A/N: Gods, I'm sorry that this is late again. I started with school, so weekdays are not going to be good for me. Hopefully, I'll be able to fall into a consistent schedule soon!
Enjoy!
Marco
Marco pretty much kept to himself the first week or so, maybe two. Sometimes they would spend a few days in a place, sometimes less, but they never really discussed anything about it. Ace would stay in the room, and Marco would go out to continue his search for information. It's not like Ace had anything he needed to do anyways. He would be safer staying in the hotel room, wherever they were.
He wasn't quite sure why though since before, Ace would just glare at him. It was a rather nice change though. While he didn't particularly like Ace, traveling like this was just awkward, and it was hard not to think about it when they were sitting on a train in silence.
Ace was staring out the window like he usually did. They never talked on train rides. They hardly talked at all really, so they didn't know much about each other.
There was no point in trying now, Marco mused, even if he did feel guilty for not doing so.
Well, whatever thought-processes Ace had going on in his "brain" so to speak, Marco didn't feel like interrupting it now, so instead of dwelling on it, he pulled out a book- his favorite, one that Thatch had given him. He started from page one, as he always did. There was something wondrous about reading his favorite book over and over. It brought him away from all the stuff he was going through, and he never got tired of it.
Reading was his perfect pastime, and before he knew it, the train was pulling into the station.
Barely listening to the announcer's voice, he put his book back into his bag and turned to Ace, who seemed to be rousing from whatever trance he had been in. They nodded at each other in acknowledgement and gathered the rest of their things, and soon they were exiting the platform without any particular direction.
"Do you want me to find a hotel?" Ace asked. Marco nodded. Ace was able to do this on the spot, and he had gotten used to it. He had some quite useful abilities, admittedly.
"And then you'll leave me alone again? What do you even do when you're gone if you're just a traveler?"
Marco almost stopped in his tracks. He hadn't expected Ace to ask about his vague answer for his occupation when they first met. Ace hadn't ever done it before. There wasn't much he could say.
There wasn't much he wanted to say.
It's not like it was any of Ace's business.
"That's not important," Marco shot, ignoring the look of protest he received.
"But-"
"Maybe later." Though he wasn't making any definite promises. "Let's just focus on finding a place to stay."
"Fine," Ace sighed, continuing to walk. A glow appeared in his eyes along with the outline of tiny words. Marco was impressed he hadn't crashed into anything. "Decently priced hotel. Two blocks from here."
"Thank you very much, yoi." True to Ace's word, there was a small hotel not far from them. It didn't look like much, but that was fine with Marco. It would cost less this way, and it made them harder to track.
"One room, two beds," Marco requested, walking up to the counter.
The woman behind the counter nodded quietly. She turned to the computer in front of her to type a few things in before handing Marco two keycards and requesting payment. Marco noted the strange look Ace gave him when he pulled out the appropriate amount of money, but the other didn't ask anything. They headed towards the elevator instead, and Ace finally released the question inside of him.
"Are you always carrying that much beri with you?" he blurted out. "I mean, you've done it every single time, so…"
Marco frowned. "Do you really find it that strange?"
Ace shrugged, voicing his next thought. "It's just that, wouldn't you usually use credits for something like a hotel room. How do you even have that much money anyways?" Ace wondered aloud. "It's not like you're working since you're travelling all the time."
While Marco found it perfectly reasonable for someone to travel and hold a steady job, part of him ignored that thought, interest sparked in something else. His mind was suddenly brought back to the beginning of his travels and even the time before when his fingers would dance across keys and screen effortlessly. Jobs he had done for Pops, obtaining adequate funds, it all came rushing back to him, making a small smile form on his face.
"Marco?" Ace called, waving a hand in front of his face.
Passion swelled inside of Marco, compelling him to answer. "I have a particular way of obtaining money, yoi," he said, grin growing across his features. "Let's just say that not all accounts are as secure as people think."
His answer really seemed to pique Ace's interest. "You rob banks?" he asked.
But Marco shook his head. "You said it yourself, right? When paying for more expensive products, it's more common to use credits. Digital currency is more convenient, but it's also more vulnerable and easier to track," he informed. His eyes shined (though differently than Ace). "So converting credits into beri is the best way to go. And getting into the accounts themselves isn't a problem for me."
Marco watched Ace's expression as he processed the information. "So that means you can hack," he said slowly, though it didn't look as if he'd lost interest yet. "You don't really seem like the type."
"Well, you never know what to expect, especially in this day and age. There's no way I hate all technology, yoi."
Marco could've sworn he heard Ace mutter something, and he had a feeling he knew exactly what it was. He felt his heart sting at the fact that Ace just said, "But you hate me" and tried to move on.
"It's why I need to hide from the Marines as well," he continued. "They know my work quite well. They even gave me a nickname: the Phoenix."
He didn't usually throw that name around, but despite his passion, he never cared much for the name anyways, but looking at Ace, the other seemed to have come to a sort of realization.
"Because no matter how many times they think they've won, you always strike back…" Ace whispered to himself.
Marco's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"
"Er- well, it's my brother," Ace admitted.
"You have a brother?"
"Sort of. He activated me, and I've been with him and my other brother Lu ever since," Ace explained. "He's also a hacker, so he talked about the Whitebeard family a lot. Said a bunch of stuff about the Phoenix, but I never knew your actual name."
"It's for safety reasons," Marco clarified. "Upper-class bank accounts, official government records- it's nothing to my family, yoi, and even though they know what I look like, it's easier to keep hidden when fewer people know our names."
Ace nodded, but then he asked, "How do I know you're really the Phoenix?"
He didn't blame Ace for his doubt, but anyone would be stupid to try and impersonate someone from Whitebeard's family. Wordlessly, he unzipped his jacket, and unfastened the buttons of his shirt to expose his tattoo, Ace staring in awe. "This is the mark of my family, yoi," he declared.
"I know," Ace acknowledged. "I've seen it before."
He zipped his jacket back up when the elevator doors opened, but Ace still had more to say.
"Hey, you're smiling," he commented. Marco hadn't been aware of it himself.
"Really?" It was strange. Maybe it was because he had gotten lost in his words, just talking about what he used to do with Pops in everyone else.
"Yeah." Ace nodded, his own gentle smile emerging. "I like this side of you."
"What do you mean?"
"The happy side. The one that's not grumpy and hateful all the time."
Marco liked being like this too.
Ace
It was nice to finally get on Marco's good side. Ace knew things weren't completely okay between them, but they were getting there. He had meant what he said when he liked the happy side of Marco, and that seemed to butter him up just a little bit.
It was strange to him that Marco seemed to know his way around technology but hated robots. A lot of people who worked with tech, like Sabo, were quick to defend Ace's kind. It was a bit irritating, but Ace reassured himself that it would get better.
Ace could still tell that Marco was still slightly averse to him though, if leaving the hotel room immediately afterwards like usual meant anything. But something was different this time.
Marco hadn't told Ace to stay in the hotel room, and he had left the spare keycard along with a small sum of money. If this was an invitation to explore the city, then Ace would accept it gratefully. He hated being cramped in the room all day, and exploring was what he wanted to do in the first place.
When Ace got out on the street, he was given the choice of going either right or left. Any sensible person, or robot in Ace's case, would try to find a map first, but he rather preferred wandering around with no direction. While he could easily download a map, that would make things a lot less fun.
The first thing Ace noticed when walking, were the men and women, many with takeout bags, bustling around on the streets. He was reminded that it was only around noon (12:37 to be precise). He had a long day ahead of him: one that he was likely going to be spending alone since Marco was just off doing his own thing. It was nice of him to leave Ace stuff for him to go out though. He could be pretty kind and considerate at times.
While this city didn't seem any special, there was still plenty for Ace to do. It reminded him of when he first explored his own city when Sabo reactivated him. It was a nice feeling: just taking in all the new information. No one paid him any mind, and for a moment, he could feel just like anyone around him.
But being alone with his thoughts was dangerous at times. Seeing all the restaurants, parks, and stores inevitably reminded him that he was not human and that everything he felt was emulated. He wanted to eat delicious foods, but he didn't need to. He wanted to breathe in the fresh air, but he didn't need to. And lastly, he thought longingly while staring at a glowing billboard of his desired destination, he wanted to see the beautiful ocean, but being what he was…
Ace never knew why he had that desire, but it had been inside of him ever since Sabo woke him up. That man must have put it there, deep within his coding. Thinking about that filled Ace with a certain irritation. Even so, he never found any hatred for this dream of his, though sometimes he wished it would go away. He thought it finally would too, but being whisked away by Marco had sparked it up again.
Thinking sucked sometimes. He wished he had something to take his mind off of it.
As if some force was answering his plea, someone clamped a hand down on his shoulder, startling him. "So," the stranger started, "thinking about something?"
At first, Ace panicked, thinking it was some Marine that caught him, but when he turned around, he saw no uniform. A dark-haired man with a messy beard grinned at him, and it was obvious that he was missing a few teeth.
The man seemed somewhat familiar (Ace couldn't quite place his finger on it), but he dubbed him overall unsettling. Whatever to get his mind off of things though.
"Guys like us shouldn't really have much to think about," he continued.
Ace remained in dumbfounded silence. This guy was a robot too?
"How rude of me." The man offered out a hand. "My name is Teach."
"Ace."
"So you're thinking about the ocean?" Teach asked, gesturing to the billboard above (though the image had already changed). ""You've got quite the ambition there."
This whole thing was strange to Ace- why would someone just go up to a stranger like this?- but he continued the conversation anyways. "I guess so, Ace shrugged. "But it doesn't really matter much. Why do you care?"
"It's interesting to learn about others like me," Teach responded. "A little small talk never hurt anyone."
"Can't argue with that," Ace mused.
They continued to talk like that for a long while, and Teach told him many interesting things, and even gave him a few ideas of what to do about his situation, even if that wasn't his intention.
"You're a pretty cool guy, Ace," Teach cheered, grinning once more. "What do you think about coming with me?" He wrapped a welcoming arm around Ace's shoulders.
The offer was tempting in some ways. Teach treated him nicer than Marco ever had, and on top of that, they were the same.
But he had a promise to keep to Marco. Ace was never one to go back on a promise.
"I have to go," Ace stated abruptly, pushing away. "But thanks for the offer," he added, remembering his manners. With that, he turned away and headed to the hotel without looking back.
If only he did.
Marco was already there when Ace returned. "Did you enjoy yourself, yoi?" he asked.
Ace nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for the beri, by the way."
"That's nice," Marco said, smiling a bit. "Do you mind taking a look at this? I was wondering if you might scan it again, and we can go out later again if you'd like."
"Sure thing!" Ace answered, unable to stop smiling back.
Whatever relationship they had would work with Ace for now, but at least they were trying. At least they were trying.
