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zgvlt · 2 years

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a reverie until recently twst oc/canon : poly adeuyuu

commissioned by: @tartppola ! thank you for your patience with me!

summary: it's been years since yuulis, the ramshackle prefect, has left twisted wonderland, with ace and deuce since having married. however, yuulis' return resurfaces old feelings (some that aren't exactly unwelcome)

tags: twst oc, sfw, poly relationship, light angst, fluff, 9.5k+ words, not beta read

I. ACE and DEUCE

All it takes is a text. A text from a number long dead (and a being long gone), and yet never forgotten. Ace still has the entire number memorized, years of keeping it and still having it as one of two favorite contacts made it inevitable, and Deuce keeps the last four digits as his work locker’s padlock combination. He justifies it by telling himself any numbers or dates relating to either Ace or himself would be too obvious, so it had to be theirs. For safety reasons, among other things he’ll admit to his husband on particularly wistful afternoons and nostalgic evenings.

All it takes is a text sent to the both of them, right at the same time. A mass text for two, word for word the same, and yet neither one of them have the heart to be mad about the lack of personalization.

Ace? Deuce? Are these still your numbers? I asked Grim earlier, but I wanted to make sure. If I have the wrong people, or if there are other reasons, please ignore this text. Thank you.

Ace’s immediate reaction was to laugh, if only so he wouldn’t begin tearing up, if only so he could be the emotionally stronger one in the case that Deuce needed to cry for a bit — although Ace did want to cry, just a little bit. In the Queen’s name, how could he not when they still typed the same way after all these years!

“Ignore?” Deuce exclaimed, voice only slightly shaky, clearly sharing the same thought as Ace — he wanted to be the stronger one as well, the one who wouldn’t cry because of one text. “How could they say something so terrible!? We could never!”

Ace would typically hate for someone to speak on his behalf, and this sometimes included Deuce — he had his minor, petty squables with him over such things, even after their marriage — but not in this instance. He would never, could never ignore a text from his — their long-lost… a person they both loved, years ago, before they even knew it was a love beyond friendly affections and attachments.

“It’s nearly midnight,” he replied, sharing a knowing look with his partner. It would not be enough to simply send a text, or even a call. No, they had to prove their oldest (and dearest) friend wrong, squash whatever doubts and reluctance they had in that intelligent, overthinking brain of theirs. “But it’s a Saturday night.”

“Meaning, we both don’t have work,” Deuce discerned, already preparing to send a text to his co-workers, declaring a family emergency in case they tried to get him to come to work for whatever reason. He didn’t feel the least bit guilty, knowing that it was an emergency for the both of them. They couldn’t delay seeing them. The very fact that they weren’t the first to see them annoyed him greatly.

“When’s the next flight to the Isle of Sages?” he asked, knowing Ace would certainly be looking it up already. Prices be damned. “Shit, have you replied to them yet?”

“I’m busy booking our flights! Tell them to stay put and not move from wherever they’re at,” Ace instructed him, a frown forming on his face as he looked at the available times. “I forgot what a pain it was trying to go back to that damned island. The earliest is six in the morning, and then eight in the evening. Eight is too late.”

“Eight is too late,” Deuce repeated. Honestly speaking, even six in the morning was too late for him, impatience at getting to see them building up each minute, “and so is six, but at least it gives us some time to… prepare.”

“Yep, let me just get my credit card. I’ll swipe this time.”

Prepare. The thought of it had Deuce laughing inwardly. The ample time they had before they needed to check-in at the Queendom of Roses’ national airport meant nothing — Ace was punching in his credit card PIN so quickly that Deuce feared he’d get one number wrong and get locked out of his card for 24 hours. As for Deuce, he’s already rushing to lock everything up before their departure. He’s surprised he can even think of keeping their house safe, that some rationality continues to persist in him.

As for packing… their phones, chargers, their wallets, maybe a spare hair tie for himself to keep around his wrist. Did they need anything else other than the clothes on their back?

… Okay, maybe they’ll get changed. Neither of them are showing up to their alma mater wearing sleepwear.

“Makeup? Yes or no?” Deuce asked, eyeing his bare face in the mirror, before looking at Ace’s. Neither of them really went out without it.

“Put it in the bag. We can just put it on in the plane,” the redhead replied, still a little frazzled, “honestly, I just want to bolt out of the house right now. You–”

“Yeah,” he breathed out, “I get it. I’m the exact same. So let’s get out of here.”

Ace nodded, eyes alight with a burning fire. Deuce knew for sure that his eyes mirrored that very same determination.

“Let’s go get our Yuulis.”

Just stay with Grim for tonight. We’re coming to get you in the morning.

II. ACE and DEUCE

There was a certain… fear when it came to reuniting with Yuulis. Many fears, really, but most of them they could realistically tackle with time together, or so the couple decided. However, there was one fear that weighed heavily on their minds, that would certainly have them rethink their next course of action, reconfigure how they chose to act around them.

Just how much time had passed for Yuulis?

Nothing would change the fact that Yuulis was Yuulis, no matter what. Regardless of age, they would be someone Ace and Deuce held forever dear, but it should go without saying that age partly dictated different stages in life.

It was undeniable that Yuulis’ departure was still fresh on their minds, and yet they both knew that in the years that had passed since then, they had both grown as people — individually and together, even without their beloved prefect.

All the same, they wanted that same prefect back in their lives, but what if they never changed at all, or that they changed too much? Just how did the passage of time work back in their world?

As much as they would want to welcome Yuulis back into their life, it would be difficult if they had stayed eternally young, as they once joked about, forever stuck as a teenager while Ace and Deuce had grown up without them. In parallel, the idea of a senior citizen Yuulis, as was with most things in life, while improbable, was not entirely impossible. The idea of having missed out on even more years of their life than expected was only slightly short on devastating.

Still, perhaps some deity out there, if deities were still a real thing in the modern world, or whoever it was that sent Yuulis to and from and, once more, to Twisted Wonderland, had mercy on the Trappola-Spade family, for those particular worries would go unfounded.

“Yuulis.”

No one’s sure who said it first — Ace believes it could have been Deuce, Deuce believes it could have been Ace, and quite honestly they could have said it at the very same time. It’s difficult to distinguish when their voices carry the same emotions — a longing in the eyes, an ache in the heart, a hunger in the soul.

“Ace, Deuce,” Yuulis grins, as if just saying their name had lifted years of worries off of their shoulders. Perhaps it had, considering them saying their names carried that very same effect. “I’m back.”

You’re home, Ace wanted to say, but instead he takes a step closer, and then another, and soon Deuce is following suit and the two have gone from looking at Yuulis from across the room, standing by the doorway, to being an arm’s length away from them.

“Look at you,” Deuce says, still a little breathless. It’s partly out of exhaustion, the way they rushed to come and see Yuulis as quickly as they possibly could, but mostly out of wonder — the fact that they’re actually real and not some mirage he’d imagined while drunk. “You’re here, and you’re…”

Beautiful. Yuulis, simultaneously looking like the ghost that graces his dreams and haunts his nightmares, like the glow of the moon, like starlight and the constellations he knew not the names of but wished upon anyway.

The moon, the stars, the sky. Whenever he looked up above, he found himself reminiscing about the times he spent with Yuulis. He found himself thinking if, perhaps, the world they came from was somewhere out there in the galaxy, simply unseen by the naked eye. It was a reassuring thought — that they were out there, in some place he could not visit but could at least comprehend, that the distance was at least tangible and not imaginary, that they were not a figment of him and Ace’s collective imaginations. He often thought that, at the very least, if their most beloved prefect was out there, they’d be among celestial bodies as bewitching as them.

It must have been odd, to look at someone you’ve lost and loved (he can admit that with ease now, loved) and for the first thought to enter your head to be about how beautiful you still find them, but Deuce finds little shame in himself for such a thought. He is no poet, but he knows what it feels to encounter beauty — it is pain, it is yearning. He remembers feeling it once, when he first realized he loved Ace, and now the definition continues to reign true, for no two words can better describe what he feels at the sight of Yuulis.

Ace looks away from Yuulis, just for half a minute — any longer and the fear of them disappearing once more would begin kicking in — to look at his husband, and he immediately gets it — that look on his face. He catches himself with an expression just like it when Deuce puts on his uniform before going to work, or in the early hours of the morning with his hair undone, or the days leading up to their anniversary. It’s awe, the disbelief, the way he couldn’t believe someone like him could exist in the world, and be with him.

Ace knows, no matter how much he tries to control his face, there’s no hiding that same awe and disbelief at their appearance — in more ways than one. First it’s their appearance, the way they look, the little things that have changed and how, even after all this time, everything about them is still so familiar.

There’s that hair, still as striking as ever, just some inches longer and suddenly he’s longing to take them to the seashore to just have the wind blow through their hair. He’s always liked seeing Deuce’s hair undone and windswept — he knows he’ll be captivated if he were to see the same sight with Yuulis; maybe he’ll take them there together, watch how the light can entangle themselves with hair of the night.

The wind, Yuulis has always reminded him of the wind, or perhaps it would be better to say that ever since he’s known them, the wind has always reminded him of Yuulis.

Whenever the wind was slow and soft, like a gentle caress against his cheek, he thought of the times he used to run his fingers through their hair, not quite knowing why he was doing so, but grateful they let him do so anyway;

whenever the wind was strong and fast, like jet streams in the stratosphere, he was reminded of their fleetingness, how quickly a year and a half had really gone by, how it was never really enough for either him or Deuce, and really everyone else who liked and loved Yuulis;

and whenever the winds grew turbulent — severe and cold, intense and remorseless like the hurricanes and typhoons associated with it, his fists would involuntarily clench, one around Deuce and one around the air, the wind itself. Deuce would clench back, and his empty hand would grow numb. You cannot catch the wind, much less keep it.

But the wind circulates — even in stillness it is present, always blowing — and wherever the wind goes, it is not a matter of if but when it will return. An inevitability. Ace barely speaks it out loud, but he has always thought of their return as something predestined rather than, ironically, up in the air.

“The both of you can speak for yourselves…” Yuulis replied, not bothering to hide how they’ve been eyeing them as well, searching for what’s changed and what’s remained. None of the three bother to even begin any semblance of teasing — there’s always time for that later, a time where the weight of their emotions are a little less heavy, and the atmosphere far less fragile. “Deuce, your hair…”

“Again, look who’s talking,” Ace threw the comment back to Yuulis. “Looks like some things never change though… you’re still the shortest one between the three of us!”

“And it appears as though you’re still shorter than Deuce, Ace,” they replied coolly, “and speaking of… I like your makeup. The both of you. A red spade, and a black to blue gradient heart.”

Their hands, Deuce noticed, seemed to twitch, as if they wanted to reach out and trace the shapes on their face, but something had stopped them from doing so.

“Yeah, me and Ace swap palettes sometimes,” he explained, before not-too-subtly changing the topic. There was something he needed answered, a question Ace had been harboring as well since they boarded the plane. “Yuulis, what do you plan on doing now that you’re in Twisted Wonderland again?

Yuulis let out a noncommittal hum, shrugging their shoulders as they said, “there’s nothing in particular. I suppose when I’m done saying my goodbyes to the staff, I’ll go from place to place with no real direction. Freeter would be the term used to describe it, if you’re familiar.”

They were familiar with the term, and their hearts dropped upon hearing it leave their mouth, ultimately setting them off into a panic. How could they return, only to want to disappear so quickly from their sights once more?

“No,” they know who says it this time — it’s Deuce, subconsciously slipping into that well-meaning but authoritative tone of his, the tone he used with troublemakers while on the job. “That’s too…”

What was the word for it? Dangerous? Vague? Risky?

“You’ve just come back to Twisted Wonderland. I think it would be better if you stayed with us, so you could have somewhere safe to settle while figuring out what you want to do,” Ace reasoned, taking hold of one of their hands. They used to always be gloved, so feeling them this bare…

Ace clenches his hands a little tighter, feeling the faded burn marks, the scratches and the scars, and it reminds him of the turbulence, one he wants to quell. Deuce does the same — in part, the touch is one last measure to make sure they’re real, and it’s also a way to convince them of their sincerity — that it’s not pity or sympathy, it’s something genuine, actions rooted from a long lost connection.

Yuulis looks at their hands, sucking in a breath at the sight of their matching wedding bands.

“Alright. I’ll come stay with the both of you.”

III. YUULIS

Their home is near the sea. It’s not quite beside it — Ace had told them just how ridiculous the prices were getting lately, especially for lots in scenic places like beaches and mountains — but if they ever wanted to walk along the sand and watch the waves, it would not even be half an hour drive away from it.

It’s a kind offer, an offer Yuulis does plan on taking up in the future on some particularly sentimental afternoon… just not this particular sentimental afternoon. Ace is tired, Deuce is tired, and Yuulis themself is tired — they had spent the first night catching up with Grim, and the one right after with Ace and Deuce — so they all decide that the best course of action would be to go back to the Trappola-Spade residence for some well needed rest.

“Let’s go home.”

That was what Deuce had called it — home. It was home for the two of them, certainly, and in a literal sense they understood that it would be their home as well for however long they chose to stay, but to actually call it their home was disconcerting. As wonderful and comfortable the place realistically was, it felt wrong to call it home when they felt like an outsider. They were nothing but a guest, if they wanted to use a kinder term to describe themself.

“I’m sure you already know, I know you saw the rings, but me and Deuce are…”

They appreciate how considerate they were of them, but Yuulis already knew even before then — Grim had told them. Actually, it was one of the very first things he brought up. He said it so casually, as if it was a known fact, as if they should have expected it — perhaps they should have.

It was bound to happen.

I wish I could have been to your wedding.

I am happy for the both of you.

Yuulis might have said one, or all of them, at some point, or maybe they had actually been silent the whole trip back. Still, at the very least, they hope they actually got to say the last one out loud because they are happy for them, why wouldn’t they be?

They were happy, both for Ace and Deuce and because they, against all odds, had received an opportunity to reunite with two of the people they held most dear. In fact, they’ve been in and out of it this whole time, reeling in the joy of getting to meet them again, it was just… there’s a sinking feeling, a pit of unknown depth — like the sea, the ocean — that they’re going to have a tough time adjusting to not just Twisted Wonderland, but these new circumstances.

It hadn’t even been more than a week and yet the guilt was already beginning to bubble up, fearing not just their feelings but how they’re perceived, that it might come off as though they’re not happy for them, to be around them, to be back.

“Welcome home,” Ace and Deuce say it at the same time, welcoming them into their abode, their space, their sanctuary. Yuulis takes a step inside — it feels comfortable, relaxing, lived-in, and sufficiently quiet. It’s perfect, and the thought of them stepping foot into something already so perfect hurts.

“Thank you for having me here.”

IV. ACE and DEUCE

“Deuce, could you possibly give me the password to the Wi-Fi? If that is still what it’s being called these days.”

“Sure, just give me your phone,” he leaned his upper body behind the sofa to reach for their phone, and it was only then Deuce realized just how outdated it was. It wasn’t the newest model either when they first got it all those years ago, so he was surprised to still see it kicking.

“You can always just tell me what your password is. I haven’t forgotten how to spell.”

Except he couldn’t, not when their network password was the name of his mother, followed by the date of Yuulis’... disappearance from Twisted Wonderland.

It was easy to remember, so it just stuck.

“Here you go,” he said, ignoring the question as he handed back the phone.

“Thank you. I was trying to look something up, but it took so long to load… I was wondering if it was because I have yet to update it to the latest version software, or if it was the hardware itself, but it turns out the problem was the Wi-Fi.”

“...With your phone? I’m sure both the hard and software need some updating.” Curious as to what they were trying to do, the blue-haired man sat beside Yuulis on the sofa, peering down to look at whatever they were trying to search up on their phone.

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Inwardly, Deuce sighed a breath of relief. They wanted to work somewhere nearby.

“I know you and Ace are willing to support me, but I want to help the both of you somehow… and to have some pocket money as well, for emergencies,” Yuulis explained, and for as long as they returned home at the end of the day, Deuce did not mind — they had their own autonomy, one neither him or Ace should or could take away — though he did wonder if it was too soon. “Though I was considering some form of online work as well. Since I’ll be filling up some forms, could you take my photo? A formal enough headshot would suffice.”

He looked at the phone again, blinking.

“Maybe I should use my phone for that.”

“Or maybe we should give our dear Yuulis a new phone,” Ace said, coming to join their conversation, sliding onto the sofa between them and slinging an arm across their shoulders, “no offense, but your phone is a piece of hot garbage; it’s not even the cool retro kind that the kids these days like. You’re long overdue for a new one.”

“Ace, you don’t have to do that,” Yuulis replied, before turning to face Deuce again, “you as well, Deuce. I don’t need something new.”

“Then what if it’s not new?” Deuce asked, “I have my old work phone. They’re not telling me to give it back or anything.”

“You haven’t wiped it clean yet, though.” And Ace, already two steps ahead of him, brought out his old phone, the one that Deuce remembered as the one that liked to randomly shut down and boot up again for no particular reason. “But this one is. All we need is to transfer over Yuulis’ old number to this phone and they can start using it.”

“Since it’s Ace’s hand-me-down, I don’t mind as much, then.” Yuulis plucked the phone out of the redhead’s grip, leaving their spot on the couch as they fiddled with the device. “Oh, could the two of you stay there? I want to try taking a picture.”

“Eh? Well, as long as we look good!” Ace said with a grin, making some indistinct pose with his free hand, and pulling his husband even closer with the other, fingers reflexively undoing his ponytail. “Come on princess, you’re back from work so let down your hair~”

“Then you should go remove your makeup too,” Deuce retorted, swiping a thumb against his cheek, “you’ve been home since five! The germ buildup–”

“But last I checked you didn’t care about the makeup germs when you…” Ace trailed off, clearing his throat upon hearing a few clicks from a distance. Instead of feeling awkward or embarrassed, he found himself smiling, before properly posing for the camera again. Was this déjà vu? Yuulis had always been a particularly sappy person, so it warmed his heart that even after all these years, the first photo they wanted to take was one of him and Deuce.

But after the first few shots, something had perturbed him — why weren’t they joining in?

“What’d ya plan on doing with those pictures?” he inquired, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed Deuce’s inquisitive glance as well.

“I wanted to change the default wallpaper,” they replied, a reply which did nothing to ease their concerns, “it would be better to look at a picture of my friends than one of the sea.”

“I thought you liked the sea?”

“...The sea’s nice and all, but I don’t recognize this one, so it means nothing to me,” Yuulis pointed out, sitting down on the couch once more, only with too much distance between them and Ace, and what more the distance between them and Deuce? “Take a look. This is better, is it not?”

It was a good picture (as he would say about most pictures with him and Deuce in it), but Ace couldn’t help himself from being upset, maybe even a bit annoyed, at Yuulis’ insistence, subconsciously or otherwise, in staying behind the camera. It was as if they were deliberately excluding themselves from him and Deuce, a separate entity. It was something he wanted rectified as soon as possible.

“I can think of a better picture,” Ace said, making sure to mask his worries with playfulness, emulating how he must have sounded in his teenage years. “Honestly, bit of a shame our lil Grimmy isn’t here, but this is gonna have to do for now. Deuce? Switch. Your arms are longer.”

“Now this is why we shouldn’t have thrown away the selfie stick. Who cares if it’s cringe?” With ease, Deuce slipped the phone out of Yuulis’ fingertips, changing his position to sit beside Yuulis as well, the free side that wasn’t already occupied by his partner. “Ten seconds timer! Oh, sorry if we’re squishing you, Yuulis, we need to cram to get in the shot.”

They let out a slight chuckle, and Deuce realized it might have been the first time they’ve laughed at all since they’ve reunited. “It’s alright. Oh, eight, seven, six—”

“Yuulis, stop counting, and smile!” From the screen, Deuce could see the redhead drop his own smile to schold Yuulis, who looked more amused than anything. He wondered if he was supposed to restart the timer considering two out of three participants were not focused at all (and even he was slipping out of it) when a click signified the timer ending. He clicked the preview, and to no one’s surprise, none of them looked very prepared at all.

“Haa, if you’re going to make me take a picture, shouldn’t you actually look at the camera, Ace? Even Yuulis was looking… somewhat.”

“No biggie, just retake it! You’re a police officer! I’m sure your arms can take holding up a phone a little longer!”

“Fine, fine,” Deuce sighed, “let’s–”

“No,” Yuulis said, and if they weren’t smiling Ace and Deuce might have been worried. Still, they were finally smiling. It might have been a little late, and the picture might have already been taken, but they were just happy to see them smile. Their memories have always been good enough to remember things to do with Yuulis. “The photo is already good as it is. I like the authenticity.”

Deuce looked at the photo again, and while Yuulis had not been smiling, the glimmer of joy had reached their eye.

“If you like it, then we like it too.”

V. YUULIS

Yuulis could not sleep. That had not been the case the past few nights of living in the Trappola-Spade residence — eyes too tired, mind worked to exhaustion, the corporeal self in need of rest. Perhaps it was their body that needed adjusting, having to get used to the fact that they were back in Twisted Wonderland, and for good this time around.

With the dust having settled, however, they had just enough energy to actually think about the elephant in the room, that was to say, they were the elephant in the room. The living room specifically. Not that they permanently resided there — Deuce had fixed up the guest room (according to him mostly used by his mom, but on occasion some of the other first years), but Yuulis had begun to make a habit of walking around the house before returning to their assigned chamber.

It was a little cold tonight as well, so, with a blanket wrapped around their shoulders, they had left the room in search of warmer breezes.

Not that the cold was the main reason they had left the room. During nights like these, the melancholy in their eye even without looking at the night sky, Yuulis took the time to roam every corner of the house; look at every picture and painting; search every nook and cranny. Those were the things they had wanted to do since stepping foot into their home, but could not properly do during the daytime with either Ace or Deuce, at times even both, present, looking at them with a panic in their eyes, like they’ll fade before their very sights.

It’s touching, but more than that they’re sorry they have to feel that way.

There was no coddling, they knew Yuulis would call them out the moment it felt like they were being too much, but there was certainly a thinly veiled cautiousness, one they were doing a bad job of hiding.

They wished they could stop the two from worrying so much.

Photographs. Even though it hurt, even though it filled them with a burning in spite of the chilly night air, even with the self-condemnation they judged themselves for feeling, Yuulis genuinely enjoyed looking at the photos the most out of all that there was in the house.

There was their — Ace and Deuce’s — wedding album, not quite proudly displayed but certainly not hidden. It was stacked at the very top of all the other albums on the shelf, as if the couple had been looking at it recently. Yuulis, upon perusing each and every page, could understand why they would do so.

A picture of Deuce’s mother crying, with Ace’s brother just right around the corner doing the exact same thing; a picture of their seniors from college smiling amongst themselves, watching attentively; a picture of Ortho, shooting flower petals of from some contraption Idia had surely made for the occasion; Grim walking down the aisle, looking like an overgrown toddler or shorter-than-average child shoved into a tuxedo, proudly presenting the rings on a plush pillow;

and, of course, a picture with all (barring one) of the troublesome first years, as they would be forever dubbed by their upperclassmen — the married couple’s closest friends — all seated in one table: Sebek, Ortho, Epel, Jack, Grim, and a seat left empty.

Simply put, it was an event more than just beautiful, for they had portrayed what a wedding truly was — a symbol of love. Love between the couple, a love between the guests, a love that Yuulis had not been there to witness and, perhaps, a catalyst of guilt — their own feelings that they would feel too guilty to openly reveal.

Yuulis put the album back in its rightful place, before finding themselves drawn by two picture frames right atop their mantel. For several nights now, they’ve spent much of their time staring at those two photographs. The first, a framed picture of Ace and Deuce reciting their vows — not solemn, but smiling beautifully; laughing even, as Yuulis had always expected the two of them to be at their wedding. That picture is right at the very center, and looking at it never fails to fill them with happiness for their happiness.

Then, just the frame beside it, just slightly off the center, was a developed photo of the three of them — Ace, Deuce, and them, Yuulis — from way back when in their teenage years, their time as first years. The second photo always took a worse toll on Yuulis.

Spaces and seats, why did it hurt to be more than just a faded memory?

Yuulis took a few more steps — slowly, almost like a tiptoe, wary of the floorboards of the stairs creaking and possibly alerting Ace or Deuce of their presence — before stopping in front of a mirror hanging in the hallway.

If the blanket hadn’t been patterned, had been white instead, they were certain they would have looked like a ghost gliding across the house, turning their home into a haunt.

They pass by the master bedroom, unable to stop their expression from shifting into a wistful gaze. Maybe they just stopped trying to do so, nights like these where nobody could truly see them. It is routine at this point, to momentarily stop in front of their door before their own, with a hand hovering over the bedroom’s door knob.

They can hear snoring; somehow, they’re still able to distinguish whose is which. They wonder if they argue about who snores the loudest, who snores at all, just like all those typical, happily married couples do. It’s domestic, it’s surprisingly peaceful, and it’s almost everything Yuulis has wanted.

The clock had struck three — it would be five in two, and the two would wake soon enough.

Their hand retreats back to their side — cold, having stayed out of the blankets for far too long, the metal of the handle chilling them further — and without so much as a second glance they retreat back to the guest room.

VI. ACE and DEUCE; YUULIS

Since Yuulis’ return to Twisted Wonderland, many things had gone unsaid between Ace and Deuce. It was not out of secrecy, but more of how difficult it was to actually keep secrets with each other; moreover, how unnecessary it was when eyes and tones spoke for themselves. Of course, some things did need to go said, go discussed — a definition to their shared and renewed deep-seated desires.

It is said that nighttime is the best time to think about the past, the present, the future; mistakes and regrets, hopes and dreams; and what dreams were pipe dreams and dreams that could be turned into reality. However, Ace and Deuce thought of Yuulis most during the daytime — especially in the waking hours of the day, the realization that for another night they have left space once more for Yuulis be it in the center, their left, or their right.

It reminded Deuce of the nights, some long time ago, when he, Ace, Yuulis, and Grim would huddle under the blankets cramped in the prefect’s bed, somehow soundly sleeping until the morning sun would come to wake them all. It reminded Ace of the nights when it would just be him and Deuce, sneaking into the Ramshackle dorm to retain any warmth and comfort they could have left.

It was always in the mornings — kisses in spite of morning breath, greetings between the two and immediately looking for Yuulis, a greeting always left incomplete and saved for a day anew.

They trust Yuulis but there’s still that fear, a little harder to shake off the second time around, that they’re going to open the door to Yuulis’ makeshift room and find that they had gone up and left during the night — or worse, that they were never present in their home in the first place.

Some early morning, even before the clock had struck five, Ace and Deuce lay awake on their beds, mindlessly staring at the ceiling above them. Realistically, they both should have been too groggy for discussion, but the silence gave way to a much needed conversation, from one heart to another.

It starts off simple, like many things do.

“I love Yuulis… I still love Yuulis,” Deuce said, getting the easiest part over with. Recognizing his feelings, being honest with Ace — all those were easy because he knew there was nothing to be ashamed of, not with him. “It took me a few weeks to fully… I needed to make sure I wasn’t exemplifying it because of panic, but now…”

“Me too,” Ace replied, laying his head on its side to face Deuce, “I love them like you, and it scares me sometimes.”

“Yeah,” Deuce murmured, closing his eyes, “I don’t think I could take a second heartbreak,” from the same person. “But I don’t think we should–”

“–do anything,” the redhead supplied in agreement, “not yet. Not until Yuulis feels more comfortable around us, and then we can figure out if they feel the same way.”

The sun, the color reminding them of Yuulis’ eye, rises and they rise with it.

Ace and Deuce liked to wake Yuulis up in the early hours of the morning (which only meant that it was not as early as they used to wake up back in NRC, but still ante meridiem) either to get them to eat breakfast or to say their goodbyes before going to work. As much as Yuulis appreciated that most days, they were more than grateful for the chance to sleep in that morning of all mornings.

They yawned as they headed downstairs, spotting Deuce, already in his work uniform, hastily kissing Ace after scarfing down the remains of his breakfast.

Oh, he must be running late for work.

“Good morning,” Yuulis greeted the both of them, sitting atop the seat by the counter. “Cute apron, Ace. The pink frills are particularly precious.”

“Oh don’t I know it?” Ace grinned, waving his spatula around like a magic pen. “Now go eat your food! I worked very hard on breakfast today, and for your information it’s actual melted chocolate, not the pre-packaged ones!”

“Don’t be fooled by him, Yuulis! I’m the one who made the pancakes, he’s just serving them!” Deuce countered, in the midst of tying his hair into a bun. Yuulis wished they had their phone right now — they’ve seen Deuce with a ponytail and his hair down, but the bun was definitely new. “Sorry I can’t join you for breakfast Yuulis, I really gotta go.”

“Don’t worry, I understand,” they replied, grinning at the mug of hot cocoa — still piping hot, as though it was purposefully kept warm hours after it was made just for them — and the chocolate pancakes — the ones with the cherry and blueberry bits in them. “I’ll see you later.”

“Mhm, see you, Yuulis.”

Yuulis was prepared for a wave goodbye, a pat on the back, or even a hug, but he did something nobody expected he’d do — he pecked Yuulis on the cheek, an act performed without so much as an ounce of hesitation or humor, before quickly running out the door with his things.

“...Huh?”

And then Yuulis proceeded to malfunction, grabbing their hair with their hands, using the fistfuls of strands to curtain their cheeks even more than their bangs already were.

Unbeknownst to them, Ace stood there with a smile, with just enough self-control to hold himself back from laughing.

So the three of us have hope after all.

While he didn’t think he’d be jealous seeing the love of his life giving a kiss to the other love of his life, he certainly did feel reassured that the sight filled him with nothing but affection.

Honestly, he just wished he had an excuse to kiss Yuulis as well.

VII. YUULIS

How is it that the more comfortable you feel in a home, the more vulnerable you become to unnecessary misery? At this point, it was a self-inflicted affliction that they could not help themselves from feeling and enduring.

Of course, it was not the home itself that was the problem — the Trappola-Spade residence was a lovely, lovely place, and Yuulis thanked the lucky stars they still somehow had that their dwelling place this second time around would not require some arduous position to be had.

The problem, inherently, was that their home was not a concrete place. After all, Twisted Wonderland wasn’t exactly home — it was just where home happens to be. It was a dangerous thing, turning someone, or in their case two someones, into a home, but they had gone and done just that.

Their presence was home, and their presence had made home comfortable — it was a simple fact that Ace and Deuce had done everything they could to make them feel at home, like they were that troublesome trio from all those years ago. All the same, it was obvious that they were being spoiled to make up for lost time. Thinking about that hurts that most — it makes them wonder if they never left in the first place, they wouldn’t have to try so hard to help them, to bring back what once was, because it never would have disappeared in the first place.

Maybe they would have a more recent photo atop the mantel.

It’s easy to think about the what-ifs, to read into Ace and Deuce’s treatment of them and how surprisingly affectionate they could get with them despite the years having passed, but they force themselves to not write it out as the feelings being mutual. It’s better, for their heart and for their friendship, to assume that everything being done is simply because they’re happy to have their best friend back, that they’re scared that with one wrong move, Yuulis will get up and leave for good.

And then, weeks stuck with an incurable guilt due to their unwaning feelings, a guilt that grew and crept into their system as though vines had replaced their veins, they finally decided that they should get up and leave.

Not for good, the idea of hurting Ace and Deuce again hurt far more than any unrequited love they could experience, but for a while, for a night. Not even the whole night, just half of it.

The timing was certainly right. With Deuce working a late-night shift and not expected back home until well past midnight, and Ace busy with an important work dinner at some hotel, they could simply… go to the nearest pub, the one they knew to be within walking distance, go get themselves decently wasted with whatever alcohol their pocket money could afford, and then go straight home. Ace and Deuce would never have to know. After all, it would just be a few drinks, just enough to drown their desires and wash away their wrongs.

Nothing would go wrong.

VIII. ACE and DEUCE

When Deuce gets a call from Ace, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore faint but present in the background, he’s immediately checking his watch to see how much time he had left before he could get off work.

“What do you mean Yuulis has gone missing?” Deuce tries not to panic — Ace was already panicking enough, and he knows audibly panicking would only add to the commotion — but the worry within has him fidgeting in his seat. Twenty minutes. He still has twenty minutes, the longest twenty minutes of his life.

Ace had left his event early to head home, only to find that Yuulis was nowhere to be found — nowhere in the living room where they usually resided, or the kitchen getting a late night snack, or even their bedroom, falling asleep earlier than usual. Ace then headed towards the beach, hoping that Yuulis simply took a late night stroll, but not a single soul could be seen walking along the sand.

“Then that means Yuulis went to one of the nearby towns or neighborhoods. I don’t think they could have gotten very far on foot,” at least, that was what Deuce hoped, “but I’ll do a last-minute patrol around the city just in case. Go drive around the area, maybe ask our neighbors — someone must have seen which direction they’ve gone.”

“Sevens, do I love you” Ace breathes out, “so glad we have you to help. Call me if you find them, and if not we can divide the remaining areas.”

“We will find them,” Deuce asserts. He’s determined more than ever, hastily grabbing a pen to map out the best patrol route, the places to check first should Yuulis not be in the city. “I’ll be going now — love you, and stay safe.”

It doesn’t take too long to locate Yuulis. After searching around the house, Ace had realized that Yuulis had taken their phone with them, and he and Deuce hoped that much was enough to have Ortho, awake and alerted by their distress message, pinpoint Yuulis’ location. Even an estimate would work!

Ortho, a blessing in every single way, had gone above and beyond by sharing not just an address but exact GPS coordinates, one that would change with every movement detected.

However, the numbers had neither been going up nor down for either latitude or longitude for what must have been an hour, according to Ortho. They had gone to a nearby pub, stayed there for a few hours, then crashed somewhere half an hour to midnight.

The revelation chilled Ace and Deuce, causing them to immediately speed up to the location without a second thought towards any driving violations. Yuulis could have been in danger — perhaps they had dropped their phone in that location, perhaps they had fainted, perhaps they were hurt and unable to move. They had to find them as quickly as possible, for all of their sakes.

When they did finally find Yuulis, their body barely fitting the downward slope of a kiddie slide in a playground, they couldn’t even take the time to breathe out sighs of relief at finally finding them, immediately honed in on making sure Yuulis had only fallen asleep instead of suffering from alcohol poisoning or some other health complication.

After a minute, thankfully it was only a minute, of shaking Yuulis’ shoulders and pinching them as hard as possible, they had woken up — still seemingly out of it, if the smile on their face was enough to go off of.

“Acey~ Deucey~ my favorite people in all of Twisted Wonderland! Just what are the two of you doing here in my–”

“What we’re doing here? What are you doing here?!” Ace exclaimed, the combination of every emotion from tonight finally causing him to burst. “It’s not enough that you reek of alcohol, you were passed out drunk on a playground of all places! Drinking so carelessly? What were you thinking?!”

“Well~ have you considered that maybe I wasn’t thinking! I didn’t want to think, Ace!” Yuulis said, clearly far away from having sobered up, yet despite their humorous tone, there was something in their words that suggested they were being completely honest, a frustration purposefully kept hidden from them.

“We have alcohol at home, Yuulis,” Deuce said, doing their best to keep Yuulis upright — a slide was far from being a comfortable place to sit, and if they weren’t being so stubborn about staying put he would have lifted them up to talk back home instead. Neither Deuce nor Ace were comfortable with having a drunk and awake passenger. “If you wanted a drink, you could have just asked — or even just opened one right up! We could have all gone down to the pub together, if you really wanted!”

Yuulis let out a laugh, one different from their usual poise and rhythmicity, lacking their usual smooth lilt. Even the way they spoke had changed. It was raspy and unrestrained, yet not low and dark. Rather, there was an almost chimerical quality to it, as though they were tired yet fanciful, or tired of being fanciful. The voice of a self-aware dreamer.

“Who said I wanted to be home or around the both of you?” Ace and Deuce flinched, but they did their due diligence to simmer the hurt boiling within them. It was far more important that they listen to whatever Yuulis had to say, drunk or otherwise — maybe the both of them had done something wrong, something they needed to fix.

“Hey, did something happen? Did we do something wrong?” Ace asked, crouching down on the ground with Deuce, his initial anger pushed aside in favor of concern. “Were we coddling you too much? Suffocating you? Shit, if that’s it, we’ll ease up, you know? Just–”

Ace stopped, knowing what they needed to hear wasn’t an explanation from their end, “–if you need us to stop, just tell us and we–”

“No,” Yuulis interjected, the elongated pronunciation magnifying their displeasure at the idea. “I like it when the both of you do things with me in mind. When Deuce gave me his old books from NRC because he knew I wanted to learn the things I couldn’t after I left, when you started asking me to help you with chores around the house and going with you to the market because you knew I didn’t want to sit still and be useless… I even know about how the both of you are planning on surprising me by inviting Jack, Epel, Ortho, Sebek, and even Grim over so we could see each other again…

“But that’s the problem, isn’t it? I like it so much that I want more from the both of you.”

Ace and Deuce dared not interrupt, but in truth their hearts were hammering in their chests, in their ears, through whatever walls there were preventing them from speaking out their own feelings for Yuulis.

“I love Ace and I love Deuce. Always have, and still do. I know I shouldn’t ask for more… the both of you are so happy together, but sometimes I think that the three of us… if I hadn’t left… I knew I would miss you both but I hadn’t realized just how much, I hadn’t realized a lot of things, but now it’s…”

“It’s not too late,” Deuce replies instantly, unable to help himself and unwilling to allow a misunderstanding to develop. They should ask for more, as much as they want, and he and Ace would turn the world upside down to hand it to them.

“It’s always been the three of us — who’s to say that doesn’t extend to our feelings? We love–”

Ace gets cut off by a sudden burst of drunken laughter — Yuulis had not sobered up at all, as it seemed. The both of them assumed Yuulis, at the worst case scenario, had thought they were playing a prank. The best case scenario would have been them laughing at how long it took for all three of them to finally get into a relationship, as it was always meant to be.

But Yuulis’ reply had surprised the two of them.

“Ah, that’d be nice, wouldn’t it? If Ace and Deuce actually returned my feelings,” Yuulis sighed, and even with the hand Deuce had pressed against their back they had begun to fully lean back on the slide, as if to lie down. “But it feels so good to let it all out! Even if it’s just another one of my dreams, at least I finally got to confess in this one!”

“Yuulis, this–”

Deuce put a hand atop of Ace’s shoulder, quietly muttering, “It can wait until tomorrow.”

It was said that people became their most honest selves after a few drinks, intoxicated, their true forms unraveling in front of the people around them. All the same, it was said that the truth dribbled from people’s mouths easily under the influence — maybe not so freely flowing at first, maybe with a pepper-like anger, but even if it was slow and viscous like honey, the truth would eventually drip and drip and spill, flies flocking to the sweetness.

But Ace and Deuce were people who truly, deeply, indubitably loved Yuulis, and it didn’t feel right to return their confession on the chance that they’d forget tonight.

“Right, now that you’ve let it all out you can finally go back to dreamland, Yuulis,” Deuce murmured, humming a lullaby as he watched Ace pat the top of their head, an unmistakable look of adoration.

“Mhm, we’ll be with you when you wake. We promise.” After all, it would be Sunday tomorrow — or, really, it was already Sunday. The things that needed to be said, whatever would become of them, it could all wait until after the sun rose from the sea again.

IX. ACE and DEUCE and YUULIS

Muscle aches; an unusual level of sluggishness; a thirst to an unquenchable degree; a random spurt of dizziness; and a heightened sensitivity to light and sound, despite the fact that the curtains were closed and the room was terribly silent — Yuulis recognized all of these as symptoms of a hangover… or a potion gone wrong, but considering Yuulis remembered everything from last night, they were certain it was a hangover.

Speaking of remembering everything… Yuulis groaned quietly, filled with embarrassment — of all ways to confess their feelings, no, the thought of even confessing their feelings in the first place… how could they have done that? While they would not deny a certain level of relief, a path opening up to closure, they had felt at the time, morning come had filled them with a whole new set of troubles.

Could they not have at least confessed with some dignity?

“Yuulis?”

Yuulis froze, wishing themselves to somehow fall back asleep, just to avoid the conversation for a little longer… and also because they were still incredibly out of it, just for entirely different reasons and a whole other level of ache.

It didn’t work, Ace immediately registered that Yuulis had woken up, shifting in his spot atop the bed — not lying down, more seated as though he were lounging, like he was in the middle of reading a book or a manicure — to hand Yuulis a glass of water, a pill they didn’t recognize, and…

“Chocolate,” the redhead replied, the plastic of the wrapper gently scraping the palm of his hand as Yuulis hesitantly took it. “I don’t think it really helps the hangover — that’s what the omelette Deuce is making is for — but I figured you’d want some right now, or after you drink the pain reliever. It’s a tough pill to swallow.”

They did, they did need some, just to soothe them for the discussion that would inevitably come. They could probably eat a whole bar, though they doubted their stomach would treat them kindly if they did just that.

With Ace’s help, Yuulis sat upright, the both of them quiet as they drank the pain reliever, and whatever bitterness they had to taste was immediately replaced by the sweetness of the chocolate — it was one of Yuulis’ favorites, they realized belatedly, and Ace just had it lying around their room for them to consume.

They also finally realized just where they had slept that night.

“I must have taken up a lot of space, I’m sure it was a tight fit,” Yuulis muttered, still finding it difficult to look Ace in the eye. “Sorry about that.”

“Not at all, Yuulis. The bed has always been too big just for me and Ace,” Deuce replied, walking into the room with a tray of food, including the so-called hangover cure that was the omelette. He placed it on one of the desks before joining the both of them back in bed. Breakfast could wait. “I’m more sorry you had to sleep with me and Ace snoring all night.”

“I didn’t notice, I was too… too…” Yuulis sighed, already feeling the urge to hide themselves with their hair, the blankets, anything, “listen, about last night–”

“Yuulis, we don’t have to talk about it now,” Deuce interrupted. Yuulis might have taken it the wrong way if they had chosen to look at anywhere but Ace and Deuce, but at that moment they did look at Deuce, and upon recognizing that look in his eyes, the very same look of love he always gave Ace, Yuulis closed their mouths, preventing any outbursts, or at the very least their heart from leaping out of their throat. “We love you too, but we also know you’re not feeling that well from last night.”

“You must have drank a lot to get that level of wasted, right?” Ace added, humor evident as he grabbed one of their hands, a smile growing as he peppered kisses atop their scars. Yuulis wished they could return it — Ace’s freckles, possibly, and even Deuce with his cheeks, if only to pay him back for last time. “But Deuce is right — I mean, I did tell you last night that we would be with you when you woke up. We meant it in every single way.”

“Really?” Yuulis whispered, more in relief than in disbelief.

“Really,” Deuce nodded, “however we choose to go forth later… just know that our feelings for you are the same.”

“Thank you.” They yawned suddenly, perhaps a side-effect of the medicine, or perhaps their lack of sleep calling them back to slumber.

“Silly Yuulis, there’s no need to thank us for anything,” Ace replied, lifting the duvet and blankets to allow all three of them to comfortably slink back to bed. “We should thank you… for coming back home.”

“Home, of course,” Yuulis muttered, resting their head against Ace’s chest, Deuce’s against their back, From the moment Yuulis met Ace and Deuce, they wished they knew how important the two would be to them, that they would spend all their years missing them, that they would be home.

“We’re all finally home. It’s like how it was always meant to be”

Deuce draws the curtains to cover up the sun, but it was as if it had remained through the warmth of their bodies and their souls, finally all intertwined and woven as one.

“Let’s sleep in a little longer.”

end notes | masterlist

[1] i used the moon and stars to represent deuce since it seemed fitting because of the wish upon a star/dance and wishes event. also, it shows how Yuulis is quite “otherworldly” and the “distance” there seems to be between them and ADeuce at the very beginning (and, well, for the years prior). I wanted Deuce to come off as the more hopeful of the two in regards to Yuulis, as the sky is always romanticized and admired due to their beauty and distance.

[2] for ace, i went with the wind. ace is confident in his wind magic, and I chose to interpret it as him having a “good relationship with the wind”. The wind is one of those things that some people romanticize, but at the same time something seen as harsh (e.g., gust of winds), or as something neutral and “it is what it is”. I chose to use the wind to showcase the mixture of Yuulis being seen as a “calm and cool” presence, as well as Ace’s feelings that they're fleeting and, just like the circulation of the wind, the inevitability of them coming and going. Basically, while Deuce is “hope”, Ace is “certain”. I actually had to read about the wind on National Geographic to make sure I was getting it right. Similarly, compared to Deuce who looks at distance (both physically and comfortability), Ace is the one who first points out Yuulis’ hair length, as well as comparing it to Deuce’s, to signify the passage of time.

[3] the number five in scene five. this talks about both SCENE V and the line from SCENE V, “The clock had struck three — it would be five in two, and the two would wake soon enough”. To briefly talk about numbers symbolism, in Pythagoreanism (as in Pythagoras “a^2 + b^2 = c^2”, the math dude), the number 5 symbolized marriage (of course, the explanation is kinda… you know, with 2 being a “female” number because even, 3 being “male” because they gave numbers gender for some reason I’d rather not look up a deep dive on, but you know, let’s push that aside). This second symbolism is unintentional, but apparently one of Venus’ (the Roman Goddess of Love) symbols is a pentagram (or, you know, five-pointed star) aptly named “Pentagram of Venus”, so I guess that adds to it! But I was mostly referencing the math dude because I’m a nerd.

[4] “I LOVE THEM LIKE YOU”. I worded this in a particular way so it can be interpreted two ways, “I love them like you (do)”, and “I love them like (i love) you”. I wondered if I should expound more on their Ace and Deuce’s discussion, but I think they’re both very secure in their relationship and feelings for each other, so they focus on Yuulis and the idea of including Yuulis.

#nathya twst writing #nathya comm pieces #twst x oc #twst #disney twisted wonderland #ace trappola #deuce spade #twisted wonderland

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