A valentine day fic! …Posted a couple of day early, i know.

But i wanted to make something for valentine, yet in a few days i'm going to go out of town for work for a couple of days and between preparation and work, i know i won't be able to make it at all if i don't start now. Also, i don't know whether or not the place i'm going to will have wi-fi, so here it is.

Hope you'd enjoy!

The strawberries that morning were particularly large and red, and Marco couldn't help but stealing one from the washing tray to take a bite. He hummed low as the juice flows both inside of his mouth and dribbling down his finger, tasting the sweetness and the slight sourness undertones mingling together on his tongue. It's the peak season for berries, and their supplier always sent the best for them for being a loyal costumer.

"Sanji," he called out after taking another bit of the strawberry, finishing it entirely, "What do you think about making today's cupcake of the day something strawberry themed? The shipment's bigger than usual, we can use it for something other than the strawberry pie,"

The kitchen wasn't quite big, but it wasn't entirely small either. Marco waited for an entire 3 seconds before the man poked his head from behind the cooling fridge, carrying an entire crate full of creams and wet ingredients, "Ugh, you're really clueless, aren't you?" the younger blonde scoffed, dumping the entire crate behind his working station, where he had placed a tray of cooling pastries ready to be assembled into various treats, "Just cupcakes?! Think bigger, Marco! It's nearly the season of love! The day of giving every lovely mellorines that will walk through our jingling doors something as lovely as they are!"

Marco watched as Sanji did a little dance on the spot, eyes shining and near glittery at the thought of the majority of their costumer demographic lining up later. He glanced at the pastries on his working station to the ones on his own, "So, maybe add puddings too?"

"No, i mean everything! Everything coming out of this kitchen up to the day of love itself will be strawberry themed!"

It occurred to Marco then that perhaps the overflowing amount of strawberries in their kitchen wasn't exactly a coincidence, but rather something of Sanji's design. Still, he had proven himself to be quite proficient when it comes to the advertising and the gimmicky side of things, and Marco never question him. He's not about to start now, "Oh, but the cream i made for our new Crepe Cake didn't have any strawberries in them. You want me to redo them?"

Sanji only gave the progress of his work for the last 30 minutes a single glance, before he shook his head resolutely, "Absolutely not. We can add them to the presentation later, but right now, i'm really curious about what you have in mind,"

The Crepe Cake as a whole wasn't some revolutionary concept, but their shop has never sold them, and if there is one thing Sanji Vinsmoke, the owner of Mr. Prince Patisserie prides himself in, is creating the best and widest selection of cakes and pastries in the entire Raftel City. Marco proposed the idea of introducing this new item to their display only 2 days ago, and Sanji barely gave him enough time to try it out before he demanded to have it in his shop by mere description alone. Today is supposed to be its launching day.

Hours later found them placing finished cakes into the display case, as well as preparing plates, checking take away boxes and doughs for the next batch. Marco paused for a moment after he finished transferring his creation to the top of the display - right behind a small tag with a cute logo of the store and 'NEW ITEM' typed in bold letters - and hummed to himself in satisfaction. It didn't look too bad for something he created for the first time, and judging by the smears still on the tip of his finger and inside of his nail, it also tasted pretty good.

Well, he supposed the costumer will be the judge of that.

It was barely 2 minutes after he walked out of the door to flip the 'Sorry, We're Closed' sign to 'Yes, We Are Open' when two high school age girls came walking in, giggling to themselves after politely greeting him. Marco watched from the front window as Sanji suddenly made himself available, presentable and ready to serve in a matter of seconds when the girls came in, grinning from ear to ear while doing that little dance of his. It looked so bizarre the first time Marco saw him do that, but after 2 years working with him, he got used to it.

The man paused from his cleaning of the display blackboard in his hand, staring emptily to the chalkboard smeared surface. 2 years. Has it been that long now?

Has it been that long since…

"Um, excuse me?"

Marco wasn't sure how long he spaced out, but he felt a little poke to his shoulder and turned to find curious eyes staring up at him. He looked back down to the blackboard, and saw that he had done nothing else but made a bigger chalk smear all over the surface. He's going to have to clean this up before he can write down today's special, "Good morning, Usopp," he greeted the newcomer, fishing out the rag hanging out of his back pocket to start wiping, "It's a little early, isn't it? You're not supposed to come in for another 15 minutes,"

The long nosed boy sighed desolately at that, grumbling slightly, "I know, but Luffy burned his toast again this morning and the alarm woke up everyone on my floor. I can't go back to sleep so i thought i might as well leave to work early,"

With the success of the patisserie comes a steady flow of costumer that can't be handled by only two people, and it wasn't long ago when Sanji decided to employ one of his friend as a waiter and barista. Usopp can make coffee down to an art style, and clumsy as he may be, he's a hard worker and that seems to be all the blonde patissier ever asked out of his employees.

Said barista glanced towards the blackboard in his hand, "So uh, why were you staring at that?"

Ah, right, "Oh, i was just thinking of what to put to attract attention for our special today. But i find out that i'm not really good at coming up with that sort of things," he lied smoothly, so much that Marco himself forgot that he wasn't telling the entire truth. It came so naturally to him nowadays, especially when it was easier from the alternative, "But now that you're here, maybe you can do it instead? Costumers loved your drawings,"

"Ooh, it's the Crepe Cake, isn't it? Sanji told me all about it!" Usopp said as he glanced inside of the store, perhaps trying to locate said cake, "He said you came up with your own recipe, and that it sounded really amazing,"

That piqued Marco's interest, and make a small, amused smile bloom on his lips. Sanji had a near aversion to praising anyone of the male gender, so it was rather amusing to hear that he would say it behind Marco's back, "Is that so? I hope i can meet his expectations, then,"

Usopp snorted, "You always did, Marco, you know that. And we're really glad about this, you know?"

"Glad? Why?"

"That you started taking some initiative, and you sounded excited about this. We're glad that you're getting be—" Suddenly, Usopp's jaw dropped and his eyes were blown wide open, before he started suddenly flailing in panic, "I-i mean, w-w-we-we're glad that you…'re getting better at pulling your weight around here! Ha, but not as much as the great Usopp, Master of latte arts and world champion espresso brewer! Did i ever tell you about that time i was blessed by the coffee god as a thank you for saving his coffee beans citizens?"

If there is one thing Marco know about Usopp, is that the more outrageous his tales and lies become, the more panicky he was on the inside. It was funny, really, if it wasn't sobering at the same time. Still, Marco let out a chuckle, as he handed the blackboard and chalk to the young boy, who took it away from him, "Didn't you say just last week that the coffee god was a bad guy because he was the one who made the mess on the kitchen floor and it was definitely not you accidentally spilling half a bag of roasted coffee?"

He laughed a little louder as Usopp stammers to find a new excuse to correlate the two stories and making it that there are two coffee gods who are good and bad. As soon as curly haired boy left to walk inside however, Marco watched him approaching the counter hurriedly to where Sanji was, and felt his smile faltering.

"Look at that, you made little kids worry over you," he muttered to himself, running his hand down his face, "Pathetic, Marco. Quite pathetic,"

The rush of incoming costumers always picked up during noon, and that was when the three of them were the busiest.

When the crowd died down, and the current of costumers coming in and out became something much more manageable, Marco would find himself glancing to the display case and become amazed. They had 3 large display cases and a smaller one for dry treats, and within the span of a couple of hours after opening, what was previously a full display always depleted down to only a couple of slices left here and there. He specifically remembered replenishing some of their more popular cakes at least 4 times and found that the display tray for those cakes has been given an 'OUT OF STOCK' sign.

He watched as Usopp took the last bag of Tangerine Florentine to give it to a costumer. They prepared 5 large batches for today, and including that last one, that's 5 batch sold. He turned his gaze towards the middle display, and blinked.

"Huh," he said lowly under his breath, "There's only one slice of Crepe Cake left,"

There's a pat on his shoulder, followed by a faint scent of mint cigarettes fleeting into his senses, "Of course! It was a smash hit! Lovely mellorines telling me that it was like cloud in their mouth, so fluffy and sweet! Oh, but i'm sure it wasn't as sweet as all of the beauties here," he claimed in a louder tone, gesturing to the crowd in the dining area. Some girls waved to their general direction, because they are loyal costumers who are used to Sanji's antics, and the rest stared in confusion.

One of the waving girl walked over, orange hair cascading down her back as she purposefully swayed her hips - purposefully because Marco learned from Usopp that they usually don't do that - and clearly hypnotising Sanji with every move before she leaned over to the countertop behind the cashier machine, "That cake was sooo amazing!" Nami, the orange haired girl exclaimed with a smile, "Sanji said it was your idea, isn't it, Marco?"

The blonde smiled warily at her. He knew what's coming, "I did,"

"I loved it! It was sooo good! And Sanji, you're so smart for putting it on the menu, i'm sure many people will love it!" the smile turned sharp, and there's a glint in her eyes as Sanji almost flew over to her, practically drooling over the praise, "And since i liked it so much, do you think i can get a free sample—"

As Usopp would sometimes say: Whoomp, there it is.

"Of course, Nami-swaaan!"

"No,"

Sanji's expression turned from lovestruck to enraged in a matter of seconds, while Nami's face fell, "Aww, i knew i should've waited until you left,"

"Nami-swan, ignore this big bully, yes you can have it for free—"

But Marco was firm on his decision - even if his boss wasn't, "No, not this time. I'm sorry, Nami, but i'll make you an extra one tomorrow if you really wanted it," and not because you think you can slip a freebie from Sanji, he thought silently. Again, "But right now, i don't want that last piece to be sold just yet,"

Nami and Sanji glanced to each other questioningly, while Marco looked down to his watch, something he had been doing since the rush was over and he realized thow late it has become, just to make sure that he was right on time. Yes, he was. It should be any minute now.

As if on cue, the doorbell suddenly rang, signalling an incoming costumer. Marco immediately lifted his head.

"Hi, hi!" the newcomer, Koala, greeted, her every bounce making her short skirt dance around her thigh. She made her way to the counter in a confident stride that told of habit and familiarity to their shop, "Ah, thank goodness there's still some cakes left! Dragon's working me to the bones today, i'd just die if i don't get my daily dose of sweets,"

Dragon was a prominent politician from their city who served as mayor this term and is in the middle of a campaign to win the next, and Koala was one of his assistant and core employee. It rather surprised him the first time he saw her calling out his name so casually until he learned who she is. Along with Sanji's ragtag group of friends - one of them being Mayor Dragon's son, Luffy - she was one of the more permanent fixtures around this place.

But Koala, sweet as she was, wasn't the one Marco was waiting for.

It was the man who followed suit after her entrance.

Unlike her cheery greeting, he came in as quiet as a dormouse as always, shuffling close behind her until they reached the counter. As Koala began rattling off her order to a peppy and jolly Sanji, Marco turned his attention to him, "Good evening, Ace,"

Ace glanced up and stare at him for a while, before mumbling back with a little nod, "E-evening,"

The very first time Marco saw him had been a rainy day, nearly 2 months ago. Ace and Koala was caught in the harsh downpour, and the first cover they found was the dimly lit place that was their shop. Sanji, ever the gentlemen who cannot resist helping a woman in need, allowed Koala to stay until the rain stopped, and even gave her a slice of his cakes and had Usopp made her a hot drink. Of course, his courtesy only stopped on the female half of the pair, which means that it was up to Marco to help Ace.

He didn't know what his name was back then, much less anything else, but even drenched, Marco could see that he was fairly attractive. The way he scowled at Sanji's retreating form after being informed that the dry towel was only for the lady was amusing at best and worrying at worst. At the time, Marco had thought that he was displeased to see a man obviously hitting on his girlfriend, until he learned that Ace was just genuinely pissed off for being left dripping wet.

Sanji took to regaling Koala about the patisserie as they waited, allowing her to try the variety of cakes that they have left - which is probably a bad thing to do, but at least this way he won't have to finish them because Sanji refused to throw food away - while constantly having poor Usopp fill her empty cup. That left Ace and Marco sitting by to silently observe the scene, only glancing at each other every now and then, pick up a few conversation here and there and smiling whenever their eyes met.

The rain stopped after about half an hour, and after they left that night, he hadn't expected to see them again, and thought that it was quite the shame. Maybe he should've chatted the young man a bit more.

The very next day, Koala and Ace walked in during a sunny day, with Koala loudly proclaiming that she wanted the cakes she had yesterday again.

And that was when things started getting a little unusual.

Marco cuts his own reminiscing short, when he saw that Ace was looking interestedly at the display case in front of him. Specifically to the direction of the only slice of Crepe Cake left, "What would you like for today?"

He watched Ace's eyebrow shot up in surprise, like he had forgotten than Marco was standing in front of him, "O-oh! Uh…," he mumbled, meeting Marco's eyes for only a couple of seconds before looking back at the cake, "That's… new, right?"

"It is," There's a little leap on his chest as he replied, when he realized that he was right about Ace paying special attention to his first creation. He couldn't help but to add, albeit in slightly lowered volume, realizing the brashness in his next action, "I, uh, made it myself. It's my own recipe, i mean,"

Despite feeling like a kid who needs approval and having a sinking feeling he's embarrassing himself right now, Marco was relieved when he saw that he obviously had the young man interested. Ace kept his silent observation for a moment, and after a few seconds, he finally pointed to the direction of the cake.

A smile grew on Marco's face, as he slide the display's door open, "Alright, one Crepe Cake coming right up,"

From the corner of his eyes, Marco saw Usopp reacting first, glancing between him and Ace with a skeptical look on his eyes. From his other side, he could see Nami frowning before sneaking quickly behind Ace to where the barista stood, before they began whispering amongst themselves. He ignored them, lifting the tray along with the last slice of cake on it, and making his way to the kitchen.

Usually, when it comes to decorating plate, all Marco had to do was follow Sanji's instruction on how things are to be done. Left on his own devices and taking initiative like this was unlike him, and it wasn't until he realized he had spent a while only lifting bowls of strawberries and a can of whip cream that it occurred to Marco this may be a bad idea.

Still, he need this to work this time.

With his mind made up, the blonde ran through every design he ever had to make under Sanji's guidance, and started off by placing the cake in the middle of the plate and lifting a piping bag filled with whip cream, probably a leftover from their short cakes. He gave each 3 little swirling design on the end arch of the cake, delicate and small, but not so small they wont support a piece of cut strawberries, which he added right away. Fishing out a large, uncut strawberry away from the washed and unused pile, he then made a bigger whip cream swirl in the middle of the cake before placing the entire strawberry on it. Once he was sure they won't topple, he grabbed a bowl of glaze and painted it over the large strawberry to make it looks shiny and appetizing.

One Marco was satisfied with the top of the cake, he moved to the plate itself, giving one side of the cake a zig-zagging drizzle of chocolate, piling more uncut strawberries on one end and, after much fishing, placed a small stem of mint on the other end. He stared at the plate, stared long and hard, before deciding to meticulously brush the small strawberries with glaze as well.

When the man's finally glad with the end product, Marco took a step back, and suppressed a smile from appearing on his face. He's nowhere near Sanji's level in dessert presentation, but even he can't help but be a little proud by how this one turns out.

"Hey, you've been in there for quite a while, what are you do—" Sanji's words faltered along with his approaching footsteps. Marco could see him from the reflective glass in the kitchen, standing by the kitchen entrance with gaping mouth and staring wide eyed.

Shoot, he had planned to slip outside before Sanji noticed him gone. He must've been working on this for longer than he think, "Uh, just… plating an order?"

"Plating an order?! You look like you're trying to win a competition or something," The younger blonde exclaimed, moving to his side to take a closer look, "Huh, you've really improved on your—The Crepe Cake? I thought you said you're not selling it—"

"I have to go, i've made costumers wait for too long," He lifted the plate carefully, making sure none of the decoration faltered and slipped by past Sanji before the other could ask him any more questions.

When he brought the plate back outside, Ace and Koala were already seated on their usual seat near the window overlooking outside, chatting quietly between themselves. At one point, Ace buried his face in the crook of his arms as Koala rolled her eyes, looking like she was really exasperated by something. As he approached, he could hear her speaking in an irate tone, something about how 'he's not usually this shy' and that 'it's such a waste, you could just give it to me instead'. Ace, in return, insisted to her that he can't and he won't.

"Here you go," Marco announced after a few seconds as to not interrupt their conversation, placing the plate right in front of Ace gently so that the bottom would make a near inaudible thudding, "One Crepe Cake,"

There's a small, almost surprised gasp coming from Koala, but Marco was too immersed with Ace's expression. His eyes widened at the sight of his plate, with his mouth opened a little to form a small, silent o. The reaction made him think that he may have gone a little bit too overboard, so after placing down the utensils, he almost scurried away to the back of the counter, nearly colliding with Usopp and a tray of steaming mugs.

As soon as he was back in the safety that was the staff only side of the counter, Marco leaned back against Usopp's drink-assembling station and tried not to look too obvious in his waiting. For a moment, the people on that particular table barely moved, though he could see Koala's mouth moving while she was alternating between looking at the cake and Ace. Ace, on the other hand, was still as a board, eyes downcast and the angle of his head making his hair curtain around his eyes, blocking Marco's vision.

The dark haired male lifted the fork out of the meticulous tissue wrap arrangement, and like always whenever his food was delivered to his table, began poking the sides of the cake. The movement was small and hesitant, less about curiousity and more wariness. It was as if he was treating the cake like it was something alien and unnatural. Marco never understood what he's trying to achieve from that.

But before he could observe any longer, the doorbell rings and out of any possible time that day, a teenager dressed in school uniform ran in, looking frazzled, "E-excuse me, i'm sorry, but do you still have any chocolate tart left?!" he loudly exclaimed, and started tugging on to some loose golden strands from his ponytail when he saw from the display that no, they don't have any left, "Fuck, okay, w-what about the Devil's food cake? Or Chocolate Napoleon? Or that other weird named chocolate one— Gah! I can't remember! Please, you have to help me! I promised Coby i'll meet him 15 minutes ago but i got too caught up on the arcade and he's not going to forgive me unless i bring him his favorite dessert!"

The boy was near tears by now - something that Marco can still miraculously see despite the odd visor he had on - and he didn't need to turn to the direction of the kitchen that Sanji prefers washing the dishes of the previous group of women than handling him. With a sigh, Marco left his watching spot and made his way over to the boy.

Helping the frustrated boy took longer than it needs to be, because he decided that even late, he still nitpick over every suggestion. It was only after Marco reminded him that he's already really late that the boy panicked again, and ended up buying every chocolate based cakes they had left that afternoon. He could only hope that with the speed he went, the cakes won't get crushed by the time he met up with his friend.

"Please come back again," As soon as the door was closed and the ringing doorbell faded along with the end of his half-hearted greeting, Marco shifted his gaze back to Ace and Koala's table. The moment he caught sight of it, he sighed heavily, "Goddamit,"

The two was long gone, and on top of the now empty and vacated table, the Crepe Cake sat untouched.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn't completely untouched. The strawberry in the middle of the cake was missing, and the chocolate drizzle was slightly smeared.

Not that it made any difference. The cake itself was left the way it was when he first placed on the plate.

"The nerve of him!" Sanji exclaimed, not for the first time since Marco brought the plate back to the kitchen and even well after they're closed and started cleaning up, "Always wasting food like this, i should've banned him from the premises! I hate food wasters!"

Is what he always says, but it's been well over 2 months and whenever the pair came by, Sanji would be too busy swooning and simpering over Koala to notice Ace and make good of his threat. In fact, he never seems to notice any male costumer and it was always up to Marco to serve them even if he was busy in the back to prepare a new batch. Between that sort of attitude and his tendency to give away free cakes to every girl that bats her eyelids at him, the bakery would've gone to the dogs if Sanji was left to his own accord.

Marco sighed, staring forlornly back at the cake.

Ever since that second time Ace came by, he would order a different cake each day, yet none of them would be consumed in the end. It was bizarre - and somewhat a personal insult to Sanji, apparently - and left Marco endlessly confused and curious. Why would anyone order something if they're not going to eat it?

At first, he thought that maybe because they all weren't to his liking, which was fair. As popular as their store is, they can't please everyone. But after a few days in, Marco began to notice that it didn't even seem like Ace even tasted any of his orders. Every time he looked, the dark haired man would only be staring at his plate, sometimes grimacing, sometimes looking sad, and while there has been a few times Marco caught him lifting up his fork, in the end, he would only fiddled with the utensil before putting it back.

A couple of days ago, he also realized something else: Ace has already ordered everything they had in their store at least once, every cake, cupcakes and even ever cookies, and they all ended up with the same fate of being neglected on that empty table and would probably be eaten by Usopp by the end of the day.

There's a pit of discomfort in Marco's stomach as a stray thought entered his mind. Ace had nearly gone through all of their collection and found none of them to be to his liking. Would that mean that once he ordered everything they had, he would stop coming? He barely knew the young man, and up to this point, they had only exchanged a few words between each other before Marco was left tongue tied. And yet, the prospect of Ace never coming in to the bakery again was daunting.

It was why he had suggested the Crepe Cake to Sanji in the first place. He thought that maybe if he can make something new and thus giving him something else to offer and try, Ace will keep coming back.

It was a childish and irrational thought, Marco knew, but he can't help but entertain it anyway.

As Sanji continues to rant - this time around his rant has turned into scolding Marco for indulging in Ace's odd behaviour and therefore is involved in wasting food - Usopp sneaked into the kitchen and stared longingly at the plate next to Marco. The blonde sighed and gave it to him, earning himself a happy 'thank you' from the long nosed barista. He watched as Usopp considered the plate, then deciding to cut a small piece from the front and carefully scooping all of the layers before shoving it into his mouth. The form had only left his mouth with a pop when his eyes bulged, "Holy shit, this is so good!"

"Of course it taste good, Usopp, Marco made it! Him, who was taught by two great chefs! Even i want to lick that plate clean! Did he not see how lucky he was to get the last slice?!" their employer groaned in frustration, tapping the front of his lips with his fingers. It was a habit of his that tells people that he needed to smoke, but unfortunately they're still in the process of cleaning and Sanji has a high standard for his establishment, even if it means he himself won't be able to smoke inside, "If Thatch was still here, he'd agree with me—"

Suddenly, there's silence. Silence, and the unmistakable hitch in Marco's breath.

Sanji faltered, both in his body language and his expression, realizing his mistake a little too late. Next to Marco, Usopp was silent, cheeks still puffed out from the content inside and he chewed so slowly, as if afraid that moving any faster would add to the thick atmosphere.

After a moment, Sanji ran one hand through his fringe, briefly uncovering his other eye, "I'm so sorry, Marco," he said quietly, "I shouldn't have—"

Marco wished he hadn't, but that would be him following the surprisingly immature part of himself. Trying to smile was hard, especially with the heavy weight in his chest, but he did it anyway, "It's fine, Sanji, you don't have to keep tip-toeing around me. None of you have to," he gave Usopp a glance as well, even if there's only the three of them in the kitchen, "It's been 2 years, it's not as hard anymore,"

That's a damn lie, because it was still hard. He still sometimes woke up in the middle of the night, sweating bullets and in the verge of crying because of the remnants of his nightmare, a dream that was more a memory than anything his mind can come up with in his sleep. His family has given him endless support in order to help and pushing him to get help, but again, it's been 2 long years and it felt like nothing has changed.

He sighed, trying to quell the pain in his chest, "Besides, he was your friend too, Sanji. I know you missed him too,"

"Well, yeah, but—" Sanji began to retort, but suddenly quieted down. Marco could see that he wasn't exactly looking at his direction but at Usopp next to him, who shook his head in a small and almost unseen gesture. After a while, Sanji sighed wearily, eyes still glum as he spoke, "Hey, isn't it next week?"

Marco nodded, quiet and subdued, "Hm,"

"Well, Robin offered to fill in that day, like last year," he paused, and there's a small smile on his face as he continued, "Well, either her or Charlotte Pudding. We met again recently and she told me she needed another job if she wanted to move out of her mother's house soon. I offered her one and she's coming around this week, maybe i can start training her then. I've been thinking of hiring a waiter around here, since we're getting busier by the day and don't have enough hand to man the cashier and the floor at the same time."

The change of topic was deliberate, there's no doubt in Marco's mind, but right now, he was just glad for the thoughtfulness as Usopp spoke, "You're giving a job here for your ex?"

Sanji scoffed, "I will always help a lady in need. Besides, we're not really exes, are we? Our families wanted us to marry against our will, and now that we could care less about them, we went our own ways," His eyes began to sparkle, and as Usopp's expression turned sour, Marco knew that they both know what's coming, "Ah, can you imagine? Having a beautiful woman in this shop will be a refreshing change compared to always looking at your sorry mugs. Why do i only keep hiring guys anyway, i need to hire more lovely mellorines! Nami-swan said she's also looking for a job, i can certainly pay to hire someone else!"

"Nami's going to ask you to raise her wage by 3 times more than anyone else's,"

"I don't care! She certainly earned it!"

"She's not even working here yet!"

As the two continued to bicker and Sanji began to chase Usopp around the kitchen with the threat of kicking him once he gets his hands on him, Marco shifted his gaze to the unfinished plate of cake Usopp left during the ruckus. He lifted the fork on the side and took a bite, tasting the moist and thin pancake smothered by sweet cream, mingling together with strawberry and whip cream.

"It's good,"

"But i guess it just wasn't good enough,"

The thick cooking book in his hand was a little dusty, but then again, it's been 2 years since it was unearthed, much less used. It was old, compared to the stack of newer looking cooking books that was strewn all over his coffee table for the past couple of days, and it was less a list of recipes and more a big dictionary that helps beginners to cook properly, even if some of the things taught was pretty old-school, some even can be done now fairly easily with new technologies.

Still, the book had been Thatch's proud and joy, a birthday gift from Pops that he was so proud of and had helped him a lot before. Marco still remembered coming home to find him perusing over the book intently, making notes despite Marco being sure that he remembered the entire book's content from cover to cover. He would always say that even the greatest cooks needs basic reminders every now and then, and this book is excellent in doing just that.

Marco sighed, placing the book back on his lap. So far, he had found nothing new, and he told Sanji that by tomorrow, he's going to come up with something else.

He turned to his side, at the small table by his sofa. An old photograph of him, Thatch, and his two other brothers, Jozu and Vista stared back at him, taken from an event years ago that he barely remembered it anymore. Marco and Thatch was right in the middle, slinging each other's arms around the other's shoulders and seems to be laughing raucously, looking like they're having the time of their lives.

"What do you think Ace was looking for, Thatch?" he asked towards the photograph, as if he was expecting it to answer the way Thatch would have. One of the psychiatrist told him that this was not a healthy coping mechanism that hinders him from getting better. Marco told that psychiatrist to fuck off and never came in for another consultation, "He ate the strawberry, so maybe he liked fruity cakes more? Then again, he ordered a strawberry shortcake a couple of weeks ago, and that also went uneaten,"

And there's no telling he was even the one who ate the strawberry. Maybe Koala did.

Ah, if only he wasn't distracted at the time.

With another sigh, Marco lifted the book back up and adjusted his glasses.

"I'll find it one day. I'll find something he'd like to eat,"

Mellorine is apparently fat to use in ice cream to replace milk fat. I don't know what to do with that revelation.

I hope i'll finish this by the 14th so i'll be sure to update every day! Starting by having the next update right after i'm done with work today!

Hope you liked it!