Chapter Text
Yuu was having a Day. It was already off to a bad start when they slept in too late and woke up groggy, and then Floyd showed up, asking if they knew where he could find gardening tools. They did actually remember where the tool shed was from their brief stint as groundskeeper, but the place was a mess, and it took all morning to dig out the shovel (which Floyd still refused to explain the purpose of, by the way). By the time they finished up they were definitely ready for lunch. And then Grim decided he wasn’t in the mood for reheated pizza, and no one wanted pineapple-chicken broth. Fortunately Floyd happened to know that the Scarabia students were also staying over break and cooking all their meals in the school kitchen, so they could probably score some lunch if they helped out with meal prep. And that was how they got here, trying to tell Jamil that they really didn’t want to visit his dorm today.
Under normal circumstances, sure, they’d be all about that. Based on the muttering of the other Scarabia students, something was definitely going on, and who even was Yuu if not a meddler? However, they had promised Riddle that they’d take it easy until they had completely recovered, and based on the headache starting to build as they locked eyes with Jamil, they definitely hadn’t yet.
“Seriously Jamil, I’m not-“ Something moved in the corner of their vision and they turned to see Malleus hovering just outside the doorway. Next to them, Jamil’s eyes widened, and he slipped his magic pen back into his pocket. When had he taken it out?
“I apologize for the interruption. Can we talk?” Malleus’ posture was stiff, and his expression looked nervous. Whatever he was here for was probably best handled away from the crowded kitchen.
Yuu helped Grim down from their shoulders and onto the countertop, and turned to Jamil. “Look, I’m getting over a cold right now, but I’ll definitely come over when I’m better. Give Grim your number so I can text you in advance, ok?” Jamil nodded mutely, still staring at Malleus, and they marched out of the kitchen, following him down the hall until they were reasonably sure that they were out of earshot.
“Aight, start talking. Am I right that this is about yesterday?”
He nodded, “I wanted to apologize properly this time. It was never my intention to insult your intelligence. I just-you never seemed to fear me, you actively seek my presence out- No one does that, outside my and Lilia’s little family, and the only reason I could think of that you wouldn’t treat me like the terrifying Prince of the Fae was that you just didn’t know. I didn’t want you to find out because of that, but my actions and assumptions hurt you, even if not in the way I thought they would. This wouldn’t have happened if I had just asked you about it, and I’m sorry.”
Malleus stopped and took a deep breath. That was a lot. He was staring at a fixed point just above Yuu’s head, as if scared to meet their eyes. It hit them, all of a sudden, that Malleus had been just as, if not more nervous about their new friendship than them. They had noticed that he seemed uneasy, especially at first, but had been to wrapped up in their own awkwardness around names and homework troubles to really see it. But in this context, it made sense that he had assumed they would inevitably fear him, in the same way they had assumed the worst of him.
Yuu’s anger drained. For all it seemed to be their first response these days, it was exhausting to hold onto, and they didn’t like feeling that way. They cleared their throat, and Malleus’ gaze met theirs.
“Malleus, I like you because you’re fun, and sweet, and get really excited about gargoyles, and a bunch of other reasons that I won’t go into right now because I don’t wanna get distracted from my point here. Which is, I was never scared of you because I know you, or at least I know enough of you to know I want to know you better. You’re right that you should have talked to me sooner, and you have to promise that if something like this comes up again, you’ll talk to me, and I promise to do the same, ok?” He nodded, and his nervous expression melted into relief. “Cool, apology accepted.” They grinned up at him, “Let’s go back and grab Grim, I’m sure he’s driven Jamil halfway up the wall by now.”
Oddly, Grim was actually quiet when they got back to the kitchen, just climbing back up their arm and curling around their shoulders. Jamil chalked it up to him wearing himself out earlier, which Yuu was inclined to believe based on how frazzled Jamil seemed packing some extra stew for them to take back to Ramshackle. He also reiterated his invitation for dinner before they left with Malleus.
“…And I haven’t been able to look at porcelain the same way since!”
“Truly, a harrowing experience.”
They were walking toward Ramshackle, close enough that Yuu’s shoulder kept bumping Malleus’ side(and he would probably be doing the same if his shoulder wasn’t fully above their head). They pointed to one of the ornamental grotesques on the gates. “So, what can you tell me about that gargoyle?”
“First off, that is not a gargoyle! That is-“
THE END