Me opening up fic folders, planning to write an update: -.-

Me finding stray document that seems familiar for some reason: -.-?

Me realizing that i actually have published that document as a fic and had forgotten all about it: 0.0!

So eh, hehe, um, sorry.

Enjoy?

At this point of his career, Ace can safely say he has reached the point where he's no longer tense before an interview. It was always a daunting concept for him at the start, the thought of being asked and answering things about yourself, no matter how scripted the whole thing is and even though he already knew what to say and what will be said. It was less strict when it comes to Ivankov's show, who prided himself in spontaneous celebrity interviews and talk show, and that was a lot more nerve wrecking.

Now, he's definitely feeling nervous, but he could hide his own jitters by calming Marco out of his own.

"I'm not really used to this," the older man told him, as if Ace didn't know that he has a grand total of 21 interviews with any channels and shows - 20 of them movie promotions and behind the scene documentary, while only one in a spontaneous talk show - which is a number extremely low for someone who has been in several critically acclaimed movies for the last couple of years and all of them had been strictly related to any movie he is promoting, "Acting and talking about acting is easy. 'Be yourself' in front of the camera is nigh impossible,"

What he quoted was what Ivankov had told him, after fanning himself and made an entire speech about how he felt special to have caught one of the rarest fish in the entire industry - having Marco Newgate in his show, "Charlotte Linlin and her gaudy show has the upper ground so far, but not anymore! As if everyone didn't know she had children everywhere in the industry so she can have her finger in every pie,"

"I wouldn't have done it, but Pekoms was practically pleading to Nekomamushi to persuade me to do it before he gets 'punished'," Marco sighed in his retelling after Ace asked him why he did agree to that one talk show, "Neko looks scary, but he's really soft at heart. In the end he promised me there will be a really limited segment time and i can leave after a couple of questions, so i agree. It ended up getting stretched to overtime, and it was just a bad experience all around that i wanted to distance myself from it as much as i can,"

If one watched that interview - which last Ace checked over 15 million people did in MushiTube - they would know it was one of the most uncomfortable interviews the world has ever seen. Big Mom - Charlotte Linlin's stage name in her show - was incredibly pushy about Marco's personal life, and his way of dodging it had been less than graceful and just awkward all around. A news outlet that reported on that interview called him 'uncharismatic', 'bland' and 'plain rude in his refusal to answer', a deep clash to the personalities he played on screen, even when plenty others somewhat acknowledge that Big Mom's way to conduct the interview had been borderline unprofessional.

Those articles disappeared a day after it was released, and Ace spent 3 days coming back to the first one to anonymously argue with anyone in the comment section who dared to agree with the article. He did the same with the video, but Law caught him on that and berated him for wasting his time on the net instead of working before revoking his access for the day.

That was a distant memory at this point, but now that he remembered it again and heard what happened beforehand, the young man felt his temper flared.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that here," he convinced the blonde confidently, jostling Nojiko from being able to finish applying foundation on his face yet again, "Iva-chan is a real professional and he actually treats his guests with respect. He… can be a bit overbearing, but he knows to stop when you're uncomfortable,"

Marco looks unconvinced, but he smiled, so that's a bonus.

It's been 2 day since the big news of them 'dating', yet despite the official press release from their respective representative companies, people are still talking and demanding answer. Late night yesterday, Rayleigh suddenly phoned all three of them about Ace going to Ivankov's show, which was undoubtably the most popular celebrity talk show in all of Raftel, and that he got an agreement from Marco's company director to have him appear as well so both him and Ace could explain what was going on.

"Spade's latest album is based on how he is 'longing' for romance and the entire concept of trying to find one. Fans online had only barely talked about it, and now all of the sudden they found out he does have one. The album sale, both physical and digital, are skyrocketing right now, with people wanting to get it on the discussion," Law told them as their briefing, eyes staring down to his phone all the time to cement the idea that he was actually reading that off from somewhere, "Don't know about the effect it's going for Newgate and his company, but since the director and PR agrees, it probably means good things over there too,"

"Huh," Marco spoke up, unsure, "It sure is an odd way of marketing, though,"

The dark hair manager squinted his eyes, "Who the fuck cares, people talking means sales, and sales means money. Money means profit, and all of this is a perfect accidental PR too boost your popularity as well, which means even more profit in the future. Dating news had that sort of effect, either the world decided they loved seeing you together and you get more support and sales, or they decided you're not and we'll be seeing some loss and we cannot risk that. So far Spade's fans and the general public were still wholly undecided and confused about you two, and depending on how we go from today, this can mean a rise in these profit or even loss, so you both best be on your best behaviours,"

Behind him, Sabo rubbed his chin and after smacking his lips, said musingly, "Nami got ahold of you before you got here, didn't she?"

"She did and i hate you immensely for leaving me alone to deal with her, Outlook," he shifted his glare from Ace and Marco to Sabo, his hand around his phone tightening, "She kept messaging me incessantly, posting me unstoppable updates from forums and social media. I don't even know why she's so concerned about this. She's in finance, this sort of things are dealt with by the promotion department,"

"Well, she's also a big fan of Spade. A big fan of the income he generated for the company, but still,"

Next to Ace, Marco still looked slightly uncomfortable as he said, "I just, i just don't get it, why are they so invested in this? I mean, people get into relationships all the time, why that much reaction?"

"Because people had nothing better to do but gossip? Again, who the fuck cares, it happened, Newgate, so stop asking stupid things, and stop this fucking madness before it gets out of hand," whatever biting quip he was about to make next was cut off by his phone ringing. Law groaned when he saw the caller ID, and left the room with a snappy 'hello?'. Virtually everyone in the room watched him leave, with Ace feeling a little mad he would talk like that to Marco.

"You're just asking, what the hell is his problem?" the dark haired male muttered, frowning at Law's retreating form.

"I uh, i guess he's under a lot of pressure right now," the blonde said in a mellow tone, "And i guess he had a point,"

"I won't too much of it to heart," Sabo commented with a shrug, "We are kind of being pressured by Rayleigh right now, but it's nothing more than usual. Law's just pissy because he can't walk Bepo again this morning. And he just found out about who's filming a music video next door,"

Before Ace can ask, the door to the dressing room was slammed open again and this time, instead of Law's skinny and lanky form, it was someone much more hulking and broad, taking up the entire door space just by walking in, "Look who we have here! The talk of the town!" Eustass Kid announced as he strode inside of the room with a confident gait, grinning from ear to ear and fully dressed as if someone had thrown up punk on his entire person, "What's been happening, Ace? I kept seeing your name on the news this last few days,"

The red haired man made his way over with one extended hand, which Ace send a loud and ringing high five to, "I thought you and the guys are out of country touring," he said as a greeting, before seeing Killer in his ever-present mask trailing in behind Kid, "And well, it's… it's a long story,"

"I know it's going to be and you know i don't trust any of those nosy-ass paparazzis so when i heard you're here, i just gotta get the news from the man himself. How'd you end up from just having a bedroom full of the guy to having the guy in your bedroom?"

Whatever reply there was on Ace's head completely disappeared at Kid's words. The word 'mortified' barely covered the emotion he felt, along with the sensation of what could only be his soul leaving his body in the form of a choked squeak.

Next to him, obviously blind to his plight, Marco frowned, "Huh?"

While Ace remained dying on his seat, Kid turned alarmed, eyes wide and expression turning sheepish, "Oh, shit, i didn't see you there,"

"He's been there the entire time, Kid," Killer commented lightly, not seeming to really care about the entire happening.

Before Ace could find it in himself to do something - or to even regain some semblance of control to this entire situation - Kid already strode over to Marco's seat, extending one hand and without any permission, taking Marco's own in his to shake it, "How's it going? Eustass Kid, nice to meet you in person, Mr. Newgate, big fan of your work. Everyone and their ancestors can keep saying that 'Paramount War' is your best work, but i'm more partial to 'Tragedy at Banero' myself. Ace said every single movie you played in was good, but then again it's Ace, "

Marco looked lost, and honestly, Ace could sob at this point. At least, until the blonde shook his head and smiled politely, returning Kid's handshake, "Ah, thank you, glad to hear that. Not many people preferred other movies i was in compared to 'Paramount War'," he paused and narrowed his eyes, "Eustass Kid, as in the vocalist of Kid Pirates, the rock band?"

"Shit, you've heard of us?" the redhaired man beamed, still holding on to Marco's hand, who was evidently already trying to snake away from the muscly grip, "Oh that's right, you're related to the guys from 'Whitebeard Sons', aren't you? Oh man, listen, Ace's my best buddy and since you and him are apparently chummy and all, it won't be out of line for me to ask if you can like, hook me up with them for a collab' or something—"

"What is he doing here?! No unauthorized personnel are allowed in here! "

All activity inside of the dressing room halted for that split second the scream was heard, and Ace didn't know if he should be glad for the interruption or curl up further until the floor swallowed him when he realized who said that. He decided to use the second Kid was distracted to pull Marco out of the inevitable splash zone, mouthing 'trust me' when the blonde looked at him in confusion.

"Trust you about what?"

Ace grimaced, but before he can enlighten Marco out of the chaos that was certain to follow, Kid's voice cuts him off, "Good morning, Trafalgar, you're a sight for sore eyes," The red head's attention was quickly set on the newly arrived Law, instantly forgetting about them, the impish grin on his face a complete contrast to the fiery glare aimed at Ace's scowling manager, "Did you miss me? I really missed you, but you really should've replied to my text—Oof!"

"Out! We are recording in less than 5 minutes and i am not having any bothersome people running around this place," Despite his best efforts, Ace imagined that pushing a man as built as Kid couldn't be that easy so it was with no surprise that Law barely could make him budge from his spot. He thought Killer would've at least helped, but the masked drummer had turned his back upon the sight, conversing quietly in the corner with one of the runners who offered him a selection of snacks.

"Oh come on, don't be like that, i haven't seen you in 2 months! Can't i at least take you out for a lunch—"

"I am going absolutely nowhere with you, and if you don't leave in 5 seconds, i will call security—"

"For what? I'm literally also recording next door!"

"Your manager seems to, uh, have a strong dislike for Eustass Kid," Ace heard Marco asked next to him, less wary and more curious about the entire display.

Sighing, Ace nodded, sidling closer to his side as they continued to watch the two, "Yeah, and Kid's really adamant about taking him out for a date. He's my friend and all, but there's no accounting for taste, i guess," As he spoke, he noted that the actor looked less tense than he was before Kid appeared, as if the entire event had distracted him away from his anxiety about the upcoming interview. Smiling slightly, the dark haired singer leaned even closer, lowering his volume as not to attract anyone else's attention, "It's actually kind of funny how it all started…,"

He met Kid and his band during the early years of his debut, in the middle of one of his first time participating in a music shows. Kid had first bonded with Luffy - who often tag along for those events - over their shared admiration of a film director - Kid for his movies, Luffy because Shanks is a close family friends who used to bring him over to filming sets when he was younger - before he warmed up to Ace as more than a fellow performer.

They didn't become any closer than that until last year, when Ace's career rose much higher than expected and Rayleigh had to hire another manager for him since Sabo can't be expected to keep up with every single one of his schedules alone. It was a couple of months after Law was hired that he met Kid again, this time in a broadcasting studio and all of the sudden, he just can't get rid of the man.

"Kid used to be a typical rockstar too, you know, groupies, calling fans backstage and to their trailer, the likes, but after he met Law," Ace made a swiping vertical swiping motion with his hand, "Zilch. At least that's what Heat, his bassist, likes to tell everyone. Apparently, he deleted all hookup numbers in his phone, and the times they did saw him on his phone, it was all to message Law, and he probably does that day and night,"

It's not something a lot of people outside of their close circle knows and he probably shouldn't be gossiping about it, but then they are making a spectacle out of themselves right now. Plus, Marco seems focused enough on his story to be nervous, and that's a plus for Ace.

The blonde frowned, glancing at him from the corner of his eyes, "Doesn't sound like his feelings are reciprocated, though,"

"That's the thing. Kid could sometimes be too brash and pushy for his own good, but he's still a decent guy. If Law's really not interested, he would've backed off by now,"

"But he is?" Marco frowned, turning back just in time to see the lanky manager kicking the rockstar's leg in an effort to finish pushing him away out of the door. Kid still persistently held on to the door frame however, bargaining for a dinner instead of lunch, which was again met with shouted to get lost, "Doesn't look like it to me,"

Yeah, it would seems so to anyone else. At least, to anyone else who hadn't stolen Law's phone in retaliation over a hacked laptop and subsequent reveal of his very secret 10 gigabyte picture folder. Ace hadn't been able to scroll too far away before the manager realized that his phone had been stolen, but just from the couple recent messages he managed to read, Ace knows Law acted very differently to Kid in the privacy of the messaging app.

He'd never understand those two.

"I know, right? But that's the way it is," the younger huffed, shrugging, "I still can't get over the fact that anyone found Law attractive in the first place," A downright mean bastard with sadistic tendencies and a hairline temper when it comes to his dog, who constantly looked like he's only alive through the power of coffee and constant anger at everything Ace did. Ace does not get it.

Marco hummed, shifting his weight on his other foot, "Well, he does have that quality on him. Tall, dark and handsome, as well as the brooding air, i can imagine a lot of people finding that attractive, actually,"

Ace blinked, before turning so fast that his neck made a cracking noise, mouth gaping and eyes wide. The noise that escaped him encapsulate his shock and disbelief at Marco's statement, and instantly, he looked down on himself. Well, he's not at freakish height like Law, but 6'1 is still above average, right? He's also been called handsome a lot of time, and unlike Law's more olive skin, his was more tan, and that' came from daily exercise and being outside instead of just genetics, which means he is probably also in a better shape.

Though, he'd admit that no one can beat Law in the brooding look. Ace is still sure he must have a goth phase during his youth, what with the piercings and all.

Honestly irritated out of nowhere, he crossed his arms, pouting slightly while he mumbled under his breath, "Well, at least i don't have the attitude," he grumpily found Law again, still scowling after he finally succeeded in chasing Kid out of the dressing room, "And i'm a hell lot cuter when angry, so there,"

While stewing in his own annoyance, Ace missed the confused look Marco gave him.

Ivankov's show started off with a warmup segment, with the host himself boisterously greeting the live audience before sharing series of news from the week, all of them delivered with funny anecdotes and clever quips, with the audience making the all the right reactions. From behind the stage, guest were supposed to watch the proceeding from a small monitor available to know their cue, but Ace was too focused on watching Marco, who had been taking deep breaths non stop since they were called to be on stand by behind the stage's sliding entrance.

With Inazuma, Ivankov's assistant too busy watching the stage to look over to them, Ace moved closer and tentatively nudged the older man with his elbow. His breathing stuttered and when his eyes fluttered open, Ace could see the palpable nervousness swimming in those bright blue orbs.

"—the news that i am sure we have all heard, all of our mothers and daughters have heard and cried hysterically about, Spade and Marco Newgate. Are they really in a relationship?"

Quietly, edging his mouth away from the microphone he had been equipped with, the freckled singer asked, "Is it that bad?"

Marco seems reluctant to speak for a while, before he took another deep breath and nodded, "I just… never really do well with these sort of things. Makes me feel awkward having so many strangers looking at me and having me in the spotlight," he gave an ironic smile, the sight which tugged Ace's heart string, "Weird, isn't it? Considering i'm a public figure and all,"

"—spotted downtown holding hands, those risque mall photos and the damning, damning picture of Marco's car in Spade's driveway late at night— Ooh, didn't mean that double entendre, people, i swear, we're rated PG here—"

Ace didn't return his smile, even as Marco's slowly faded away and he looked down to his shoes, "So the problem was mostly with the audience, right?"

Marco let out another shuddering breath, nodding weakly.

"—But a lot of people are sceptical! I know, right? Well, what do you say we get some confirmation from the straight horses' mouth? That's right, horses, plural, because today, we have not one, but two very special guests—"

"Well then," Ace reached for both of Marco's hands, holding and squeezing them to get the man to look up to him. Blue meets grey, apprehensive to determined, "I'll do most of the talking, keep their attention away from you," he smiled slightly, squeezing the older man's hands again, "And if you're starting to feel uncomfortable, just look at me. I'm not a stranger, right?"

It was probably easier said than done, but for that moment, Ace knew he at least managed to calm Marco down when his hands were squeezed back.

"—give it up for Spade and Marco Newgate! Our two— Oh my, what is this? Have we interrupted something, boys?"

Oh, oops. They missed their cue.

Faux pas aside, the interview had gone swimmingly, at least for the first half.

As a warm up, Ivankov had them answering about their recent activity, a question that was mostly focused on Ace regarding his recent comeback and upcoming solo concert, and he found that by prolonging the answer by trading goofy stories, the less time there will be for them to turn to Marco. The man was not completely still, at least, giving one or two lines of comment on his own, and it took Ace's entire being not to preen when Marco mentioned he had his newest songs on repeat since their release.

"So celebrities being friends happens all the time, but the two of you run on a very different social circle," The claps and laughters that had erupted after Ace's last story about how his expression on his latest album had came to be immediately died down at Ivankov's remark, and internally, Ace braced himself. They've finally stepped to why they're actually here. From his periphery, sitting on the sofa right next to his, he could see Marco stiffening, "Yet you seemed quite familiar with each other, how did you two ended up knowing each other?"

Even when he knew that this question is coming - it was all scripted, after all - Ace found it hard to act normal as he delivered the equally scripted and carefully worded answer, a true story with a lot of vagueness added into it, "Well, it was an accident, believe it or not. We quite literally bumped into each other one day, and found out that we're fans of each other. i'm a big fan of his films, Marco apparently listened to my music, and it was cool so we get to talking,"

"And when did this talking changed to uh," the afro-haired crossdresser cleared his throat exaggeratedly, glancing and winking at the audience for extra effect, "Talking so closely?"

Right on cue, the large screen decorating the back of the stage showed an image from the dating news, a few were blurry pictures of the two of them inside of Makino's cafe with a larger frontal picture of them running in a hurry to Marco's car. Ace pursed his lips in annoyance, knowing for sure that this picture did not ended up on any of the magazines - at least, not the ones Law bought over to his place - and wondered if he can ask Ivankov to give him a copy of this. The angle of the picture caught Marco's casual attire that day unlike the others, and he can't finish his newly formed scrapbook without this one.

"Ac— uh, Spade, i mean, during our first meeting, i accidentally broke something of his, and i offered to pay for it. That picture was tak— sorry, taken during our way to fix… fix the stuff,"

It's such a shame that their every movements were being watched so closely because the urge to just leap over and shout out 'You're doing great, sweetie!' was overwhelming. Especially when such exclamation will only stoke the fire they're trying to keep on neutral. With resignation, Ace could only showed his support by grinning at Marco and nodding at his words, highly aware that Marco himself was trying so hard to only look at him instead of the crowd in front of him.

Questions for each of the paparazzi shots were asked and answered with the same amount of efficiency, and after having to answer what exactly did Marco broke did Ace made a mental note to call Brook and tell him of the fate of his sunglasses, which he should've done a while ago. Ivankov would not ask them the question directly just yet, just letting them answer with as much 'truth' as they can, because after all, even though this is for their sake, he had to keep the ratings up too.

Such is show business, he supposed.

Finally, several questions and subtle innuendos later - poor Marco was still squirming over 'his car being in Ace's driveway' bit, which was apparently something Ivankov was so proud of he had to mention it twice in the span of 5 minutes - the tightly dressed crossdresser crossed his legs and daintily propped his hands on top of his knees, blinking almost too innocently, "I think it's best if i just ask what is in everyone's mind: Are you or are you not dating with each other?"

Ace opened his mouth, the answer on the tip of his tongue when Marco suddenly beat him to the punch, voice much more stable than it had been the entire time, "No, we are not. We're just friends. Those pictures had been taken during one outing and is in no way an indication of our relationship to each other. Not only that some of the pictures were gross breach of privacy, but i value Spade as a good friend and would hate to have something like this cause a disturbance and rift in our friendship,"

There's chorus of disappointment mixed with several cheers from the audiences' seat, and Ivankov was saying something else to address them, but Ace was too busy staring at Marco, who seems quite confused by his own feat.

Disregarding their surrounding, Ace reached over and patted the dumbfounded blonde's knee, unable to hold back his smile, "Thank you," he mouthed, his stomach bubbling over the thought that Marco valued their relationship that much.

Marco's smile was shy, but equally happy.

"Well, you might say that, Marco," Ivankov spoke, standing up from his seat and making a flourish hand gesture to the screen again, as if he's about to present something else. Which he shouldn't, that picture before had been the last and his question about their relationship should be the end of their segment. This is now going off script and Ace knew he looked as alarmed as Marco suddenly become, "But here's the thing,"

The screen flickered on, and displayed on the giant screen were now series of pictures that Ace had never seen before but clearly recognized with dawning horror. Popping images of him and Marco inside of the quiet burger joint during their breakfast, with him leaning over from his table to hug the startled actor, of them roaming the streets of the Ace's neighbouring suburb, of them entering and exiting the party store while ducking from the high schooler, of pictures of them inside the party store - holy shit, did the cashier lady did recognize them?! - leaning over each other closely on the corner near the wall, of them hugging again in the cramped aisle.

The slideshow ended with a video taken by a young girl with half of her face covered by her own hand, whispering statically 'Oh my god, it's them' before she shifted her camera over her shoulder. Though half of the screen was still hidden by her head, there was no mistaking Ace and his newly acquired orange hat sitting a couple of tables away, scooping a rather large dollop of ice cream from his giant bowl and offering it to the blonde man in front of him, who was very obviously Marco.

"Try this one," he heard his own voice coming from the video, static and far away as they are, helped by the subtitle added on the bottom of the video by the production team, "I think you'd like it better, you're more into bitter taste, right?"

In the video, Marco looked up from his much smaller bowl to the spoon and without a hint of hesitation leaned over to allow himself be spoon fed ice cream, and if that wasn't enough, Ace - unconsciously, he didn't even realized he had done that then and was incredibly embarrassed by it afterwards - immediately put the spoon back into his mouth, even licking the back a couple of times first.

Marco's reply was drowned by the girl's muffled squeal after she came back into shot, hissing 'oh my god, that indirect kiss' before the video suddenly ended.

There was silence in the room, before Marco stood up, expression completely bewildered as he looked around the room, to Ivankov, to Ace, and finally to the screen again, shouting, "Oh, come on!"

"Yes, come on, now, Marco," Ivankov gleefully called out, "'Just friends, are you?"

I kind of didn't realize this when i started writing this fic but some of the things i wrote down could be seen as 'ok, but why is that a big deal and why did that make people think they're dating', and i think i should make clear that most of the interaction and 'scandal' was basically based on my brief (very, very brief) experience with the asian celeb news, like in kpop and jpop. Even the littlest things can be seen as an indication that two idols are dating (i remember this one really absurd example: a kpop girlband member posted a picture of her food, and some netizen found a reflection of boyband member on the freaking spoon, like that level of detail) and that's the sort of thing i was going on with here?

Anyways, again, so sorry for the very, very late update, and i hope you liked it!