MarcoAce Week Day 2, Cuddling and Day 4, Angst. A single cut can be lethal too. Don't pretend it's not there. Don't keep ignoring it until it's too late…

Cut

It was only a small cut. Though it stung, it would heal quickly. Ace was surprised when that marine used Haki. He wasn't a high ranking officer or at least wasn't dressed like one. But surprisingly he gave the commander a hard time. In the end, fire was stronger. He grinned but then a sharp pain shot through his left thigh. Damn cut, damn marines.

They were packing in boxes full of fresh food. Meat, fruits, vegetables, all delicious stuff, that he loved. Despite being a commander, he liked partaking in the hard labor. He carried the heavy boxes with ease normally, but somehow after the last box was stocked he broke into a sweat. It was irritating and strange, but he shrugged it off. Maybe he was a little tired. His leg stopped hurting a few days ago, so he forgot to change the bandage on his small wound.

That annoying dull pain returned. He was alright otherwise. He did his daily routine while out on the open seas. He went from one end of the large ship to the other stopping shortly to talk to every other member who was feeling like it, joking around, taking things easy. Oh, how he loved the carefree life of pirates. The smile plastered on his face wouldn't leave for a second on such a nice day, if it weren't for that annoying zap-zap pain torturing him. It was itching a bit as well. He groaned and reached down to scratch through the bandage. He felt something wet where the cut was made and he was about to check it when he was interrupted by his fellow commanders, Thatch and Marco greeting him cheerfully and telling him that Pops decided a party was in order for them tonight. After the great news Ace's mind discarded the little fact, that something might be wrong down there.

After staying awake the whole night drinking away every doubt and sorrow, laughing so much he sometimes had difficulty breathing, Ace couldn't be blamed for sleeping till midday. But waking in the evening was a little late even for the heavy sleeper. He groaned and slowly made his way out of his room only to be met with the familiar face of Marco. Ace ignored the concerned look the older gave him in favour of finding drinking water. His throat burned from thirst. As he made his way to get what his system desired he clumsily bumped his shoulders into Marco's, turning the blonde sideways. He was followed by the other, and as he gulped down glass after glass of fresh water, Marco's half-lidded eyes found his, and he commented how tired Ace looked, and that he's never seen such dark circles under the younger's eyes before. He asked Ace if he was alright, but the younger told him he was fine and shrugged. Marco frowned, his eyes disbelieving. He grabbed his arm as he stood up to leave and asked Ace to take care in a serious tone. The younger promised him that if he had a problem Marco would be the first he'd tell about it. But Ace refused to bother anyone, let alone Marco with such a slight pain coming from a small cut. It would go away. It only hurt a bit when he ran and jumped. It was nothing really…

He woke up with a scream. The sheets and covers dampened by his cold sweat. What a nightmare. He was glad to finally be awake. Dreaming that he was tortured by people who hated his father was a dream he always dreaded going through. It was a long time since he had that one though, since he joined the Whitebeard pirates more than a year ago to be exact. So he was naturally pretty shocked when those returned a few nights ago.

Though he was awake and safe now, he was feeling horrible. He felt nauseous, and what was really odd, that despite him being fire itself due to his DF, he was affected by the temperature. One moment he was cold almost freezing, his body shook with it, pearly teeth chattering and he had to cover himself with blankets, the next he was burning up and had to throw them off. He saw it better if he stayed in his cabin, till he got better so he remained there for two whole days, leaving only to go to the toilet or restock his water bottle. His wound itched but he wouldn't reach down to scratch it. It must be healing so he can't prolong the process, by messing with it. If he left it alone, the wound will heal fast.

In the next few days he refused to come out of there for more than five minutes and he barely ate, meaning that he ate as much as a normal member of the crew. And that was the last straw for Marco. He knew something was wrong with Ace. The younger had been bunked up in his room for a week now. Was something bothering him, or what? There was no sign of it though in the past days that he was angry or aggravated. But not saying anything and sulking alone in his own room wasn't an option for the newly appointed second division commander in Marco's opinion.

He decided to confront the younger today. He went up to the raven's door and knocked. But Ace didn't answer. He tried again and this time he caught the small 'Come in' Ace must have mumbled. Was he this depressed? - thought Marco worriedly.

He opened and closed the door swiftly and his eyes found the younger lying in bed covered in blankets from head to toe. What Marco found strange about the picture was that Ace was immune to coldness due to his power and yet he seemed to be cold wrapped in such warmth.

"Oh, it's you" – Ace greeted him with a tired smile, dark bags under his eyes showing that something was definitely not okay.

"It good, that you came. I wanted to tell you something." – Marco perked up, curiously.

"Then you should have come to me, yoi."

"I tried today, but it seems I'm not going anywhere."

"What?"

"You know how I promised you'd be the first to…" – he stopped when Marco nodded.

"I don't feel well. And it might have something to do with the cut on my leg." – Cut? This was news for Marco, Ace never mentioned being cut. Did the nurses treat him?

"How and when have you been cut, yoi?"

"About a month ago, there was this marine, who wasn't all that strong, or he didn't seem like it, but then he used Haki. It was a small cut, nothing serious. I bandaged the wound after we came back."

"Did it heal, yoi?" – Ace looked down. Before explaining that he thought it would be better to leave it alone so it could heal fast. Marco's eyes widened. He groaned burying his face in his hands.

"God, Ace you should have made sure it's not infected, yoi." – he closed the distance between them and knelt beside the bed. From up front he could see the younger was shivering under the blankets.

"I'm sorry, Marco." – Marco gave him a small smile but it was soon replaced by a serious expression as he started to pry the covers from Ace's body. The younger yelled in protest but he was hushed by his senior. Ace wore his shirt as well, which was rare, considering he was so proud of his tattoo. Marco put a firm hand on the younger's chest to feel his heart. It drummed in its cage. Ace hissed as Marco's cold hands touched him through the thin fabric of the shirt. His freckled chins had a faint pink tint to them as Marco started to unbuckle his belt and then asked him to lift his hips as he guided the baggy shorts down Ace's legs. Ace was so glad he had his boxers on. The bandage was white around his thigh, though the dark, wet spot in the middle couldn't be missed.

"I'm gonna take this off now, yoi, okay?" – Ace nodded slightly. Marco noticed how his eyes were half-lidded and his head bowed like he was about to fall asleep.

Marco bent his leg at the knees and started taking off the bandages slowly, carefully. The sight wasn't pretty. The cut was seriously infected, just as he had thought. He bit his lip, as he took in the green pus mixing with the angry red flesh and skin. The real problem was the small black part. Ace's leg started to rot. And the wound must have enlarged because it wasn't a small cut as Ace had described. It was covering half his thigh. Marco remained silent for awhile and Ace started to worry.

"How is it, Marco?" – he bit his lower lip as his teary eyes focused on the blonde. When Marco's eyes met his, Ace knew immediately that it wasn't looking good. His head fell back to the pillow and he draped an arm over his eyes to cover them. He groaned and cursed.

"Ace, if it hurt, then why haven't you told anyone about this, yoi?"

"It didn't hurt much, Marco, really" – Marco's eyes clouded, he was thinking. So Ace's stubbornness and high tolerance for pain are the causes of this. He thought to himself and sighed before regarding Ace again.

"Can you walk, Ace, yoi? We need to get you to the doctor quickly, he'll know what to do."

"Um…about that…I can try, but this morning I felt too light-headed to go to your room for help" – Meanwhile Marco stood up and looked down at him with pity, so he averted his eyes.

Marco bent down and hooked his arms under the younger's knees and back after he wrapped a white sheet to cover Ace's half-naked body for decency. He lifted him with ease. Ace looked at him surprised, but then his gaze softened and he relaxed, his head resting on Marco's shoulder. Marco felt the sweat on the younger's forehead and how hot his whole body was. He must have a high fever. How he's still conscious is a miracle. Ace is very strong. Other's would've already died from such a horrible infection.

"Let's go see the doctor, yoi" – the slight nod and the soft hum made him smile as the black locks caressed his neck softly. Let's hope we're not too late. – He thought to himself.

The doctor and the nurses treated Ace quickly and efficiently. They were shocked when they saw the usually strong and cheerful commander reduced to a weak and helpless shadow of his former self shivering in the first division commander's arms. By the time they reached the infirmary he lost consciousness. They looked at the dreadful wound on Ace's thigh in dismay and were surprised he was even alive. Ace was agonizing for awhile, and they had to operate on him. A huge chunk of rotted flesh was removed from his thigh and he needed to remain in the infirmary for a week before he was placed back into his own room. He was supposed to lie in bed and rest. It would take a while till he could get up and walk, his left thigh still healing. He hated doing nothing…

Marco came in without knocking. He sat down next Ace on the bed. Ace looked at him questioningly. Then he was hit on the head. He raised his hands to cover his head in protection from further attacks but nothing came.

"What was that for?" – he pouted.

"Idiot, you're way too reckless, yoi"

"Aww, so you worried about me" – he cooed grinning like an idiot. Marco rolled his eyes and got up to leave only to be held back by a firm grip on his wrist.

"Ne, Marco, stay with me for awhile. I'm bored." – he gave the older his best puppy dog eyes and the other sighed in defeat. Ace shuffled to one side of the bed to make space for Marco and patted the empty side smiling up at him.

Marco shook his head but he made himself comfortable on the bed and Ace snuggled up to him. He happily buried his face into the older's chest and Marco wrapped his arm around the younger's shoulders embracing him.

The soothing quiet was disturbed though when Ace's bottomless stomach grumbled loudly.

"Marco, when is Thatch gonna bring me some food? I'm starving." – Ace's appetite has returned as well.

"You ate an hour ago, so maybe in an hour, yoi."

"Heh, I'm trying to heal, I need plenty of energy." – he grinned and Marco ruffled his hair.

"How's your leg, does it still hurt, yoi?"

"Mm" – Ace hummed.

"That a yes or a no?" Marco asked absentmindedly stroking the soft black locks.

"Mm…maybe" – Ace mumbled his voice muffled by Marco's shirt. Ace fiddled with a button on Marco's shirt, like it was the most interesting thing in the whole world. Marco found it cute, though.

"I take that as a yes, yoi"

"Mhm" – it seemed Ace wouldn't bother with full sentences anymore. Marco didn't mind, he liked the soft vibrations coming from Ace's chest as he hummed. They were both silent for a few minutes enjoying the calm and the warm bodies wrapped around them. Marco was looking upwards.

"Ne, Ace" – the younger gave a soft noise in response.

"You know, we've been hanging out together a lot recently, and I've become quite fond of you since you've joined our ranks, yoi" – he went on. "So where I'm going with this is I would be devastated if you were to die because of something stupid like an untreated infection. And I realized that don't want to waste more time. So…um…I want you to know that I really like you and…" – a loud snore interrupted him, and when he looked down he saw that his young love interest was out cold.

Tch, damn narcolepsy, figures. Well, there's always a next time…

And with that thought in mind he squeezed the younger closer to himself and planted a gentle kiss on the other's forehead. Minutes after Marco dozed off Ace sniffed something delicious and his eyes popped open. He lifted his head from the broad chest and as he saw the peaceful expression on the blonde's face he forgot momentarily about the meal.

He smiled and brushed his hand down the older's cheek to his stubbly chin. He squirmed out carefully from under Marco's heavy arm. He didn't want to wake him up.

Ace jumped quickly on his good leg to the door and grabbed the handle turning it as quietly as he could. He greeted Thatch who was about to knock on his door and put a finger to his mouth to hush him. The fourth division commander raised an eyebrow at this and Ace whispered two words Marco, asleep. Thatch grinned from ear to ear but he obeyed the younger and remained silent. He handed Ace the food and then left after winking at him.

Ace maneuvered the tray in one hand and used the other to balance as he stepped on both legs in order to stay soundless. He winced when his weight was put on his damaged leg. He tried to eat without making too much noise. Hoped he wasn't too loud.

After he finished he jumped back to his bed and looked down at Marco trying to find out if he was still asleep. Ace thought he was, his breathing was pretty slow. He was admiring the view of the older his eyes full of love.

"If only you knew…" –he muttered.

Ace yawned and climbed back into bed lying half on top of Marco. He was surprised when the same arm as before hugged him closer.

"Knew what, yoi?"

The end

At first I wanted to make this only Angst but I just couldn't kill off Ace. Instead he survived, and it looks like he might've found love too.

Hope you guys liked it. Review if you did :)

Thanks for reading.