Two idiots both accuse the other of 'suspicious behavior'.

Takes place during Chapter 15: An Army Of One, at some point after Kat has gone to bed.
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It was probably about two or three AM.

Grim had fallen asleep on top of his hand-- or paw-- of cards, drooling a small puddle onto the hardwood floor.

Ace sat on the couch, while Deuce was on the floor-- he'd pulled the cushions off the other, slightly smaller sofa in the lounge to create a sort of mattress.

They both sat, sneaking glances out of the corner of their eyes at each other, but pretending to ignore the other when their eyes met.

After a few minutes of this, Ace sat up a little straighter, shuffling a bit.
"...This isn't going to get you anywhere, you know that?"

Deuce blinked, looking over at him with a frown.
"...What?"

"With her," Ace replied, jerking his head up towards the stairs.
"You're not gonna get anywhere. With all--"

He gestured vaguely at Deuce.

"....This."

Deuce frowned, brow furrowing.
"All what?"

"All this...."
Ace waved harder.
"....This. This knight-in-shining-armor nice-guy schtick. All this protectiveness and opening-doors and stuff. It's not gonna lead anywhere."

Now it was Deuce's turn to sit up a bit, giving Ace a suspicious look.
"...What the hell are you talking about?"

"I MEAN," Ace snapped, crossing his arms with a scowl. "That nothing's gonna HAPPEN! Between you two! So-- so... You might as well stop trying NOW, okay?!"

Deuce blinked, taken aback.
Then he flushed, jumping to his feet as he bristled defensively.
"Wh-What the-- What the hell are you-- TALKING about?! Are-are you-- do you think I'm trying to-- to... NO! No fuckin' WAY, man! Don't be STUPID!"

"HUH?!?!" Ace retorted, jumping to his own feet.
"No, no, NO-- What the hell are YOU talking about?! What, you think I haven't NOTICED?! HUH?! How you're always followin' her around, looking at her with those- those--"

He gestured furiously.
"Big, stupid PUPPY-DOG EYES?! And the-- the fuckin' 'ooh, Prefect' this and 'ooh, Prefect' that-- I'm not an IDIOT! You've got the hots for her, right?!"

"NO!" Deuce yelled back, face going redder and redder by the second.
"No, I-- I do NOT have the-- the... I-Is that REALLY what you think?!"

"Well, DUH!" Ace retorted, flinging his arms out angrily.
"Is that NOT it?! C'mon-- look, man, I'm just TELLING you! It's not-- I-it's not gonna HAPPEN, okay?!"

"I'm NOT--" Deuce protested.

Grim stirred, stretching and yawning.
His eyes opened blearily for a second. Then, with another yawn, he rolled over, starting to snore gently again.

In unison, the pair let out a long breath, relaxing a little.

"I'm not TRYING to get anywhere," Deuce hissed, glaring at Ace. "I'm just TRYING to be NICE, okay?! I'm being POLITE!"

Ace scoffed quietly.
"Huh-- yeah, right. What, you REALLY don't have ANY ulterior motives?!"

"I DON'T!" Deuce hissed back, glowering.
"I really, really DON'T-- I just-- I- I think she's really cool, and smart, and... I mean, she looked out for ME, so I'm just trying to... Return the favor, basically! Stop trying to make it-- make it... WEIRD!"

"HA!" Ace barked, pointing a triumphant finger. "I KNEW it! You just ADMITTED it!"

"I. Did. NOT," Deuce retorted, clenching his fists. "I said that I like her, not that I- that I-- LIKE her!"

"Same thing!" Ace scoffed.

Deuce bristled angrily.
"Wh-- NO! No, it is NOT the same fuckin' thing, idiot! I like her like-- like a FRIEND! She's my friend, okay?! Do you seriously not know the difference between friend-like and like-like?! And-- what about YOU, huh?!"

"Wh--" Ace spluttered.

"Who-- ME?! What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Yeah-- YOU!" Deuce snapped.
"The way you're always hassling her, getting on her nerves... You can't leave her alone, can you?! How old are you, five?! If what I'M doing proves I've got 'the hots' for her, what does it say about YOU?!"

"What I'M--" Ace began.

Grim rolled over again, and they froze into another ten seconds of silence.

"It is NOT. LIKE that!" The redhead hissed, glaring at Deuce.
"I mean--"

Gesturing helplessly, he gave an angry huff.
"--Okay, i-it's not like she's... Not, y'know, ATTRACTIVE or anything, but--"

"SEE?!" Deuce demanded, jumping up and pointing. "Now YOU just admitted it!"

"--You didn't let me FINISH!" Ace snarled, seething visibly. "And-- keep it DOWN, otherwise you're gonna wake up the furball!"

"YOU were the one who--" Deuce began, but Ace put a finger to his own lips, shushing him angrily.
"Dude-- SSHHHHH! Seriously! God-- shut UP! You're gonna get HER up and runnin' at this rate, too-- and those damn ghosts! Hell-- they might already BE here, so keep it DOWN!"

The two scowled at each other for a few more seconds.
After a little while, they both sat back down, still glowering mistrustfully at each other.

Huffing, Ace ran both hands over his head.

"...Look," he muttered reluctantly.
"It's-- l-let me finish this time, okay? It's not that she's not... Y'know, pretty or anything... I- I have EYES, you know? But-- ugh..."

Grumbling, he rubbed his face.
"She's-- well, I mean, she's too old, for one thing... O-Or I guess we're too young, actually. She-- heh..."

Shaking his head, he gave a sardonic laugh.
"She was-- definitely right... I-- was kinda being a dumbass about that. But-- I mean, besides that, she's..."

Trailing off, he ruffled his hair aggressively for a second, still grumbling.
"Y-you're probably right about-- how I've been acting with her, though, but... N-Not for the reason you think, okay? And-- even if it WAS, it's-- not like she'd... It's not like it'd GO anywhere."

"...What?" Deuce asked, frowning suspiciously.
"The hell are you talking about?"

"She's--"
Growling, Ace gestured widely again.
"She-- she doesn't... She-- dammit... She likes other girls, okay?! She's GAY, dude!"

"Wh-- I KNEW that!" Deuce splurted, jumping to his feet as his face went red.

Ace whipped his head up to gape at him, stunned.
"Wh-- HUH?!" He blurted after about half a second, jumping up as well. "You DID?! HOW?!"

"She-- she TOLD me, OBVIOUSLY!" Deuce snapped back, scowling.

"WHEN?!" Ace demanded. "When the hell did she--"

"It was--" Deuce began.
Shaking his head, he gritted his teeth, taking a deep breath.

"--It was last night," he grumbled, lowering his voice to a quiet speaking volume.
"On our way to the mines... I was--"

Brushing his bangs back, he sighed, shoulders slumping.
"I... I'll admit it, I was... Really nervous around her. It was probably pretty annoying for her, so-- I can understand why she was so ticked off... But when she... Saw how anxious I was, she was actually really nice to me? You know? And she made some good points, too..."

Rubbing the back of his neck, he gave a quiet laugh.
"I guess I was just-- a little out of my depth, you know? I've-- never really hung out around girls, you know, s-so I--"

"Yeah, yeah, YEAH-- she's super fuckin' nice, I know!" Ace snapped, flapping his hand to urge him forward.
"Just get to the point already, will you?!"

Deuce shot him a look, then rolled his eyes, grumbling.

"Fine, fine-- okay. Well-- when she saw how nervous I was, she... She told me I was the same age as her little brother, and... That she-- didn't like guys."

Glancing to the side, he blushed a little bit.
"So-- yeah."

After a second, he shot a glance at Ace, face falling into a small frown.
"...What?" He asked irritably. "Why're you just standing there? Not gonna say anything?"

After a few seconds, Ace shook his head, groaning loudly as he fell back onto the couch cushions.
"Oh, you gotta be-- dammiiiiit...!"

With another groan, he buried his face in his hands, stomping the floorboards in frustration.
"I thought I'd BEATEN you on this, but... You've known this whole time?! Fuuuuck...!!"

"Wh-- n-no, I didn't... I mean, I didn't know for SURE she liked girls, okay?!" Deuce interjected hurriedly.
"I mean-- she might've just not liked ANYBODY, you know?! And what the hell are you talking about, 'BEAT' me? This isn't a competition, you... Weird freak!"

"Gah-- shut UP, man," Ace grumbled, still muffled through his hands.
"I mean-- tch... Y-You're right about it not bein' a competition, but..."

Suddenly, his head snapped up, eyes widening as a realization hit him.
"Wait-- did she... Tell you she was asexual?!"

"...Huh?" Deuce asked, blinking.
"Uh... No, she-- she didn't..."

"YES!" Ace cheered, jumping to his feet and punching the air aggressively.
"Got one over on ya, Deucey! HA!"

"Wh-- S-Seriously?!" Deuce demanded, blushing harder. "You LITERALLY just said it wasn't a competition, jackass!"

"Yeah, that was before I knew I'd BEATEN you on something," Ace retorted smugly. "So? How's it feel, huh?"

"Wh-- ugh..."
Giving a long, grumbling groan, Deuce ran his hand through his hair again, rolling his eyes to the ceiling.
"God... Look, just-- nevermind, okay? The point is-- both of us know she's... Y'know, not... Available. Like that. So... What the hell were you just talking about? Before all that?"

Ace cocked his head, giving him a weird look.
"...Huh?"

"What you were just saying," Deuce replied. "About-- how you'd been acting around her..."

Ace blinked, then sighed.
"...Oh. Right-- yeah..."

Shrugging, he plopped back down onto the couch, pushing his own bangs back.

"Well-- okay... Here's the thing. I-- I've got an... Older brother. Older than her-- he's about twenty-four right now, actually, but..."

He kept running his hand over his head, coming to a stop at the rim of the collar.

"I... They're kinda... Similar? I guess? I mean-- not, like, SUPER similar, don't get me wrong. He's-- a lot more outgoing than she is, but she's also... Nicer than him, I guess? And a little more thoughtful? But also a little more violent..."

He gestured vaguely with his other hand.
"Whatever. It doesn't matter... But-- they've both got... No, that's not it-- dammit..."

Shaking his head, he grumbled again.
"I-- guess she... She reminds me of him. My brother... A little bit. And-- the way he and I are, we always kinda mess with each other, you know? I... I mean, look--"

He spread his hands, shrugging helplessly.

"I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the best at being, y'know... 'Nice' to people. It's-- not how I roll, okay?"

Deuce actually snorted a little, crossing his arms and sitting back down on his makeshift bed.
"Really? I couldn't tell..."

"Oh, fuck OFF, man-- don't YOU start," Ace snapped.
"But-- the point is-- ugh... Don't look too much into this, 'cause I'm, like, literally only realizing most of this now, a'ight? But it's... Kiiiinda like having another older sibling. I mean-- shit, if I was, like, a couple years younger, or she was a couple years older, I'd probably be calling her nee-san or something..."

He trailed off.

The room went quiet.

"...Okay, now it's YOUR turn," Ace said eventually, leaning back on the couch and crossing his arms.

Looking up at him, Deuce frowned.
"What?"

"YOUR turn," Ace repeated.

"I spilled my guts-- now it's your turn up at the podium. Only fair, right?"

Deuce looked back at him for a few seconds, then sighed, hanging his head.
"Ugh-- okay, fine..."

One more second of silence.

"...It's like you said," he muttered begrudgingly.
"She's-- you know, she IS pretty... So that does make me a little bit nervous still, sometimes. But besides that, she's also nice, and smart, and... Cool, I guess? And-- she swears more than the guys I used to hang out with..."

Shaking his head, he laughed softly.

"I don't really know what having a sibling is like... Back home, it's just me and my mom. But I do know what... Having older kids or upperclassmen or senpais or whatever feels like... The-- the ones you really look up to and respect, you know? And it's a lot like that... How I feel about her. I guess. But-- also..."

Trailing off, he sighed again.
"Well-- she's not weak or anything, but... She can't use magic, and she's not really... All that athletic, either. So I want to... Look out for her, I guess? Since she's looking out for me?"

Shifting awkwardly, he rubbed the back of his neck.
"I guess-- I feel like I kinda... Owe her, a little bit. I mean, I can tell she's not the kind of person to hold anything like that over my head, but... I guess I can't really help it, you know?"

"...Yeah," Ace muttered reluctantly after a few seconds. "Yeah, I-- guess I do..."

Sighing, he tugged irritably at the collar for a second.
"She's-- she's just so... Nice? To-- like, to everybody. Trey and Cater-senpai, the teachers... Even this little shit."

He nodded at the still-sleeping Grim.

"And to-- well, okay, she's nicer to YOU than to ME, but... She's still-- nice to us. Like, it's--"

He gestured again, waving his hands vaguely through the air.
"It's not a... Bad? Thing? I guess? But... I dunno, it's like she doesn't even think about how it might go badly. Like-- she just... Just HELPS, you know? And it's like... It doesn't even cross her mind that people might take advantage of that? And-- gah, fuck..."

Grumbling, he put his head in his lap, tugging at his hair in frustration.

"I've-- seen how dudes have been... Looking at her. I don't think she's noticed it yet, since she's also kinda a space case, but it's... Gross. Like, real gross... And it pisses me off. Not, like, in a JEALOUS way, but..."

"No, yeah, I-- I think I know what you mean," Deuce muttered, shifting uncomfortably again.
"I've-- it's the same way people look at... M-My mom, when I'm out with her sometimes. She's-- my mom, I mean-- she's actually pretty... Young? For a mom, I mean? And I've seen guys looking at her like that, sometimes..."

Shifting a little more, he growled quietly, face darkening.
"And-- yeah, it... It pisses me off. It really, REALLY pisses me off..."

....There were a few more seconds of silence.

Raising his head, Ace sprawled out sideways on the couch, propping up his head on one arm.
"...Bet I'll do a better job lookin' out for her than you," he said, the smirk in his voice obvious.

Deuce gave a derisive snort, shaking his head.
"Pff-- yeah, right... With that collar on, you're gonna be REAL useful, huh? Just like today at lunch?"

Ace scoffed in return, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, puh-LEASE... Even with this stupid thing on, I've still got something you don't!"

"Oh yeah?" Deuce asked, sitting up a little straighter and giving Ace a threatening look. "And what's that?"

"A functioning brain," the redhead replied smugly. "I've already got a leg up on you AND the fuzzball with that one, huh?"

"Oh-- really?" Deuce retorted, smirking. "Since when? Sure didn't have it when you got yourself collared and kicked out of the dorm in the first place..."

"Wh-- oh, fuck OFF, man!" Ace snapped, bristling. "That only happened 'cause the dorm head's a psycho little shit..."

"Sure, keep telling yourself that," Deuce grinned. "But which one of us managed to get in huge trouble not even an hour after almost getting expelled? Wasn't me..."

"Bold words from the chandelier-smasher," Ace grumbled.
Rolling over on the couch, he turned his back deliberately to Deuce.

"Says the statue-burner," Deuce retorted.
Pulling up the rumpled sheet Kat had given him, he did the same.

"That one was the tanuki's fault," Ace muttered halfheartedly, trying to find a comfortable position with the unwieldy collar.

"Keep telling yourself that," came the half-yawned response from Deuce, before the dark room finally faded into silence...

Apart from the slightly eerie creaks and groans of the old wood as it settled.

And Grim's quiet snores.

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....Teenage dumbassery.
I love it.

Ace proclaiming he has a functional brain: *Doubt.png*
...To be fair, he... Actually is probably a little smarter than Deuce and Grim, on a purely technical level, but... He just-- he's so impulsive. Literally zero common sense.
And he physically can't stop himself from being an obnoxious little shit.

Also-- aww, look at the bois, actually being honest with their feelings for all of...
Five seconds! And actually admitting that Kat's legitimately important to them!
*Found family intensifies*

Anyway, that's finally a wrap on TCT! Next is the other side story that...
Is actually turning out to be longer than I thought, lol, but hopefully I'll be able to get the first installment out pretty soon.

Oh, and chapter 2 of Keepers Of The Underworld; Seekers Of The Spark.
Which I've been avoiding, admittedly, because... Lilia.
I love him, but... BRO HOW DO I WRITE YOU??? Stop making this so difficult for me, Emo Grandpa!!