WARNING: Bit NSFW in the middle, nothing too graphic but you never know.

When the elevator door opened in the middle of break time, nobody spared it a glance. People come and go to enjoy their break, nothing unusual was to beheld.

At least, until they noticed that the figure escaping the metal contraption was not a familiar face; rather it was not the familiar face of a fellow co-worker.

The sudden eerie silence around them brought pause to Roger in the middle of his words, gazing up to see what is so interesting it gripped the attention of everyone around the floor. As soon as he caught sight of the approaching figure, the moustached man let out a wide grin, shoving the papers he had been holding to his conversation partner, hitting the poor man on the stomach.

"Aww, my boy's here to see me," Roger exclaimed happily, spreading both arms widely as he strode over to Ace, a large, affectionate grin on his face, "You even brought me a gift— Oof!"

"Hey, Dad. No, i'm not here for you," Ace told him in passing, shoving the moustached man away with a single hand before his father could pull him into what most likely would be a bone-breaking embrace. He then grinned, skipping towards his father's dumbfounded conversation partner instead, still coughing from the harsh blow to his middle, "Marco, you forgot your lunch," he announced cheerfully, offering the blue container in his hand. From the transparent lid, one could see the near charred slush inside, and could tell that it was bordering on inedibility.

Above the sight that made Thatch green on the face, Marco shuffled the papers in his hand before accepting the offered lunch, smiling, "Sorry. I was on a rush this morning. You didn't have to go all the way here to give it to me,"

"I don't think you have to do anything else but throw that thing away," Thatch mumbled on the side, as he shuffled away awkwardly to join a group of eavesdropper just near where he had been standing, paying attention to the dejected look on Roger's face at his own son favoring someone else.

Ace grinned wider, a slight flush on his face, "I don't mind. I like coming to your workplace,"

"Should i forget my lunch more often then?"

"Hmph, keep doing that and i'll start thinking that you don't like my cooking,"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Marco said with a light kiss on Ace's forehead, and nobody could blame the severe twitch under Roger's eyes.

"The sad thing is, i think he meant that," Jozu muttered right next to Thatch, being one of the rare people whose eyes cannot be torn away from the sight of the squirming mess that was supposed to be Marco's lunch. Nearly everyone in the building, even occasional clients has seen said series of cooking, whether through their own eyes or a sneakily taken picture, and it was still a wonder to most how Marco could honestly consume them. Whitey Bay once suspected that he threw them away once Ace has his back turned, but Thatch, as well as a few other unfortunate souls has caught the blonde man eating them with gusto.

Thatch was starting to suspect that it was less about Marco being lovestruck and more to the fact that he may be suffering from a severe case of defective taste buds.

It has been nearly two weeks since the Great Gol Revelation - as dubbed by most of the people in the office - and the detail of that night was left a mystery even to the greatest sleuth amongst them - much to Haruta and Izou's chagrin. No matter how many poking and prodding, neither Marco nor Roger was forthcoming about their 'first meeting'. The bruise on the side of Marco's jaw was honestly concerning for the first few days, but since both were seen talking and laughing with each other, the matter was dropped.

Still, whatever did happened, and despite their initial outrage for being put out of the loop - Marco still insisted he has no idea that Ace is Roger's son, but no one believed him - not a lot could still maintain their anger when their brother obviously looks so happy. Ace had been introduced to them formally as well, both as their boss' son and as their brother's boyfriend, gaining immediate approval from the family. Pops was particularly fond of him, spending hours to regale him in stories of his father's exploits and of Marco's childhood, much to both's horror.

Interactions between Marco and Roger hardly changed, if only with slight more awkwardness on the younger's part and a bit more familiarity on the older's. At least, it is whenever Ace wasn't around to provoke Marco's inner romantic and caused Roger to have an aneurysm while watching them, but they maintain a good relationship for two people who unknowingly had feuds against each other for quite some time.

For everyone who was watching from the sidelines, seems like everything did ended up well.

Smiling, Ace tugged on the hem of his jacket - Pops' jacket, easily recognisable by every single one of Edward Newgate's adopted children in the vicinity - and fidgeted slightly on his feet, "So uh, i was wondering, do you think you can get off early from work today? Koala found the place where they sold those new coffee table you wanted, but it's pretty far from the city centre. We could bring it home before the new TV comes in tomorrow,"

Marco glanced at the papers in his hand, "I don't think i have much left to do today," he chuckled, "You guys probably needs some extra hands with the moving in,"

Only eyes trained to Roger could see the twitch above his eyebrow at the mention of 'moving in'. In fact, if one watched him longer, they'll notice the twitch on his upper lips, like he wasn't sure if he should be making a scowl or a smile and ended up with the most constipated expression the world has ever seen.

"Nah, all the heavy lifting's done. Between Zoro and Kid, we won't have problem moving an entire house in if we have to," the freckled male hummed thoughtfully, cocking his head to the side, "They were moving the new mattress in when i left,"

"Ah, it finally came in? Good, i was getting tired of sleeping on the old one, makes my back hurts lately,"

"Yeah, but Sabo said that might also because of the bed frame,"

"Why? I guess it's a little creaky, but i don't see why—" Marco trailed off, and those who could see Ace's face - so, everyone - was amazed by how quickly the blush spread across freckled cheeks. Doubly so when the same red flush spreads on Marco's face, "Oh. Yeah, that's— Well, we haven't been easy on it lately, have we?"

Roger let out a choking sound that reminds one of a toad being stepped on.

That seems to be enough to remind Marco of his surrounding, because immediately, he widened his eyes, staring at Roger as if the choking and wheezing man was the fear of god itself. Roger's own son didn't seem to have the same inhibition, however, "Oh grow up, dad. We're living together now, what do you expect?"

"I expect not to hear anything about beds and… things associated with it! I'm still your father, you know!"

Marco choked, while Ace retorted, "Maybe you should get your head out of the gutter instead! And this is a private conversation, serves you right for eavesdropping!"

"You're in the middle of the office! My office!"

Mostly well.

"Them dating getting on your nerves?" Thatch asked an hour later, in lieu of offering Roger a glass of water. Despite Marco's insistence that it wasn't necessary, Roger had allowed him to leave early - especially at Ace's insistence - and both should be on their way across town now, to buy a new coffee table and, much to Roger's unending exasperation, a new bed frame.

Roger peered up from behind the curtain that is his hair, accepting the offered glass and downing half of it in a single gulp, "I could do with just knowing that they're together and none of the rest of the details," He had been sulking in his office ever since Marco and Ace left, half-heartedly reading Marco's report before he was allowed to leave. That report was now tossed to the side, while stamped and signed, not receiving the usual amount of courteous such important paperwork would usually be treated with, "I swear, the moment Marco's around it's like i'm not even there,"

"To be fair, when they're around each other, plenty of things didn't seem to register to them,"

"Yeah, but i think Ace is still pissed off at me and he's doing that on purpose," the raven haired man grumbled, "Must be because the whole punching Marco thing,"

"Huh, ye— Wait, you did what?"

Roger waved his hand, "Eh, it's alright, it was for a good reason. And we made up for it," he sighed, downing the rest of the liquid in the plastic cup. Thatch's mind was still reeling upon this new revelation, but as Roger began to speak again, he shook his head and mentally reminded himself to ask Marco later, "But then again, things could've gone much worse, so at least there's that,"

"Worse like, Ace's boyfriend was someone else other than Marco?"

It was just a small joke, but it caught Thatch off guard when Roger shook his head, "It's a happy coincidence but i think that even if the guy who turned up that night was not someone i know, if he's a decent person, i would've been okay with it," he grimaced, shaking his head, "Would've been hard as hell to do, but i would've been okay with it now. As long that he can guarantee my son will be happy, that's all i need from whoever his boyfriend might turn out to be,"

Roger nodded with conviction and Thatch smiled.

He's going to miss making all of that 'overprotective dad' jokes about Roger.

"Still!" The sound of the table being slammed jolted Thatch out of his thoughts, whipping his head to quickly find Roger wearing a pained and tortured expression, "I could do with getting some respect. Pushing me away like that, I'm his dad, for god's sake, i missed him! He hadn't had a blasted time for me or his poor mother since this entire 'moving in with Marco' business! And Marco, that bastard, every time i offered to help out it's always 'No, it's okay, it's a lot of heavy work, i don't want you to injure yourself' How old does he think i am?! Just because i got up in age doesn't mean i wasn't as spry as i used to be! No respect! No respect at all, i tell you!"

Ah well, he can think of a new joke.

The beer bottle was large enough that it wouldn't fit in one hand, but downing its content is another level of challenge. The taste was rather bitter, which by itself wasn't a problem, but he was never a big drinker in the first place and finally, after feeling like he was going to drown in fermented drink, Marco gave up, coughing violently.

Next to him, Ace booed before asking if he was alright, but Marco was too busy alternating between coughing and staring at the hulking man in front of him tilting his head further and further back, chugging down the content of a similar looking beer bottle. Once the last drop was drunk, the bottle was slammed down to the table, making the newly bought fiberglass coffee table shook violently under the sudden weight and force.

"Yeah!" Eustass Kid celebrated, pointing at Marco with a smug grin, "In you face, old man!" he exclaimed, before opening his mouth once again to let out a loud and ridiculously long belch. He let out an uproar of laughter, followed soon by Luffy's loud whooping.

Law shook his head in disgust, sneering at both of them, "You're disgusting,"

At the comment, the redhead wagged his brow, and only managed to pull a larger sneer from the raven haired man when he tried to lean over for a kiss. Everyone in the room laughed as Law pushed Kid's face away with one hand harshly, before walking away to the direction of Marco's kitchen. For a second, Kid looked dejected, before he grinned lecherously, watching the lanky man's retreat, "Man, I hate seeing him go, but I love watching him leave,"

Marco heard Ace snorts next to him, "There's nothing to watch when he's leaving, you're blind, Kid,"

"Hey, some men likes it small and perky, alright? Fits in your hands nicely," the redhead grin, before turning to Marco, "I bet you like some extra junk in the trunk, don't you? Something to hold on to at night? Bit of a bounce around the meat? Something thick?" as if he needed to make his point even clearer, the redhead motioned with his hand, making a cupping gesture and started squeezing. He even leered at Ace, wagging his brows. Any other time Marco would've taken offense at that - nobody looks or talks about his boyfriend like that - but Ace merely grinned back and he reminded himself that this is a group of close knitted friends and this is just probably one of his unique way to include and help Marco adapt with them. Besides, Kid's own boyfriend was just a few feet away, in the next room.

Who obviously have heard of the comment, because Law returned with one bottle in his hand, which then he proceed to thunk over Kid's thick red mane none too gently, "Been staring at someone else behind my back?"

Without even skipping a beat while rubbing his aching head, Kid grinned and wagged his brows, "If i ever see your back, trust me, i will be staring at nothing else but that," Law rolled his eyes as he sunk back to the chair, but Marco caught the small pleased smile on his lips before he covered them behind the bottle.

Over Luffy's whispered question about what they're talking about - and Zoro's stammering answer - Ace smiled lopsidedly and latched an arm around Marco's shoulder, moving closer that he half-climbed the older's lap, "Of course he does," he said, tone smug, "Unlike you, he's got some taste,"

Instead of being insulted, Kid grinned wider. He opened his mouth, probably with another veiled sexual comment when Law beat him to the punch, "Oh, Eustass got some taste, i assure you. I'm surprised that Marco's bold enough to get some too," he paused, the corner of his lips curling while leaning closer to Kid in a pose that was not unlike Ace's own, "I'm more surprised you know anything about 'taste',"

There's a hint of challenge in the tanned raven's tone, which almost make Marco choke on the drink he had finished minutes ago, though Ace didn't have the same problem as him. Looking at the indignant frown on Ace's face, Marco was reminded of Sabo's explanation a while ago about the odd rivalry between Ace and Law, and wondered if he is about to witness the start of one of those supposedly infamous rows.

He caught Kid glancing at him from over the two ravens, sending him a look that could be translated as 'just sit back and enjoy'.

But before he could say anything - or take Kid on his advice - a pained groan sounded on his side, "Can we please not? There's literally kids here," Koala snickered while Sabo simply looked pained next to her, gesturing to the spot on the floor that Luffy and Zoro occupied. Not that the 'kids' seems to be paying attention to them, seeing that Luffy was still adamantly waiting for a reply for his earlier question while Zoro was slowly transforming into a stammering tomato.

"What trunk? Why would you bounce on meat instead of eating them? And taste of what? Is there food here?"

"Uh, Luffy, i don't—"

Sabo pointedly ignored the hapless look Zoro started sending him, staring deadpan at the three on the other end of the sofa, "Anyway," he continued with a sigh, patting on Koala's back when the girl choked herself while laughing, "Today's the last of the stuff we need to move, right? Everything else that belongs to Ace has either been donated or sold so the room's ready to be used by someone else,"

Ace turned to him, "Wait, you already found a new tenant?"

The blonde nodded, gesturing once again to Luffy and Zoro - who was now doing a perfect impression of a tomato, "Dragon said it'll be for the best. He's always away for business and Grandpa Garp spent more time in the base than at home anyway so this way, Luffy won't be all alone. Plus, Law and I can drive him to school if so he won't be late every single time,"

"I'm not always late, Zoro's just kept getting lost all the time!"

"I'm never lost, you just can't follow directions,"

As the two continue to squabble - all questions from before seemingly forgotten by Luffy - Ace sighed, leaning against Marco's shoulder, "Man, i can't believe i won't be living with you guys anymore," he glanced between Sabo and Law, before looking up to grin at Marco, patting the blonde's cheek, "Well, i'm getting a better roommate anyway, so it's not that bad,"

Next to him, Sabo snorted while Law harrumphed, "You weren't that good of a roommate anyway. At least now, nobody's going to keep mistaking my food for their own,"

"Uh, you're going to live with Luffy?"

Law paused a little, clicking his tongue, "Fuck. Any chance you want to move back in?"

"Nope,"

Another tongue click.

Next to him, Kid cocked his head, eyes darting as if he was avoiding to look at anyone in the room. Considering he had been wise-cracking and gleeful before, this odd change in behaviour immediately caught Marco's attention, "Well you know, Killer moved out too recently to apartment on top of mine," he said non-sequitur, rubbing the back of his neck, "And i don't hog food. And i can abstain from bread,"

"I know he is, you told me this at least 5 times now. Are you developing early onset dementia?"

"…No. Forget i said anything,"

Now, recent events may have taught Marco that he might be quite thick about certain things - something that Pops will not stop mentioning and Rouge had alluded to several times - but even he could sense the hidden meaning behind Kid's off topic mention. Looking at the way Law pointedly looked away and the nervous way he hid his face behind his bottle also told him that the raven haired male was not as clueless as his words may suggest.

He glanced towards Ace for an explanation, but the younger only gave him an eye roll and an exasperated expression. Same goes with Sabo.

"So," Marco asked later after everyone left for their own homes, in the middle of cleaning up his new coffee table from any stain and liquid marks, "Is it correct if i assume that Law actually do know that Kid wanted him to move in?"

Ace rolled his eyes again, tossing a used tissue to the plastic bag that contains cardboards and other trash accumulated during the entire day. He plopped down on the sofa - also new, it even still has the plastic cover on - sighing, "Can't tell you why, since i don't know myself, but yeah. Even Luffy figured it out a while ago. Law was not amused when he almost blurted it out in front of Kid,"

"He never tried a direct approach?" Throwing away his own used tissue, Marco sat down right next to him. He's not usually one to procrastinate when it comes to cleaning, but he had been moving furnitures for hours - he deeply envied both Kid and Zoro's youth and stamina, who barely broke a sweat - and he's too lazy to track down the hall to the trash chute, "How long has he been asking?"

"About a year, way before we met," The freckled male briefly sounded bitter about it, and Marco would've guessed that considering their relationship, it probably has to do with the fact that Law's been in a steady relationship longer than Ace had. He then shrugged it away, both in gesture and by continuing, "And no, Kid never did, he always did it with a passing comments like earlier. I think it's because Law can get as jittery as a cat and it's his way to give him an out. They're like that, you know, a relationship full of subtext, as Sabo said,"

"Sounds fun,"

"Are you kidding me? No, it's not," Ace told him with a snort, and continues on before Marco can tell him that it was actually sarcasm, "I'd prefer someone be straight about what they wanted from me, instead of beating around the bush like that,"

Marco blinked, stealing a glance at the younger man. Ace was busy inspecting a a loose thread on his pants, that he didn't seems to notice when Marco slid an arm behind his waist after giving their surrounding a cursory glance, "That so?" Ace hummed distractedly in confirmation, reacting by shifting his hips slightly to accomodate the older's arm while still trying to pull out the loose thread, "So, in theory, you'd prefer it if i say that to celebrate our first night of fully moving in together, i want to have sex on every surface available now, right?"

The pulling stopped. Those hands were now too busy combing through Marco's hair and pulling him into a fiery kiss.

Okay, so maybe they didn't have sex on every surface available, but to be fair, the sofa still has plastics on, the coffee table was too shiny and new to be broken in so soon, so the bed and the new mattress it is. At least they managed to cover the dining room table and the floor.

It was a good thing that Sabo told them about changing the bed frame, because Marco's old one was rather bland and headboard-less, while this new, darkly painted one has a high and intricately designed one with bars that Ace can held on to as Marco plowed him from behind, which is something they had never done before. It's a damn shame, Marco thought in between flurries of thrust, because the sight of Ace's taut back is amazing and he can press kisses all over said back without having to bend down too much.

The bed doesn't even creak - though with the rate they're going, that might not last long - so there's nothing grating his ears while trying to listen to every gasp and moan he can pull out of the younger.

When he felt closing to the edge, the blonde leaned over, releasing one hand from holding on to Ace's hips to grip on the headboard instead, the angle allowing him to easily bite along the younger's exposed shoulder and nape. Ace cried out even louder, one hand shooting up from the bar to tangle them between his hair after a particularly hard bite. He pulled, making Marco grunt against his skin and lurch even closer to his climax.

"Marco," he heard his name muttered in Ace's breathless gasp, "Marco, i'm close, i'm close, i—"

TRRR. TRRR.

"The fuck?!"

Marco honestly wondered if that angry shout was directed at the ringing phone or his suddenly stopping, but it really did broke his concentration. That ringtone was only set for people at work - those who were not Pops' adopted children, anyway - and his mind couldn't help wondering who would call about work at 3 in the morning on a weekend night. He was tempted to actually check, but the man didn't even need to look away to know that a rather mad and heated glare is being aimed at him.

Oh well, then.

The ringing eventually stopped, but by then, Marco has been working hard to make up for the mood he inadvertently killed, and was so close into reaching the same state he had abandoned them both on when the phone rang again.

The one that shocked him into stopping right now was not the sound of phone ringing, but the sound of a thump and a rather harsh, "What?!" coming out from in front of him.

Marco widened his eyes in horror at the sight of his phone in Ace's hand and against Ace's ear, until he heard the voice coming out of the phone.

Then he widened his eyes in downright fear and appalment.

"Ace? Ah, good, you're still awake! Listen, i need to say this real quick—"

"Dad, it's three in the fucking morning!"

"And i'll let you go back to sleep again later, but right now, i need to get this off my chest. I know you two are probably busy with your own things, but as your father, if i wanted to see you, then i should be able to! Both of you! So, that's why i demand that we go out for a family dinner—"

"Gah!"

A heavy pause from the phone, "What was that sound?"

Ignoring Roger's question, Marco tapped on the side of Ace's hip repeatedly, wincing. The younger turned, frowning, "What's wrong, Marco?"

"You—," only briefly realizing that someone else is listening, he dropped his volume to near non-existent, whispering, "You… hurts,"

"What? I can't hear you,"

Well, that's the entire point, isn't it? "You're— When you're angry you're… gripping hard," he managed to get out, squeezing Ace's hips even harder to make his point, "Hurts,"

He could see in Ace's face that he was in the cusp of understanding, judging by the slow rising blush, until Roger spoke again, "Like i said, i won't be ignored anymore and i demand we spend more time together! When's the next time you're free, i will clean all schedule—

"Dad, you can't wait until tomorrow for this?"

"Ow! Ow, Ow, Ow!"

"No! I've been holding this down for too long— What's that sound?"

"Then text! We could've been asleep for all you know!"

"Ace—"

"Well you picked up, didn't you?"

"Dammit, dad!"

"Ace, i swear to god, i came like three times already, my dick is sensitive, can you please stop squeezing so much?!"

Total. Complete. Silence.

Marco wanted to die.

"Oh," Roger said through the phone after a long - far too long - period of silence, "Uh. I see,"

Marco wanted to correct Roger's assumption - though he's not wrong in any way - but he was too tongue tied to say anything. Even Ace seems too mortified to reply, phone hanging loose in his hand. After yet another long pause - in which in the middle of it Marco could've sworn he heard Rouge's voice asking what happened - the line died, leaving only beeping noises. Ace stared on to the phone like it had given him the shock of his life, while Marco was still frozen in his shock.

They didn't quite finish the bed sex.

(They didn't have sex until two week later either, when Ace's patience ran thin. They established a new rule that no phone was to be answered or even activated during sex when a single text alert sent Marco jumping out of bed.

It took Marco even longer to be able to face Roger without wanting to keel over and drop dead.)

Days come and goes, and before he realized it, the next time Marco opened his planner, the reminder of his and Ace's first year anniversary was staring at him right in the face, falling in the third week of this month.

Not that he actually needed one, he had been mentally counting it down since 3 months prior and had been planning for it just as long. Sighing, he leaned back against his chair, resting his hands behind his head. His phone was back to its home screen, displaying the picture of himself with the Gol family during his first vacation trip with them to their villa. It was one of his favorite out of the bunch, in which Ace and Rouge had conspired behind his and Roger's back beforehand, and the moment the gardener taking the picture counts to one, both mother and son leaned up to kiss their significant other's cheeks, drawing different expressions out of them.

Within just half a year, lots of things seems to have happened; During his housewarming party, held a week after Ace officially moved in, Marco may or may not have found out that Thatch and Izou accidentally slept together. He may or may not also know that the two now secretly met up to continue their supposed one night stand, while still trying to figure out if dating someone you know growing up with is weird or not. He knew this because Thatch may or may not has spilled all of this in the middle of the night, texting him from a bar while blubbering because he couldn't bring himself to pick up with someone else. He may or may not be sworn to secrecy, and he owed Thatch a lot to at least upheld that.

Edward announced his retirement, wanting to live a quiet life with his youngest 'child', Stefan the Fourth. He and Roger appointed Marco to take over his position as Co-CEO, a position he held for over a month now, and was still getting used to. Edward's mansion, deemed to big for just a single old man and a dog, was sold, and his children came together to buy him a modest house that is close to where every single one of his children live and will only take them 10 to 15 minutes drive should they wish to visit. It was also coincidentally quite near Rayleigh's place, and to this day, Roger still hadn't stopped grumbling about how 'those two crusty backstabbers' are now fast friends.

Luffy moved into Ace's old room, and nearly moved back out when Grandpa Garp came by unannounced during one of his rare days off from the navy base and caught his grandson and grandson's best friend kissing. It was only an innocent kiss, one full of teenage anxiety and curiosity, but evidently, the old man did not think so because he threw a table at Zoro, amongst other things he threw that day. Dragon was a lot more accepting, but Sabo has been ordered to give him an honest to god report about every single one of Zoro's visit over. The blonde had never been closer to breaking down.

The addition of Luffy in that house really sent the food supply to decreasing in an impressive speed - and unlike Ace, he didn't like replenishing said supplies - so Law was forced to often come over to Kid's house to be able to feed himself, and Kid's former roommate Killer was forced to cook for three instead of two. Coming over for dinner turned into staying over for the night, and before long, suddenly Law never came home. Kid didn't even need to ask him. A pink haired boy named Coby, one of Luffy's many friends and Garp's student from the navy moved in to fill Law's room, yet another spy planted by the grandfather. Unlike Sabo, he can be stared down into leaving them alone by Zoro.

Speaking of Grandpa Garp, that meeting was not one Marco would like to do again in the future. The man nearly broke his bones by just shaking his hand, only pulled away by a massive woman that was Ace's Aunt Dadan. The night had gone swimmingly until he kneeled in front of Ace - to pick up a button that went loose and dropped from his shirt - and was sent flying across the room by Garp. His apology, later in the emergency room, came with an explanation that he was traumatized by kneeling people in family gatherings, since that's exactly what happened between Roger and Rouge 20 odd years ago before they got married.

While he had no plan to emulate that, with broken nose and neck, Marco was just glad Garp never knew about the ring on Marco's bedside table.

But the rest of them were quite nice and welcoming to him, and he even found out that 'Uncle Shanks' was the same Shanks Red he went to college and was good friends with until they lost connection. Which makes things slightly awkward as well, because Shanks may or may not be an old fling, and Marco is now dating his nephew. Then again, that fling consisted of a single night of drunken fumbling that was still a blur to this day, so it shouldn't matter.

Hopefully.

And now, it has reached this point. An entire one year with Ace, someone he's deeply in love with and hopes to have a future with. Marco smiled as he glance up to the clock on his phone, noting that it must be around time Ace is on break. He started interning in a nature reservation as an assistant researcher nearly a month ago, required before he can advance and graduate.

When his call was answered, Ace was giggling over the phone, accompanied by the sound of chirping and tweeting.

"Having fun?"

"You have no idea," Ace replied breathlessly, and Marco can only imagine the happy flush on his face, "Professor Jinbe had me check the bird conservation area today and they're so friendly! They're eating out of my hands! Hey, hey, Marco, can we get a pet? Can we?"

"You want a pet bird?" Marco asked him with a smile, reaching down to his drawer to pull out two things; a notebook where he had written down plans for their first year anniversary, and the lunchbox Ace had prepared this morning. It even came with an experimental cupcake, which was rather soggy on the top due to the melting icing, but it taste fine. As Marco began scribbling on the notepad and taking a bite out of the cupcake, he could distantly hear someone gagging rather loudly outside of his newly minted office.

"Can we?"

Anything you ever wanted, Marco thought, opening his phone to browse selection of places that sells domesticated birds, "Sure. I grew up with Stefan, it'll be nice to have a pet around again,"

Marco had planned the pet to be the anniversary present, since that was the only thing he seems to be missing from his list, but Ace had been impatient - something he'd never grew out of, Marco suspected - and it was 2 days later when they finally brought new addition to their abode; A blue and yellow parakeet named Phoenix, and because Marco is admittedly weak to animals and Ace in general, a little black kitten named Striker.

As the days continue to move forward, it began to make him worry. Before he knew it, it was a mere week away before his first anniversary with Ace and he still doesn't have a present to give. Sure, he had the day planned out and a little surprise, but it's not really a present. And he wanted to do the entire mile for his very first anniversary with his beloved, which would include a present.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't exactly present-less. Maybe he did have something he can give out, something really special.

But the thing is, is it really the right time already?

Lots of things had happened, and his relationship with Ace has truly advanced. They're now living together - with two pets! - parents approval from both sides were no longer a problem, and it has been a long time since Marco know for sure that he'd spent his life with Ace and know Ace meant it when he said the same thing. He has been promoted again so money's not a problem, Ace will graduate soon so pursuing education is no longer a valid excuse, and it's not like he didn't have the property to pop the question.

Yet despite all of these green signals, he would still find himself lost in thought while staring at the ring box.

"You coming to bed?"

Marco glanced over his shoulder, to see Ace already settling inside the bed, laying on his side with Striker curling on his chest, while Marco himself was still sitting up on his. It was the position that Ace found him most often during the night, and while the younger never quite voice it, Marco knew he has an inkling as to what he was thinking. It's not like he needed to ask, Ace knew what's in there, and since he found out, it has never been spoken or mentioned once.

A blur of blue passed by his periphery, Phoenix leaving her cage on the corner of the bedroom to settle on the makeshift nest made out of pillow filling on the very same bedside table Marco had been staring at. She tweeted for attention, the sound gaining Striker's, who lazily look up from her hiding place against Ace's naked chest.

Giving the younger a brief smile, Marco walked over to turn the lights off and settled back to the bed. After exchanging good nights - even to Phoenix and Striker - he listened closely as Ace's breathing turned slow and deep, surrounded by purring and quiet chirps.

In the middle of that darkness, Marco lay awake until the light began to poke out of the horizon, signalling yet another day taken from that short one week.

EXTRA: 'THAT NIGHT'

"So, we've both been idiots, huh?"

His stomach is hurting, but that's a given considering how tense he had been throughout dinner. Rouge's cooking was divine - though in Marco's honest opinion, nothing compared to her son's - but he couldn't paid any attention to it when even hours later, Marco still had a hard time accepting that the man across of him was really Roger.

All frigid and robotic, it was definitely not the way to impress your boyfriend's parents, but it doesn't seem like anyone minded. For one, Ace and Rouge was too busy laughing between themselves about this little misunderstanding, while Roger would either pout or laugh along and Marco would just sit there like he's a human carving.

Even now, he could still hear their laughter inside, while Rouge washed the dishes and Ace volunteered to help. Marco suspected that he mostly did that to chase his mother for more stories - which she was told from Edward with Rayleigh as a proxy - meaning that it leaves Marco with 'father in law'. He was stiff as a board, until Roger came back with a bottle of rather pricey alcohol - and coincidentally, one of Marco's choice of drink - two glasses, and an invite to see his wife's prized flower garden.

Marco thought this might be an excuse to finish him and hide his remains, but so far, the older man had done nothing but ply him with enough drinks that his nerves started putting their guards down.

Taking another sip from his glass, Marco nodded. Roger snorted from the chair next to his, pouring himself another drink. This entire position seems like a deja vu, if one was to replace Rouge's well cared garden with the sight from Marco's balcony that overlooked the city. The only difference was that instead of Edward and Rayleigh, it was Ace and Rouge's voice flitting from the inside, and even though the drinks were the same, the ring box was nowhere in sight.

Oh god, the ring box. Roger, his fucking father in law knew about the ring box.

Not even a strong drink was able to pull Marco out of panicking over that, but then Roger spoke, "I'm sorry,"

He might've whipped his head a little too fast because his temple is aching now and his sight blurry, but to be fair, Marco had been expecting a lot of things coming here tonight, all of them bad before knowing it was Roger and most of them worst now that he knows it was Roger. So in truth, an apology had not been something he expected to hear from tonight.

So, intelligently, he replied, "Huh?"

The raven haired man pursed his lips, looking far away beyond the vegetations around him, "Rouge said i should apologize about the things i said, now that i know who i'm saying them about. And well, i guess i should, because now i know i was wrong in my assumption," he took a deep breath, then exhaling, "But not only that, i want you to know that i'm sorry for being stubborn, and wasting all of our time,"

It was odd, but that little apology and the solemn, contemplative look on Roger's face was enough to make Marco relax, even more than the drink ever could, "It's alright. You just wanted what's best for Ace,"

"What i think was best for him," he said with a little grumble, and it was obvious from the way he said it that it came from someone else, "And thank you, for everything,"

Marco glanced up, to see the raven haired man looking at him with a small smile, "And thank you. For knowing what to say,"

"Pssh, i was just unknowingly cleaning up my own mess," was the modest reply, but there was a large grin on the moustached man's face, "You're a smart guy, you know what you're doing," Roger downed the rest of the liquid in his glass, and his smile faded to a much more gentle one then, as he turned towards Marco, "You'll be alright. The two of you,"

There's still so much to be done between him and Ace. They're going to talk about moving in, they haven't meet Marco's family and the rest of Ace's, they still have to think about the future, about their own lives separate from each other and maybe one day, their lives with each other. Thinking about it now, it felt like a daunting subject, because they knew now just how much of a fledgling this relationship between them is.

But somehow, even if Marco hadn't been intoxicated just seeing the amount of conviction Roger put into his own words, maybe things will be alright after all.

"Thanks, Roger,"

"You're welcome, son,"

And maybe, it wasn't that bad to have someone else call him that other than Pops.

From inside of the house, the sound of Ace's near cackling was heard, followed by Rouge's own lighter one. Near simultaneously, the two of them glanced towards the direction where the sound came from, with Roger grimacing, "I think she's going to tell that story to everyone she knows from now on. I know she already told Dragon and Garp, the old coot called just to laugh at my face yesterday," he sighed, then chuckled, "Eh, it is kind of funny when you think about it,"

Marco would like to strongly disagree, though he didn't voice this out loud. Something in his expression must've shown it, however, because Roger snickered, "Oh alright, it's not funny just yet cause it's still fresh and we're the butt of the joke. But wait for a couple more years, we'd be telling this to our kids and grandkids, looking back to this day and laughing at ourselves,"

They both snorted and chuckled between themselves, as drinks were drunk and bottles slowly but surely depleted of any content.

"Speaking of looking back into things," the thump of glass being placed down on the ground stole Marco's attention from Ace and Rouge's voice. With hands now free from any item, Roger began cracking his knuckles and licking his lower lips. His face flushed from how drunk he had gotten, but his eyes were as clear as a pond, flashing dangerously as he set his gaze on Marco, "I have a bone to pick with you,"

The blonde frowned. Despite the amount of alcohol he himself had consumed, his survival instinct kicked in and immediately noticed the dangerous undertones in Roger's voice, "A bone… with me?"

The moustached man nodded, "Now, i know you're a good kid, i've told you that many times. But the thing is, theres this thing. Just this one thing," with his fully cracked fist, Roger turned to face him, and when the man's face turned shadowy and menacing, Marco knew he's in mortal danger, "Probably his ass?"

His mind wandered to that ill fated moment months ago and all colours drained from Marco's face.

"Shit,"