Thank you Vergina for pre-reading and everyone else for reading and/or reviewing ^^

Enjoy ^^


Reborn in Fire

Chapter 11

Ace woke up with a pounding headache. He soon realised he wasn't in his own bed, but lying on a strange couch. Why again?

Right, Marco's brothers threw a welcome back party for him, where he had drunk a little too much. Wait… Marco! Outside the blonde had made an attempt to kiss him. Digging deep in his memory he tried to recall what it had been like, until the truth hit him like a pile of bricks. He had fallen asleep!

Cursing his narcolepsy, he slammed his palm against his forehead, causing the throbbing feeling to increase. Why was he such an idiot? It had been perfect, they were alone outside, Marco had grabbed his chin and then… Nothing. God, he hated himself right now.

"Morning, sunshine."

Brusquely he tore himself out of his self pity and looked up. He was still at Izo's place. Someone had placed him on the couch after he had fallen asleep – Marco, no doubt.

Finally the smell of freshly baked waffles hit him and his stomach growled. Izo, who was standing near the table holding a plate, chuckled. "Looks like I'm just in time."

Ace scrambled to his feet, trying not to drool. He almost ran over to the table, but Izo smacked his hand with a spatula before he could take a bite. "Where are your manners? Wait until everyone is here."

"Everyone?" Ace asked confused.

His question was soon answered when Thatch walked into the room, his hair already in a perfect pompadour style. "Good morning."

"Is Marco here as well?" the freckled man asked eagerly, looking around and not even bothering to return the greeting.

Izo and Thatch both chuckled. "I'm gonna forgive you for ignoring me on the account of that you're smitten with my brother," the latter laughed.

A flush stained his cheeks. "I'm not smitten," he muttered.

The cross dresser grinned. "Of course not. But Marco went home last night. Some people have to work, you know," he added with a wink.

"I start again on Monday!"

Both brothers laughed again and sat down at the table. Ace took that as a signal and started to wolf down the waffles. Izo shook his head. "I can't believe Marco is willing to put up with that eating style of yours."

"It's only because your food's so good," Ace answered with his mouth full. It wasn't true per se, but a little flattering never hurt anyone, right?

Izo placed a hand against his cheek. "Stop that, you're making me blush."

Thatch laughed heartily and started eating as well, before Ace could consume everything. He was in luck though, because suddenly Ace's phone started to vibrate. After he managed to pull the device out of his pocket, he stared at the screen. He swallowed. "It's Marco…"

"Oh my God, oh my God!" Izo hopped up and down on his chair and clapped his hands like an over excited teenage girl. "Pick up then!"

Ace stared a little surprised at him, but after taking a deep breath he pressed the answer button. "Hello?" He ignored the disapproving look the cross dresser gave him for greeting so casually.

"Good morning."

Ace could practically feel the blonde's voice vibrating through him and suddenly he was the one feeling like a school girl.

"Put it on speakerphone," Izo encouraged him, but the freckled man ignored him.

"I was wondering if you survived your morning with Izo," Marco continued on the other end of the line.

"Actually, I'm still there. Izo made waffles." He tried not to sound too excited, failing miserably.

The blonde chuckled. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

"Yeah…" Ace bit his lip. "Listen, Marco, I'm sorry about last night…"

Thatch and Izo both leaned in, looking way to interested. The freckled man shot them an annoyed look and turned around so he didn't have to look at them anymore.

"You have nothing to apologize for."

Ace smiled. He was still an idiot of course, but at least the arson inspector wasn't mad at him.

"I'll let you get back to your breakfast then," the blonde continued.

"Wait! Marco?"

The fire investigator hummed to indicate he was still there.

Ace bit his lip. "Are you free tonight?"

The man on the other end of the line chuckled. Shivers went down Ace's spine. Really, if the blonde's laughter could already do that to him, imagine what it would be like when he was lying beneath Marco while the older man thrust into him… He shook his head to rid his head of these thoughts. Now was not the good time, not with the two brothers staring at him and his lover-to-be on the other end of the line.

"You lose no time over it, eh?"

"I just don't want to run the risk of one of us ending up in jail coming in between again," the raven haired man shrugged.

"What's he saying?" the cross dresser whispered to Ace, but the freckled man waved him away annoyed.

He heard some rustling about with some papers before Marco answered: "Yes, I'm available tonight."

"Well, I'm glad you can fit me in somewhere," Ace joked and had to bite his tongue not to add: 'But I'm sure you fit into me.' He would save the dirty talk for a later time. He glanced over his shoulder, only to see that both brothers were sitting even closer than before. "Will you stop staring at me?" he shrieked a little louder than he intended.

Marco chuckled again. "How about you call me back later to go over the details? In private."

"Sure," Ace said smiling. "You probably must get back to work."

"I'll talk to you later then. Give my regards to my brothers."

Ace said goodbye and hung up, smiling. He ignored the curious looks the brothers gave him – actually, Izo looked like he was about to explode from curiosity – and started eating the now cold waffles. "Can you pass the syrup?" he asked the cross dresser innocently.

The dark haired brother's eye twitched. "Well?!"

"Well what?"

Izo looked like he was about to strangle him, while Thatch burst into laughter.

Ace decided that was enough teasing. He couldn't hold it in any longer anyway, he felt way to giddy. "We're going on a date tonight," he said grinning broadly.

Izo let out an almost deafening squeal and Thatch gave him a congratulatory punch in the shoulder, adding: "Well done. You completed three out of the four tasks to become a Whitebeard Pirate."

"Three?" Ace remembered the first two, being meeting and partying with all the brothers, which he had passed with flying colours if he said so himself.

"Seducing Marco of course," the brown haired man continued with a grin. "Not that that was a hard task, as he thinks your all sort of cute– Ouch! Dammit Izo, he already knows!"

The cross dresser chuckled while his brother rubbed his painful shin. "Force of habit. But now that we landed on the subject, we never got to finish our 'talk' last night."

Ace swallowed thickly. "We haven't?" The way Izo pronounced the word 'talk' didn't augur well. And he had hoped he could just finish his waffles in peace. Unfortunately Thatch also wore his stern face, which meant things were really serious.

Izo dabbed up some crumbs from his plate and licked them off his finger, before saying: "There are a few things you should know, before we let you date our brother."

"More rules?" Ace asked, getting a little depressed. He just wanted to date Marco, dammit!

"Guidelines is more like it. Look Ace, we like you and we hope things will work out for the two of you, but we also don't want to see our brother hurt, understand?" Thatch said. "'Cause here's the thing: though Marco may seem like a loner, he's not. The thing he wants most in life is a mate, a partner."

"So if you think of this as just an opportunity for a one-night stand, we cannot allow you to go," Izo continued. He leaned with his head on his hand and looked at Ace expectantly.

He couldn't help but smile. "You will make good concerned parents one day. But don't worry, I really like Marco. Really."

Izo gave him a piercing look, but then nodded. "Alright then. We trust you."

Ace grinned again and licked the last syrup off his fork.

"Oh, while we're at it, don't ask about his age," Thatch warned him. "It's a sensitive subject."

"How old is he anyway?" the freckled man asked, only to be petted on the head.

"He'll tell you when he's ready."


Marco stared at his phone. What had he done? He had let this whole thing go too far. But it had gone beyond his control after Thatch found out about his crush and from there it had just escalated. And now he had a date with the object of his desire. Okay, if he put it like that it could hardly be called a problem.

But he couldn't tell Ace about their past – the younger man obviously didn't remember. So he just had to make sure he messed up the date. Not so much that Ace would hate him, that was the part he was trying to avoid, but just so there wouldn't be a second one. And he just had to hope Izo and Thatch would mind their own business for once.

Who was he kidding?


"And you're sure he'll like this?"

Ace looked again uncertain to the tight pants and the wide silk shirt with floral print. The pants he could understand, it showed off his ass and his package nicely. But the shirt?

"Sit still," Izo said and continued doing something with his hair. "Of course I do."

"That you like it or he?" Ace mumbled, but didn't dare to say it out loud.

That morning they had continued talking for a while, the brothers giving the freckled man a growing lists with do's and don'ts in dating Marco. Eventually Izo had asked if he was nervous and after he had answered "Now I am," the cross dresser had offered to come by early in the evening to help him get dressed.

After Ace got home he immediately called Marco. It still felt a little weird, but he liked it that he finally could get to talk to the blonde whenever he wanted. They agreed to keep it simple this time: Marco would pick him up around seven and they would go to a restaurant.

"All done." Izo took a step back to admire his work. "And with time to spare."

Ace got up to look at himself in the mirror, grabbing another slice of pizza in the process. Izo snorted disapproving. "I can't believe you have a body of a young god when you eat like that. And wasn't Marco going to take you to dinner?"

"Yeah, but he's paying and I don't want to eat him poor on our first date," Ace answered with his mouth full. "And Luffy's way worse and he's all skinny."

His brother looked up at the hearing of his name. "Can't I come with you?" he asked. "I wanna eat in a restaurant."

"I already told you, this is a date. Make Nami take you."

Izo shook his head. "And this after eating three pizzas. Your family consists of people with a black hole for a stomach."

Ace shrugged and looked at himself in the mirror. "Are you sure this is what he likes?"

Izo had pulled his hair tightly backwards with some kind of hair gel. Not the way he would wear it himself. But if Marco liked it…

The doorbell rang and he jumped. "He's here!"

"I'll leave via the back. No need for Marco to know I was here." Izo walked up to the freckled man and fixed the blouse he had been fiddling with. "You, relax. You look fabulous."

Ace swallowed and nodded, before walking to the door. He waited a moment before opening it, until his not so subtle brother had yelled: "Bye Izo!" Then Ace took a deep breath and opened the door.

Marco looked gorgeous. He was wearing a lavender shirt, sleeves casually rolled up and the top button open, giving a peek at his chest. The outfit was completed with jeans that hugged all the right places.

Ace realised he was staring, or rather, they were observing each other. He tried to read something off Marco's face, but his expression was emotionless as always.

"You like it?" he asked a little insecure.

The blonde eyed him one more time up and down. "It's… different," he answered politically correct.

That said enough for Ace. "Give me two minutes!" He turned around and sprinted up the stairs as fast as his tight pants allowed it. Luffy followed him with his gaze, chewing on potato chips.

In his room he threw off the floral blouse. He left on his pants, he doubted Marco had any objections to that. They would only prove to be a problem if this night ended in desperate hands trying to peel the pants off him, but somehow he liked that prospect.

In the bathroom he put his head under the tab and washed the hair gel out of his hair as much as possible. After that he dried his hair, before returning to his room to look for a shirt, as that would probably be appreciated in the restaurant. He pulled a black t-shirt over his head and threw on a waistcoat, leaving it unbuttoned, before storming back down. Not slowing down he yelled goodbye to his brother and not to wait up, slamming the door behind him. Panting slightly, he walked a little more casual over to Marco, who was leaning against his car.

"Sorry about that." He noticed the blonde checking him out again, this time the approval could be read off his face. He would get Izo for this.

Marco opened the passenger's door for him. "Or do you need to change again?" he asked with a slight chuckle.

Ace felt his cheeks heating up. "I got some bad fashion advise."

"Yes, it's hard to say no to Izo." When the freckled man looked up in surprise, the blonde continued: "The floral pattern was a dead give-away that this was my brother's handy work. The only thing more obvious was if he had made you wear a dress. Believe me, he could pull it off. Don't ask," he said sharply when he saw Ace's eyes lit up.

With a big grin on his face the freckled man stepped in the car. He had fun already.


In the car they chitchatted about stuff going on at work. Ace didn't really care, he much rather learned more about Marco, but they had all night and this was just a beginning. The blonde parked the car near the restaurant. Ace had left the decision to him on where they would eat.

"I assumed, as you were able to keep down Izo's muffins, you weren't a picky eater," the arson inspector said. "So I hope you like Moroccan food."

"Sure. My ex-girlfriend has Egyptian roots and she loves to cook Middle Eastern food," Ace said. He stopped in his tracks. "Did I just talk about my ex on our first date?"

Marco chuckled. "It's okay."

"I'm sorry. But you'll meet her soon enough, she is one of my closest friends right now. And she just got married, in case you're worried," he added hastily. "Actually, her wedding was when I was in jail, so I couldn't go…" What the hell was he babbling about? This wasn't really first date conversation material. He sighed. "Now you say something depressing." He felt like pounding his forehead against the brick wall.

The blonde placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just relax."

The freckled man nodded and took a deep breath. They entered the small restaurant. Soft Moroccan music played in the background. A waitress approached them.

"I have a reservation under the name of Fenwick," the blonde told her.

She nodded and led them to a small table for two. "I'll be right back with your menus," the girl said and disappeared.

"You've been here before?" Ace asked while they waited.

"Only once a few months back."

"You often go to restaurants alone?" he asked curiously.

Marco smirked. "Who's says I was alone…?"

A flare of jealousy flared up in his chest. "Oh, and who might that be?" he asked a little affectedly.

The blonde looked amused. "It was with one of my brothers, if it makes you feel better."

It actually did. The waitress returned with their menus and asked what they would like to drink.

Marco ordered a mineral water and was a little surprised when Ace asked for an espresso. "Before dinner?" he asked while the waitress went to fetch their drinks.

"I don't want to run the risk that the evening ends with my face in my dinner," the raven haired man explained. "You know I'm narcoleptic, right?"

"Yes, your friend Nami explained it to me. But doesn't there exist some kind of medication for that?" Marco asked, opening the menu.

Ace sighed. "Yeah, all kinds. But every single one I tried had some side effect which wasn't worth it. Usually headaches or fevers. When I was in jail a friend of mine who studies medicine got me a trial drug, but that one worked a little too good. I couldn't sleep at all. I stopped taking them right before the trial. It's truly a miracle I didn't fall asleep there." He snickered. "But I guess that was the adrenaline or something. I think I rather fall asleep at random times than that I suffer from insomnia. But I guess you know what that's like, right mister I-answer-a-stranger's-call-at-three-in-the-morning?"

Marco smiled. "I guess. But I don't need much sleep."

Ace leaned with his head on his hand. "So, what do you usually do with your extra free time?" he asked with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.

Marco raised an eyebrow at that. "I usually try to catch up on my reading." Fortunately for him this was the time the waitress decided to return with their drinks. They both ordered their first and second course. Marco had a salad of roasted paprika and tomatoes as starter and a tajine with shrimp and courgette as main course. Ace started with small breads stuffed with minced meat and after that he ordered a beef dish, Moroccan style.

In his head Ace checked the list Izo and Thatch had given him about conversation subjects. Family was always a safe bet, they'd said. The juicier questions he would save for later. "So, growing up with fourteen brothers. There must have been a lot of testosterone flying around."

Though Izo and Thatch had guaranteed him Marco loved to talk about his brothers, something changed in the blonde's face. It only lasted a second, but in the short time Ace knew him he had learned that these flashes of emotions said were very important. "What?" he asked.

Marco raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised he got caught. He drummed with his fingers on the table. "I guess I can tell you. Perhaps you already know."

"You don't have to trust me with any family secrets or something," the raven haired man quickly said.

Marco smiled softly. "It's not like that. It's just… There weren't always fifteen boys."

Ace cocked his head a little. "You mean Haruta, right?"

"So you do know?" Marco sounded a little surprised.

The freckled man shrugged. "I had a hunch. So he used to be a girl, eh?"

Marco nodded slowly and took a sip from his water. "Early in his puberty he got depressed because he didn't feel like he was in the right body. So he started taking hormones and later on had a sex change. He is much happier now. So yeah, you're actually spot on with that testosterone comment." They chatted some more. Marco lifted his elbows of the table when the waitress brought their first courses.

Ace squinted suspiciously when noticed the looks the waitress sent the blonde. Deciding to let her know this wasn't a business dinner or just two friends catching up he asked bluntly: "So when did you realise you were gay?" It was a guess really – though an educated one, as he had never heard anything to indicate Marco was into girls, but a guess none the less. It wasn't that he cared per se whether the man was gay or bi, but the waitress annoyed him, so it was a risk he was willing to take. And it worked.

Marco considered the question for a moment. "When most people do, I guess. During puberty."

It took all the fireman's restraint not to stick out his tongue to the girl, but he settled for a triumphant look. The waitress wished them bon appetit stiffly before disappearing. Ace glared after her. When he focussed again on his food, he noticed Marco studying him. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he responded, though his was sure the blonde was on to him.

The arson inspector didn't comment however.

They started eating, talking about all kind of things. Marco told some anecdotes about his brothers, making Ace laugh so hard he almost spit out his food. For his part Ace told some things he had experienced during his year of travel, leaving out Akainu. Marco smiled and listened attentively. Every now and then Ace fell silent when their eyes met and he couldn't help but bite his lip.

The main course was brought by a pouting waitress. Ace kept an eye on her until she moved to another table. Marco looked a little amused, confirming the freckled man's suspicion that he in fact knew damn well what was going on. He didn't say anything, but touched Ace's hand for a moment when reaching for his water.

The blonde didn't try to show it, but he was getting nervous. The date was going too well. It was amusing how easily Ace got jealous, even when he had confirmed that yes he was gay and therefore didn't have any interest in the waitress. She was pretty, he gave her that, but he only noted that when Ace started behaving weird. Right now he was trying to think of something that would ruin the date, but every time he started thinking, Ace flashed him his dazzling smile, effectively short-circuiting his brain. He had wanted this for so long, just him and Ace, but he had never expect it to happen. Or rather, he had never though he would let it happen. But here he was, sitting across the handsome man, way too close because of the tiny table, and said handsome man was currently rubbing his foot against Marco's leg. The blonde felt no reason to complain.

Ace was telling a story about when he and Luffy went to the zoo. "Really, that boy is a credit to his family. He actually tried to climb the fence of the monkey cage to play with them, when suddenly a strapping fellow, who was a keeper, comes our way. And he was huge." Ace spread his hands to indicate how broad the man had been, knocking over Marco's glass of water in the process. The glass fell on the table and the water spilled out of it, right over the blonde's shirt.

"Oh God, I'm sorry!" Ace grabbed his napkin and kneeling down in front of the arson inspector he started dabbing up the liquid. The water caused to fabric to become a little see through, and Ace could almost make out the large tattoo that decorated the blonde's chest. And his rock hard abs stood out as well. Damn, those muscles!

"Do you need some help?"

Their waitress had come their way with a dry cloth to assist, but Ace snapped possesively at her: "I've got it!" He pouted a little when Marco placed a hand on his to stop his rubbing, because, really, he didn't mind continue feeling the man up. But when he looked up and met the blonde's warm gaze he realized he desperately wanted to kiss the man. His cheeks heated up.

Marco rose and excuses himself to dry go dry of in the restroom. Ace nodded, but stayed kneeled like he was frozen. Finally he managed to look aside. The waitress was still standing in the same place, her cheeks even a darker shade than Ace's. When she saw him looking, she hastily continued with her job.

Lost in thoughts the freckled man sat down on his chair again. He knew for a while he was attracted to the blonde and that he liked him as well, but now it wasn't even about sex anymore – though that would still be a plus. He just wanted to kiss him. He wanted to be the centre of Marco's attention and he wanted the whole damn world to know that the blonde was his.

Nerve wrecked he started to eat the remainder of his food. The whole evening he had to restrain himself to what Nami called "eat like a normal person". He remembered Izo's words all too clearly about his eating manners being off putting and that was the last thing he wanted with Marco. Even if he had already seen them. Things were going so well, he didn't want to mess it up. The blonde was nice and easy to talk to, even if there was an age difference. Ace didn't care. He just wanted Marco.

When the arson inspector returned – his shirt almost dry – the freckled man had finished his plate. The blonde chuckled at the sight and sat down again. Ace opened his mouth to apologize for knocking over his water again, but the blonde beat him to it. "So, what happened next?"

Ace looked slightly confused for a moment, until he realized Marco asked him to continue his story. "Right. So that guy tries to pull Luffy down, but my brother whines he wants to play with the monkeys and I swear, sometimes it's like that boy is made off rubber. It takes two of those strapping keepers to get him down and he was thrown in zoo prison, or however you call it. Gramps, our guardian, had to come pick him up."

Marco chuckled. "He wasn't with you to the zoo?"

"No." Ace scratched the back of his head. "This actually happened two years ago."

The blonde laughed again. "He must really like monkeys. But you two aren't related?"

Ace shook his head. "Not by blood. The man I call Gramps is actually Luffy's grandfather. He adopted me after my parents died."

Marco's expression softened and his hands took Ace's, caressing them softly with his thumbs. The freckled man smiled sadly. He looked at his hands in Marco's big, strong ones, before shaking his head and bringing the conversation to a lighter subject. "So you teach children aikido, right?" He smiled when Marco's expression changed again, fleetingly, soft and proud, like a big brother.

"Yes. I'm actually just a substitute until their real sensei comes back. But she's broken her hip, so it might take a while," he said and explained some more things about aikido and the kids.

Ace smiled, listening intently and highly aware that their hands were still holding. "I'd like to see you teach sometimes," he said when Marco was finished.

The blonde smiled at him again.

The waitress came to pick up their plates and asked if they wanted desert. Ace's eyes lit up so quickly it made Marco laugh and the waitress gave them the menus again. The fireman had a hard time deciding what he wanted, but eventually settled for a nut and date cake. Marco ordered just some Moroccan mint tea. Ace asked for an espresso, but when the waitress made an attempt to walk away he hastily said: "Make that a double." He glanced at Marco and smiled. "I need to stay awake tonight."

He asked Marco about his other hobbies. The man thought for a moment before answering: "I enjoy taking photographs."

"Of what? 'Cause I've been told I'm an excellent model," Ace said with a wink.

Marco thought about the naked drawing – piece of art – he had of Ace at home and couldn't help but agree for several reasons. But he said: "Mostly nature. I like hiking as well."

Dessert was brought. Ace dove on the cake like he didn't just had dinner. Macro watched him, sipping his tea. It was mesmerizing the way the younger man's lips wrapped around the fork while taking a bite… Ace seemed to notice him looking and did he imagine it or was the fireman slowing down and taking a bite more seductively? He swallowed thickly.

"You want a bite?"

He was taken aback by the sudden question. "I wasn't looking at–" he started, but realised it was probably better if Ace thought he was looking at his dessert and not at his mouth while imagining all the wonderful things that could do. So he sighed and said: "Sure."

Ace smirked like he knew every dirty thought that was going on inside Marco's head and extended his fork with a piece of cake on it. The arson inspector took a bite, trying not to think how this could be considered a indirect kiss.

Having finished both their dessert and beverages, both men were a bit at loss about what to do. Marco was still thinking of a way to end the date in a way that would guarantee not having a second, when Ace suddenly moved his chair so he was sitting next to the blonde, instead of across. They looked at each other for a moment.

The urge to kiss the arson inspector had just grown during the rest of dinner and the fireman felt like he was going to explode. He extended his hand, caressing the other man's cheek. His fingertips brushed over the stubble. Not being able to hold back anymore, he leaned in.

Marco was taken aback when their lips met. Even if Ace had sent every possible kind of body language his way, he still had assumed he misinterpreted it or that something would come in between again. But the freckled man's full lips touched his, he couldn't help himself. He wrapped an arm around the younger man, pulling him close, while his other hand caressed his hair.

The kiss was slow and controlled, but didn't lack passion. Ace tilted his head to the side to deepen the kiss. The moment his lips touched the blonde's he had experienced the same feeling as when the arson inspector had saved him when he almost fell down the stairs. A feeling like fire shot through his veins. The caresses of Marco only intensified the feeling. He wondered if the other felt the same.

Marco's fingers traced Ace's jaw line. The annoying voice that always reminded him of his guilt kept screaming he should stop right now, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. This was what he had wanted for so long. And it was better then he imagined.

Ace sighed into the kiss, sending shivers up his spine. Neither of them felt the need to anything more then kissing right now. Ace wrapped his arms around Marco's neck, crawling in his lap. They didn't care that they were still in a restaurant and that people were staring at them. Not even realising how much time had gone by, they only looked up when they heard a shy cough.

Their waitress was standing behind them, her cheeks flushed. "E-excuse me, but we would like to close up."

Surprised Ace noticed that they were the last guests in the restaurant. A little embarrassed he slid off Marco's lap, allowing to older man to stand up and follow the waitress in order to pay. When he returned Ace was already waiting at the door.

Together they left the restaurant. In silence they walked in the direction of the blonde's car. Purposely looking in the other direction Ace's hand searched for Marco's, touching it gently before intertwining their fingers. From the corner of his eyes he noticed the arson inspector looking at him and he could already feel his cheeks heating up.

Suddenly they stopped walking and the blonde pulled him close. Deft fingers caressed his cheek, before gently tilting his chin. Ace happily complied. Their lips brushed briefly. Ace looked up and was met by the brilliant blue eyes that seemed to notice everything. The fireman wrapped his arms around the blonde's neck, pulling him back in a kiss. Marco's hand snuck around him, resting on his lower back. Ace bit softly on the other's bottom lip, sighing when the blonde's tongue asked for entrance. Kissing Marco was like nothing else he had ever experienced. It was satisfying in itself, no need for more just yet.

"Give me you wallet, damn faggot."

Assuming the blonde wasn't an ventriloquist, and otherwise would have picked a better moment to show him, Ace opened his eyes he didn't realise closing. Marco let go of him and sighed, sounding annoyed. Behind him was a hooded man standing.

The blonde gently pushed the fireman back, before moving with the speed of light, pinning the attacker against the ground. The stranger whimpered, having his arm twisted in a tight hold. The arson inspector leaned in, whispering in a dangerous tone: "Have you ever had a real gun pressed against your back?"

The man swallowed hard before shaking his head.

"When you have, you'll know the difference between that and some punk using his fingers pretending to have one. So here's what's going to happen: I'll let go of you and you take to your heels, leaving us in peace. If not, my date will punch you in the face. Or worse."

Ace had been watching in amusement. Though he had experience with being pinned down by the blonde, at this moment he could only wish he was, lying on a bed. All the things Marco could do to him… Blinking his eyes to come back to reality, he cracked his knuckles to put emphasis on Marco's last words. The arson inspector moved away and the attacker ran off as fast as he could.

The raven haired man chuckled, before turning to Marco. "Have you really ever had a gun in your back?"

Lost in thoughts the blonde moved some black strands out of Ace's face. "There is a lot you don't know about me."

The fireman moved to close the gap between their bodies. "I'd like to find out," he whispered in his date's ear. He kissed his cheeks, before going for Marco's lips again. This kiss was different from the ones before, more needy. The fireman felt a hand on his upper leg, sliding upwards to cup his ass. He panted against the blonde's lips, pressing himself flush against the other man. He managed to extract a muffled moan from Marco, feeling rather smug about that. It seemed that even the arson inspector lost control every once in a while, and that reason was Ace.

They let go for the need of air. "So tell me," the freckled man said panting. "Did you hire that guy?"

Marco raised an eyebrow. "Why would I do that?"

"To be my hero and get into my pants." Ace chuckled.

"I've never seen that guy before. And I doubt I'll ever see him back with you around."

The fireman laughed. "I guess so. Besides, you didn't need him to get me." He pulled Marco close by his shirt. "You're doing a fine job on your own."

The blonde hummed, pressing light kisses on the raven haired man's cheeks and jaw line. "Where would you like to go now?"

Ace made an appreciative noise and tilted his head to the side to give Marco better access. "I'm all hyped up on caffeine. Let's go to your place."

~ To be continued


Admit it. We all wanna be that waitress XD