Riddle was a little skittish heading into Scarabia, as Kalim had promised a proper feast. He held Cater's hand tightly as they walked through the mirror.

His first thought was 'hot', followed by 'dry'.

Cater grinned and scooped Riddle up, before putting him on Umbra. The doors around the dorm were so wide, the wolf had no issue walking through. He had no issue riding the wolf, which was almost the same size as his horse Vorpal by this point.

"You're here!" cheered Kalim. Nearby, Cater could see Ruggie, Leona already there. It didn't surprise him in the least, as Ruggie would never turn down free food...and naturally he convinced Leona to join them.

Riddle clung to Cater as it was loud and noisy.

Ruggie eye the way the smaller red head was acting.

"Still hasn't turned back, huh?"

"He's getting there," said Cater. "From what the regular nurse and professor Crewel said, he'll be back to normal tomorrow at the earliest, and two days at the latest."

Leona snorted at that.

"Must be a headache, having to put up with the prima donna and the spoiled brat," said Leona. Riddle glared at him.

"Nah. Vil's easy to deal with, since he's fairly self-sufficient. So long as you keep up a general maintenance routine regarding your appearance and are generally competent with the tasks he gives you. Riddle is strict, but he's serious about following proper etiquette which is something Vil approves of as well. Besides, Vil's been having way too much fun using Riddle as a little dress up doll," said Cater with a laugh.

Having too much fun was putting it mildly. Vil had always wondered why he never saw Riddle in casual clothing, and upon further questioning from Trey, learned Riddle only had his school clothes. Apparently his 'mother' and Cater loathed to use the term, refused to give him more than the bare minimum of anything.

To that end, upon seeing how adorable Riddle was trying to emulate Vil, the older blond had taken to showing Riddle all sorts of clothing styles.

So far Riddle's preference leaned towards the prim and proper stuff, but Vil had seen him looking at magazines that were a bit more 'modern'.

And honestly, he had so many clothes that he couldn't possibly wear all of them. A few spells and some thread, and it would be easy to resize them to suit Riddle.

Riddle was all prim and proper, but Cater felt glad that he wasn't being picky about what he ate. While he had smaller portions than everyone else, Cater was able to cajole him into eating properly by reminding him that Kalim had thrown this feast specifically in his favor, and that not trying a little of everything would be seen as rude.

Unnoticed by Cater, Kalim and Ruggie watched with open approval at the way he was treating Riddle this entire time.

Near the end of the feast, by which time Riddle was thoroughly stuffed (and Cater had made a list of the things he liked a lot to share with Trey) and napping on Umbra, Kalim approached Cater. He had been talking with his father and Jamil, and he was reasonably sure of his decision.

Cater had pointed out how stressed Jamil looked on occasion, and upon closer inspection Kalim had realized with some shame that Cater had seen what he had not.

Cater clearly wanted to avoid his family, or at least his mother. He had gone to some extreme lengths to do so last year.

Which was why Kalim wanted to give Jamil a vacation and at the same time help Cater earn some more spending money and a job reference. Cater was firm on not accepting charity that could be used against him later (he had some trauma regarding that happening once), but working for it was another story.

Cater looked at the contract in surprise.

"Wait... you want me to take Jamil's place for summer break?"

Kalim nodded.

"I know you were planning to couch surf once summer hits, but I asked my dad and he was okay with the idea of letting Jamil have an extended vacation for the summer so long as I have someone to take on his duties. With Umbra you could even handle his bodyguard duties without any worry, since he is a trained wolf."

"Do you mind if I look over the contract first?" asked Cater.

Kalim was a nice guy, and if he remembered correctly Jamil had gone into Overblot because he was overworked and stressed at having to clean up after Kalim all the time.

"Sure!" said Kalim. It was common sense really.

Cater looked at Riddle, who was a tad drowsy and fighting sleep off.

"I suppose it's time for us to head back. You have got to tell me what spices were in that curry though...it was amazing!" said Cater.

Jamil smiled at him. It was nice to be appreciated, and Cater was one of the few people in the school who could handle the full brunt of the spices used in his normal cooking.

Cater scooped up Riddle into his arms and carried him back to the dorms. He managed to get Riddle cleaned up and changed into a loose shirt, before cuddling with him. Outside it began to rain hard.

In the middle of the night, Cater felt something shivering against him and realized Riddle had likely woken up due to the thunder outside.

Cater knew how that felt...he wasn't a huge fan of thunder as a kid either, but eventually he realized his sisters wouldn't let him cuddle with them on stormy nights because he was 'too old'. It was one of the few good memories he had of his older siblings.

Riddle was scared out of his wits. Cater wondered if Riddle had ever been cuddled during a thunderstorm.

"Shhh... it's okay, little prince," said Cater in a soothing voice. Riddle hugged him tighter, realizing he was awake. Cater rubbed his back and let Riddle hug him. It seemed to help a bit.

Unnoticed by Cater, Rook had gotten up for a snack, so he heard what happened next as Cater began to sing softly for Riddle's sake.

"Remember me
Though I have to say goodbye
Remember me
Don't let it make you cry
For ever if I'm far away
I hold you in my heart
I sing a secret song to you
Each night we are apart
Remember me
Though I have to travel far
Remember me
Each time you hear a sad guitar
Know that I'm with you
The only way that I can be
Until you're in my arms again
Remember me"

("Remember Me" from the movie Coco.)

Rook glanced into the room as the door was slightly ajar, and saw how Riddle had fallen asleep in Cater's arms. He looked so tiny and frail, and Cater had a protective look of an older brother on his face while holding him. He passed by unnoticed by the two, and did not mention it to Vil the next morning. Such a moment should be kept between them, in his opinion.


Cater felt Riddle get up, but nothing could adequately prepare him for the moment he realized Riddle was finally back to his proper age.

Riddle had a flushed look on his face, likely from having woken up cuddling an older male.

Since it was early, the two of them hit the baths, though Riddle staunchly refused any help from Cater.

At least Trey was able to deliver a fresh uniform by the time breakfast was done. He looked rather harried, as Heartsabyl tended to be a bit wild without their King to keep them in line.

Cater felt a bit sad, as he had gotten used to having Riddle around. It was strangely relaxing having someone to cuddle with at night...Umbra simply didn't cut it.

He still remembered how Riddle had helped him in the other timeline. It had helped to heal a lot of the trauma caused by Riddle's overblot.

Flashback...

Cater was wet, miserable and starving. He had managed to leave town after yet another failed attempt to contact his family, and it was rather obvious his mother had screwed him over good.

He pulled his jacket closer, trying to retain warmth.

It took him a second to register the umbrella holding off the rain, or the familiar face of his former Housewarden.

"Cater, is that you?"

"Riddle?"

"What in the name of the Seven are you doing out here? It's freezing and it's raining!" said Riddle, with honest concern.

Cater shivered, as he was already soaked. He didn't need much convincing to follow his former housewarden back to his small apartment.

Riddle had come a long way and was studying pre-law already. He had more or less gone low-contact with his Gothel of a mother.

Once inside and warmed up, Riddle observed his friend closely. Cater's features were gaunt, his eyes had bags under them and his clothing was somewhat tattered. He looked like hell, honestly.

"Cater...what happened to you?" asked Riddle with honest concern.

Cater sighed.

"Long story short, my mother."

"Your mother?"

"I knew she wasn't fond of me, but apparently she convinced the family she only had two daughters. She also had her name on my account since it was opened while I was a minor, and she drained it the day I turned eighteen...right before she had lawyers sending me a letter disowning me."

Riddle's face was an expression of shock.

Cater looked exhausted.

"What's worse is that somehow she's found a way to ruin things for me every time I try to get on my feet. She's come to several of my jobs and harassed me to the point they end up letting me go. I had to give up my apartment because I couldn't make rent."

"How long ago was that?" asked Riddle.

"...Four days ago," admitted Cater. He was well and truly down on his luck.

Riddle looked at his old friend, and didn't have to think too hard about his decision.

When Cater woke up the next morning, having had the best night's sleep in a week, Riddle offered him up a deal of sorts.

Rent wasn't exactly cheap, and while he had roommates before, most of them generally left because they got fed up with him following the Queen's rules so strictly.

While he had relaxed on a few of them, some of them he still followed to the letter.

Cater however, was used to following the rules.

Which was why Riddle had no issue offering him the spare bedroom...in exchange for half the rent of course.

Flashback end...

The look of relief on Trey's face when he saw Riddle was immense. Almost immediately, the card soldiers knew their limited play time was over as Riddle took one look at the state of his dorm and became infuriated.

"OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!"

Cater did his best not to laugh as Riddle went on a total rampage, beheading one student after another for their blatant disregard of the rules.

While Riddle was incredibly strict, he had also kept the worst offenders in line for fear of losing their magic temporarily. The other students felt actual relief having him back, because while Trey had kept things to a low simmer, Riddle's return caused things to go back to normal.

Or as close to it as possible. Riddle would have his work cut out for him, putting everything back in order after this mess.

Before Cater left the dorm, Trey managed to catch up with him. He had a bag in his hands.

"What's this?"

"Riddle's orders. Since you're practically one of us anyway, you'll need to be appropriately attired during your visits," said Trey.

Cater looked inside. It was a dorm uniform almost identical to the one he had worn a lifetime ago.

"He doesn't expect me to switch dorms, does he?"

Trey shook his head.

"From what I understand he wanted the implied open invitation to visit and act during our Unbirthday parties to be made clear."

By this point most of the card soldiers treated Cater as one of them anyway...even if he was in a different dorm.

When Cater returned to his own dorm, he felt a pang of loneliness. It had been nice to have someone to cuddle for a few days.

Cater was unsurprised that Vil and Rook behaved differently around Riddle after the potion wore off. Originally they were aloof and tolerant of the younger male, but now they treated him more like a younger brother of sorts.

The fact Riddle reciprocated this discreetly, and likely without realizing what he was doing showed how strong an impact his stay in Pomefiore had on him.