintaining distance between himself and his roommate.
“Are you-”
“Ca va,” Duke muttered sharply, waving Pluto away without really looking at him. “I’m alright.”
Pluto was vaguely reminded of that morning, when Duke had been the one asking if he was okay as he stumbled down the hall.
Pluto had lied back then, though. He certainly had not been okay.
He was pretty damn sure Duke was lying.
Well, maybe not about his head- it didn’t seem like he’d hit it all that hard. But something was wrong. That much was obvious.
Duke had begun searching for an exit again, though it seemed more like he was looking for a distraction from whatever was bothering him.
Pluto groaned internally at his inability to speak French.
“Did I… do something?” Pluto asked quietly after a moment, wanting to apologize but not exactly knowing what to say sorry for. “I-I’m sorry about earlier. You were just trying to help, and I-”
Pluto sighed and wrapped his arms around himself self-consciously, wishing he could go back to having Duke hug him instead. “I’m sorry I got you dragged into this. It’s- I mean, it must be awful getting trapped again…”
His words trailed off when Duke suddenly moved close again so that their shoulders were touching like before.
“It’s not your fault,” Duke mumbled.
“Well, then, what are you mad at me about?”
“Why would you- I’m not mad at you!”
Pluto rolled his eyes. “I’m not dense. I can tell when I’ve upset someone.”
“Well.” Pluto felt Duke’s shoulder shift as he shrugged. Beside him. “Maybe you are dense, then, because I’m not upset with you.”
“Bloody Hell, I’m obviously not wrong, am I! This reaction is just proving my-”
“D’accords!” Duke exclaimed. “You are correct! I am upset! Just not-” He poked Pluto in the chest lightly. “At you.”
“Ah. Montresor, then, I presume. I can relate,” Pluto said, relieved.
“No!”
“You’re not mad at him?!”
“Well- I mean, yes, evidently, but-” Duke’s groan was muffled as he put his face into his palms. “There is… something else, alright?” he finally finished.
Pluto tilted his head to the side in confusion.
“I…okay.”
There was an awkward silence between the two roommates for a few seconds before he continued.
“W-would you like to talk about it, or- whatever?” he scrambled to offer.
Duke’s laugh sounded forced. “Here?"
“No, let’s go continue this conversation in the Land of the Dead,” Pluto grumbled sarcastically. “Yes, here. If you’d like.”
“It’s not a very pressing matter," Duke said, traces of humour lacing his voice. “Don’t you suppose we should try a bit bit harder to get out?”
Pluto hesitated a second. Of course he wanted to get out. It was just... nice to be alone with Duke apart from the short, exhausted moments they shared in their dorm- and Pluto had never gotten this far into a serious conversation with him before.
(Not to mention, the closet was very cramped. Duke didn’t usually sit this close to him. It felt nice.)
“We could wait a bit longer…” Pluto mumbled, his face flushing a bit as Duke snickered and put his arm back over his shoulder.
“You’re not enjoying this, are you, Pluto?”
“I- enjoying what!?” Pluto spluttered indignantly.
“Why, being stuck in here with me, of course.” Pluto could practically hear Duke’s grin growing as the Frenchman spoke.
The black-haired boy’s face grew warmer. “W-why would I-”
“I’ll bet you and Montresor planned this, non? Hours alone in a closet with yours truly?”
Duke turned to Pluto and lowered his head so he was whispering in the blushing boy’s ear.
“A dream come true, ouais?” he whispered, making Pluto shiver.
“P-plan this! Why would I-!? We’re roommates, we already spend time alone, and- I- I- Hey! Maybe we should go look for some other way-”
Pluto’s panicked spiel was cut off by a kiss pressed to his lips, making whatever gibberish he was about to continue saying die in his throat.
“Wh-” he started after Duke had slowly pulled back from the kiss, not having time to finish before the Frenchman leaned down to quickly kiss him again, Pluto recovering enough from his shock to gently and hesitantly kiss back this time, feeling Duke grin against his mouth when he did.
“Crickey,” Pluto said dumbly when they pulled apart a second time, making Duke breath out a laugh and raise his eyebrow.
“Pfft. Vraiment? That’s all I get?”
“I- what?” Pluto asked, still slightly dumbfounded but feeling a small smile grow on his face.
"I do apologize- I’d usually ask beforehand, but your stuttering wasn’t seeming to stop anytime soon, and you seemed quite- oof!”
Pluto had been carried around by his roommate enough times (usually against his will, not that he ever really minded) to know that Duke could handle his weight, but the taller Frenchman still fell backwards from shock when Pluto practically jumped on him. This left them kissing on the floor, Pluto on top of Duke as they did, some small giggles escaping their lips as they went along, breaking apart to breathe every once in a while and grinning at each other.
Pluto might have been a bit put off by this position would it have been with another person in a situation with fewer clothes on- he’d never really been into sex- but he found himself quite distracted at the moment, and Duke was making no move to initiate anything more like some of the people Pluto had made out with in bars (another thing that made Pluto fall for his roommate a little bit more), so really, Pluto had no qualms about the situation.
Even being trapped by Monty in a closet didn’t seem as bad anymore when Duke’s lips tasted like vanilla and his hands were combing through Pluto’s hair soothingly as the two kissed.
And this, of course, was the very moment Lenore Vandernacht picked the lock on the closet door and swung it open.