This one-shot is written for ximperfectionist from tumblr, Queen from Class Zero family.
She's amazing.
Um, this is for sure a little OOC, seeing as I haven't had much insight into Ace and Queen's personalities.
Post-game.
Constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcome.
Enjoy~!
Finally.
Ace grinned as he sat down in the library once more, returning to the textbook that was still on the same page as he left it.
After all, it was easy to distract Machina: just 'bump into' Rem, and he'll be chattering away.
Just slip away quietly, and neither one of them would notice. I wonder if Trey is Izana and Machina's lost brother?
Ace chuckled at the thought, remembering how engrossed the two childhood friends were in their conversation. "Childhood friends are just like that, I guess." He muttered to himself, flipping the page of the textbook while pushing up his glasses.
"Studying, Ace?"
He nodded absent-mindedly, reading through another page of the textbook before looking up to see Queen peering over his shoulder.
"Q-Queen! I didn't know you were here…" Ace blushed, staring at his view of Queen's enlarged face as she raised an eyebrow, smirking faintly as his cheeks reddened even more.
"I just finished playing lacrosse with Deuce and Cinque," Queen told him, pulling down a chair beside Ace to sit down. "Mind if I use one of these books?" She pointed to the large stack on Ace's right, looking back at him for confirmation.
"Go ahead…" Ace smiled, turning his head towards Queen who was already starting to flip through the pages of the book.
Their short conversation ended abruptly, and the both of them resumed to studying, slowly disappearing into their own world. It wasn't rare, for Queen to be studying alongside Ace; they used to sit next to each other in the library often and read silently.
It was, their method of taking a break after training themselves. Tense muscles would relax, those feeling of anger after being defeated by their commander would disappear, and they would eventually calm down.
Basking in each other's comfortable presence always seemed… natural.
"…Ace?" Queen closed the cover of the textbook laid in front of her, shifting in her seat so that she was facing her classmate.
"Huh? Yes, Queen?" Ace scratched the back of his head, turning to see Queen squinting at him, her eyes filled with curiosity. Feeling himself blushing under such scrutiny, Ace flinched as Queen leaned nearer towards him.
Close… she's so close…
"Are you dating Mutsuki?" Queen finally asked, pushing her glasses back up her nose as she turned back to the book in front of her.
"…What?" Ace scrunched up his eyebrows, clearly confused to what Queen just asked him.
"I asked if you were dating Mutsuki." Queen repeated herself, not taking her eyes off the textbook in front of her.
"No, I-"
"So you have feelings for her?" She interrupted, not bothering to turn back to Ace.
"Um… no?" Ace blinked, not quite sure of what was going on at that moment.
Mutsuki…? She's a little scary, being sensitive and all…
"Why do you ask?" Ace asked, biting his lip as he continued to stare at Queen intently.
"Just wondering if my assumptions were correct."
"Are they?"
"…No." Queen replied with a tone of arrogance, folding her arms as she turned back to Ace, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
Ace shrugged, nodding his head slowly as he mused at Queen's expression.
"What about Deuce? Cat-"
Is this the time?
"Cinque? Sice? Sev-"
But isn't the atmosphere… a little weird?
"Rem? Or perhaps… Emina-sensei?"
Now or never, then… Who knows when the right time will come around? And I doubt I'll ever have the courage to tell her after this…
"You." Ace broke off Queen's list of girls that she might have been interested in, and he even thought he heard King's name in there somewhere…
"What? Ace, if you meant this as a joke, I can tell you, you should stop being around Nine, seeing as I-"
"I-I'm interested in y-you, Queen. W-wasn't I… direct enough?" Ace blushed a little, and dismissed his fluttering nerves to concentrate on the shocked girl in front of him.
Yeah, Ace. Nice way to break it out to her.
"Don't appreciate jokes like these…" Queen finished her sentence uneasily, flustering as she tried to avoid Ace's gaze on her, but failing desperately.
An awkward silence fell between the both of them, and Ace felt his legs slowly moving to the library's exit while his mind worked to fuel him an excuse to escape the embarrassment.
"That… w-wasn't a joke?" Queen confirmed, finding herself too nervous for her own liking.
"Y-yeah… So… Um…" Ace stuttered, blinking rapidly as he tried to think of something to say.
Ah… What do I say now?
"Uh… Eh… So… Yeah." Ace mumbled incoherently, trying to hide his embarrassment by slanting his head in the opposite direction of Queen, who was too stunned to say anything.
"Ace…?"
"Would you be my girlfriend?"
Yes! Finally a sentence out without any mumbling…
"…Yeah. Um, I s-should go now, so-" Queen gestured gawkily towards the library's exit, fidgeting with her skirt as she stood up.
…What? Is she agreeing to be my girlfriend, or? No wait. She said 'Yeah'? She said 'Yeah'. SHE SAID 'YEAH'! B-but what's 'Yeah' supposed to mean?
"…Queen! Wait! Wait…" Ace whispered hurriedly, running towards Queen who was hastily sprinting towards the exit. Beating her to the door of the library first, Ace obstructed Queen's way, knowing that she had nothing to do after his confession.
"I should really go, Ace…" Queen pushed up her glasses in a vain effort to look confident, but the colour of her face sold her out.
"So you'll be my girlfriend?" Ace asked again, his eyes gazing into Queen's carefully.
Calm down, calm down, calm do-
"Yes." Queen replied softly, trying to find a way out without turning her sword on Ace, but he remained in his way, refusing to budge.
"Why avoid me, then?"
"Ace, I'm not…"
"We're already dating, aren't we? Or is this some trick to shrug me off?" Ace smiled faintly, a hint of desperation in his voice.
Well, at least she's willing to give it a go…
He stepped aside, letting Queen walk through as he whispered a barely audible 'bye for now, then'.
But as he felt Queen's lips meeting his, slowly turning into a passionate kiss after, Ace was pretty sure Queen was just too shy to take the initiative.
Well, it looks as if I would enjoy studying in the library a whole lot more…
...And that's about it.
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Thanks for reading~