For Riyw

Bare Facts

It had taken a week of nagging from Sabo, but finally, his brother had worn Ace down and he had agreed in bringing back the eggs Sabo had borrowed from Marco. Of course, the blond had conveniently mentioned how he got the eggs after dinner, after Ace had gobbled them up – with help of Luffy, of course. But since he hadn't felt any weird effects afterwards, Ace supposed Marco hadn't drugged them. Still, he had been reluctant to touch the other food that had been in Marco's apartment. He had tried throwing it out secretly, but Sabo had busted him and that led to a series of questions Ace didn't want to answer.

Sabo hadn't asked why Ace had refused to go downstairs for the groceries, as he wasn't one to pry, but it was obvious his brother was worried about Ace. That, however, hadn't gotten Ace out of returning the eggs they had borrowed – an new box, of course – since Ace refused to tell Sabo what Marco actually was.

The worst part about the whole incident was that Sabo was now convinced Marco was a decent guy and had even befriended one of his brothers. Izo had stopped by a few time and was nice enough, Ace could as much as admit that, but he was still reluctant to make friends. Izo was helping Sabo with a project, because he, as a photographer, had the right equipment. Fortunately, Izo had never brought over Marco.

That still left Ace in the hallway of the first floor with a box of eggs in his hand. He had agreed to bring by the eggs, but he would do it on his own terms. Sabo had promised Marco the eggs and a proper thank you from Ace, but Ace wasn't about to go that far. He had written a polite thank you note, even if it pained him. When he was young, how to properly thank someone had been drilled into him by Makino and that wasn't with a note. There was no helping it, though. He wasn't about to invite his stalker to increase his stalking by showing up on his doorstep.

He had thought the delivery completely through. He had only signed the note with Sabo's and Luffy's name, which should give a hint. On top of that, it was now two o'clock, and Ace knew for a fact that Marco worked normal office hours, usually from nine to five or six. He could just leave the eggs on Marco's doormat and walk away. He had done what Sabo promised Marco, so his brother couldn't yell at him and Marco had no reason to stop by Ace's house – which by now, he should know where it was thanks to Sabo and Izo – to demand back his eggs. Which was really the only reason why Ace had agreed to do this delivery in the first place.

Taking a deep breath, he walked towards the door of Marco's apartment and placed the box on the doormat. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed that the door was slightly ajar. The doormat was caught between it, so Marco much have thought he had pulled it shut this morning when he left.

Ace hesitated and bit his lip. This was the perfect opportunity to expose Marco for the stalker he really was. Or to smash any stalker equipment he might own. Ace pushed the door open a bit further and peeked around the doorpost. There was nobody to be seen. Of course, Marco was at work.

Or it could be a trap. Ace froze. But there was no way Marco could have known that Ace would stop by today. So unless he was willing to leave open his door every day, it was highly unlikely that he was lying in waiting. Plus, the counsellor was supposed to be at work.

Looking around the hallway to see if anyone was watching him, Ace snuck into the house. He closed the door as much as he had found it open and then turned to look around. The living room and kitchen looked completely normal, yet tastefully decorated for a single man living alone. But that wasn't much of a surprise, since Sabo had been there and no alarm bells had gone off with him.

Still, there had to be some kind of weird altar with photos of Ace, right? Or a monitor attached to a hidden video camera… Ace shuddered at the thought. But it was now or never.

Randomly, he started to open cabinets, but he came up empty handed. Everything was normal as far as he could see. Maybe in the bedroom?

Just as he wanted to make his way over there, a phone started to ring. Ace's eyes widened. It wasn't his phone…

Only then, his brain registered something was off. It wasn't that he heard a sound, rather the opposite. A sound that had been there before in the background wasn't there anymore…

Ace's head whipped in the direction of the bathroom, when he heard a lock turning. Marco had been home the whole time?! Or one of his brothers maybe? In any case, Ace shouldn't be there and he could be arrested for trespassing!

Panicking, he did the first thing that came to his mind, diving behind the couch. He cursed his own foolishness. How could he not have realised that the sound he was hearing was the shower?! But Marco was supposed to be at work. Maybe he took a day off?

Making himself small, he heard footsteps approach and the sound the phone was making stopped. "Hello?" Ace heard the blond say.

Carefully, Ace peeked over the edge of the couch. And then immediately hid again, closing his eyes. Marco was stark naked. His towel was casually draped over his shoulder and he was still a bit wet.

"I just got out of the shower," Marco told the person on the other line.

Ace dared another peek. The blond had turned slightly, and now his front was fully visible. Ace had known that Marco was lean, but he had no idea that those dress shirts hid a six-pack! Marco's cock, while flaccid, was still rather impressive.

It wasn't fair. Ace had known he was bisexual since puberty, but he had sworn off men after he had started working in the strip club. Men were, after all, all perverts. That didn't mean he didn't appreciate a nice looking male body. Marco looked like he could be a stripper himself!

Marco turned his head as if he had heard Ace's thoughts and hastily, he dove back behind the couch. He could not get a crush on his stalker! So Marco worked out, he could do that while looking through binoculars, right?

There was one thing that intrigued Ace, and that was the large blue tattoo the blond had across his chest. It looked like a cross with a crescent shape through it, pointing up. He wondered what it meant. Was Marco in some kind of cult? Or was it a sign for a stalkers' club?

"Yeah, just let me put on some pants. I'll be there in half an hour." Marco hung up the phone and using the towel to rub his hair dry, he retreated to the bedroom.

Ace sighed in relief when he heard the door close – Marco had some modesty after all – and jumped over the edge of the couch, getting out of the apartment as quickly as he could. He left the door as it was, almost trampling the eggs that were still on the doormat.

His face bright red, he dove into the elevator and tried to catch his breath as the door closed. Okay, so he had a stalker with a hot body and who had a knack for hiding his true identity. For some reason, Ace knew that the answer of unmasking Marco would lie in the meaning of that tattoo.

Now he could only hope that he wouldn't start fantasising about his stalker.