#i thought it would be cute if the jewelry vaguely matched the boys' dorms.......

[ridhearts]

glittering like diamonds {misc.}

sometimes, the smallest acts of intimacy can get your heart racing (OR; they find your missing jewelry for you)

!! information !!

characters: riddle + jamil + rook + ruggie

reader: gn (”you” pronouns)

CW: none!

• • • • • • • Riddle Rosehearts

Dusk had fallen on the gardens of Heartslabyul, the only light coming from golden glows in lanterns with twisted poles and windows in frames of warped proportions. Riddle watched as the last of the hedgehogs scurried around and burned off their energy, darting through the single square of light sporadically like pink and blue missiles. The others were already tucked away in their cubbies, snoozing comfortably and ignorant to the ruckus of their rowdy friends. Watching the hedgehogs always calmed his nerves. Their cute faces, the sweet little noises they made, the ability to count and double count them to ensure those on hedgehog duty did their jobs correctly…it was all methodic and peaceful. A perfect way to end the day.

From inside the dorm, somebody must have moved from the window, allowing another stream of light to fall over the grass. Something glimmered and caught Riddle’s eye, the contrast between the mysterious object and the matte wire fencing surrounding the hedgehog pen quite noticeable in the light. Picking it up, he saw that a bracelet had been resting across the top of the wire fencing. Short three-link sections of gold chain connected many bright red rose beads about as large as the tip of his thumb. Upon further inspection, Riddle noticed that the claw end of the clasp was stuck. It took more than a few tries for him to finally push the latch and shut the clasp entirely. That must have been how it fell off.

Even if the hedgehog pens were a completely inappropriate place for jewelry, the fact that it matched the rose gardens did soothe his ire a small amount. Sighing, he stood and decided now was as good a time as any to head inside. The bracelet probably belonged to one of the members of his dorm. If he remembered correctly, you were also still in Heartslabyul, having been granted special permission to stay a while later than most guests in order to tutor your friends for an upcoming test. Perhaps, with your connections throughout the school, you would know the owner of the bracelet.

Just as Riddle walked through the main doors, he saw you walking down the stairs with your bag over your shoulder. Your hair was a bit messy and you were straightening out your uniform, which was a bit rumpled from a long day of studying (and undoubtedly other chaos that you managed to fall into). Riddle closed his hand around the bracelet, hoping to refrain from fussing with your uniform. As cute as you looked, it was unbecoming of you to walk all the way to Ramshackle looking so unkempt. 

“Heading home, Prefect?” He asked. You looked up from your blazer and your eyes cleared, as if you had been in a haze.

“Yeah, we finally decided to call it a night,” You answered. Although he was unsure if he was deceiving himself, Riddle swore you descended the stairs a little bit faster as you walked towards him.

“Shall I expect stellar grades on this next alchemy exam?”

You grimaced. “You should expect Ace and Deuce to insist they tried their best.”

Riddle smiled at that. If only you could impart some of your pleasantness upon your friends. Still, you were clearly doing what you could. No matter what their grades came to be, the fault would only lie with them. 

Noticing you were about to walk past him and leave, Riddle lifted a hand to stop you. “Ah, actually, before you go, do you happen to know to whom this belongs?”

The bracelet caught in the light as he held it up, appearing for a moment more yellow than rose gold. Instantly, your face lit up in recognition, and you held out your hand.

“Oh, that’s mine! I was wondering where it was,” you answered, shifting on your feet and smiling at him.

Riddle wasn’t sure what hit him. All he knew was that he was incredibly nervous when you were around, and his ability to remain calm in your vicinity the past few days was owed to his ability to rule on autopilot and sheer luck. That luck was running out, it seemed, because Riddle took a long look at your outstretched hand as if he didn’t know what to do with it. Then, carefully, he took the bracelet and looped it around your wrist.

His slim, gloved fingers brushed over the sensitive inside of your wrist as he slipped the clasp into one of the open links. You were suddenly thankful he wasn’t pressing down, certain that he’d be able to feel your heart racing through your pulse point. He must have forgotten about the broken clasp as he fiddled with it, eyebrows furrowing slightly. Sighing, he used one hand to keep the clasp in place and the other to grab your hand, gently pulling you closer so he could have a better angle. After a few more attempts, Riddle finally managed to shut the clasp with a faint click! Satisfied with his work, his expression softened and he grabbed your hand again, turning it over and admiring the bracelet.

“I’m sure Sam has clasps available at the Mystery Shop. You should be able to fix it with those and a pair of pliers,” he offered, looking up at you with a smile. All you could do was gape, watching him with wide eyes and a flushed face. “Is something wrong…?”

Your words got lost somewhere on the path from your brain to your mouth, so you let your gaze flicker down once. Riddle followed your instructions, looking down and realizing he was still holding your hand in his. Instantly, his face turned red enough to match his hair as his eyes darted from your joined hands to your face and back again. After a few moments, Riddle let go of your hand like it burned him, barely keeping himself from stammering.

“F-forgive me…” He started, taking one step back and then another. “Um. Make sure you get that fixed! In the hands of the wrong animal, it could spell serious trouble!”

Without offering you much of a chance to respond, Riddle hurried up the stairs beside you, mumbling something beneath his breath. However, halfway up the staircase he paused, turned, and looked at you still frozen in place. His face faded to a bright pink, even after he cleared his throat.

“And, of course…have a nice night, Prefect.”

• • • • • • • Ruggie Bucchi

Ruggie had an eye for valuable things. He knew to keep his eyes sharp for the glint of any lost or discarded objects that might prove to be of worth, even in the most unexpected places. People threw away lots of things when they could afford to follow trends, and they lost even more when they could afford to be careless. With the many rich boys he went to class with, he wasn’t surprised to see a shimmer kicked to the side of the hallways.

Scurrying in before some other vulture could stake a claim to his prize, Ruggie quickly bent down and swiped the thing that caught his eye. A few moments later, he grimaced. It clearly was some kind of cheaper metal and fake gems. Figures. Shrugging, he pocketed it and decided to run down a list of potential clients anyway. Surely there were a few suckers who didn’t know their fine jewelry from costume jewelry and would take the bait if he sold it hard enough…and went a little lower in price than what he was expecting.

After filtering back into the flow of students walking to their first class, Ruggie brushed at a faint tug on his uniform sleeve. Looking to the side, he grinned when he realized it was only you. Well, only wasn’t the right term - though he wouldn’t admit it, Ruggie considered himself quite fortunate to be on the receiving end of your highly-coveted attention.

“Morning,” You yawned. Drowsiness settled in on your features, and Ruggie felt his ears twitch in agitation.

“Woah, did Grim keep you up muttering about tuna again?” He asked. Even though your movements were just a bit slower than usual, your whole body tensed immediately at his words. Did you think you could hide from him? The thought would’ve been cute, if he wasn’t a little worried.

“No, nothing like that,” You admitted. “I lost something yesterday and I was out late looking for it. Then I was behind on my assignments…and that kept me up.” As if to accentuate your point, you yawned again. 

“What did you lose? Maybe I could keep an eye out for it.”

“Would you?” 

“Of course!” He protested, his offense only half a joke. It should be clear by now that he’d take care of you like he did himself…

Having reached the door to your morning class, you stopped. Ruggie did the same, ignoring how the people around him huffed and shot you both dirty looks for blocking the middle of the hallway. “So, it’s just a cheap little gold thing with brown gems in it. I wore it yesterday and noticed it missing after dinner, but it could’ve been gone for longer.”

Ruggie’s tail, which had been swishing happily behind him, suddenly stilled. You paid no attention to that and reached out to squeeze his arm before turning away. “It’s not a big deal if you can’t find it, but I appreciate the extra eyes.”

Before he could decide what to do, you slipped into your classroom.

The rest of the day, Ruggie spent his class time toying with the necklace that now seemed to be burning a hole in his pocket. It was just as you had described: inexpensive metal, the charm a bar lined with brown rhinestones. He wondered if you purchased the necklace because it reminded you of his dorm - that was the first thing that popped into his mind when he saw it. Or maybe you were just a fan of more earthy tones, or whatever Vil called them.

Part of him still wondered if he should try to sell it. Singling out a gullible guy looking for a quick gift for a sister or mother wouldn’t be too hard. You even said yourself that you wouldn’t mind if you couldn’t find it. Clearly, the necklace wasn’t anything too sentimental that you couldn’t bear to part with it. Surely you’d appreciate it if he found himself with a little extra pocket cash to take you on a date or something, right? But then again, you did spend a solid portion of your night trying to find it…

With a huff, Ruggie clutched his hand around the chain. He already knew his plans for profit were out the window when you mentioned what you were looking for. Even if it wasn’t something he was ready to admit, he was long beyond the point where he couldn’t imagine betraying you, even for an extra stash of cash.

As soon as his classes were over, Ruggie began the process of sniffing you out. He didn’t have to search for long - you were sitting on a bench in the courtyard, leaning one elbow on the armrest and supporting your drowsy head with it. Keeping his footfalls light, Ruggie snuck up behind you and didn’t make a noise until he was holding the necklace in front of your face.

You startled, but lifted your head so he could fasten the necklace around your neck anyway. The cool metal pressed against your neck, and before you could reach your hands up to help, Ruggie wordlessly brushed your hair away from the back of your neck. As he clasped the ends together, his fingers barely brushed against the back of your neck. Every little hair stood on end, and your whole body shivered. Part of you wondered if he was purposely teasing you, but it seemed unlikely, as he didn’t mention it.

Moving your hair back behind your shoulders, Ruggie finally said, “I found your necklace.”

“Thanks, Ruggie,” You answered, leaning your head back so you could see him. Maybe your upside-down perspective was making you see things, but you swore you could see his ears droop slightly as he got flustered. “I knew I could count on you.”

At that, Ruggie quickly averted his gaze. Oh, he was definitely flustered. “And I know I can count on you to compensate me for my services, yeah?”

…but he was still endearingly difficult, it seemed.

• • • • • • • Jamil Viper

For about the fiftieth time, Jamil wondered if he should say something.

You weren’t as slick as you thought you were. The entire time walking to the Mystery Shop, you kept reaching up and tugging at your earlobe, rubbing it and pressing against something like you were trying to alleviate some kind of pain. Perhaps others didn’t notice - not everyone in school was the observant type - but he was, and notice he did. It didn’t help that hanging from your ears was a shiny pair of earrings that caught the light every time you pushed them around.

It was a strange change that you decided to make, though Jamil had no doubt it was due to Vil’s newfound presence in your life after VDC. There had been many hours dedicated to the importance of appearance and accessorizing during their training camp, and you had the strange tendency to be everybody’s favorite pet project after they got to know you. The earrings had to be his idea, though it didn’t appear as if he actually supplied you with any to wear. Jamil found upon his first close inspection, earlier in the day, that the earrings were in fact clip-ons and barely more than costume jewelry that Vil wouldn’t be caught dead owning. Considering the open secret that was your financial situation, that made sense. 

That didn’t mean that they weren’t eye-catching, however. The deep red stones, set loosely in a gold, drop-shaped frame, looked nice on you. Jamil couldn’t explain it, but he felt as if you deserved to be ornamented beautifully, if that’s what you wanted. Or maybe he just liked having an excuse to be caught looking.

He caught you raising your hand again and, before he could stop himself, reached out to block your hand from fiddling with the jewelry. When you glanced at him to ask what was wrong, he met your eyes with a scathing look that was practically a lecture in itself. “You don’t have to wear anything uncomfortable. Beauty isn’t really pain, no matter how convincing Vil may be.”

You laughed, letting him know he correctly guessed the heart of the situation. “I already bought them, though, so I should at least get my money’s worth.”

“Sunk cost fallacy,” Jamil responded in a deadpan manner. You matched his tone with your own flat expression, which he quickly relented to. “Alright, give them here. I might have a solution.”

Even though you looked at him dubiously, you reached up and removed the earrings, handing them off without question. Jamil looked at them carefully before nodding and patting his pockets. When he pulled out a small bag with tiny, pre-cut foam pads, you widened your eyes in a silent demand for answers.

“Some of Kalim’s earrings are clip-ons,” Jamil explained without looking up. Instead, he placed a foam pad on each side of the earring, so both sides of your ear would be cushioned. “He’s very sensitive to the pinching feel, so I keep these on me when he wears them.”

“Oh,” you muttered. “You really are prepared for anything.”

He shrugged. “There’s another trick that might help, too.”

Suddenly, Jamil took one step so that he was directly beside you. He brushed your hair behind your ear, his touch light enough on the sensitive skin that you had to fight back a shiver. It was hard to ignore that he was close enough that you could barely feel the ghost of his breath on your neck. For a moment, you worried about how your profile might look, but any fleeting thoughts of insecurity washed away when Jamil gently tugged on your earlobe and clipped the earring on. A few seconds later, he let go and waited for you to tell him if it felt uncomfortable. When you stayed silent, he moved to the other side and did the same thing, carefully pulling on your ear and slowly clipping the earring. 

A second later he was in front of you, grabbing your chin and tilting your head from side to side, checking to see if his work was even and admiring the shine of the earrings in the sunlight. “There. Now they shouldn’t…”

Jamil trailed off, suddenly remembering himself. As he stepped back, further than he was before you even started talking, you thought that he left with enough grace it was almost as if he teleported away from you. You pressed your hand to your face, feeling the warmth and hoping your embarrassment didn’t show. Jamil coughed awkwardly into his shoulder.

“Excuse me. I’m just used to checking Kalim, to ensure he maintains a neat appearance.”

You didn’t call him on his bluff, but you could guess he didn’t hold Kalim’s face - or look at him, for that matter - so tenderly.

• • • • • • • Rook Hunt

The unusual object on the desk in front of his seat caught Rook's attention as soon as he walked into the room. As he tugged on his lab coat, he made a beeline for the small ring pushed to the edge of the desk. It was a dainty, intricate thing, a band of black tangling thorns dotted with small blue and red gemstones like winter berries all throughout. It would be hard for the owner of such a distinctive ring to remain anonymous, even if they weren't someone Rook purposely sought out more than others.

But he knew the hands this ring belonged to. They were lovely hands that he spent a long time admiring. They were hands that fought valiantly to protect the school and care for those burdened by blot. They were hands he wished to hold and kiss and press to his chest in demonstration of his ferociously beating heart! 

What luck that, in a school full of potential thieves and ne'er-do-wells, it was he who found your precious ring! Rook tucked it safely in his pocket with a silent vow to return your belongings as soon as class was finished for the day.

By the time Rook had a moment to spare to search for you, the sky was cast in a golden-orange glow, not quite sunset but beautiful all the same. It was difficult to say where you might be - after all, he was normally back at his dorms helping Vil at this time, rather than with you - but he remembered all of the stories you told him. If you were following any kind of pattern, you should be joining your friends after their club meetings, walking them to the hall of mirrors or perhaps even your dorm. With that in mind, Rook started towards the practice field, hoping to intercept you along the way.

He found you in the shade of the tunneled entrance to the field, chatting with Ace with your back turned. Ace was slumped against the wall, sitting with his legs straight out and guzzling water from a bottle. Rook allowed his footsteps to echo in against the stone passage, drawing your attention over your shoulder. His eyes met yours, and his heart skipped a beat when you smiled at him. He returned the gesture in kind.

"Hey Rook! What brings you here?" You asked. At your feet, Ace merely looked at him with a combination of suspicion and anticipation, the usual response Rook received.

"Why, you do!" Rook responded. "Although I must admit, this time I do not arrive to fill my time idly with you. I come bearing a gift of sorts."

With a flourish, Rook reached into his pocket and showed you the ring he found, twisting it so even in the dim light beneath the stone you could still catch the light reflecting off the gems. You gasped, one hand reaching up to cover your delighted smile. It brought a proud smile to Rook's face. Ace swore he could see Rook puff out his chest, just a bit, in pride.

"You found it!" You exclaimed. "I've been wondering what happened to it. I thought I lost it forever.”

“Worry not, dear trickster!” Rook proclaimed, placing a hand to his chest in a dramatic pose. Then, he grabbed your hand still hanging by your side and brought it up, bending at the waist as if he were about to kiss the back of it. “Just as the sun returns to warm the earth each day, just as the stars return to support the splendor of the moon, as sure as the flowers will bloom in the spring, I will ensure that all which belongs to you will return to its rightful place by your side.”

With a small, secretive smile, Rook loosened his grip on your hand and brought the ring to your fingers. Slowly, slowly enough that you knew he was trying to elicit a response, he placed the ring on the finger you normally wore it on. The metal had been warmed by his hand, and he stopped pushing just before it got too tight on your hand. All the while, his striking green eyes kept you in a steady gaze, creating an air of intimacy around the two of you. Briefly, the image of a proposal flashed in your mind, and you felt the heat rush to your cheeks.

Deuce, who must have finished with his practice and joined Ace behind you, suddenly sputtered. “Woah! Is- What-? Are they-?!”

Rook grinned mischievously before running his thumb over your knuckles. “I hope this is enough, so you can understand my intentions, mon coeur.”