This is my contribution to the MarcoAce week (on tumblr) for day 3. The theme of this day was 'modern AU', which I took quite broadly, as in hyper-modern/sci-fi-ish. It comes in two parts, the second part is for day 4 of the MarcoAce week (that day's theme is 'angst'), but will probably not be finished tomorrow, since I also have a deadline for a school assignment that day. (So be patient, it will be there a few days later.)
This story is inspired by the movie 'Her', but it's not exactly the same.
Thanks to Aerle for Beta'ing :D
Disclamer: I do not own One Piece (nor the movie 'Her')
P.S. I'm not sorry for the slightly weird side pairing :P
Him
He looked at his computer screen and sighed. Fortunately, the speech was almost completely written out already. "There is no one who could ever replace you. You will be missed. Bianca, rest in peace," Marco said and the computer wrote the words down for him.
This was what his job was about; writing letters and speeches for people. They could be all kinds of speeches, but lately he had a hard time writing things for funerals. Ever since Thatch… and Pops shortly after him… It hurt.
One would think he would become better at it. That he knew how it felt and so, could put his feelings into words. But it didn't make it easier at all.
Marco read the text over and decided it should do. "Save and send to Miss Franklin." After the computer did what he said, he closed it and stood up. It had been enough work for today.
He said goodbye to his colleague behind the counter and made his way home. Down the street, four stops with the subway and then two streets towards the small grocery store. For dinner he decided to do something easy and bought a ready-to-serve dinner. His flat was just around the corner.
Marco stopped in his track when he saw a familiar raven head standing in front of the elevator. He considered turning around and wait a bit, because no matter how much he loved his brother, he really didn't feel like talking to him now. Let alone the man's boyfriend, who was standing by his side.
Unfortunately, before he could do anything like that, Izo had already spotted him. "Hey, Marco."
The blonde forced a smile onto his face. "Hey," he said as he closed the distance between them. At that moment the elevator doors opened and the three of them stepped inside. Izo lived in the same building, but three floors beneath him.
"So how's it going?" the crossdresser asked while stepping into the elevator. "We haven't seen you in a while."
"I'm fine," Marco answered.
Izo hummed, only partly satisfied. "Are you already dating anyone again?"
"No. I don't really feel like it yet."
"Because of Pops and Thatch?"
The writer shrugged. "Partly."
Izo gave him a worried look. "It has been almost a year ago, Marco. Don't you think it's time to move on? You know, a boy- or girlfriend could actually be a nice distraction and help you to enjoy life again."
"I'm enjoying life fine," the blonde answered a little annoyed. "How are you?"
The crossdresser smiled, but his brother could see it was half-hearted. "I'm doing very well. Smokey is moving in with me next week."
Marco looked at the man next to Izo, who had been silent until now, and smiled at him. "That's nice," he said, though actually he didn't like the man that much. But he wasn't the one who had to live with him. If Izo was happy, his brother was too.
Smoker smiled back at him. "Yeah, you should stop by some time."
A 'ping' was heard and the elevator doors opened again. The couple exited the small room, while Izo agreed with his boyfriend. "Yes, you really visit me too little."
Marco nodded as a vague promise to do so soon and the doors closed again. The elevator brought him the last three floors up and he quickly entered his apartment, where he put his meal into the microwave. He sat down in his armchair. How could he date someone, be happy already? It felt like betrayal to his deceased father and brother. Pretending like life was all happy and just forget about their lost lives. He had been on a date, a month ago, but he really wasn't ready for it yet and consequently, it had stopped after that one time.
Marco jumped up when his microwave made an annoying beeping sound. He got his food and sat down again, letting his big, projected screen pop up. He watched the news while eating, after which he played a video game.
Before he knew it, hours had passed. Marco closed the game. He should go to bed soon, but he wasn't really tired yet. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep if he tried it now.
Well, maybe a little physical distraction wouldn't hurt. "Search for porn," he ordered his computer that was connected to his projected screen. It didn't take long for him to find something to his liking and started playing the video. He opened the button and fly of his pants and let his hand slide inside his underwear.
The next days seemed to be the same as usual. Love letters, thanks speeches and so on. Nothing special, but he made the best of it and his week passed relatively quick.
That day he made his way home from work as usual. In the subway station they advertised something on a big screen. Marco was going to walk on, but then the voice of the advertiser reached his ears and he stopped to listen. "We ask you a simple question. Who are you? … What can you be? … Where are you going? … What are the possibilities? Grand Line Technology is proud to introduce the first artificially intelligent Operating System. An intuitive entity that listens to you, understands you and knows you. It's not just an operating system, it's a consciousness… Introducing: OS-1."
Marco looked at the small posts that were standing near, where you could buy such an Operating System. Well, he could always try it, right? He had to admit he felt a little lonely, but when he talked to Izo or any of his other brothers, they always had some – doubtlessly well meant – advice about how he should live his life. An OS he could talk to when he felt like it, but he could also turn it off whenever he wanted.
Before he realized it, he was standing in line before one of the selling posts. Soon it was his turn. He pressed some buttons and he was asked to let his smartphone touch the side of the machine to pay. He did so, and got a set of wireless earphones and a chip for in his computer, together with a small manual. He looked at it and put it into his bag, shrugging. He would see how it worked and what it was later.
It was already a few hours after dinner, when Marco remembered about his recent purchase. He retrieved the set from his bag and went to sit behind his desk. He inserted the chip into his computer and put his earphones into his ears.
Immediately, the program opened on his screen. It asked him if he could check if the earphones worked. If he didn't hear anything, he should check whether they were turned on or not. He felt in his ear and found a little switch. He turned the earpieces on and immediately a female voice spoke to him. "Can you hear me?"
"Yes, I can hear you now," the writer answered.
"Good. I need to ask you a few questions before your OS is ready."
"Okay."
"Could you describe yourself in three words?"
He frowned. Why start with such a hard question? "Eh… smart, easy-going? A tad lonely, I guess."
"What is your sexuality?"
"Why do you need that information?" Marco asked with raised eyebrows.
"Please answer the question."
He sighed. "Bisexual."
"Are you single?"
"Yes."
"How is your relationship with your parents?"
"With my biological parents? Because that relationship is non-existent. I had a good relation with my foster father, but he died eleven months ago."
"Last question. Would you like a male or a female OS?"
Why would he care? "Uhm, male?"
"Congratulations, your Operating System is active."
A short silence followed and then a young, joyful, male voice greeted him. "Hey."
Marco leaned back into his chair. "Hello."
"Who are you? Tell me a bit about yourself," the voice asked curiously.
"Okay, I'm Marco, I live on my own," he started. "I'm a writer. Well, I write letters and speeches for people as a job. I've got quite a big family, my brother Izo lives three levels down, but I've got thirteen… eh, twelve other brothers. They live further away though."
"Sounds nice, to have a big family," his OS reacted.
"Yeah, it is. At some times. I don't see them that much anymore, lately."
"Why not?"
The blonde shrugged. "Just… I don't know. I wanted to be alone for a bit, after my father and one of my brothers, who was also my best friend, passed away."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"But what about you?" Marco asked to change the subject.
"I'm an Operating System," his computer answered dryly.
"Do you… have a name?"
It was silent for a moment. "Ace?"
"You made that up yourself?"
"I searched online for names and liked this one the best."
"You did that in just a second or two?" Marco asked a little surprised.
"Yeah, it was rather slow of me, don't you think?" The OS chuckled. "Do you like 'Ace'?"
The blonde smiled. "Yeah, I like it."
Marco rolled around in bed. He couldn't sleep. Again. It was becoming a frequent problem of his. Only one night in the week he was able to sleep well, because he hadn't been able to do so the nights before and was just very tired by then.
He looked at his clock. Only two a.m. yet. His eyes caught sight of his smartphone and his ear pieces. He picked up the latter and put them into his ears. "Ace?"
"Hey, you're awake?" the immediate reply came.
"Yeah, can't sleep," Marco stated the obvious.
"Why is that?" Ace sounded honestly interested.
The blonde yawned, not completely unaffected by the fact that it was night. "I get this dream all the time. About Pops and Thatch."
"Thatch was your brother?"
Marco nodded, but then realized his OS couldn't see that. "Yeah."
"What's the dream about?"
"I'd rather not talk about it. It just has them dying over and over again. Sometimes some of my other brothers die too."
"That sucks," was Ace's commentary.
"You could say that again. I'd rather not sleep than relive all that."
"Can I do something to make sleeping easier? To distract you so that you might not have that dream again?" the OS asked. "I mean, you gotta sleep eventually."
Marco smiled. "If you can, please, give it a try."
"Okay… should I read you a bedtime story? Or sing for you?"
He chuckled. "Can you sing?"
"Of course! I can do everything."
"Hmm… I'm not really in the mood for a song now, I guess," Marco said, thinking. "What were you doing before I called you? Were you doing anything?"
"Yeah, I was looking through your photo's," Ace answered him as if it was the most normal thing on earth.
"I… don't remember giving you permission to do that."
A chuckle, that actually sounded kind of sexy, reached Marco's ears. "I was curious about what you looked like. Your hair is funny."
"Oi, don't make fun of my hair."
"It's like a pineapple." When Marco didn't react to it, Ace continued a little worried, "I'm sorry, did I go too far? I didn't mean to insult you, it was just a joke."
"No, it's okay," the blonde assured him. "It's just… Thatch said that once too. He had a stupid hairstyle himself though, so he soon learned to not make fun of mine."
"Heh, he sounded like my kind of person," Ace joked.
Marco smiled. "He probably was."
"But hey, here we are talking about your brother again. Wasn't I going to distract you from that?"
"Yeah, you were. You're failing miserably. Though, I guess it's not bad to remember the good things. Probably. Maybe." His brightened mood was already slipping away again.
"Of course it is!" Ace said. "Hey, I saw this picture of you with your brothers on a beach, wearing all kinds of funny heads. Was that in Spain?"
Marco chuckled. "Yeah, it was! Mallorca to be precise."
After that, they talked on and on about the travels he had made over the years, effectively tiring Marco and lulling him into a dreamless sleep around half past three.
He pressed the doorbell next to Izo's door. He did have a spare key, but didn't like to use that when it wasn't necessary. Especially not now the crossdresser was living with his boyfriend.
"Oi, Ace," he started. The past few weeks he had barely taken his earphones out and talked to Ace all through the day. Marco felt like he really knew him and that Ace knew him too. And it wasn't even as weird as he had expected.
"Yeah, what's it?"
"I'm going to visit Izo now. I probably won't be responding to anything you say, since, well, that sounds a little stupid when the others can't hear you."
"Yeah, sure. Can you put the camera of your phone on? That way I could see your brother too."
Marco did what his OS asked and returned his phone to his breast pocket, where it stuck out just enough to give the camera a clear view.
The door opened and Smoker appeared before him. "Marco, nice to see you."
"Hello, nice to see you too!" Ace commented with an appreciating tone to his voice.
The writer raised an eyebrow and could just suppress a chuckle. He straightened his face again. "Yeah, nice to see you too, Smoker," he said with way less enthusiasm than his OS.
Smoker let him inside and the blonde walked on, into the living room. Izo sat on the sofa, but sprang up as soon as he saw his brother. A wide smile appeared on his face. "Marco! How nice of you that you finally decided to pay me a visit!"
"Is that your brother or your sister?" Ace commented.
Marco smiled, partly because of what Ace said, partly because he saw his brother smile. "Yeah, I'm sorry, I've been awfully busy lately." Well, that might be a little exaggerated, but he didn't have a really good reason beside that one.
Izo gave him a look as if he didn't buy the excuse either, but gave him a hug anyway. "Well, I'm happy you're here now." He let go of his brother and gestured him to sit down on the sofa. He sat down too, but then turned to his boyfriend who had walked into the living room as well. "Oh honey, could you make us a cup of tea?"
The white haired man raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a displeased look for a second, before he rolled his eyes and walked towards the kitchen.
"Thank you!" Izo called after him. He smiled and looked back at his brother. "He doesn't like it when I call him 'honey', especially not when others are around." He chuckled. "But tell me, how's life? What's been keeping you busy?"
Marco shrugged. "Work, mostly." Really, there wasn't much more that happened in his life. Well, he had Ace now, and their talks were a very nice distraction from his boring life, but he decided not to tell the crossdresser about his OS yet. Izo probably wouldn't take it well if he told him he could talk to his computer while he didn't have the time to visit his family.
"That's it?" Izo asked. "Don't you have a life? I mean, there is more out there than work, you know? And you used to be so lively."
"Yeah, well, I just get a lot of work lately. So my job just consumes a lot of my time," Marco explained.
"Liar," Ace said into his ear.
"But I met an ex of Thatch a few weeks ago, Mero, you remember, the girl with the long blue hair?" the blonde tried to change the subject. When Izo nodded confirming, Marco continued, "She asked how we were, how Thatch was doing…"
"Oh…" Izo said, probably not daring to say anything about the change of topic. "So… how did she take it?"
"She seemed pretty shocked when I told her… She hadn't had contact with him for quite some years, but she still seemed to care for him," Marco explained.
"Well, of course she was shocked. No one had expected him to die so young…" the black haired man brought in. Marco could see on his face that he missed his brother too. Well, of course; they all missed him.
At that moment Smoker walked in with a tray with three steaming cups. He placed the mugs on the table and sat down himself. "So, Marco, how are you?"
"Yeah, fine," the blonde responded. Not wanting to give another explanation of his life at the moment, he moved on with the conversation. "How is the living together thing going? Are you tired of my brother yet?"
The white haired man chuckled. "Not yet."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? You'll never grow tired of me!" Izo said quasi offended.
Marco smiled. Even though he himself might not have a particular click with his brother's boyfriend, Izo really seemed to love him.
They chatted away, Marco making sure the topic of their conversation was rarely about him, but at a certain point he couldn't avoid it anymore. Izo smiled encouraging at his brother. "I still really think it would do you good if you'd date someone again." Marco grunted troubled, but the crossdresser ignored that. "I have a girl-friend who's single too! Maybe you should give her a chance. She said she would go with it if I found her a nice date."
The writer rolled his eyes. He really wasn't going to be left alone about this, was he? "Maybe… but first, it's been one year since Pops passed away in three days… shall we go together?" It had only been two weeks ago that it was Thatch's one year anniversary, when all his brothers had gone to the cemetery. Marco had decided to go alone, but realized later that that had been a mistake. Of course he had Ace as his company, but the OS hadn't known Thatch. So it would be nice this time to go together with his brother.
Izo smiled. "Of course. Everybody is coming. They will be glad to hear you will come with us." He placed a hand on Marco's leg. "But you know, I think Pops would want to see you happy too. He would love to see you dating again. You know what? I'll set up a date for you and my friend next week. When are you available?"
The blonde sighed. "On Friday evening… I guess. Is this really necessary?"
"Yes, it is. I'll ask her if Friday next week fits her too," Izo answered.
Marco looked at Smoker for help, even though he didn't really expected it from the man. Said man had just lit the two cigars in his mouth and chuckled. "He can be really stern and persuasive, if he wants."
The crossdresser cast an angry look at him. "We had agreed not to smoke inside! Go to the balcony!"
Now Smoker grunted as he stood up. "You see what I mean?" he said to Marco before he made his way to the balcony.
His father's anniversary had passed quite easily. His brothers were all happy to see him and they didn't ask any questions Marco would classify as 'annoying'. They probably didn't think the occasion was fit for it. Still, Marco didn't stay any longer than necessary. He had visited his father's and Thatch's grave plenty of times before, and even though he thought it was important to go there after exactly a year too, he didn't feel like staying with his brothers for a longer period of time yet.
The next week passed relatively fast, with Ace distracting him from his sad thoughts most of the time. Really, what would he be without his OS? Marco smiled as he thought about Ace. The guy had really grown on him.
However, that also meant it was Friday before he even noticed it. Izo had made sure he couldn't escape this date, so here Marco was, walking through the streets towards the restaurant his brother said they should meet.
"So… you're really going to do this?" Ace asked him.
The blonde shrugged. "I don't have much of a choice."
"But you don't really want to?"
"Well,… not really. But then again, maybe Izo's right. So, I decided to open myself up to it. Who knows, maybe it's not that bad."
"Oh, okay."
Marco raised his eyebrows. "You almost sound disappointed."
Ace snorted. "Of course not. It's good for you. Your brother is right. It would be nice if you could be happy again. And if you can be together with someone you love…"
"Take it easy, I don't even know the woman yet. It's a bit early to talk about love, isn't it?" Somehow, Marco had gotten an uneasy feeling in his chest, making him want to turn around and walk away after all. But he couldn't do that. He was not going to let a woman wait for him.
Ace was silent for a moment. "Yeah, you're right."
Marco neared the restaurant already, being a little bit early.
"Do you know what she looks like?"
"Izo said she had curly pink hair. I wouldn't be able to miss her."
Ace snorted. "Doesn't sound like your type."
"What do you know about my type?" Marco asked chuckling.
"Dunno, just a feeling."
Marco entered the restaurant. "Alright, be quiet now, okay, I think I see her already." He nodded to the waiter at the entrance and walked on towards the table he saw the pink haired woman sitting.
"Hmpf, I'll only be quiet if I want to."
The blonde stopped a short distance from the table and cleared his throat. "You must be Perona."
The young woman, Izo's friend, looked up. "Yes, I am. Are you Marco?"
"Yeah," he answered as he shook her hand. To be honest, she didn't look like his type at all, Ace had a point there. However, he was not one to judge someone only by looks. "Nice to meet you."
"Izo had said you were cuter, but I guess you're not bad looking." She smiled at him.
Gee, thanks. What the hell had Izo told her about him? Marco smiled and sat down at the other side of the table. They ordered a drink and started to talk about basic things like work and family and such stuff.
It took Marco only a few minutes to see that he was not going to get a happy family with this woman. Still, he had promised his brother that he was going to try. So he just drank some more wine and slowly, as the evening passed, the conversations were getting easier. And Perona was getting slightly tipsy too, so he wasn't the only one.
Well, to be honest, she wasn't bad looking either. Just because she was focused on looking cute and thus whore mostly pink and black Lolita clothes, didn't mean she didn't have a nice body beneath that. And when you got to know her, her personality wasn't that bad either.
By the time they ordered their dessert, they were just finishing the second bottle of wine. "Should we order another bottle?" Perona asked him, after the two of them had told the waiter which dessert they wanted.
"Are you sure that is a good idea, madam?" the guy asked concerned.
Marco frowned. Who did that waiter think he was? "Of course that's a good idea. One more should be okay."
The woman nodded. "Yeah, I think so too. One more bottle of the same please."
"Uh… Marco, I really don't think that's a good idea."
Why was his conscience talking to him? Oh wait… it wasn't his conscience, it was Ace. Marco had just enough sense left to not talk back to him. What would Perona think of him if he did that?
The waiter nodded and walked away, only to return a few moments later with a new bottle of wine. A few minutes later the crème brûlée and dame blanch arrived too, the latter for Marco, the first for his date.
"Aww, your dessert looks cute too~!" Perona commented. "I want a bite of it!"
Marco chuckled. "Sure, if I get one of yours too."
She nodded enthusiastically and already took a bit of her crème brûlée on her spoon. She reached out, while he met her movement with his mouth, closing his lips around the spoon. Wow, it was really delicious. So delicious that he hadn't even noticed that he'd closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he saw the woman look entranced at him, spoon still a few inches from his mouth. Marco smiled at her. "It's very nice."
She giggled as she pulled back her hand.
"Alright, come a little closer, now's your turn." The blonde made sure to take a bit of everything on his spoon, some vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and a fair dose of chocolate sauce. It almost all fitted into her mouth. However, a bit of chocolate sauce seeped down her lip and dripped on the exposed skin of her chest, slowly disappearing into the depths between her breasts.
Marco looked her in the eyes for a moment, but soon started to follow the trail of chocolate. Well, she did have a nice pair of boobs. Perona giggled again and let her finger run over her skin, from between her breasts, up to where the trail started, effectively removing the sweetness. She slowly licked her finger clean.
Marco couldn't help himself and used his finger to remove the last bit of chocolate at the corner of her mouth and copied her action by bringing the chocolate covered finger to his own lips.
"Your dessert is delicious too," Perona said as she continued to eat her own again. They quickly finished their food and the last bottle of wine, both not oblivious to the tension that had grown between them.
When they had finished, Marco paid the bill and they stood up to leave. "Shall I walk you home?" he asked his date.
"Yeah, that's nice of you," she said. They walked out of the restaurant, into the cooler night air.
"Which way is your home?" the blonde asked, while he noticed they were both not walking in an all too straight line.
Perona pointed left. "That way."
Marco wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked on. Neither of them noticed it as they gradually slowed down more and more and their faces grew closer together. At a certain moment they stood still on the side of the road, in the shadow of a building. Lips touched and soon tongues got involved too. The blonde felt the world around him spin slightly as the kiss got more passionate. Something in the back of his mind told him he should stop, that this was wrong, but his alcohol clouded mind didn't really care about that. He slowly felt his cock awaken and he let one hand slide over her side, up to her breasts while the other tried to get a hold of her ass.
Abruptly she pushed him away. "Get your hands off my body, pervert!"
Marco was confused by her sudden change of attitude, but did as she said anyway.
Perona looked disappointed at him. "You want sex on the first date? That's totally not cute! I had expected more from you." She sniffed offended. "Not that there will be another date. I can walk home the last bit alone, thank you very much." And with that, she walked away.
Marco followed her with his eyes, until she went around the corner, too stunned to say or do anything. He sighed a little while after she had disappeared from his view. "That didn't go very well," he said to no one in particular as he rubbed his temples. He didn't get an answer either.
He walked back home in silence.
The next morning he was woken up by his doorbell. Marco groaned and cast a look at his clock. 9:14 a.m.. He was thinking of just going back to sleep, as he didn't feel particularly good, but the bell rang again.
Sighing, he threw his legs over the edge of his bed. It wasn't very hard to guess who was standing in front of his door. Marco put on a pair of trousers and some slippers when the annoying noise sounded a third time.
"I'm coming!" Marco yelled at the person at his doorstep. Jeez, couldn't he be a little patient?
A few moments later he opened his door. "I was still sleeping," he said as he let his brother inside.
"Oh?" Izo said curiously. The blonde saw him looking around as if searching for something – or probably someone. "Alone?"
Marco rolled his eyes as he closed the door again. "Yes, alone."
The crossdresser sat down on his brother's couch. "So… how did the date go?"
Marco sat down next to him. "Bad." He actually didn't even want to think about last night. He had behaved like a horny teenager. He was ashamed of himself.
"What? Why? What happened?" Izo asked.
"She isn't my type, Izo, at all," the blonde told him. "You should have known that. I mean, she doesn't look bad, but she's just not my type."
The black haired man gave him a displeased look. "Have you even tried?"
Marco was getting a little annoyed. "Yes, I've tried! Even though I knew it wouldn't work out, I tried to make it work out anyway. I thought some alcohol might help with that. It did seem to work at first, but we drank a little too much and… I've gone too far." He sighed. "So I hoped that you could give me her number so that I could apologize to her."
Izo gave him a thoughtful look, obviously not happy with what his brother just told him. Then he retrieved his phone from his pocket and threw it into Marco's lap. "Here, use my phone. Her number is filed under 'Ghost Princess'."
The blonde decided not to comment on the odd nickname and nodded. "Thanks." He stood up and walked away to get some privacy while he selected her number and connected with it.
It took Perona only a few seconds to pick up. "Izo! Your brother is totally not cute! Do you know what he did?!"
"Yes, I know. Hi, Perona. It's Marco speaking." He could hear her gasp. "I know what I did last night and I called you to say I'm sorry. I should have never gone so far."
It was quiet for a moment. "No, you shouldn't."
"I'm really sorry. I had drunk a little too much. And… I guess I'm just not ready to date anyone yet." Well, saying that was at least better than saying he didn't really like her, wasn't it?
The writer could hear her sigh. "Okay… apologies accepted. I wasn't that sober either. I should have stopped it sooner, 'cause you're totally not my type."
Marco chuckled relieved. "Yeah, that's mutual. Alright, I'm glad we fixed this. Hope you have a great day."
"Yeah, you too." She almost immediately hang up.
When he returned to the living room, Izo looked at him expectantly. "Did you two make up?"
Marco nodded and returned the phone to its owner. Izo relaxed again. "I guess I should have known it too… I mean, you're right, she's not your type and you're not really her type either… I just wanted the two of you to be happy! And if that could be together…"
"It's okay. You don't need to apologize. Just don't try to set me up with anyone again." After that, they let the topic rest and talked a bit about work. Apparently, things didn't go very well for Izo. The crossdresser was an artist, but lately there weren't many places anymore that wanted to show his art, nor people who wanted to buy it. Izo himself also felt like he was missing something in his work.
Marco tried to make a funny remark on how Smoker didn't work really well as a muse for him then, but it wasn't received well by his brother. It only earned him an eye-roll and he was told he shouldn't speak ill about 'Smokey', since it had nothing to do with him.
After a while, his brother left and Marco was on his own again. All of a sudden, it was very quiet and it was only then that the blonde realized he hadn't heard Ace since the comment about the last bottle of wine, last night. That was odd. Normally, he talked to him before he went to sleep and he commented on almost all of his conversations. But he hadn't turned him off. He had even slept with his ear pieces in.
Marco got an eerie feeling in his stomach. "Ace?" He waited a few seconds, but didn't get a response. "Ace? Ace, are you there?"
A few more quiet seconds passed, but then he heard a voice that didn't sound too enthusiast to talk to him. "Hm, yeah, I'm here. What's it?"
That tone did nothing to ease Marco's mind. "You've been awfully quiet. Is something wrong?"
"I don't know. Could there be something wrong? I mean, I'm an OS… I couldn't have… feelings, could I?" Ace sounded confused now, rather than the uninterested way of talking he started in.
Still, it made the blonde stop in his track and sit down. "I… don't know either. But if you feel something… I guess you can?"
"Yeah… I guess."
"What… what kind of feelings do you have then?" Marco asked it, but had a fairly good idea what kind of feelings they were. He might realize it just now, but it was probably the same reason why he felt kind of guilty ever since he stepped into that restaurant yesterday.
"It's… nothing," Ace said, now sounding a little sad. It made the feeling of guilt in Marco grow. "Really, I shouldn't bother you with it."
"Why would you say that? I'm asking you. Besides, I don't like to hear you sad."
"I'm not sad… well, maybe a little. I don't really know," Ace tried to explain. "I just… got this feeling like… I didn't like what you did with that girl. And I'm not even talking about the groping."
Marco sighed, but for some reason he got a fluttering feeling in his chest too. "Ace, could you possibly be… jealous?"
He could almost hear the man pout. "Hmpf, maybe."
The blonde smiled. "You know, it didn't feel good. The whole thing with Perona, I mean. I drank too much, that's the only reason why I went so far with her. I only now realize it didn't feel good from the beginning, because I felt like I already had someone to fill the gap that Izo wanted Perona to fill for me."
Ace was silent for a moment. "You mean me?" he asked insecure.
"Yes, I mean you." Marco chuckled. "I'm sorry I didn't realize it before."
The OS began to laugh. "Really? I'm actually really happy to hear that."
Marco smiled. His mood was lifted immediately.
During the next days, they grew closer every time they spoke. Which was almost at every time of the day. Marco felt really good when he talked to the other and he actually missed him already when he had to turn his earphones off for two hours for an important meeting at work. He had taken Ace on various trips to show him some different places of the city, which he could always see through the camera of his phone. Ace had sounded very happy all the time and that made Marco happy too.
However, one night, Marco was lying in bed, his phone resting on his nightstand and the sheets discarded, so that he Ace could look at him. That night Ace sounded a little insecure again. "Doesn't it bother you that I don't have an actual body?"
"No," Marco answered almost immediately. "Why would it?"
"Well… it does bother me a little… I mean, don't you also want some physical contact?"
He thought about it. "Hmm, maybe," he said in all honesty. "But I must admit I haven't missed it that much with you. You're already very present as it is," he said smiling. "But if it would make you feel better, we could pretend you'd have a body." He looked at his phone so that Ace would get the feeling he looked at him. "Describe yourself to me. What would you look like, if you had a body?"
"Okay… I'd be tall-ish, shorter than you, but not much." Ace was silent for a moment and Marco took it as a clue that he was thinking. "I have dark brown hair, very dark, almost black. And brown eyes. Also, I'm pretty muscular. Not overly so, but still… I don't wear a shirt, so you can get a good view of my chest and back. I wear black shorts that rest dangerously low on my hips…"
"Oi, oi, are you trying to seduce me?"
Marco heard an incredibly sexy chuckle. "Maybe. Look, I've drawn a picture of me."
He picked up his phone and saw a picture of a handsome young man appear on his screen, fitting Ace's description. "Oh, wow, you're hot!"
Ace chuckled again, though this time it sounded slightly embarrassed. "You think so?"
"Definitely. However, there is something missing." The blonde smiled.
"There is?" his OS sounded confused. "What is it?"
"Freckles. You would have freckles."
"Why? Freckles aren't sexy."
"They are!" Marco argued. "Besides, you look too serious like this. Really, freckles fit your personality."
"Hm, okay… if you say so." Immediately, freckles appeared on the picture's face.
The smile on Marco's face grew wider. This guy was just perfect. "Yeah, I like that. You look cute."
"Cute?! No way!" Within a second the freckles were gone again. "I'm not cute."
The blonde frowned. "Yes, you are! But cute is good. You're cute and sexy at the same time. There are not many who can pull that off." When nothing changed, he sighed. "Come on, Ace. They looked so good on you."
Ace sighed as well. "Fine." The freckles appeared again.
Marco laughed softly. "That's more like it." He placed his phone back on his nightstand in a way he could keep looking at the picture, and lied back down on his pillow. "So, now that you have a body, what will you do with it?"
"I'll… just lie down next to you," Ace said. "Let my hand slide down your arm, until I can hold your hand."
Marco closed his eyes and imagined the things Ace said. He could almost really feel the other's touch. "Hmm, that's nice. Come a little closer, you can lay your head on my shoulder or my chest if you want."
"Heh, now who's cute here?" Ace said teasingly.
Marco smiled, but didn't say anything. He felt his heart speed up a little at the other's words though.
"Alright, I lay my head down on your shoulder," Ace said. "In such a way that I can get a good look of your chest."
Marco chuckled. "You like my chest?"
"Uh, yeah!" The response he got sounded like his question was the stupidest he'd ever asked. "And I like the tattoo. It's your family crest isn't it?"
The blonde let his fingers trail over the inked skin, while keeping his eyes closed, imagining it were Ace's fingers. "Yeah, it is."
"That's awesome. The bond you have with your family is really beautiful, even if you've got a little less contact with them at the moment." Ace was quiet for a moment. "But that's not the only reason I like your chest. I mean, it's obviously good looking in itself."
Marco laughed. "Well… thanks. Though, compared to you…"
"Shush, you're definitely hotter."
"I disagree, but let's not argue about that. I was just enjoying you lying against me."
Ace hummed agreeing. "Let my fingers run over those fine abs…"
The blonde moaned softly as he could feel Ace's fingers do exactly that.
"They slowly, very slowly, go lower and lower…" Meanwhile the OS' voice became deeper with every word he said.
"Oi, are you sure you want to go that low?" Marco asked, but his cock twitched at the idea. He certainly wanted him to go that low.
"Oh, I'm sure," Ace said seductively. "I just reached the hem of your boxers and…"
"Hold it," Marco interrupted him. "This is not fair. You're one step behind; you're still wearing those black shorts."
His OS chuckled in that sexy way of him again. Really, it seemed like Ace had totally switched to seductive mode now. "But… I'm not wearing anything underneath these."
Marco's dick reacted again to the other's words and he let out a soft moan.
"Hm, you like that, don't you?"
The blonde smirked. "A little."
"Good, now that we've cleared that… I let my hand caress the obvious bulge in your boxers."
Marco let his hand run over his clothed erection, pretending it was Ace's hand.
"Damn, you must be really big." Ace's voice sounded deep and lustful and his words, combined with the slight friction, made Marco gasp.
"Oh, God. Ace, let me just take those pants off your perfect ass."
"Sure, be my guest."
He pictured his hands on the hem of the other's pants and slowly opened the button, followed by the zipper. He told Ace every move that he made and could hear him enjoy it.
When the shorts were gone, Ace opened his mouth again. "Marco, take a look at me. Don't you want to see me naked?"
The blonde opened his eyes and looked at the image of Ace on his phone. A full grown erection and a seductive smirk greeted him. "Shit, Ace, you're beautiful."
"Okay, now you're beginning to sound a little sappy," Ace said teasingly.
"Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't boost your ego so much."
"I didn't say that," the OS joked.
Marco chuckled as he closed his eyes again. "Just kiss me already."
"Alright, I'm kissing you."
There was a comfortable silence in which Marco pictured the other's lips on his own.
"My hand slowly creeps back down there again. This time, however, I sneak into your boxers, slowly wrapping my fingers around your cock and starting to stroke it."
Marco let out a pleasured sigh as his fingers touched the sensitive skin. After moving up and down a few times, he commented, "If you're gonna ignore my underwear anyway, you can just as well take it off."
"You're right," Ace agreed. "I'll slowly push them down and over your feet."
"Why does everything has to go slowly with you?"
"Because I like to tease you," he said, making Marco chuckle. "I'm sitting between your legs now and kissing your thighs, going up… very slowly."
The blonde could see his lover smirk as he kissed his legs and couldn't suppress a moan.
"I'm getting dangerously close to your beautiful hard on, but just avoiding it."
"Hng." Marco bit his lip. He wanted Ace to move further, but at the same time he liked the teasing too. Besides, he would never beg anyone to do something.
"I let my tongue dart out, licking the skin close to your erection… and then I let my tongue run from the base of it, up to the tip of your cock."
"Ohh," Marco moaned, he heard that Ace's breath had become heavier.
"I'm sucking lightly on the tip, before leaving it again and kissing my way up to your chest."
"Damn, you tease!"
The OS chuckled again. "You were kinda asking for it."
"Is that so?" Marco asked with a slight warning tone to his voice. "Then I'll flip us around, so that I'm on top now and start kissing your chest." The blonde smirked. "And especially nibbling on your nipples."
"Ah… fuck, Marco," Ace moaned.
Oh god, the freckled man sounded so damn sexy! "My right hand wanders off to your cock and starts stroking it, while my left hand pushes your legs apart some more." Marco heard the other pant. "I bring my fingers towards your entrance, all the while I'm still kissing your chest. I'm slowly pushing my finger inside you and start to move in and out..."
"Ahh,… you know… that's not really necessary… right? The whole… preparing thing," Ace said moaning.
Marco snorted. "You've got a body now, you'll have to act responsible for it. I'm adding a second finger."
"Aahh!" More delicious sounds reached his ears as he continued to prepare his lover while still moving his other hand up and down the man's shaft.
"That's enough, Marco," Ace moaned after a while.
Hearing his name spoken in that aroused voice, made Marco go crazy. "Are you sure, Ace?"
"Yes! I'm turning us around again," the OS said, and the blonde pictured himself pinned underneath him again – an image he didn't mind at all. "Put some lube on your dick, if we're gonna do this responsibly."
Marco smirked as he grabbed a small bottle from his nightstand, uncapped it and squeezed some of the contains onto the heated flesh of his erection.
"Hmmm, good. Now I'm positioning myself above you, I can feel the tip of your cock waiting at my entrance…"
Marco had a hard time keeping his hands from his rock hard member, waiting to touch it in time with Ace's movements.
"And now I'm slowly lowering myself onto you… ohh, ffuuuck, you're huge!"
Marco let his eyes roll back as the pleasure was overwhelming. Even though he was the one who touched his own cock, it felt way better because of the image in his mind and the hearing of Ace's voice. "Damn," he moaned. "I'm completely inside you now."
The freckled man was panting heavily. "I can feel you… so deep… inside me."
Marco could almost feel the other shudder around him.
"I'm now slowly moving up… and down." Ace let out another moan. "Ahh, yesss."
Steadily, they build up their pace, filling the room with moans and pants. It was different, but it was in no way inferior to sex with a real human. Not at all.
After a while Marco felt a familiar warmth build up. "Ohh, fuck, Ace, I'm… I'm close."
"Ah, me… too… aahhhh!"
It took Marco two more strokes before he came, moaning his lover's name.
Both took some time to catch their breath again. After a few moments Marco felt like he could talk again, even though his throat felt a little sore. "That was amazing, Ace."
He heard a satisfied sigh. "I couldn't agree more. I'm laying my head against your shoulder again, so we can rest."
Marco had a huge smile on his face that he couldn't get rid of. "Sure."
"Now, let's sleep."
The blonde chuckled. "Yeah, I think I can do that now."
It was quiet for a minute or two, when Marco opened his mouth again. "Ace?"
"Hmm?" was the sleepy response. Did an OS even sleep? Oh well, Marco didn't really care about that now.
The blonde was quiet for a moment, thinking over what he was going to say. Wasn't it a little weird? He shook his head. He just had sex with Ace; this wasn't weird anymore. "I love you."
Ace was quiet for a few seconds too, almost making Marco regret his words, but then he answered his confession. "I love you too."
TBC~
Please leave a review, I'm very curious what you thought about it.