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“So, uh… Do you want to go out with me?”
Deuce stared at Ace, looked around, and blinked. “Where? We’re already outside.”
“Oh my fucking god.” Ace slapped a hand to his forehead. He dragged it down his face and mumbled into his hand, “I already regret this. Great fucking job, me. I had the entire fucking school to choose from, and it had to be this dumbass.”
“Hey!” Deuce wasn’t entirely sure what Ace was talking about, but he definitely got that the last part he muttered was an insult about him. “You’re the one who asked me a stupid question. What else could ‘go out’ mea—”
Deuce didn’t finish his sentence.
Ace glared at him with his hand still covering half his face. His cheeks glowed suspiciously red under his fingers.
“Wait,” Deuce swallowed, “did you mean like… go out go out?”
“I sure as fucking hell don’t mean ‘hang out’ go out!” Ace snapped. He crossed his arms angrily and huffed.
Heat rose to his cheeks too as the meaning of Ace’s original question dawned on him. “You mean like… you like me?”
“Maybe at one point, but I’m really second-guessing myself right now!” he said, getting redder by the minute.
Something fluttered in Deuce’s chest, and his mouth went dry.
“You know what? Never mind, I take it back, so just… pretend you didn’t hear anything, okay?” Ace uncrossed his arms and started walking away.
“Wait!” he stepped forward and grabbed Ace by the wrist. “Wait.”
Ace twisted his arm lightly in his hold, but he didn’t try to pull away. “What?” he asked the ground with a quiet sense of defeat.
He stammered. “I— Yes.”
This time, Ace looked back over his shoulder with his eyebrows furrowed. “You what?”
“I, too, um… Like, y’know, I guess I…?” Deuce stopped, confused by the nonsense coming from his mouth. He had words in his mind, but they were all jumbled and refused to come out in the right order.
For a second, Ace stared at him in disbelief. Then, he burst out laughing. “Oh my god, what are you even trying to say?”
“I don’t know, okay?” he said angrily, face burning with mortification. He frowned and held onto Ace’s wrist tighter. “I just… Maybe it wouldn’t be bad to go out with you.” The second he said it, his confidence dissipated, and he let go of Ace.
Slowly, Ace drew his arm back to his body and rubbed his wrist. Tentatively, he asked, “So… is that a ‘yes’?”
“… Yeah.” He glanced up briefly at Ace but couldn’t hold his gaze for more than a split second.
Ace drew in a deep breath. “Okay then,” he said and cleared his throat. “Cool.”
“Cool,” Deuce echoed, feeling more awkward than he had in a long time.
“I, uhhh,” Ace said, eyes darting around as he searched for words, “gotta go do a thing, so I’ll get going now. See you later.”
“’Kay. Bye.”
He barely finished saying good-bye before Ace turned and marched away.
After Ace was gone, Deuce went back into the school building, headed toward the nearest bathroom, and got into a stall. The second he locked it, he covered his face with his hands and tried not to yell.
He was dating Ace now.
He was dating Ace now.
A week had passed since he started dating(?) Ace, but not much had changed. The first few days of their new relationship was awkward, and Deuce couldn’t even look at Ace without wanting to run away, but things were getting better. It was true that they weren’t quite able to stop a stubborn blush from scrubbing their cheeks red when they caught each other off guard, but probably nobody noticed that. At least they were back to chatting like before.
Still, Deuce couldn’t help but feel like they should be doing… more? He liked hanging out with Ace normally, but if they were going out, then surely they should be doing other things too. Like hold hands or—Deuce bit his lower lip—kiss. Wait, actually, Deuce thought. Maybe they had to go on a date or something before all that.
He shoved his fingers into his hair and ruffled it. Was being in a relationship supposed to be this confusing and stressful? Was he going to be able to survive through all this if he’s freaking out this much and it’s only been a week?
Deuce had had crushes before, but none of them ever developed into anything. Come to think of it, Deuce frowned, he didn’t even know Ace liked him. Since when? And why? Sure, they basically saw each other every day since they were in the same class and all, but he couldn’t really think of any outstanding instances where he noticed Ace liking him. Actually, did he like Ace?
Ace definitely had a mean streak, but Deuce couldn’t say he was a perfect angel himself either. Rather, he appreciated the fact that Ace could be honest with his opinions and selfish interests. As for his relentless teasing, it never really bothered him despite how embarrassed he got sometimes. Besides, it was always worth it when he managed to get Ace back and make him flustered. More often than not, the two of them ended up riling each other past their boiling points, but he enjoyed the banter too.
As for Ace’s looks… Well, he definitely didn’t have any qualms about that. The easy smile on his face was nice to look at, and Deuce liked his laugh. The malicious way his eyes sometimes sparkled was something else too. And then there was the way he tightly creased his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side when he was thinking. And his hands…
It was probably because he wanted to look more badass or something, but Deuce wasn’t completely sure why Ace didn’t wear both his gloves with his school uniform. It provided a nice contrast though, he had to admit. Since they were about the same height, their hands were also probably the same size, but now Deuce really wanted to find out if that was the case. What if he… held them a little? Only a little.
His heart was pounding a thousand beats a second merely thinking about maybe holding hands with Ace, but that was probably a good first step in their new relationship. He could work from there. Somehow. He just had to think about how he would get there first.
He rested his elbows on the table in front of him, still clutching his head with his hands. Life was hard.
“—chan? Deuce-chan?”
“Huh?” Deuce looked up and to his left. Cater and Trey stood a few steps away from him.
“Oh good,” Cater smiled and waved, “you’re alive!”
“Diamond-senpai! Clover-senpai!” he gasped and stood up from his chair. “Sorry I didn’t notice you. I was, uh, thinking.”
“No kidding!” Cater said with his eyebrows raised. “You were sending out such strong stress vibes I felt you from a mile away!”
Deuce cleared his throat. “Sorry….”
“Don’t sweat it. But you doing okay? You look pretty stressed.”
“If you’re having problems with your classes, you know you can always talk to Riddle for help, right?” Trey suggested.
“Oh, uh…” Deuce glanced at the table, where he had spread out all his textbooks and homework from the day. He vaguely remembered doing work before he got lost in his thoughts.
“Ooh, wait! If it’s not homework woes, could it be… love troubles?” Cater said, picking up on Deuce’s hesitance.
Deuce felt his core temperature rise a few degrees, and he stood frozen on the spot.
Cater’s grin widened. “OMG, am I actually right? Deuce-chan, do you have love troubles?”
“Cater,” Trey said in a firm voice.
“Oops, soz,” he giggled. Then, he walked over to Deuce’s side and slung an arm over his shoulder. He winked breezily at him. “Well, whatever your troubles are, you know you can depend on us for help, right?”
“Um, right….” He shifted his weight on his feet to support Cater leaning on him and tried to sort his thoughts. Cater seemed like the kind of guy who knew a lot about relationships, and since he was offering to help, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to ask him a question or two. The problem was the way Cater was looking at him, eyes sparkling and smile wide. He seemed kind of devious, but that was probably Deuce’s imagination.
“Well…” Deuce began, trying to choose his words carefully, “Theoretically speaking, is there a way to, uh, casually hold someone’s hand?”
“Of course! It’s easy,” Cater said happily. He removed his arm from Deuce’s shoulders and dug into his pocket. “One sec, though. Could you hang onto this for me real quick?” he asked, holding something in his fist.
“Sure…?” Deuce opened his hand palm up to take whatever it was Cater wanted to give him.
Cater moved his hand over his but instead of dropping something into it, he uncurled his fingers and tucked them between Deuce’s. He held up their linked hands triumphantly. “And done!”
“D-Diamond-senpai!” he gasped, trying to pull their entangled fingers apart.
Across from them, Trey sighed and pushed his glasses up. “Cater.”
“JK, Deuce-chan!” Cater said airily and let his hand go. He walked back over to Trey.
“Sorry about Cater, Deuce,” Trey said with a wry smile.
“N-No, it’s… fine,” he said. “I think.”
“But about your question,” Trey said, “it’s not going to be casual no matter how hard you try if you keep stressing out over it, so the best thing to do is just go for it.” He reached over to Cater’s hand and laced their fingers together. He held up their hands. “See?”
Cater smiled and flashed him a peace sign with his free hand. “Super casual!”
“I see…” he muttered, crossing one arm over himself and putting his other hand to his chin. “So I just have to not make it a big deal?”
“Exactly. It might be easier said than done though.” Trey shrugged.
“I’ll keep that in mind! Thanks, Clover-senpai!”
“No problem.”
“Anyway, Riddle-kun’s waiting for us so we gotta go, but GL with everything, Deuce-chan! Later.”
“Thank you for your help!” he said and waved at the two of them as they started walking off.
Maybe he was overthinking things, then. Holding hands with someone wasn’t some complicated magical formula, after all. He felt a little more confident about things now.
Wait.
He looked up and saw Cater and Trey exiting the lounge, chatting casually with their hands still linked together.
Did he just never notice or…?
“Ugh,” Ace dropped a bag of dirt on the ground next to a stack of identical bags. “That’s the last of it, right?”
Deuce straightened up and brushed his hands off. “Yeah. I think so.” Just as they were being dismissed for the last class of the day, Crewel stopped Ace and Deuce and asked them to get some bags of soil from the school’s shed to the greenhouse, so the two of them had to stay behind while everyone left to go back to their dorms.
“Man!” Ace said explosively and huffed. “Why the hell do we always get roped into helping Crewel with stuff, anyway? He has the entire class to choose from, but it’s always us! Seriously, what is up with that?”
As much as he agreed with Ace, Deuce didn’t have an answer, so he just shrugged. “Not like he can ask Yuu and Grim.”
“Ah, well…” Ace frowned and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, considering these bags are like five times Grim’s weight. Anyway, let’s take this damn thing back and get out of here,” he said and kicked the cart by them disdainfully.
“Sure.” Deuce started pushing it toward the exit of the greenhouse.
A week and a half had passed since he and Ace started dating(???), but still nothing had changed. Deuce had been meaning to put the advice he received from Trey to good use, but he couldn’t find the opportunity to do it. Whenever he and Ace were together, there were other people around, and he was definitely not brave enough to try to hold hands with Ace in front of others.
But… He glanced to his side, where Ace was walking and grumbling something under his breath. Maybe this would be a good chance. They were finally alone, after all.
Deuce could feel his hands getting sweaty in his gloves, and his collar and tie felt a bit tight around his neck as he thought about what he needed to do. First, he had to return the cart so he actually had free hands. Next, he needed to make sure he was standing close enough to Ace to actually hold his hand but not… crash into him or something. Okay, maybe he’ll think about Step Two after he was done with Step One.
The dolly clattered loudly as Deuce shoved it back with the other carts and, suddenly, his hands were free.
Thinking about Step Two was happening a lot sooner than Deuce had anticipated.
“Cool,” Ace said. “Done and done.” He started heading to the door. After pushing it open, he waited for Deuce, and they walked out together. They naturally fell in step with each other.
Okay, okay, okay. This was the moment. Now all Deuce needed to do was carry out Step Three: casually reach over to Ace and take his hand. He swallowed then clenched and unclenched his right hand a few times to hype himself up. He looked toward Ace.
Aw, shit.
“Man, I can’t believe it’s only Wednesday. Can’t wait for the weekend…” Ace said breezily. He walked with his hands linked behind his head.
Deuce started sweating more. He forgot that Step Three could only be accomplished if Ace’s hand was within reasonable reach.
“Deuce?” He looked up. Ace had stopped and turned around. “You okay, man?”
“Uhhh, yeah!” he said, panicked. He clasped his hands together and squeezed them. Then, he cleared his throat. “I’m fine.”
Ace gave him an unconvinced look. Then, slowly, as if he realized something, he lowered his hands so they were at his side. “Okaaay…” He crossed his arms only to immediately uncross them again. “Well, anyway. Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
They started walking again, this time in silence. Deuce felt hyper-aware of his every step and exactly how stiff and awkward they were. He was doing a terrible job of being “casual” about this whole thing, but at this point, there was nothing left but for him to do it.
Ace’s hand was swinging gently with his steps, and he was looking straight ahead as they made their way back to the school building. Deuce kept glancing down to his side in what he hoped was a discreet manner, and finally, after several agonizing moments, he reached out grabbed Ace’s hand.
They stumbled half a step together but continued walking.
Deuce could feel himself shaking as he clumsily slid his fingers between the gaps of Ace’s hand and squeezed. His heart was about to pound out of his chest, and his ears roared with its rapid-fire beating. Suddenly, he felt Ace squeeze his hand back, and he let out a long breath of relief. He did it. They were holding hands.
He started beaming, his heart fluttering for reasons other than pure panic.
Next to him, Ace coughed subtly. “Uh, Deuce?”
“Y-Yes?” he asked, still looking forward.
“You’re kind of crushing my hand.”
“Shit, I’m sorry!” he immediately let go of Ace and stepped away. So much for having succeeded. He didn’t even realize how much strength he was putting in his grip since he was so nervous.
Ace burst out laughing without warning. “You’re such an idiot!”
“Wha—!” he exploded, face and body hot. But then he froze. Ace’s cheeks and ears were red too.
His laughter slowly lost its sharp bite until it mellowed out into a lopsided and soft smile tinged with embarrassment. “C’mon,” he said, nudging Deuce with his shoulder and nonchalantly tucking his hand into his. “Let’s go.”
Deuce stared at their hands. “Ah—” He tripped forward when Ace tugged on him and urged him to start walking.
When Ace tightened his hold on Deuce’s hand, Deuce squeezed back instinctively. He was a bit fuzzy on the details of how they got back to the school building, but even after they released their grip on each other when the sound of other students started drifting toward them, Deuce could remember the solid and comfortable warmth of Ace’s hand in his.
After the first time they held hands, Deuce and Ace started brushing up against each other a lot more than before. They had always been a bit touchy-feely with each other, but now their actions were more deliberate. Their hands lingered on each other’s shoulders and arms a second longer than necessary, they sat a bit too close together on the lounge’s couch, and when no one was around, they would sometimes hook their pinkies together behind the cover of a raised book between them.
It was nice, and Deuce liked the increased physicality between them. It really made it feel like they were actually in a relationship and things between them were special.
To make things better, they had finally gotten over the initial embarrassment of dating and were finally back to their normal level of interaction as well. They still bickered over the smallest things, but Deuce appreciated that return to normalcy as well. Being able to talk, disagree, banter, and laugh with Ace made him happy. And now he got the added bonus of sometimes getting to hold his hand.
Things couldn’t get much better.
But he was greedy and still wanted more.
Which is how he ended up in his current situation, sitting in bed and scrolling through his phone furiously. He needed information on how to kiss someone, and this was information he was only comfortable with acquiring through the internet because the last time he tried to ask someone for help, he got scammed into holding hands with them.
Deuce didn’t even want to think about what might happen if he tried to ask Cater for tips on how to kiss someone. He didn’t doubt that Cater would somehow end up kissing him. Or tagging him in a Magicam post and exposing his secret. Or both. God, no, he wasn’t going to ask anyone this time.
Thankfully, the internet had plenty of advice on the topic.
He mulled thoughtfully over the different websites he found, trying to organize all the tips and tricks in his head. There were a lot of things to keep in mind. The way he used his lips and tongue, where his hands should go, and even the mood of the whole moment. This was definitely going to be harder than holding Ace’s hand.
But it would be worth it. He wanted to know what it would feel like to kiss Ace. His face burned at the thought.
Suddenly, the door to the room rattled and opened.
“Hey, Deuce—”
“Ack!”
“Whoa!” Ace took a step back, one hand still on the doorknob and the other patting his chest. “What the fuck, man?”
“Sorry, you startled me,” Deuce said, guiltily shoving his phone into his pocket.
“No shit,” Ace said with a scowl.
“So, uh, did you need me for something?”
“Yeah. Trey-senpai baked cupcakes and is asking everyone in the dorm if they want one. You in?”
“Uh,” he swallowed, “sure.”
“Well, come on then,” Ace said, jerking his head toward the hallway.
Deuce got off his bed robotically, shoved his feet into his shoes, and went over to the door. His hands already itched to take Ace’s face, but he pushed down the urge and continued walking. He still needed to prepare himself a bit more.
“Heh, you guys are pretty cute when I get a closer look at you, I guess.”
Deuce glanced up and to his side. Ace was sitting next to him, surrounded by a bunch of colorful hedgehogs. They were sniffing Ace’s hand and grunting softly as they padded around him.
The afternoon sun felt nice on them, and the weather was beautiful too. Both of them were on hedgehog duty today, and they were currently supervising them during their daily outdoor playtime. “Supervising” was a really loose term though, since all they had to do was watch the little croquet critters run around on the grass and make sure they didn’t get eaten by something. It was probably one of the easiest chores the dorm had and Deuce didn’t mind it. Especially if he and Ace were on duty together.
The hedgehog’s play area was set a little distance away from the dorm building and was half-shrouded in the woods for shade. In other words, it was a quiet place where they wouldn’t be easily disturbed.
“Someone’s popular,” he said, gently setting down the hedgehog he was playing with and watching as it waddled over to Ace and climbed up his crossed legs.
Ace laughed and squirmed, apparently feeling ticklish from the tiny paws clawing their way up him.
“What’d you do to make them like you so much?”
“Hmm.” Ace stroked his finger over the soft, fuzzy head of one of the hedgehogs and smiled. “Not much. I just saved them when they got lost right before that one Unbirthday Party. Remember that one time when the flamingos got loose too?”
Deuce frowned at the memory. There was no way he would forget that chaotic day and the upperclassmen who had decided to release the animals from their cages just because they had a bone to pick with Riddle.
“Hey, calm down. You look like you’re about to murder someone, “Ace said.
“Sorry,” he said, relaxing his expression. He didn’t realize he had furrowed his eyebrows and started frowning. “I just don’t like the fact that the animals were put in danger like that.”
Ace laughed. “You’re just like our dorm leader.”
“Huh?”
“You really like animals too, don’t you?”
“I don’t… hate them. It’s just, they didn’t do anything wrong, so why get them involved with things?”
“Aw, you’re so kind-hearted,” he joked. He reached out and ruffled Deuce’s hair.
Deuce grumbled and swatted his hand away, embarrassed. “Quit that.”
The smile on Ace’s face didn’t fade even as he drew his hand back.
Deuce watched him quietly, his eyes following the way he petted the hedgehogs and laughed when they touched their twitching snouts against his palm. Even though Ace didn’t come off as a particularly strong animal-lover, he looked really happy surrounded by all the hedgehogs. Actually, Deuce didn’t think he had ever seen Ace’s expression this soft before.
Sure, he had seen him angry, bored, scheming, and laughing before, but this was… really new. The way the corners of his mouth tugged up was cute, and the gentle look in his eyes was making Deuce’s heart do weird things. He was so vulnerable and open.
Deuce took in the situation.
They were alone, the weather was nice, and Ace was in a great mood. If there was a good time to seize the chance, this was probably it.
“Ace,” he called out, the word tumbling from his mouth before he realized it.
“Hm?”
He reached out and held Ace firmly on the shoulder, applying just enough pressure to make him turn toward him. His sudden motion made the hedgehogs hop from Ace’s lap and scurry away.
“Ow, what the hell do you want, bastard?” Ace snapped, distracted by the flurry of animals fleeing from him. He froze when he met Deuce’s gaze.
“I’m going to kiss you,” Deuce said, eyebrows tightly knit and mouth in a firm line.
“What?” Confusion was scrawled over Ace’s flushed cheeks.
Deuce moved forward a little too fast and pushed their mouths together. There was nothing particularly sensual about the action, and Deuce still had no idea what he was doing, but his face felt like it was on fire. Dimly, he was aware of how Ace’s breath tickled his face and how warm and chapped his lips felt against his.
He didn’t know how long he was supposed to keep this up, so when he started feeling like he might die from embarrassment, Deuce moved away and opened his eyes.
Ace glared at him, face and ears red. “Idiot,” he said quietly. “You’re supposed to ask for permission, not just fucking declare and do it.”
“Sorry,” he said, realizing his mistake too late. “I didn’t mean to—”
Ace’s eyes darted away from his face, but he didn’t try to move away. “S’fine,” he mumbled. “That was a fucking shitty kiss though. Haven’t you ever kissed anyone before?”
The question took Deuce off guard. “… No,” he said earnestly. Then, nervously, he asked, “Have you?”
Ace blinked at him, apparently stunned by having the question turned back on him. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, swallowed, then, so quietly Deuce probably wouldn’t have heard him if they weren’t so close, he whispered, “No.”
The knowledge that they just shared their first kiss with each other made Deuce feel absurdly giddy, and he grinned.
“What the hell are you so happy about?” Ace grumbled with a deep frown.
“N-Nothing,” Deuce lied. He hesitated and wetted his dry lips with his tongue. His hand tightened on Ace’s shoulder as he cautiously opened his mouth. “Can I kiss you?”
“You already did, didn’t you?” Ace said, looking down between them stubbornly. “… Do whatever you want, stupid.”
His heart did a few more happy back filps, and he reached out to hold Ace’s face in his hands. Excitement and nervousness made his fingers shake, but he was encouraged by how easily Ace let him lift his face, even though he still refused to meet his eyes. He closed his eyes and leaned down again.
The sun was warm on them as they kissed.
It was time.
Deuce opened his eyes and sat up quietly. The room was dark, and his other roommates were sound asleep. Carefully, he got out from his bed, crouched down, and pulled out a bag from behind the bed’s skirting. With his goods acquired, he put on his shoes and a jacket and snuck out of the room.
The hallways of the Heartslabyul dorm were quiet when he closed the door behind him. It didn’t seem like there was anyone around, thankfully. After a brief and paranoid glance around, he headed toward a set of stairs that nobody usually used.
He was almost there when he heard someone whisper his name behind him. He jumped a little, but he recognized the voice. When he turned around, Ace was making his way toward him with a blanket in his arms.
“Hey,” he said softly.
“Hey,” Ace returned. He looked at the stuff Deuce was holding. “What’s that?”
“Snacks and stuff.”
Ace laughed under his breath. “Someone’s prepared.”
“Of course I am,” he replied. He felt his cheeks get warmer as he muttered, “Since this is for our d-date.” He peeked over at Ace, but he refused to meet his gaze.
Ace walked next to him and asked quietly, “Where are we going anyway?”
“To the roof.”
“I thought that place was off-limits without special permission.”
Deuce glanced at him. “It is,” he said, “unless you don’t get caught.”
They started climbing up the stairs, and Ace snickered. “You’re going to get us killed.”
“We’ll be fine,” he said as they reached a landing. Deuce went over to the door at the end of it and tested the doorknob. Thankfully, it was unlocked, just like he had been promised. He pushed it, and it swung open effortlessly. “Come on.”
The air was a touch chilly, but it wasn’t too bad. Still, Deuce was glad he had the foresight to ask Ace to bring a blanket, just in case.
“Whoa…” Ace froze on the spot when he stepped outside. His bright eyes were fixed on the night sky.
Thanks to the fact that there was relatively little light pollution at Night Raven, they could see the stars clearly from the roof. Even though it was hard to see Ace’s expression perfectly, Deuce’s heart still skipped a beat when he heard his awed voice. He reached over and took Ace’s hand. “Let’s sit down over there,” he said, tugging Ace along with him.
“Yeah,” he said, turning his attention from the stars to Deuce. He was smiling too.
They found a nice open spot and settled down next to each other, knees drawn up and blanket draped across their shoulders. As Ace gazed at the skies above their heads, Deuce took out a thermos container from the bag he brought. He unscrewed the lid, turned it over to use as a cup, and poured some hot chocolate into it. It steamed in the night air, and he brought it up to his lips to blow on. Once he figured it was cooled down enough, he nudged Ace. “Here,” he said, holding the cup out.
“Oh,” Ace blinked in surprise. He took the drink from Deuce. “… Thanks.”
While Ace drank the hot chocolate, he rummaged through his bag again and pulled out a small container. He snapped the lid open and offered it to Ace. “Cookie?”
Ace stared at him and lowered the cup from his mouth. He eyed the cookies warily. “Aren’t you, like, too prepared? You’re being too nice. This feels weird.”
“I-I’m just trying to be considerate!” Deuce said in a hushed but angry whisper. Embarrassment made his face hot. “I mean… I’m your boyfriend, right?” he asked in a small voice. He glared at the box of cookies, as if it was the source of all his woes.
Without saying anything, Ace reached over, took a cookie, and pressed the edge of it to Deuce’s mouth. Despite his confusion, Deuce still took a bite of it. The soft sweetness of it spread through his mouth, and he felt his anger abate somewhat.
“How’s it?”
“Good,” he muttered with a pout.
Ace brought the half-eaten cookie to his own mouth and started munching on it. “Huh,” he said after his first bite. “You’re right. This is good.”
Deuce scowled at him.
When Ace noticed him staring, he stopped sipping his hot chocolate and grinned. “What? I just wanted to make sure you didn’t poison these or something before I ate one.” His false bravado faded, and he started nibbling quietly on the remainder of his cookie. “Thanks for all this, Deuce.”
“… You’re welcome.”
“But damn,” Ace said as he finished his first cookie. “That was really good. Did Trey-senpai make them?”
“He… helped me a little.”
“Wait, you mean you made them?” Ace asked in surprise.
Deuce blushed under his gaze. “Y-Yeah.” He didn’t mention the fact that, in exchange for teaching him how to make the cookies, he had agreed to help Trey with his baking for the next two weeks.
Silently, Ace reached out and shoved another cookie into his mouth. His eyes positively sparkled at its mild sweetness as he stuffed his cheeks with it. He scooted a little closer to Deuce and licked crumbs off his fingertips. “So… what made you bring me up here anyway?” He took yet another cookie from the box.
“I heard this was a good spot for stargazing from Rosehearts-senpai,” Deuce answered.
Ace hummed and turned his eyes back to the sky.
Though things seemed to be working great at the moment, Deuce had to jump through a lot of hoops to make it all happen. It started a few days ago, while he was mulling over what a good date plan would be. It was by luck that he ran into Riddle on his way to the library. At the time, Riddle had been holding onto quite a few books on astronomy, so Deuce stopped to help him carry them.
As they talked, Riddle told Deuce about the dorm’s roof, which was perfect for observing the constellations. Unfortunately, he had to gain permission from Riddle and a few teachers before he could get the key to the rooftop’s door. The process sounded complicated, and permission was usually only given to students for class or special assignments, so Deuce was at a loss for what to do.
With no one else to turn to, he resignedly sought out Trey and Cater for help. To his great surprise, not only did Cater say he could make sure the rooftop door was unlocked for him for a night, he also said he and Trey could keep Riddle distracted, so he and Ace could sneak out without worrying about being caught. That was another important part, since Riddle made it his personal duty to carry out the nightly patrols around the dorm on the weekends so he could catch any potential rule-breakers.
He was really thankful for the offer of help, but he was significantly less thankful when Cater said he would only do it for him if he agreed to take over some of his dorm chores in exchange. The price was steep, but he was resolute in creating a perfect date, so he agreed to the deal.
After adding two weeks’ worth of baking with Trey and one month’s worth of Cater’s flamingo feeding and cleaning duties to his debt tab, he finally managed to make this night happen. He didn’t really want to think about the amount of suffering that was waiting for him in the future, but…
He looked at Ace, who was so busy admiring the constellations and glittering stars that he had stopped eating and drinking. Quietly, he reached out and took Ace’s hand. Ace blinked at him in surprise, but his expression softened when he saw Deuce moving forward, and he closed his eyes. Ace’s lips tasted of hot chocolate and cookie crumbs, and Deuce couldn’t get enough of it.
Ace squeezed his hand and kissed him back, and Deuce felt like he could fly.
He still had a lot to learn about what it meant to date someone, and he was honestly literally always confused, but if he could continue sharing moments like this with Ace… Well, he was willing to do anything in his power to make things work.
He had plenty of time to figure out how to be a good boyfriend anyway.