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Zavier glanced around the hallway as he snuck about the academy. It was currently midnight and he was in the final phase of his plan. He hadn’t yet run into that nuisance, which made it all the better.
After Y/N lost to Qilintel, his plan moved a lot smoother than he had expected. Now, the brats were all scrambling to satisfy the enraged doodle. Zavier slunk through the halls, not a care in the world. Most of the classrooms were empty as the students were hiding out in their dorms. The only ones out at this time were those stupid kids and those who were in the student council, but they were occupied with the Qilintel situation. This was perfect, nothing could go wrong! He was finally going to get the key.
“Well, well, well! Look who we have here, hmm~? Sneaking around at night; what are you planning now?” A loud, obnoxious voice said. Zavier groaned and looked over to where the voice came from and the voice’s owner stepped into his line of sight.
“I thought I told you not to interfere. Also, Teneson is here! Aren’t you worried about him finding you?” Zavier probed in an attempt to shoo him away.
“I’m not too worried about him. What I am worried about is the inefficiency of your plan. Do you really think that Y/N and their friends will keep Qilintel on a rampage? They’ve already developed their own plan to satiate the restless thing, and considering how your previous plans went…” Riffraff trailed off, trying to dissuade Zavier from continuing with this plan.
“Well, do you have any better idea?” Zavier said, irritation evident in his voice.
“Oh, I do. But it’ll cost you something~” Riffraff said in a sing-song voice, irritating Zavier even more.
“I’m not paying you anything for a mediocre plan that you got from a fucking dream-doodle. Go away,” Zavier said angrily, walking away from Riffraff. Riffraff squeaked and grabbed Zavier’s arm, pulling him back. “What the fuck do you want? Why are you here?!”
Riffraff flinched slightly and let go of his arm. He stood there, formulating an answer, but unfortunately, Zavier had neither the time nor the patience to wait. He started walking away again.
“Zavier, wait,” Riffraff called out. Zavier stopped once more and looked at him.
“What.”
Riffraff sighed and walked to Zavier. “I want to talk to you. I’m here because you’re here. I want to help you! And if I help you, it works in my favor as well!”
“I'm not paying you anything,” Zavier said, agitation bubbling up once again.
“I don’t want your money, or your doodles, or anything else,” Riffraff said.
“Well then what do you want?” Zavier asked him, shoving a finger into Riffraff’s chest. Riffraff moved back slightly. He was silent at first, but then he mumbled something outside of Zavier’s range of hearing.
“What was that? Speak louder, Sewerboy,” Zavier demanded, lightly teasing the smaller male with the dumb nickname he had given him. Zavier crossed his arms and waited for an answer.
“Don’t call me that! I prefer anything but ‘Sewerboy’,” Riffraff whined, scooting closer to Zavier. “At the very least, call me ‘Ratman’ as most others do, but don’t call me ‘Sewerboy’!”
“Hmm, how about no, Sewerboy? Anyway, let’s get back on track here. What do you even want for me to get the supposedly ‘revised’ version of my plan, hm?” Zavier asked. “And speak up this time.”
“Well…how about we take a little trip to somewhere fun? Or a nice candlelight dinner? Or maybe we can have a bit of alone time…~?” Riffraff said in an oddly seductive voice, running his hands up Zavier’s chest. Zavier lightly shoved the smaller person off of him.
“No, thanks. I’m not that desperate,” Zavier deadpanned.
“Ah, but you admit that you are desperate!” Riffraff exclaimed. Zavier rolled his eyes whilst Riffraff posed proudly at his revelation.
“What’s your real cost? Your real condition for the knowledge of this plan?” Zavier asked in a monotone voice.
“Well, there is one thing…” Riffraff said. Zavier lifted his eyebrow. “Kiss me.”
There was a brief moment of silence before Zavier came back down to Earth.
“...What? No, of course not! Why would I ever—?!” Zavier got abruptly cut off.
“I see the way you look at me whenever we encounter each other and I know that you see the way that I look at you~! You want this! I know that secretly you’re screaming inside that this is your chance!” Riffraff exclaimed. “C’mon! It’ll be fun and quick, and then you can get a better version of your plan. How’s that sound?”
Zavier stood silently. “No. It’s a hassle to get my bandages off, and just the thought of kissing you is…” He said while looking away.
“Aww, are you flustered? That’s adorable! You really do wanna kiss me, huh?” Riffraff teased.
“No, I absolutely do not!” Zavier whisper-shouted, looking directly at Riffraff. His flushed face was still noticeable despite the bandages hiding the right side of it and his mouth. Riffraff’s hands slithered up Zavier’s wrists and biceps and rested on his shoulders. He stood on the tips of his toes and said something directly into the taller man’s ear:
“I know you want to see my face.”
Zavier froze immediately. He stood silently as Riffraff giggled in his ear.
“...Knew it~...”
Riffraff stood back on his feet normally and looked up at Zavier. Zavier stared at him, not even hiding his blush anymore. “...F-Fucking…Fine…” He mumbled quickly, not trusting his own voice.
Zavier could practically hear Riffraff’s smile behind his mask.
“So…Do you need help with those bandages…?” Riffraff asked, tucking his hands behind his back.
“...No. I…I can do it by…myself,” Zavier stumbled over his words. His hand lightly trembled as he moved to take his bandages off carefully. Riffraff looked at him excitedly, most likely thrilled to finally see all of Zavier’s face for the first time.
Zavier held the bandages in his hands as he allowed Riffraff to examine his face. The scars on his face were evidence of something more, but still quite fascinating to Riffraff. Riffraff traced the scar that ran along Zavier’s right eyebrow all the way down to where it ended near his cheek. Afterward, he looked at the scar along Zavier’s nose, eliciting more fascination from the smaller person.
“...Wow. Your face is so…” Riffraff started.
“Horrifyingly disfigured,” Zavier ended.
“What? No! Your face is so magnificent, how could you say that?” Riffraff corrected but then paused to think over his own words. Meh, he didn’t mind that he let some of his affections for Zavier out. “Your eyes are so beautiful, too. Hazel is a really nice eye color, sometimes I wish I had it.”
“I’m sure that I’ve got the ugliest face you’ve ever seen someone with,” Zavier said. “The only friends I ever had ended up leaving me for the same reason.”
“Well then maybe they didn’t deserve you. And maybe you should stop and think about someone who does want you, hm?” Riffraff said, gripping and lightly squeezing Zavier’s hand. Zavier looked at the monochrome man.
“No one wants me, Riffraff,” Zavier said. He paused and lowered his voice so much to the point that it was barely audible. “...Why do you even want me?”
“...I dunno if it’s because you’re misunderstood like me or because you just have that something that I’m irresistibly drawn to, but I…” Riffraff paused. “...I like you, Zavier. Dare say I love you. It’s…It’s always been a process for me to fall in love, but when I saw you for the first time—well—I fell head over heels. I don’t care what you say about yourself, you’re just…perfect. More than I could ever imagine. Please don’t doubt your beauty.”
Zavier stood there quietly. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled, and lifted his hands. He reached behind Riffraff’s head and undid the strap that keeps his mask on. He grabbed the mask and pulled it off of his face, revealing everything.
Riffraff was charming, adorable, too beautiful to be real. His soft brown eyes stared directly into Zavier’s hazel ones. His small nose, plush lips, and eyes crafted quite a stunning image. Zavier was too mesmerized to look away. Riffraff chuckled softly and spoke quietly.
“Do I look that good?”
Zavier nodded slowly. The moonlight filtering through the windows of the school illuminated Riffraff’s face, making him look even more heavenly. Riffraff smiled and lowered his head into Zavier’s chest.
“I’ve been waiting to show you my real face for so long. I’ve been so self-conscious about it for a long time. My whole life I’ve been called a ‘pretty boy’ just for my face, but…I don’t want to be that. I just want to live in peace…with you,” Riffraff explained, melancholy echoing in his voice. “I’ve been alone for so long. Zavier, I…I don’t want to be lonely again. And If I do have to be alone, well then—
I’d rather be alone with you.”
Zavier was stunned to silence.
He never imagined that Riffraff would just outright tell him his feelings. His face was burning. What was he supposed to say?!
“Riffraff…I—” Zavier swallowed. “...I…like you, too?”
Riffraff looked up at him brightly. “Do you, really?” Zavier nodded slowly. Riffraff hid his rosy-red face in Zavier’s chest again. He made a noise that was similar to a squeal and a giggle at the same time. He wrapped his arms around Zavier’s torso and squeezed him tightly. When Riffraff looked up at him again, Zavier was going to berate him for nearly crushing his ribs, but was cut short by the feeling of something warm against his lips.
Riffraff kissed him gently, not forcing too much on the taller male. He intended for the kiss to be short and sweet, but Zavier seemed to want more, as he deepened the kiss further. Zavier groaned into the kiss slightly, whilst Riffraff was lacking oxygen. He pulled away from Riffraff, panting lowly. Riffraff laughed and wiped the edge of his mouth.
“Let’s not get carried away now, you still need that plan of yours, hm?” Riffraff said quietly.
“Y-Yeah…Tell me what you have,” Zavier said, covering his mouth with his right hand. Riffraff smiled and opened his mouth.
“Well, let’s start off with the team of doodles you’re using…”
Zavier listened intently as Riffraff, piece-by-piece, fixed his supposedly “horrible” plan. He wasn’t going to lie, he really liked this.
Maybe…this wasn’t so bad after all.