Work Text:
“O Sol pediu a Lua em casamento
E a Lua disse: Não sei, não sei, não sei
Me dá um tempo”
“The Sun, decided to propose to The Moon
And the Moon, she said: Don't know, don't know, don't know
Give me a second”
o sol e a lua, Pequeno Cidadão
Silver was sitting in the Diasomnia lounge, barely awake, when Sebek and Lilia came in. Sebek was storming- red faced, stuttering, waving his hands around his face. Lilia was practically floating along behind him, giggling into one black-gloved hand.
“What’s going on?” Silver asked, sitting up all the way and squinting through her bangs and the hazy light to Sebek.
“Lilia-sama is being- absurd !” Sebek stamped his foot, throwing a look at Lilia, then turned back to Silver and said, “Tell me, do I act as if I have romantic feelings for Ace Trappola?”
Silver blinked, caught off-guard. “That’s…. The red one, right? Riddle’s friend?”
Sebek sniffed. “Yes.”
“Ah, no, I don’t think so,” Silver said, frowning. “Though… I can see it.”
Sebek threw his hands up. “No! There’s nothing to see!”
Lilia sat on the arm of the couch, drawing one knee up and cushioning his chin there. “I’m just saying, perhaps you should indulge in a date! Even if you don’t like him, dates are fun.”
Sebek crossed his arms, sitting primly on the couch across from Silver and Lilia, a stark difference from the murderous look in his eyes. “I have no interest in going out with somebody that I’m uninterested in.”
“What’s going on ,” Silver repeated, more confused than she’d been before.
Sebek started to speak, but Lilia cut him off. “Ace asked Sebek on a beach date this weekend. Sebek doesn’t want to go, because he doesn’t see how much he likes Ace. I’m trying to tell him not to be silly and to just accept the offer .”
“ I do not -”
Lilia threw his arms up. “Really, Sebek! I’m 700 years old! I know when somebody has feelings for someone else!”
Sebek bit his lip, clearly wanting to argue the matter further but not wanting to argue with Lilia . (Knowing Sebek, he would somehow find a way to work this argument into a future conversation with Silver and pick a fight with her.)
Silver frowned, shaking her head and looking to Sebek. “Why are you so against at the very least trying to go out on a date or two with Ace? He’s… Nice. Ish.”
“Wh- Because- He’s a human !” Sebek shouted, cheeks flushing further.
Silver sighed, rolling his eyes. “Thanks, I really feel the love.”
Sebek glared at Silver. “You’re different .”
Lilia giggled. “Aww,” he cooed. “Look at my kids, getting along so wonderfully! If only this could last.”
Silver glanced at Lilia. “You like our fights. They entertain you.”
Beaming, Lilia shrugged, lifting one cloaked shoulder elegantly. He opened his mouth to speak, but his phone chiming three times in rapid succession distracted him. He pulled it from his pocket, glancing down at it and absolutely lighting up . “Oh! I have to go!” He slid off the couch, petting Silver’s hair affectionately then crossing the sitting area to pat Sebek’s cheek. “Do think about it, dear. If nothing else, you could view it as a friendly outing. He is your friend, you can’t argue with that!”
Sebek shrugged, slumping onto the couch a bit. “Where are you going?”
Lilia cheerfully waved his phone. “Gloomy wants to chat for a bit,” he explained, something soft entering his voice.
Silver… Didn’t know how to feel about that. On one hand, she was glad Lilia had found someone that he enjoyed so thoroughly, even if it was currently nothing more than idle entertainment; on the other hand, ew , Lilia had a boyfriend. As Lilia left the room, Silver shook her head and leaned closer, lowering her voice. “Back to the matter at hand. You and Ace,” she added when Sebek blinked owlishly at her.
Sebek spluttered. “There is no matter at hand! Nothing is happening!”
Silver propped her chin on one hand and coyly said, “I seem to remember a certain dream that said otherwise.”
Sebek fell silent. After a beat, he croaked, “ What dream.”
Silver jumped to her feet, summoning a vaguely person-shaped vacuum of wind and twirling herself into its arm. “Oh, Ace,” she said dramatically. “You’re so romantic! Kiss me!”
The next second, Silver had to duck as a couch cushion nearly nailed her in the face. She laughed, running around to duck behind the couch. Sebek leaned over the back of it, grabbing at her, and she shrieked and dropped to the ground, rolling away. When she clambered to her feet, she realized with a jolt of affection that, despite his irritated, flushed face, Sebek was laughing, too.
She was caught just off-guard enough that the next projectile cushion hit her directly in the face and sent her sprawling on the ground as Sebek shouted triumphantly.
Riddle was peacefully tending to his horse, Darling, carefully brushing out her silky mane, when a shadow fell over him. He immediately reached for his pen, twisting on his heel only to find Silver looming over him, her hair pulled back into a messy, short ponytail, violet eyes luminescent as always after her ride.
“Yes?” Riddle asked, his throat uncomfortably dry.
“Has Ace said anything about this weekend? Confirmed plans, maybe?” Silver crossed her arms, leaning against the wall to Darling’s pen.
Riddle cocked his head to the side. “Actually, yes. Why?”
Silver grinned, her face brightening. Riddle’s heart twisted, and he violently stamped that feeling down, grinding into dust beneath his three-inch riding heels.
(Mentally, of course, because he didn’t want Silver to think he was a needlessly violent freak .
He didn’t know exactly what he wanted Silver to think he was, actually.)
“I guess my little tricks with Sebek worked,” Silver said, a bit cryptically.
Riddle raised one eyebrow, turning back to Darling so he didn’t have to stare at Silver’s smile anymore. He immediately missed the view. “Tricks? Care to elaborate?”
“Oh, nothing bad,” Silver assured, detecting the note of worry in Riddle’s voice. “A couple of days ago Ace asked Sebek out. Sebek-” Silver broke off, and there was a faint noise as she presumably checked to ensure that the mentioned half-fae wasn’t within earshot. “Yeah, Sebek said he wouldn’t go because Ace was a human, but Fa- Lilia and I managed to convince him to agree to it with some subtle trickery.”
She sounded proud of herself, and Riddle hated to rain on her parade, but he frowned over his shoulder at her and said, “You manipulated your brother into going on a date with somebody?”
“Well. He wanted to go. He just wouldn’t admit it.” Silver shrugged, ducking her head a little bashfully.
“Still…” Riddle sighed and shook his head. “Well, it isn’t my business. I’m just glad I won’t have to deal with Ace’s mood about any of this.”
Silver chuckled, and Riddle had to press his fingers harder against Darling’s saddle as he was hanging it on the wall so he didn’t turn and kiss her on the spot. “I hope they have fun,” he said, praying that his voice wasn’t strained.
If it was, Silver politely said nothing. “I’m sure they will.”
Riddle closed his eyes and relaxed against the wall as Silver left, the steady click-click-click of her riding boots amplified against the wood floors of the stables.
Three days went by with little fanfare, except Ace was actually losing his mind, and no one seemed to care.
Firstly, Sebek hadn’t been to lunch since Ace had asked him out. Just. Nothing. Not even a text! Yuu said he was fine, and he wasn’t mad at Ace, he just needed space to prepare for the date. (Ace was, like, ninety-five percent sure that Sebek did not say all of that, because for all the things Ace adored- admired about Sebek, his emotional depth was not one of them.) So Ace tried hard not to worry, but.
But .
When he saw Sebek leaving Crewel’s class on Friday, Sebek went as white as a ghost and immediately set off at a very white-Suburban-mom-walk down the hallway away from Ace. Deuce and Yuu had noticed the way Ace had deflated, but other than a sympathetic sigh from Yuu and a small squeeze on the shoulder from Deuce, they didn’t react to it. Ace was deeply glad for that.
Still, Saturday rolled around with a quiet swiftness. At 1 p.m., exactly 30 minutes before he was supposed to pick Sebek up, he received a text from the aforementioned fae:
croc boy <3
1300
I Am Ready To Go Whenever You Get Here. Let Me Know When You Are On Your Way.
acey
1300
genuinely HOW do u type like that
also ok i will lyk :)
croc boy <3
1302
I Can’t Figure Out How To Make It Not Do This.
acey
1305
LMAOOOO
omg sebek that's pathetic fjguieg ill help u if u want LMAO
croc boy <3
1305
Do Not Call A Retainer To Lord Malleus Pathetic!
acey
1306
omg ur too cute <3
Ace dropped his phone on his face, shoved it aside, rolled over, and screamed into his pillow. Across the room, Deuce bolted upright from where he’d been “studying” (sleeping) on his bed, yelping. “What!? I’m awake!”
Ace lifted his head, giving Deuce a bewildered look. Deuce looked back at him, equally confused. “Why… Why are you screaming?”
Ace groaned, burying his face in his pillow, and there was a creak as Deuce got up. A second later, Ace felt a tiny pressure shift as Deuce picked up his phone. Ace immediately scrambled to get it back, but he was too late. Deuce cracked up, laughing so hard he had to give Ace’s phone back and take a seat. “Oh my god , Ace! Pfft- I can’t believe you called him pathetic!”
“Wh- What the hell does that mean, huh!?”
Deuce wiped his eyes, still laughing. “You’re freaking out over that ? All he did was say you’re cute.”
“He what.”
Deuce blinked up at Ace, still crouched on his knees and staring down at him with an incredulous look. “Wh… What…? Wait, ohmygod, did you not see that?”
Ace looked down at his phone. Sure enough, a new message from Sebek sat there, waiting to be opened.
croc boy <3
1308
You’re Cuter.
Ace dropped his phone again but managed to keep his composure enough to not throw himself face-first into his pillow and scream again.
Fifteen minutes and five text messages later, Ace was outside of Diasomnia. He sent a quick text to Sebek- hey fangs i'm here!! - then pocketed his phone and waited. He leaned against the wall, trying to look cool without looking like he was trying.
God, was he cool? He was cool- he was so cool ! Just, you know, Sebek made him feel a little less cool. (He balanced it out by the way he made Ace feel when he looked at him- god , Ace didn’t even have words for it.)
The door opened, and Ace started, standing up straight. “Sebek!”
Sebek stepped out onto the lawn, dressed in shorts and a button-up shirt. He crossed his arms over his chest, eyeing Ace. “Hello.”
“You ready to go?”
Sebek raised an eyebrow. “I said that I was.”
Ace coughed lightly. “Right, yeah. Sorry, I’m a little nervous, hah .”
Sebek tilted his head, expression softening ever-so-slightly. “Well. There’s no need to be nervous. I won’t bite you.”
Ace grinned at him. “Suuuure, Fangs.”
Sebek glared at him. “How many times must I tell you not to call me that!”
Slinging an arm around Sebek’s shoulder, Ace began leading him toward the mirror hall. “Can’t help it. Your fangs are too cute.”
Sebek’s cheeks reddened, and he threw Ace a dirty look. But, Ace noticed with delight, he didn’t shrug Ace’s arm off.
“Hey, we should get some lunch before we hit the beach, yeah?”
Sebek, leaning ever-so-slightly into Ace’s side, cocked his head consideringly. “If you’d like to.”
“Well, do you want to? I mean, I’m not really hungry right now, I just figured I’d ask in case you were.”
“I’m not hungry, no.” Sebek’s arm slipped around Ace’s waist, and Ace nearly jumped out of his skin, electric nerves sparking from where Sebek’s hand rested on Ace’s waist. “So there’s no point in going to get food.”
“Alright, then!” Ace threw Sebek a grin. “Just tryna’ make sure you enjoy yourself, Fangs.”
Sebek shook his head, but a tiny smile peeked through his stony facade. Ace caught a glimpse of the aforementioned fangs, and he poked teasingly at Sebek’s cheek. “See, there’re those cute lil’ fangs.”
Sebek shoved Ace’s hand away as they stepped into the mirror hall. “Shut up,” he grumbled, face reddening further. He stepped away, moving closer to one of the mirrors leading off of campus.
Ace followed him, tucking his hands into his pockets and grinning at Sebek, despite the fact that the half-fae couldn’t see it.
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the beach. Sebek glanced over his shoulder at Ace as the redhead followed him off of the bus. Before he could say anything, Ace stepped up to his side and Sebek felt the human’s fingers brushing against his wrist, He startled, turning away and pressing his hands tighter to his side. “Where should we put our belongings?”
“Hmm.” Ace went forward a few steps, taking a large step up onto the seawall to peer over the crowded beach. “Shit. It’s a lot more packed than I thought it’d be.”
“Well, it is nearly summer vacation,” Sebek pointed out, fingers itching to reach out and stabilize Ace.
Ace turned, looking down at Sebek. “Well. We can, uh, look around, I guess? See if we can find somewhere…? Or we could stay up here on the boardwalk. Whichever you want…”
Sebek glanced over his shoulder, eyeing the shops at the boardwalk. It was crowded, but… He turned back to the beach and physically shuddered at the sight of the overpacked shoreline. “I’d highly prefer we stay on the boardwalk.”
“Cool.” Ace hopped down, shrugging his shoulder to adjust his bag slightly. He waited for Sebek at the curb, then they set off across the street to the crowded storefronts.
They wandered for about five minutes before someone bumped into Sebek’s shoulder. He stumbled slightly, and Ace caught him by the hand, pulling him to his side. “You okay?”
“I’m fine ,” Sebek snapped, twisting around to scan the crowd for the fool who’d bumped into him. He didn’t see anyone looking back to them, and his shoulders dropped slightly. He turned back to Ace, only just registering Ace’s fingers, warm and soft against his, and he flushed, starting to pull his hand away.
Ace stopped him with a light squeeze. “Let’s not let go. Um, so we can stay together. Crowd’s movin’ pretty fast.”
Sebek flushed even more, hating how easily his face reddened. “You’re right.” He cleared his throat. “To stay together, of course.”
Ace nodded, fingers squeezing around Sebek’s once again. Sebek’s heart jumped into his throat, and he turned away so Ace wouldn’t see his smile.
For another few hours, they wandered idly. Ace bought drinks, and Sebek bought snacks. As they started toward a kiosk selling silver charms, a tall brunette man knocked his shoulder into Ace’s.
Ace grunted, then shouted, “Oi! What’s your problem!?”
The man threw Ace a mean, amused look, and muttered a word that made Sebek cringe away from both him and Ace.
Ace’s eyes narrowed. “The hell did you just say?”
The man smirked. “You heard me.”
“Yeah, I did. I’m givin’ you a chance to take it back, dipshit.”
“Yeah, and what if I don’t?” The man crossed his arms, turning to fully face Ace and Sebek.
Ace gritted his teeth, dropping Sebek’s hand and stepping forward, snapping, “I’ll give you a reason to take it back, asshole.”
In the end, Ace threw the first punch.
For the entire bus ride back to the mirror, Ace leaned his head against Sebek’s shoulder, pressed against him from hip to knee. He kept apologizing for “dragging Sebek” into the fight- as if Sebek hadn’t willingly joined in when he realized how strong the stranger was.
In the middle of Ace’s thirtieth apology, Sebek turned to him and placed his hand over Ace’s mouth. “I said it is fine , Ace. That means it’s fine .”
Ace’s cheeks reddened, and he leaned back. “Okay. Yeah.” He nodded, and his usual cocky smile slipped into place. “Alright.”
Sebek smiled, amused, and turned back to gaze out the window. Distantly, he wondered how Malleus, Silver, and Lilia were doing. He’d made an effort not to think too much about them, wanting to keep his attention on Ace as much as possible. Still, he couldn’t help but hope they were all doing good.
He was shaken out of his thoughts by a sudden weight dropping onto his shoulder. He tensed up, turned his head, and froze. Ace was fast asleep, his head on Sebek’s shoulder, a small smile on his lips. Sebek’s heart leaped into his throat and he sighed softly.
Slowly, he moved his hands and laced his fingers through Ace’s. He swore he’d never felt anything like this, anything like this all-consuming adoration. Sebek swallowed thickly, closing his eyes and leaning his head against Ace’s.
In a few seconds, he fell into a light sleep, Ace’s body pressed, warm and familiar, against his own.
Yuu stood in the doorway to the bathroom in Ramshackle Dorm, staring tiredly at Sebek and Ace. They’d been in the middle of a nap when the boys had shown up, sunkissed from their date and bruised from a fight.
Ace hadn’t bothered to explain why they’d gotten into a fight, he’d only shoved past Yuu into Ramshackle, saying, “If we go back to Heartslabyul, Riddle will be pissed off at me, and if we go back to Diasomnia, Lilia will probably, like, curse me or something.”
So Yuu let Ace have their first-aid kit to patch up Sebek. They silently watched as Ace carefully cleaned one of the scratches on Sebek’s cheek, fingers gentle. They couldn’t help but smirk, quietly admiring the tenderness on his face. They weren’t sure that Ace or Sebek had even noticed them there- the boys looked too thoroughly wrapped up in each other, talking quietly between themselves, voices so soft that Yuu couldn’t hear them, even from only five feet away.
They pulled out their phone and took a picture, sending it to the group chat they’d made with Silver, Lilia, Epel, and Deuce sometime ago-
OPERATION: FANGHEARTS
Yuu
1700
img.png
Loosey-Deucey
1700
Oh my god theyre so in love ew
Little Apple
1701
Awww that's so cute
Vamp Dad
1701
I JNEW SEBFEK HAF AS CRUSG ON ACVE I KNEW UT
Yuu
1701
Lilia, slow down, I don’t think any of us can even understand what you’re saying.
Vamp Dad
1702
Sorry :3
I’m quite excited about this!! Sebek has been piming for Ace for absolute ages!!
Pining, haha
Yuu tucked their phone away, shaking their head with a smile, and said, “So, other than whatever happened to get you guys lookin’ like this, how did your date go?”
Sebek startled, shifting so he could see Yuu. He flushed, sitting up straight, and said, “It went well.”
Ace snorted, throwing Yuu a look. “It went great. I mean, the beach was packed, so we stayed on the boardwalk. Storefronts n’ shit.”
Yuu nodded, smiling, and Ace glanced at Sebek, then stood and said, “Hey, we should get back to our dorms now, huh?”
Sebek stood with him, one hand alighting on his wrist. “We should,” he agreed, seemingly eager to get out of Yuu’s hair. He turned to Yuu, bowing slightly. “Thank you for letting us come here for first aid, Prefect.”
Yuu smiled, waving him off. “It’s fine. You guys are my friends; I’m here to help. Be safe on your walk back, ‘kay?”
“We will,” Ace said, already leading Sebek out of the bathroom and toward the door.
Yuu snorted. “‘Night, y’all.”
“‘Nighty-night, Yuu!”
“Goodnight, Prefect.”
Yuu smirked, shaking their head once again and starting toward their room. Those two… They were ridiculous.
Diasomnia towered over them, making Ace feel more than a little uncomfortable. He tried his best to ignore it, though, because Sebek was standing close to him, barely an inch between them, head tilted down toward Ace, looking very much like he wanted to kiss him.
“So,” Ace said, forcing his voice to stay light. “Did you have a good time?”
“I did,” Sebek replied, his voice softer than usual. “Did you?”
“I did.” Ace leaned closer, tilting his chin up at Sebek invitingly. “But, y’know, before we go our separate ways… You could make it a little better.”
Sebek flushed, but smiled, his fangs peeking through. Ace’s hand was on Sebek’s jaw before he processed moving it, thumb teasing Sebek’s lip open before he pressed his finger lightly against Sebek’s fang. Ace swallowed, his throat suddenly very dry.
Sebek tilted his head slightly, moving Ace’s hand, and sighed lightly before he leaned down and kissed Ace.
Ace swore his entire world narrowed down to the feeling of Sebek’s lips against his. His hands slid around Sebek’s shoulders, and he had to pull away to catch his breath embarrassingly soon.
“Better?” Sebek teased.
Ace licked his lips, nodding, and grinned. “Much. Was that the cherry tart-on-top for you, too, Fangs?”
Sebek sighed, rolling his eyes slightly even as he smiled, a bit sheepishly. “Yes. Significantly.”
There was a noise to their left, and they sprang apart as Malleus appeared around the corner, walking toward the door. “Oh, hello, Sebek. Trappola.”
“Malleus-senpai,” Ace said, strangled, resisting the urge to duck out of sight. Instead, he squared his shoulders and offered a smile to Malleus.
“Waka-sama!” Sebek stood up straight, immediately falling into position. “Where is Silver? Were you by yourself!? That’s dangerous- how immature of him to leave you-”
“Sebek,” Malleus said, sounding amused. “Silver was with me. He just got distracted by Al-Asim. Are you just getting back from your date?”
Sebek spluttered for a second, then croaked out, “ Yes .”
“Wonderful.” Malleus stopped, looking between Sebek and Ace. “It was enjoyable, I presume?”
“Yes,” Sebek repeated.
“Um- yeah, yes. It was good. Great.”
A small smile touched Malleus’ lips. “Lovely. I hate to take him away from you, Trappola, but I do have to take Sebek away from you now.”
“Oh, n-no, it’s good! I mean, he’s your retainer, right? So, no big deal.”
Sebek glanced swiftly at Ace as Malleus stepped past them and opened the door to Diasomnia. Before Sebek turned away, Ace grabbed his shoulder and tugged him down into a swift kiss. “Text me later,” he murmured against Sebek’s lips.
Sebek nodded, one hand coming up to cup Ace’s cheek. He kissed Ace one last time, said, “I will,” and was gone.
Sebek’s kiss kept Ace warm the entire walk home.