Chapter Text
Evenings at Heartslabyul were spent in much the same way they always were. Deuce found the routine comforting. At exactly 4 pm sharp, the housewarden sat in one of the lounge chairs to take his afternoon tea, as per the Queen of Heart’s rules. Cater would bring him a cup and saucer. Trey would finish baking at around the same time and bring in a tea tray full of pastries fresh from the oven. And in the corner of the lounge, he and Ace would play card games for a few hours before heading up to do homework. Sometimes, the Prefect would join them.
This afternoon, however, it was just the two of them, hunched over the little square table playing Blackjack.
“Stay.” Ace said, setting the card in his hand face down on the table once more. He had a smug grin on his face.
Deuce scrunched his brows together looking at the cards he had. An ace, a three, and a king. “Hit.” He sighed, praying he wouldn’t get anything over a seven. Though, with Ace dealing, he wasn’t expecting much.
Ace handed him a card face-down from the deck. An eight. Just his luck. He tossed the card onto the table. “Bust.” He muttered.
“Aw, don’t look too upset, Deucey~ We can go for best 8 outta 15.” He didn’t even have to look at Ace to know he was wearing a shit-eating grin. This was the sixth time he’d won in a row, and if he hadn’t been wearing a t-shirt, Deuce would have resorted to checking his sleeves for hidden cards.
“Oh! Adeuce combi!” Cater sauntered over to their table before Deuce could get in a rebuttal. “Just the guys I wanted to see!” He scrolled through his phone as if looking for something. “Wait, the Prefect isn’t with you?”
“They’re cooking with Jamil-senpai.” Ace rolled his shoulders before leaning back in his chair.
“Did you need something, Diamond-senpai?”
“Hold on… There.” Cater grinned and held out his phone. Ace squinted at the screen. It was a Magicam post about the Pop Music Club’s upcoming performance. “The Prefect told me to tell them the moment we planned a concert!”
“Congratulations Senpai!” Deuce brightened.
“Thank you, Deuce-chan~ I better see you there! It’s going to be totes spectacular.”
“Of course! I wouldn’t miss it. I’ll tell Epel and Jack about it.” He would never miss a chance to see his upperclassman perform, and he really enjoyed live music. It was one of the things that he and the Prefect had bonded over. The both of them had spent hours on his bed scrolling through video after video of concert performances.
Cater slipped his phone into his pocket before sighing dramatically. “Sucks that the Prefect isn’t here. I wanted to take a celebratory selfie with them! It would have been totes cammable.” He glanced at Ace, squinting slightly. “I thought they would be with you, Ace. You both have been like attached at the hip lately, I’m beginning to think—”
“It’s not like that!” Ace interrupted, frantically. “I mean… I’m just making sure they’re not alone.”
Deuce rolled his eyes. “We all are. But that doesn’t mean we don’t see you trying to get more time with them.”
Ace spluttered, a wild blush rising in his cheeks.
It had been about a month and a half since the Prefect’s stalker had been expelled and things had returned to just about normal. The dark circles under their eyes had slowly begun to fade away and Deuce couldn’t help but feel relieved. There had been a few weeks when he woke up in the middle of the night to see Ace’s bed empty. Once he even caught him talking softly on the phone as he made a beeline for the door, his eyes somewhat downcast. Ace never made that face with anyone except the Prefect. Lately, the calls seemed to be getting less frequent. At least he hoped so.
But despite all that progress, they still seemed hesitant to walk about alone. The first-years had developed a system, alternating who would pick the Prefect up in the mornings for classes and drop them off at their new room at Scarabia in the evenings. Ace was notorious for sending messages in their group chat asking if anyone needed him to pick the Prefect up in their stead. Whenever this happened, Deuce tended to just let Ace do it. How could he say no when his pining was so insufferable?
Cater hummed. “But, Ace-chan! You want to ask them out, right?”
Ace ducked his head, clearly trying to avoid their gazes. He began staring holes into the ornate carpet and scuffing his sneakers against the floor. As entertaining as this was, Deuce had to wonder why they
weren’t
dating yet. They clearly liked each other. The only one Ace was fooling was himself.
“Your ears are like, so red,” Cater said with a laugh. “Then listen, you can just ask them to come to the concert! Make it a date. They told me that they're into live music and stuff.”
“Is Ace finally asking the Prefect out?” Trey set a plate of scones on the center table.
Ace groaned. “I didn’t say that.” No one looked like they believed him.
Even Riddle raised his head from his book. “I suggest you do it as soon as possible. It’s not good to draw these sorts of things out. The Queen of Hearts was decisive when it came to her relationships.”
“Okay, okay! I get it! I was just waiting because they…” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “After the whole stalker incident, they always looked so distant and jumpy. I couldn’t say anything then. I was just giving them time.” His lips pressed into a pout.
Trey walked over, crossing his arms. “I’m sure they appreciate that, but they seem to be doing better now.”
“What is this, an intervention?!”
Cater waved a hand. “Now, let’s dial it back a bit. No need to get all heated!”
“Diamond-senpai’s idea was nice.” Deuce finally said, mulling the thought over in his head. “Remember, they like concerts.”
Ace tilted his head now looking like he was seriously considering the idea.
“Think about it, kay? It’s a month away so you’ve got loads of time.” Cater said cheerfully.
Trey shot him a knowing look with a smile. “If you need help, just ask.” His tone was somewhere between genuine and teasing.
“Yeah. Thanks, senpai.” He said dryly. “I should go do my homework.” He stood, somewhat lost in thought. “Deuce, you coming?”
Deuce gathered all the cards on the table into a neat stack. “I’ll convince him.” He said quietly to both his upperclassmen.
“Good luck.” Trey raised a brow, clearly amused by this whole thing.
“Deuce?” Ace called from the doorway.
He grabbed the deck of cards and trailed after him. “Yeah, yeah. Coming.”
— — — — —
It had been three days since Cater had suggested Ace ask the Prefect out and the redhead was avoiding all mention of the topic. Deuce wanted to drop it, he really did, but the thought of the Prefect still thinking that Ace didn’t want to date was weighing on his mind. Sure, part of his impatience was because he hoped Ace would finally stop talking about the Prefect, but above all he just wanted both of his friends to be happy.
“So, what do I do?” Deuce sighed, leaning back against the bark of one of the courtyard’s many apple trees.
“There’s no point in doing anything if Ace is being stubborn,” Jack said.
Epel was focused intensely on carving up one of the apples from the tree, brows knitted as he expertly maneuvered the small blade in his hand. “I agree with Jack-kun. But, if it’s really bothering you, we could talk to the Prefect.”
“They’re the same.” Deuce sighed. “Whenever I bring it up, they give me the scary glare.”
Both Jack and Epel shuddered at either side of him, all too familiar with the Prefect’s infamous glare.
He slumped down lower, digging his heels into the dirt. “Why are they both so frustrating?”
“Who is frustrating, Spade?”
Deuce’s head shot up, slamming into the tree. Beside him, both Jack and Epel straightened. Jack’s ears were on alert and Epel had stopped cutting into the apple, mouth open in shock.
“D… Draconia-senpai.” Deuce stammered, quickly rising to his feet. “Did you need something?”
Malleus Draconia towered over him, a sort of amused expression on his face. “I came to find you to ask you for another favor, but it seems I’ve stumbled into a rather interesting conversation.”
“Ah…” He noticed the dragon holding a remote in his hand. “Did you need me to fix that?” Ever since Cater had offhandedly mentioned that Deuce was decent with machines, Malleus had sought him out to repair various knickknacks of his. Deuce didn’t think he was ever going to get used to it. Malleus insisted on repaying him each time with insanely valuable ore that Deuce would then hide under his bed. And they would stay there until he figured out what in the world to do with them.
“Yes.” Malleus looked at the remote rather thoughtfully. “In exchange, perhaps I could help you with whatever seems to be troubling you.”
Deuce hesitated, glancing back at his friends who were still rather frozen. It didn’t seem like too bad of an idea. At least it was a better form of repayment than ore. He knew that outside of Diasomnia, the Prefect was the only one who talked to Malleus on a regular basis. They even had a nickname for him, much to everyone’s surprise. “Um… I’ll try to help with the remote.” He held his hand out.
Malleus smiled, rather pleased before handing over the little thing. “I appreciate it. Lilia wishes to have game nights in the dorm, as a bonding activity. It would be wrong of me as a dorm leader to be unable to participate.”
“What exactly is wrong with it?” The remote was a bit worn with use, but there didn’t seem to be any damage.
“It was not working when I tried to use it.”
Right. That wasn’t much help. Deuce turned the remote on, watching the lights on the bottom blink repeatedly. “Oh. You just need to calibrate it. I’m sure Vanrouge-senpai can show you how.”
Malleus leaned forward to look at the little lights. His horns were so close to Deuce’s head, he was almost tempted to reach out and touch them. Instead, he just offered the remote back. “Then there is no issue?”
“No. It’s perfectly fine.” Deuce said with an awkward laugh.
The dragon took the remote rather gingerly before stepping back. “I see. Then, as promised, I will help you with your dilemma. What ails you?”
For the first time since Malleus had arrived, Epel spoke up.
“Malleus-san… I’m not sure if you can help.”
“Oh?”
“It’s about the Prefect,” Deuce said quickly. “They… they really like Ace. And Ace really likes them back!”
Malleus seemed far more interested now that the Prefect had been mentioned. “I fail to see how that is an issue.” He said, frowning slightly.
“The problem is that Ace won’t confess his feelings. And the Prefect thinks that Ace isn’t willing to date.” Jack spoke up. His tail was swishing a little nervously and he still sounded like he was in awe. “Uh... Malleus-senpai.” He tacked on quickly, out of respect.
“I see.” He seemed to ponder the situation for a moment. “I will speak with the Prefect.” He declared finally.
“You would do that?” Deuce looked hopeful. “Thank you, senpai.”
“Do not mention it,” Malleus replied with an easy smile. “It was my promised reward to you. And as this concerns the Prefect, I would like to help even so. Thank you for your aid once again, Spade. If you ever require anything from me, do not hesitate to let me know.”
Deuce felt like he might faint. He was on speaking terms with Malleus Draconia. One of the strongest mages in the world. The feeling was just too great to handle. “Yes, Draconia-senpai!” He said earnestly.
Malleus walked off, cradling the remote in his hands.
“Whoa,” Jack whispered.
“He’s actually sort of nice,” Epel said slowly. “I mean, I suppose he was nice at the VDC but seeing him like this feels different.”
Deuce could only nod in agreement.
That evening, Deuce and Ace ended up being in charge of walking the Prefect back to Scarabia. The Prefect walked in between the two of them, arguing eagerly with Ace about which shoe to put on first.
“It’s obviously right then left.” Ace said boldly.
“Absolutely not! Left foot first.”
“Why would you do left foot first?”
“Because—”
“Child of Man, it has been a while.” Malleus stood before them with a serene smile. Deuce felt his shoulders slump slightly. It seemed Malleus intended to make good on his promise immediately.
“Tsunotarou!” The Prefect lit up, rushing forward to go say hi. “It has been a while! Are you doing okay?”
“I am doing fine. I was wondering if I could borrow you for a bit. Perhaps I could take you the remainder of the way.” He offered.
“Oh…” They glanced back at Ace and Deuce. “Guys, is that alright? I haven’t spent time with him in a while.”
“It’s not like we had plans,” Deuce said with a shrug.
Ace was oddly silent, staring at Malleus with an expression Deuce couldn’t quite place. “Yeah.” He said finally. “That’s fine.”
“I assure you, they will be perfectly safe with me.”
The Prefect huffed out a laugh. “I don’t think they need your reassurances about that.”
Deuce couldn’t help but agree. There was no one in their right mind who would dare approach Malleus looking for a fight. Though, when he glanced at Ace, he wasn’t so sure.
The redhead was looking at Malleus with his jaw slightly set, something uncertain flickering in his eyes. Malleus met his gaze rather cooly before his lips twitched up slightly. “Then, shall we?”
“Sure! Did you see any more gargoyles on your walks?”
The pair walked off, Malleus talking animatedly about the latest path he had taken around campus. Once they were out of sight, Deuce whirled on Ace. “The fuck was that?”
Ace snapped out of it, looking at Deuce in confusion. “What was what?”
“Your face? You looked like you were going to jump him!”
“Jump him?!” Ace scrunched his brows. “I’m not fucking insane.”
Deuce stared at him for a moment before the realization hit. “You’re jealous.” He said, eyes going wide. “You’re fucking jealous!”
“No!” Ace protested. “I’m not! I’m not.”
“You are.” Why were his friends so stupid when it came to this? “Ugh, stop acting like a wuss! You’ve got no right to be jealous if you’re not going to ask them out in the first place!”
Ace opened his mouth wordlessly before snapping it shut. He stared off in the direction Malleus and the Prefect had walked off in. “Fine.” He whispered. “I’ll do it. I’ll ask them out.”
“You—” Deuce stopped his tirade in his tracks. “You will?”
“I was already thinking about it. I promised myself I would. I just wasn’t sure if the concert was the best way to do it but now…” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking slightly embarrassed. “I’ll do it.”
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank you Malleus Draconia.
Even if it wasn’t what he thought would happen when Malleus got involved, there was at least some progress. “Alright. You better not back out of this one, Ace.”
“I won’t.”
Somehow, the expression on Ace’s face made Deuce believe him.