Chapter Text
The quiet of Heartslabyul halls echoed Ace Trappola’s frantic footsteps. He had once again stayed out past curfew, and he could already feel the phantom ache of one of Riddle Rosehearts’ collars around his neck.
Should’ve left Ramshackle earlier, ugh. What a hassle.
He chuckled at the thought. When was life ever not a hassle for him? Riddle’s rules. The chaos of everyday living in a dorm that was anything but normal. Friends who constantly caused problems, and somehow, he was at the center of it. It’s not like Ace wanted to be a die-hard troublemaker; he just thought rules needed to be bent a little for a little bit of fun.
He rounded another corner when he stopped short at the sight of a sliver of light coming from a cracked door that he knew all too well. His steps stopped, and he tried to decide what was the best course of action. He had forgotten that to get to the first-year rooms, he’d have to cross in front of Riddle’s room, and considering how late it was and how empty the hallways were, he doubted he could sneak past without his footsteps giving him away. He inwardly groaned.
Damn. There’s no way out of this, isn’t there?
Ace tried to weigh out his options. On one hand, he could quietly try to get away and pray that his dorm head was preoccupied with something else to notice him passing by. On the other hand, he could just stand there and wait until the light went out, but who knew how long that would take?
I suppose we’ll go with the first option.
He soundlessly arched his steps to where he was clinging close to the walls of the hallway, the curtains brushing against his ankles. He squinted as the sliver of light hit his face and paused. Through the crack, he could see a familiar redhead sitting at his desk, his fountain pen in his hand, as he pored over his homework. Paperwork? Some sort of work. His school uniform is still on. Ace had a moment where he considered approaching his Housewarden. He could’ve leaned against the frame of the door and cracked a joke at how late the other was staying up. Wasn’t there some sort of rule about bedtimes? He shook his head and continued his mission until he heard the scrape of a chair.
“Ace?” a sharp voice inquired. Clear in the quietness of the hallway.
The ginger froze in his steps, and a shadow of a smaller frame was in the doorway, backlit by the lights in his room, looking pointedly at him.
“Uh,” Ace said dumbly, a nervous laugh tumbling out of his mouth. “It’s just your imagination, Housewarden. I’m nothing but a hallucination of your late-night brain. Also, how do YOU know if it’s Ace? What if I were someone else?”
“Ace, I’m not dumb.”
He looked Riddle in the eyes, his sharp gaze taking in the rumpled uniform and lack of books in his hands.
“Late night? Behavior expected out of you,” Riddle asked, an eyebrow raised. “You know curfew is at 10 pm on the dot. Bedtime is at 10:30 pm. I could collar you for breaking that rule.”
Ace could feel the ghost of a collar around his neck and shook his head in panic. He would’ve been irritated, but there was something in Riddle’s expression that made him pause. The redhead’s eyes looked tired and worn out. There was no heat behind the gray. He could also see the faint eye bags that rested under Riddle’s eyes.
“I could say the same for you. Bedtime is at 10:30 pm, but you’re still up? Kind of hypocritical if you ask me.” Ace retorted, throwing his own words back. “What even has you awake this late at night?”
Riddle scoffed, and Ace could see the irritation starting to bubble in the other. Ace internally kicked himself. This was the last thing he wanted to do, but of course, his mouth is getting him in trouble again. Riddle went to say something, but closed his mouth. The weariness replaces whatever quick annoyance that had arisen.
“Just go,” Riddle relented. “If I catch you again, it will be off with your head.”
Ace felt himself relax, but there was something still nagging at the back of his head. He wanted to know what was wrong. Something about Riddle seemed off compared to the passion and heat that the dorm head normally held. Recently, he’s been trying to connect with Riddle as much as he can. Rather, it's him showing Riddle his latest small card tricks or tending hedgehogs with the other; he’s found himself wanting to be in Riddle’s presence more. To see the softer and fun side of him. Now, he wanted to know what was wrong.
“Why are you up?” Ace pressed. “You’re usually in bed at the correct time, and last time I checked-”
Ace paused to look at his phone.
“It’s 11:30 pm. Which means, it’s well past the bedtime rule.”
Riddle sighed and leaned against the doorframe. His eyes cast down at the tile.
“I have some reports that are due tomorrow. I need to get them done.” Riddle said quietly. “I’ve lost track of time.”
“What kind of reports? Maybe I could help. Two brains are better than one?”
“No,” Riddle shook his head. “It’s finances for the upcoming club fair. It’d probably bore you to tears.”
“How do you know?” Ace challenged. “I could be good at finances for all you know. Y’know, I’m a mage with numbers.”
Riddle snorted, rolling his eyes. If Ace looked closely, he could see the faint smile.
“You? Good with numbers or anything remotely arithmetic? I doubt it.”
“You’re right, but I can at least keep you company to make sure you actually sleep tonight. Trey might kill me if he found out that I saw you up this late and didn’t attempt to convince you to go to bed.”
Riddle shifts, Ace could see the gears ticking in the other’s head.
“Fine,” Riddle responds after a long moment. “But, don’t be a distraction. I don’t need any of your card tricks tonight.”
Ace grinned and closed the distance between them. Riddle retreated to his desk while the ginger looked around his room. Ace had heard rumors about what the Housewarden rooms were like. Some said that they had their own mini apartment in them, a kitchen and all, others said it was like a room made for royalty. Ace thought Riddle’s spacious room was very much a reflection of Riddle Rosehearts. There was a canopied bed (was that a Queen-sized mattress? Jealous!), perfectly made with a white nightstand featuring a simple lamp, an alarm clock, and stacks of books. There was a tall red heart-shaped wardrobe off to the right of the room with a Queendom-style vanity with a small stool in front. On the counter were various books, some beauty care products, and a small bag for makeup. Towards the back of the room, closer to Riddle’s desk, was a bay window that faced the rose gardens where moonlight was pooling onto the floor. In the middle of the spacious room, close to the desk, was an ornate mahogany couch with red plush.
Despite Riddle’s strict behavior and patterns, his room was surprisingly lowkey chaotic with the various book stacks and mannequins with outfits from previous birthdays, holidays, and more. It wasn’t as chaotic as his shared room with Deuce, while their floor was littered with dirty clothing, empty wrappers, and balled up old tests, Riddle’s room had mostly stacks of books and notebooks on the floor. But, there was some sort of strange order within the mess, and it caught him off guard with how slightly disheveled the room was despite Riddle’s perfect nature, with stacks of books at the foot of the bed, on the nightstand, and on the desk. You’d think that the redhead would have multiple bookcases, but the only one in the room was filled to the brim with papers, equestrian trophies, trophies from academics, and books.
I guess he’s not as prim and proper as I thought.
The chandelier was dim, but the light from the desk was bright. Ace took a seat on the couch, a few feet from Riddle’s desk, and was half tempted to lounge and prop his legs over the edge, but decided against it. He didn’t need Riddle to lecture him about proper ways to sit, especially this late at night.
Riddle leaned over his desk, the scratching of his pen continuing in the quiet of the night.
“How much more work do you have?” Ace asked, breaking the prolonged silence.
“Oh, just about ten more pages.”
“Dormhead?! You can’t be serious?”
Riddle’s stormy eyes connected with Ace’s eyes. He could tell that Riddle was trying to downplay the amount of work that remained, but the tiredness had started to settle in the other boy. He turned his attention back to the reports.
“I can’t just let these reports go unchecked,” He stated, the sentence definite and firm. “Azul’s been trying to figure out ways to get more benefits out of his Lounge’s involvement in the festival, and I have to make sure it’s fair and follows the correct rules. I can’t imagine what would happen if I let something slip through the cracks.”
Ace shuddered. He had heard rumors of how sneaky Azul can get when there’s something that could benefit himself and the Monstro Lounge.
“I can always look over the documents to help speed things along? What time do you even get up in the mornings?”
“4:30 a.m., of course. How else am I supposed to begin my morning routine and make sure the rest of the dorm is up to standards before heading to classes?”
“What?!” Ace choked. “Then you definitely need to go to bed, dorm head. How are you supposed to do your duty and make sure rules are followed if you’re half asleep?!”
“I’ll be fine,” Riddle dismissed, his eyes not leaving the papers. “I’ve done it before.”
“Before? So, this isn’t your first time?”
“I had to make those alchemy study guides for everyone last week. I needed to make sure they were thorough and precise. I didn’t want anyone to fail on my watch.”
Ace sighed and leaned his head over the back of the couch.
“Dorm head, you can’t just take all the responsibility, especially when it comes to the dorm. Sometimes it is other people’s faults, and you just have to accept that you can’t control that.”
The scratching of Riddle’s pen stops, and Ace looks up to find Riddle looking at him. A slight annoyance in his expression, his steel gray eyes burning a hole into Ace. He shifted uncomfortably on the couch.
“And why do you say that? It’s my responsibility as Housewarden to ensure the dorm commands respect from others, especially from other dorms. The Queen of Hearts expected her card soldiers to also abide by her rulings, uphold their reputation, and make sure the world was in order.”
“But it shouldn’t come as a sacrifice to your own well-being. You’re fine with having us make sure unbirthday parties are in perfect order, why can’t you let us help you with everything else?”
Riddle leaned back in his chair, his gaze turning back to his papers. Ace could see some sort of emotion crossing the redhead’s features. Consideration? Irritation with the thought of relinquishing control? Weariness? Ace expects Riddle to snap at him, insisting that he was in perfect health and that he shouldn’t be underestimated, but instead, he’s received a sigh.
“As much as it annoys me, and as much as I hate to admit it… Yes, I do need to rely on others, but I don’t know where to begin. I’m so used to doing everything by myself or relying on Trey to handle the small bits that I can’t complete due to other responsibilities, that it’s hard to even pinpoint an exact moment when I could request assistance. Everything must follow the rules and guidelines, so I have to ensure that everything is completed correctly. I can’t just let things go to other people who don’t understand.”
“Why not now then?” Ace offered with a slight smile. “I’ve offered twice now, and now I’m asking again. Do you need an extra set of eyes? I think I know enough that I can be of assistance. I’m smarter than you think.”
Riddle gave him a small, soft smile, which Ace had only seen on rare occasions when he wasn’t being lectured or when Ace would get something right during group study sessions. It was a smile that Ace wanted to see more of when he was around, rather than the irritated and annoyed frowns he’d get from the redhead. Riddle did have a good smile.
“I guess I could get a set of eyes on these signatures, especially with making sure the vendors signed every line they needed to, while I finish up the finance side of things.” Riddle said, and then a smirk spread across his face. “Do you think you can handle that? Or do I need to recruit a hedgehog?”
“No,” scoffed Ace, standing up to approach the desk, grabbing the stool in the process from the vanity.“I think I’m perfectly capable. No hedgehogs required here.”
“Good. Also, don’t think you’re off the hook for being out past curfew by helping me. You still violated a rule, so I’ll have to deal out a punishment… I’m thinking a ten-thousand-word essay on the importance of sleep and retiring for the night promptly. Also, flamingo duty for two weeks.”
“Ugh, you’re kidding me?!”