Hi!
Here is the fourth chapter, a little shorter than usual but I hope the content will make up for the length ;)
I'm still not entirely sure where I'm going with this, which is why it can be hard for me to write chapters. I always appreciate reviews, so please leave some! \o/

In the midst of their activities, Marco had lifted Luffy up to sit him on the kitchen counter, enjoying the fact that it placed the younger man at his own height. His hands were resting on the boy's hips, happy to remain there while their kisses became softer and longer. Luffy's arms were still lying on Marco's shoulders but he had become less desperate in seeking contact, now seeming happy with the more relaxed pace Marco had set.

Eventually, they parted, Marco letting his forehead rest in the crook of Luffy's neck. He closed his eyes for a moment, sighing both in relief and contentment as he allowed himself to bask in Luffy's warmth. After a couple of seconds, Luffy leaned his head to rest on Marco's and they remained that way for some minutes.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" asked Marco after a while, his voice a little more plaintive than he would have liked.

Luffy shifted in his hold and Marco took the opportunity to straighten himself so that he could look into Luffy's face.

The boy's eyes were avoiding his gaze and his hand had slipped to Marco's shoulder as if he was considering taking it back altogether. In response, Marco tightened his hold on the boy, almost as if he feared Luffy would try to make a run for it, despite the blizzard that raged outside.

"I just…" the boy started weakly. "I didn't know what to do."

Marco stared at him uncomprehending. Of course he hadn't known what to do. They were sailing in uncharted seas here. Marco hadn't known what to do either. But did that really warrant running away from him for weeks?

"Because Marco you…" Luffy continued sounding restless. "I didn't think you were interested in me. I thought it might just have been…"

One of my usual one-night stands, Marco guessed. He gritted his teeth, annoyed with himself that he actually couldn't blame Luffy for thinking so. It wasn't like he generally gave a good impression of himself to people.

"I wouldn't sleep with a friend." he said and because he thought Luffy might take it the wrong way he quickly added: "I love you. I have for a long time and it made me lose control. It was not by any means a casual thing."

His breath stuck in his throat as he finished this confession worried that Luffy might actually recoil from him. Although he thought as Luffy started blushing fiercely, their make-out session should probably be a hint that Luffy had been hoping for this.

"Oh." Luffy squeaked, before burying his face in Marco's shoulder, apparently too embarrassed to keep looking at the blond man.

Marco rearranged his arms so that he was hugging Luffy closer and pressed a gentle kiss into the boy's hair.

"I love you." he repeated, trying to make it sound as sincere as he felt saying it. "I really love you."

There was no answer but Luffy tightened his hold around Marco's neck. Marco heard him sniff.

"Are you crying?" he asked, just a tad amused.

"I'm not crying!" Luffy retorted immediately, his voice shaking and cracking.

So he was crying.

Marco found himself grinning like an idiot. All previous reservations evaporated as he slipped a hand under Luffy's shirt, delighting in the feeling of the boy's shiver as he slowly let his finger trail upwards.

"Should I help you feel happier?" he asked teasingly.

Luffy snorted loudly, obviously thinking the line was terrible. Which it was.

"That was awful." he said pushing away from Marco so that the man could see him smiling through the tears.

Marco grinned and lightly kissed his lips before moving his mouth down to the boy's neck.

"Aren't you," began Luffy, gasping as Marco sucked on the sensitive skin over his collarbone. "supposed to be really level-headed and in control?"

Marco playfully bit his shoulder.

"You made me this way." he said, grinning cheekily at the boy.

He kissed the boy's cheek before moving on to lock lips with the raven-haired boy.

"Oh sure." Luffy grumbled between two kisses. "Blame it all on me."

Marco found himself adoring the little pout that came on Luffy's face when he stopped kissing him to look at the boy before him. The boy in question did not seem to appreciate this sudden stop in activities at all, because, hooking his leg behind Marco's he pulled him in closer. Marco groaned in surprise as he felt himself be pulled down by the boy who had moved to lie on the counter, causing their erections to rub on each other.

"I thought you were supposed to be the reasonable one in this relationship." Marco joked, not at all disapproving of this new development.

"You made me this way." Luffy answered, a savage glint in his eye as he pulled Marco in for a searing kiss.

And well, Marco was fine with that.

Eventually, Marco did regain some of his famed self-control. At least long enough to drag Luffy to the bathroom to start pouring hot water into the bath. The boy's skin was still icy and Marco did not honestly believe sex was the answer. It didn't mean he was stopping himself from fondling the boy while they waited for the tub to fill up though, despite Luffy's feeble attempts to fend him off.

"Can't you keep your hands to yourself?" he asked the blond as the man busied himself putting hickeys all over the boy's neck and chest.

"If you really didn't want them on you, you would have seriously hurt me by now." Marco told him reasonably, looking at his artwork with satisfaction.

"I can see now that going out with you was a bad idea." Luffy said.

Marco felt a warmth inside his chest at those words. He had guessed, although it hadn't been vocalized, that they become official but it was nice to hear Luffy say it. Confirm it.

"You should have thought of that before. You're stuck with me now." Marco answered with a grin. "I don't intend to let go of you anytime soon. Or ever."

A small pleased smile appeared on the boy's face and, probably to hide it, Luffy peered down at his chest, squinting as he tried to see the red marks.

"How many did you make anyway?" he asked sounding stuck between amusement and exasperation.

"Just a few." Marco answered evasively turning off the water and lifting his shirt up above his head.

"Why are you getting undressed?" Luffy, who was already down to his underwear thanks to Marco, asked suspiciously.

Marco glanced at him with a sly smile playing on his lips.

"I'm getting in too." he said. "Why? You don't want me to?"

Luffy pouted and flushed but refused to answer, preferring to slip out of his boxers and clamber inside the bathtub. Marco joined him a moment later, manoeuvring Luffy, until the back of the boy's head was resting against Marco's chest.

"What were you doing around here anyway?" Marco asked once they were peacefully relaxing in the hot water. "I would have thought it'd be counterproductive to come so close to my flat when you were avoiding me."

"I just ended up there." Luffy answered, his guilty tone a tell-tale sign that he was keeping information to himself.

"Does it have anything to do with that bruise?" Marco questioned, poking the dark mar on Luffy's cheek.

The boy moved away from his touch, slapping away his hand.

"Maybe." he said.

Marco sighed.

"You're awful at lying." he commented.

It was true. For a long as he had known Luffy the boy had always displayed a tragic inability to tell the simplest of lies. The boy could be read like an open book thanks to his overly expressive face. It could be flattering at time to know exactly what the boy thought of you, but most of the time Marco just pitied him. A man like Marco who had made his way through life by crafting elaborate lie after lie, it was unthinkable that anyone could be this bad at lying and survive. But well, it wasn't the first miracle Luffy had pulled off.

"I got into a fight okay?" the boy said, sounding mildly put upon. "They weren't strong but there was a lot of them and they just kept coming at me so eventually I got fed up and ran. And while I was trying to lose them I ended up here."

Marco hummed and pressed a kiss to Luffy's uninjured cheek.

"I thought you'd stop getting into fights?" he asked slightly surprised.

It was true that although it was fairly common for Luffy to get into fights around the time he had returned from his travels, he had almost given up entirely his habit of picking fights with random people some time ago. Marco didn't know what had changed the boy's mind about fighting but he had welcomed the change in attitude as he hadn't liked seeing Luffy coming back bruised and battered.

Luffy just shrugged and Marco let the matter drop. He wasn't intending to make Luffy reveal every single thing about himself, especially since Marco didn't feel ready to tell the boy his own stories.

"Well it's good that you ended up here when you did." Marco commented. "It would have been dangerous with the blizzard otherwise. Didn't Ace warn you about it?"

He felt Luffy stiffen in his arms.

"No. He knew about it?"

"According to Izo, a girl whose sister is talented at telling the weather told him. He told the other guys from the gang so I figured he would have told you."

"Oh." Luffy said, his body still not relaxing. "He hasn't been home much."

Marco frowned. He knew Ace spent a lot of time at the Whitebeard headquarters but he hadn't thought it had been to the point of neglecting the little brother he loved so much. It could also be that Luffy's sudden coldness had nothing to do with Ace himself. Maybe there was a story there that was worth knowing, he thought leaning back and closing his eyes, as he forced Luffy to lean back against him as well. For now though, he really just wanted to forget about these upsetting topics and relish the fact that Luffy was with him to stay.