Drawing.
"Fireball, would you come over and help your Mama?"
Of course Ace says yes, he cannot refuse his mother. They need him to come over on the weekend and help them clean the basement. It's been a while since Ace last visited his parents so he comes with gusto. Marco, on the other hand, cannot tag along since he has a date with Pops.
A few months ago Edward Newgate took an interest in acrylic painting. The old man has always appreciated art but he never tried to make one for himself. Then he found an art class online: the GoldenWeek's Color. Within 3-hour they promise a relaxing space with full art supplies where the participants have detailed instructions to draw along a sample painting and they can have the complete artwork for their own. Newgate signed in immediately. He loved it so much he asked his sons to accompany him and this week is Marco's turn.
Marco and Ace parted in the morning and Ace headed toward his parents' house. His father already finished some packing so he mostly helps with moving the boxes and furniture. What Ace didn't expect is to find a stack of his old drawings when he was in elementary school. Many of them were about what he wished to come true. He once wanted to become a pirate, then he wanted an astronaut to reach beyond the stars. After visiting the zoo on a school trip he drew himself being a zookeeper, surrounding himself with the big cats and play with them.
And now he grew up, he became none of that.
How easy dreams slipped through our fingers.
Ace lies in his old bed and reviews the drawings again, his mind clouded with memories. He doesn't remember when or why he let go of his childish dreams. They bloomed dazzlingly in his younger years and withered away without him noticing. This is just like what Deuce, his roommate in college, who was very upset with his carefree attitude at first, said:
"When you reach a certain age, you need to behave."
It's not that Ace regrets his decisions. He's lived a life with no regret, but a reminder of how much he has changed brings a bittersweet taste in his mouth.
There is one picture that came true though – the picture of him playing in the yard with Sabo and Luffy. Now they're living in different cities, but they have meet-up every month, drinking and having a barbecue night, fighting for the biggest piece of steak, arguing about nothing and everything.
.
.
Ace gets home when Marco is putting his and Pops' painting on a wall. It caught Ace off guard. GoldenWeek's Color only do landscape, still life, or simple animal painting. He remembers the sample for this week is a ship that looks like a white whale riding on the waves, not abstract white orbs that looks like a Rorschach inkblot test.
"Do you think the ship looks good?" asks Marco.
Ace almost asks if the instructor changed the picture but he swallows his question just in time.
"…I think it looks amazing."
"You're lying. You're definitely lying."
"Maybe I am. Did you have fun?"
A soft smile plays on Marco's lips and Ace knows the painting already served its purpose.
.
.
.
Romantic.
Marco knows he isn't the romantic type. It's not that he's carefree (in fact, he remember anniversaries very well), it's more like he's never in the mood of making breakfast in bed or having dinner with candles. All his past relationships fell apart when he and his exes shared their future dreams. One of them wanted a quiet life in the suburb with a big yard so that their children and have fun with their dogs, maybe picnic by the lake once every month. Another wants to save enough money to travel the world before their 40s and spends every night under a starry sky. Although Marco finds the ideas very intriguing and admirable, he isn't a big fan of any of them.
Marco is… Let just say he's a simple man who's easy to be contented with. He's happy with what he has right now: a small apartment. Yes, you hear it right, just a small apartment; one that isn't grand but fits all his needs. To him, a cottage in a forest is cool but the chance of electricity shortage is also high and isn't worth risking. In a busy city, there's no way to see the Milky Way but Marco adores how sunlight reflects on the skyscrapers' windows at dawn. He wants his place to be green yet he doesn't enjoy gardening, so he decorates his apartment with small cacti - they're strong and require only bare minimum of caring.
'Not ambitious enough', said one of his exes. 'Plain and boring', said another ex. But what can Marco say? He's happy with what he has right now. Enough is enough. Doesn't dissatisfaction come because one doesn't know how to stop?
Marco loves the sea, but the sea has sand, a lot of sand. Sand in clothes is a real pain and cleaning afterward is horrid torture.
Then he met Ace and they have a few dates and a short trip to the seaside. At one point Ace points to a house by the sea.
"Isn't it beautiful?"
Marco nods. It is, but he doesn't want to live in it. He'll have to deal with sand every day and salty air may ruin all the paintwork, or worse, the metalwork.
"Do you think living hear they have to cope with sand every day?" Ace continues, "Like, a lot of sand?"
"Maybe," Something clicks within Marco, "Do you like gardening?"
"Not really. A few plants on the balcony should be fine, but a garden?" Ace smiles, "No thanks, I know myself, not considerate enough."
"And a picnic by the lake?"
"Pretty cool, but I prefer chilling on the balcony with my cat. I guess I'm not a romantic type… What? Why are you smiling? Not everyone like living a cottage in the wood you know?"
"I do. I believe we'll get along."
And they did.
.
.
.
Horoscope.
Ace is not a fan of fashion magazines but once in a while, when Izou is featured, he'll have a copy to support his brother-in-law. At first, he picked up the habit just to win Izou's approval when he was introduced to the Edwards, but now it's one of Ace's little surprise dose of joy. With every copy he owns, he makes sure to read two things: Izou's related article and the Horoscope column.
Ace is also not a fan of daily horoscopes, but the very first fashion magazine he got was a special edition for Valentine's Day in which they explained which zodiac signs are meant to be. When it came to his and Marco's signs, it went like this:
No matter how you slice it, Aquarius and Libra will naturally be attracted to each other. They will attract each other in the way they converse and also the way they think, paving the way for a heated romance. Their relationship is great for the world and can last for an incredibly long time.
Ace laughed really hard, and when urge laugh was gone only sheer euphoria remained. He's aware he shouldn't take daily horoscopes seriously, but there's something about being told that the universe is on his side. It's like a statement that happiness is meant to be.
Ace still has that copy on the bookshelf.
He turns to the horoscope column to see what the universe offers him today. The career has only two stars, which explains the bossy client he had to deal with earlier. Health has four stars and suggests he should take better care of his teeth.
Then Ace looks at his love life: a perfect five stars.
You'll fall in love today.
Before he can fully process its meaning, the door burst opens. Marco enters with heavy grocery bags. Ace comes to help and finds not just usual goods but also a big box of chocolate ice-cream from his favorite shop. It's just normal chocolate flavor but it's the first ice-cream he's ever had in his life, back in the days he still lived with his brothers.
Ace hasn't eaten it for a while. He turns to look at the calendar on the fridge. It says today is Thursday.
"No more than three scoops a day. Are we clear?" Marco grumbles as he unpacks the other goods, "I'm not taking you to the dentist again."
Ace's heart skips a beat. He clenches his teeth, trying to stop himself from letting out embarrassing noises.
He indeed falls in love today. Maybe he'll fall in love tomorrow too.
Every day, more and more.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Ace was born on 1st January (Capricorn), but because Rouge held him in her womb for twenty months maybe his natural birthday is somewhere between January-February (Aquarius).
Fashion magazines in my place usually have a horoscope column. I don't know how that goes with the rest of the world. I just think when something good happens then the universe be like 'yes it's destined to be' is a very good feeling. We also have art classes as I described above. The paintings aren't complicated. They're like Bob Ross's, almost anyone can draw along. Sadly they're closed due to the pandemic.
Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. I wish you all a great time with your loved ones ^^
