♠two of spades♠

> Primarily follows Japanese translations with loose adaptations to manga & English localization.

> Voted #1 most adoptable son boy in all of Night Raven two years in the running.

> You will never meet someone more dumb of ass, pure of heart.

> Will fight you behind a Denny’s at 2am on a Monday night if you ask. 

> Doesn’t even know how to use his own specialty magic. It just happens sometimes. Don’t ask him how.

> WHAT... your trans gener........ that is so cool 

> Jock City Jock City Jock City.

> Illegally rides a motorcycle. Don’t tell his mom.

                      okay . so it’s been a year since this whole ‘trying out dating’ thing and they were still going strong … he thinks ? yeah . well it’s not like deuce told him anything different … oh well ! whatever ! didn’t matter ! what did matter was that it was deuce’s  birthday and ace has absolutely no idea how top last year . but he was going to try ! 

                      which first meant he was sneaking into his room and sitting on the floor next to the bed waiting for him to wake up . which was taking a long ass time … 

                    “ hey . dude . you ever gonna wake up ? ” or maybe ace was just early . who knew !

@carrdsoldier​ ( pretend this didn’t take me almost a month )

Deuce knew that birthdays probably weren’t that big of a deal. 

Back home, the most he would do with his mom was have some special meals, maybe open a gift or two. If she had to work earlier in the day, they’d spend her time between deliveries on the phone with each other and then the evening would be just for them. If she managed to get the day off, they’d go find something to do.

At least, that’s how it had been before he messed everything up. And for the birthday he had between when he cleaned up his act, and got accepted to Night Raven.

It was a little different here. Felt like a bigger deal. Because here, it was his third birthday away from home. From his mother, and most of his friends.

Because here he was turning nineteen now, and he had been sixteen when he first arrived. He didn’t feel that different all things considered, but three years had certainly gone by since he first arrived...

It had honestly lead to a somewhat restless night, thinking everything over before he was woken up by Ace speaking...and sitting right by the side of his bed.

                “ yeah , yeah . because i’m like the meanest guy ever - still ! it was a lie ! he was messing with you ! ”

                  despite his best efforts , it seemed deuce was determined to keep watching this memory play out . dammit … guess there was no getting out of this . the embarrassing part wasn’t that he was saying it – it was knowing it was all true and he was just saying it for anyone to hear . no , no . not anyone . for deuce to hear .

                “ … i am gonna be embarrassed about it . thanks for the help . ”

                  eh . okay . play nice . 

                “ …. yeah no . i meant it all . that’s what’s messing with me . ”

Maybe with any other thing, he would have responded with a teasing jab. Something about Ace being bad at sharing his feelings like this, and he should be more embarrassed about that or...something else about the whole ghost bride situation.

But...not now. Not like this. It didn’t feel right.

“Well...yeah. You’re not really open with things like these,” maybe still a jab, but in a nicer way. “That doesn’t mean it’s anything to be ashamed of.”

                “ really ? my neighborhood had a ton of kids … like way too many . it was kind of annoying really … ” 

                   someone always wanted to do something back when he was a kid . it was moments like this that ace remembered how oddly amazing it was to live so close to each other , but have completely different experiences . and also never meet … how strange . 

                  eh , whatever . he was here with deuce now and that’s what mattered - that they did eventually meet . despite deuce obviously trying to not bring attention to holding ace’s hand again , ace definitely noticed . a light blush appears on his face , his fingers moving to lace between the other’s . 

                  right . play it cool , ace .

               “ .. y - yeah . never too late . so um .. have any favorite stars you like to look at ? ”

Ah, geez. He definitely noticed. Deuce was really hoping he wouldn’t, but...at least it didn’t seem like it was making anything weird. That was the last thing he wanted to do.

...but it felt a little awkward now. He just had to brush that feeling off, and focus on what Ace was asking him. Something about his favorite stars...?

“I don’t really have any...I’m not the best at remembering all of the constellations and everything. My mom could tell you what they are but I could only really name some more of the obvious ones.”

          “ i .. i mean maybe you have a point but - no, no you don’t actually! i made this shit up. ortho lied to you guys! ”

            he lets out a dramatic sigh, leaning on deuce by putting his arm on his shoulder. 

          “ like haha… really. me? ace trappola? being that much of a mushy romantic? pfft - that’s like the biggest joke in the book!! there is no way it was real. c’mon look at me! i’m like the biggest loser cringe teenage boy-!!”

            oh he was real desperate for this, huh? he was trying to keep talking until after the other ace spoke but holy shit – it was taking this long! 

          “ aaah fine! fine you can listen but it’s not real! i’m gonna look at the funny look on trey’s face from when he got slapped! ”

“Sorry, but I don’t think Ortho is even capable of lying. He’s too nice, unlike you.” 

The jab is lighthearted, a small laugh leaving him to prove it, as he keeps his sights set on the Ace of the past, listening to every word he says. It was sweet, but he knew those weren’t the sorts of things Ace really said out loud. 

Actually...with the way they were now, he knew these were things Ace expressed through his actions, better than his words.

          ace never took his eyes off of deuce as they walked. yeah - the stars were nice and all, but smile on deuces face… the sparkle in his eyes … they were much better than any stars he could see. 

            maybe that was too cheesy – no it totally was too cheesy. but it’s not like he was gonna say that out loud ever! and even if deuce caught him looking for so long he could think of a lie to say or something that would change the subject. 

          “ yeah that makes sense. you seem like the kid who played out all the time. probably with the other kids on the street or something. ”

            he followed behind him as he moved - even if he was a little pouty at the lack of hand holding. and of course he will sit next to him.

          “ i don’t think i ever really stargazed much as a kid. but now i can, huh? better late then never. ”

“There weren’t too many kids that lived next door or anything. But yeah, the ones that were around I’d go play with. Mom would do a bunch of stuff with me, too.”

He leans back and stares up at the sky, after Ace joins him on the ground, giving off a small sigh. He didn’t do things like this enough anymore. Sure, sometimes when he went for runs before classes or before curfew he’d get a chance to see the stars but...it wasn’t the same.

And it didn’t really matter if he didn’t know the names of the stars, or constellations. They were pretty, all the same. They brought back memories, all the same.

✘ ✘  ❝ Deuce, ❞ Ardyn says, his head tilting to the side as he looks at the much younger man in front of him. In truth, he’s grown fond of the boy – he’s an interesting sort, and clearly a good person. Ardyn can’t so much relate to the latter part of that statement, least of all now, but he does see a similar naivety behind his eyes that reminds him of himself.

No matter. He smiles regardless, and motions forward.  ❝ I’m a bit curious, I need to admit, ❞ he starts, then pauses.  ❝ Have you heard about the flowers that supposedly have nefarious and mystical powers? ❞

@carrdsoldier​  ╱ starter call. 

Deuce blinks and glances up to Ardyn as he speaks, tilting his head lightly. As one of the first people he had met in this city, he really felt like he could trust the older man. Even if he hadn’t seen him around for quite some time, he’d never complain about a familiar face and questions from them.

Even if he...didn’t really know the answer. He didn’t think he did, anyways?

♥

@doodlesuit | @splitcrxd | @heartsnare | @carrdsoldier

Having been absent for so long Riddle can only imagine what his cards had been up to. He had worried over them in their world, but seeing as there hadn’t been any significant change he played it out. It was easier to focus on the demands of the moment, even if he still had to save his dorm yet again. Perhaps he had thought that this world had been nothing but a nightmare, a nightmare that took part of his memory for he had known nothing of Vil’s overblot until it got mentioned in passing. 

But now that he’s back, he sees that there’s actually much to fret over. The place they had so lovingly called the Heartslabyul dorm was, to put it simply, a mess. To any outsiders perhaps it looked composed, a normal house that showed signs of being lived in but still well kept. To Riddle’s eyes however, it nothing but a wreck. 

The starcycle in the front lawn, the rose bushes pure white without a hint of red, and it only got worse the more he stepped into their home. He laments not having finished the rule book in time before he got thrown away from this world. It was clear the dorm was lawless again. He had to set it right. 

He didn’t know if there was even anyone in the house, fueled by nothing but petty determination he walks in, searching for the first victim. 

It had been strange, without Riddle. Very strange.

While it wasn’t like he hadn’t been without Riddle here, having been the one that was in this city the longest, Deuce still found himself missing the dorm leader. Maybe more, than before he had arrived in the first place. Even if he was glad he could park his starcycle a little closer to the house. Especially since he had two magical wheels adjacent vehicles now.

The “dorm” that he had requested built was still standing strong at least, thank goodness. Even if the roses weren’t red, due to how difficult it was to paint them all by hand, they were healthy and happy, and things were relatively tidy. Hopefully that was enough to welcome Riddle back if...

And, that thought was quickly diverged to when Riddle came back. Which was right now. Almost like perfect timing.