Twst Wonderland x Reader One shots

Disclaimer: angst

At first, it was the small things. Deuce would always pull a seat out for you at lunch, offering a shy smile as if unsure if it was okay. You would laugh, brushing it off, but deep inside, your heart always skipped a beat. 

Ace, meanwhile, would roll his eyes dramatically.

 
"Seriously, Deuce? You're making the rest of us look bad," he'd tease, bumping shoulders with both of you. You laughed even harder then — because that's what Ace did. He filled the spaces between you and Deuce with lightness, always there, always close. 

As the weeks went by, Deuce grew bolder. Holding your books for you even when you said you could manage, walking you to some of the classes he wasn't even taking, his ears always a little red when you thanked him. You started waiting for him outside classrooms without thinking, smiling instinctively when you spotted his blue hair bobbing through the crowd. 

Sometimes, you would catch Ace looking at the two of you, a crooked grin on his face, like he was teasing something he wasn’t saying out loud. You thought nothing of it. It was just Ace — your friend, your partner-in-pranks, the one who always had some sarcastic comment ready when Deuce fumbled nervously around you. 

One afternoon, under the shade of a Heartslabyul rose tree, Deuce finally confessed. His words stumbled out, clumsy and urgent, like he was afraid they'd run away if he didn’t speak fast enough. 

"I like you...! I mean—I really like you! I want to be...someone you can rely on! Someone you can...trust! And...and maybe more, if you'd let me..." 

You blinked at him, feeling your own face grow warm, and without thinking, you leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. 

"I already do, Deuce," you whispered. 

Ace whooped from nearby, startling a the hedgehogs into the air. He laughed, nudging Deuce so hard the poor boy nearly tripped over himself.

"Finally! I was getting sick of playing third wheel to all that pining!" 

Everything felt light. Everything felt perfect. 

...But later that night, alone in the dim dorm hallway, Ace leaned against the cold wall, head tilted back, eyes shut tight as if it could block out the ache in his chest. 

He had always been the loud one, the teasing one, the one who smiled so easily it was easy to miss how much he hurt. 

He loved you first. 
He loved you best. 

But he loved you so much, he smiled anyway when you picked Deuce. 
Because all he ever wanted...was for you to be happy — even if it wasn't with him.

A/n: feel free to request what character you want next if you wish!