Thanks Myladyday and Vergina-spva for beta'ing


Chapter 15

Voices coming from the kitchen indicated that they had a visitor, and, judging by the laugh, it was clear that it was Ace. Izo closed the front door behind him and hung up his coat, before moving inside to greet Thatch and Ace.

Ace was telling a story about something that happened at work, sitting on the counter, and stopped mid-sentence when Izo entered, grinning broadly at him. "Hi!" he said.

Thatch, who was chopping vegetables, turned around. "Hey Izo, guess what?" he asked excitedly.

"Well, seeing that Ace is here, I'm guessing it's feeding time," Izo said dryly.

"Very funny," Ace said sarcastically, but he did catch the piece of carrot Thatch threw up in the air with his mouth, undermining his point a little.

"That too, but Ace says he knows someone who owns a restaurant, so I might get a job," Thatch said, beaming.

"Wait a minute," Ace protested, "I said I know someone whose dad owns a restaurant. The only thing I offered was to ask Sanji if he could use someone."

"Anyway, I might get a job here," Thatch repeated, unfazed by the correction.

Izo frowned. "Is that the same friend whose restaurant burned down, of which you were accused and thrown into prison?"

"Yup," Ace said as if it were no big deal and stole another piece of carrot. "So anyway, I'll ask Sanji if you can have a try out or something, is that okay?"

Izo rolled his eyes because of Ace's light-hearted reaction, as that situation had certainly been hard on Marco, but he decided to let the subject rest. Instead, he stole a piece of carrot as well. Thatch let him, but when Ace made another attempt, he smacked him on his hand.

"Stop that, or there will be nothing left for dinner," he said reprimanding. "Why don't you two go set the table or something?"

Ace followed Izo out of the kitchen and took the stack of plates Izo handed him. He was surprisingly quiet as he set the table, so much, that it started to disturb Izo.

"Are you alright?" Izo asked.

"I am, but are you?" Ace flung the question back at him.

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Izo asked as he placed cutlery next to the plates.

Ace gave him a deadpanned look. "Are you kidding me? Thatch told me what happened. Congratulations on having your first date, by the way."

"It wasn't a real date," Izo protested. "He felt a little insecure, so I helped him out. That's all."

"Sure it is," Ace said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "But don't get me started on that. I was talking about the fact that he's moving in here permanently."

"Semi-permanently," Izo corrected.

"He's subletting his apartment!" Ace sighed. "Why are you doing this to yourself, Izo?"

Something in his tone made Izo look up, and he saw that Ace looked genuinely sad. He almost started to feel guilty, even though he had no reason for that. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, but it sounded less convincing than he would have liked.

"Yes, you do!" Ace suddenly exclaimed, so loud that Thatch looked around the corner of the kitchen.

"Is everything alright?"

"We're fine." Izo waved him away. Thatch shrugged and went back into the kitchen. Izo turned to Ace. "Would you mind keeping it down?" he hissed.

"I'm sorry, but can't you see how frustrating this is?!" Ace sighed.

"I'm sorry my life is an inconvenience for you," Izo snapped, placing the mats for the pans a little too hard on the table.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Ace walked over to Izo and took his hand. "But are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I've lived with Thatch before."

"But not while you knew you were in love with him, right?" Ace pressed.

"Aside from the past few weeks, I've lived with him for almost a year while I knew." While that was true, as he realised on his eighteenth birthday, which was in October, and Thatch and he had left the house in August the next year, Izo knew Ace wouldn't just accept it as a fact and let go. He knew him too well for that.

As he expected, Ace started to protest. "You were living with a lot of people back then. And in the past few weeks, you thought he would leave at any moment. Now that he won't, don't you think he might find out?"

"I don't see how he would, unless someone opens their big mouth," Izo huffed.

Ace held up his hands defensively. "Hey, he won't hear it from me. But I really think you should seriously consider telling him yourself before he sublets his apartment."

"I already told you why I can't!" Izo realised how loud he was and immediately lowered his voice. Fortunately, Thatch was standing with his head under the cooker hood, so he didn't hear a thing. "I can't do that…" he whispered.

"Have you ever looked at it from his point of view?" Ace asked softly. "What if he finds out? He might be dense, but at some point the pieces might fall into place. And if he knew that you've been suffering in silence all these years, how do you think he will feel?"

"Then it would be best if I don't tell him, wouldn't it?" Izo retorted.

"He'd rather hear if from you than find it out himself," Ace insisted. "And if you wait until he has moved in here, he won't have a place to go anymore if things get awkward between you."

Izo remained silent.

Ace took a step closer and wrapped his arms around him. "I'm only saying this because I hate to see you suffer. I want you to be happy. And don't tell me that you are, because I can see you're in pain."

Izo took a shaky breath, but he refused to cry. It meant a lot to him that Ace cared so much, even if his well-meant advice would mean the end of his relationship with Thatch as he knew it.

"Look," Ace continued, "if I've learned anything from my relationship with Marco, it's that communication is key. I almost lost him because he withheld something from me because he assumed he knew how I was going to react. And he was dead wrong."

"That's different," Izo protested. "You knew Marco a few weeks. I've known Thatch all my life."

"And that means you know everything that's going on inside his head?" Ace asked challengingly.

"I…" Izo would like to say yes, but lately, he wasn't so sure anymore. The suggestion for the date had been unexpected, as was the proposal to move in together. Defeated, he sighed. "Alright, I'll think about it."

The grin returned to Ace's face, and he hugged Izo so tightly that Izo could almost hear his ribs crack. After that, he went back to setting the table, more cheerfully this time.

Izo, on the other hand, wasn't too sure how to feel. Was he actually going to confess his love to Thatch? His stomach turned at the thought, making him feel like a child with a first crush again.


The doorbell rang, and Izo looked up from his book when suddenly several things in the kitchen crashed to the floor, indicating that Thatch was more nervous than he had let on after all. Today, Sanji would stop by to try out Thatch's cooking, as agreed upon by him and Ace, to see if Thatch would be suitable to work in his father's restaurant.

"I'll get it," Izo called to the kitchen as he placed his book on the coffee table. He couldn't help a smile from creeping up his face. It was kind of endearing how Thatch was nervous for this meeting, as he had been in the kitchen all morning, shoving spoons of food into Izo's mouth to taste and approve. Izo had tried to calm him down, but while Thatch had assured he was relaxed, he had immediately started mixing fervently again.

When Izo opened the door, he was greeted by three faces, two of which where familiar. The first was Ace, who had come to make the introductions – and for the food, Izo suspected. The other was a friend of Ace who had visited Izo's exhibition a few months ago. His name had slipped Izo's mind, but his bright green hair was a dead giveaway, though Izo couldn't remember if he had had a scar over his left eye last time as well. The third man, who was tall and blond, had to be Sanji.

"Hi, Izo," Ace greeted him. "So Sanji, this is Izo–"

"My Asian beauty!" Sanji exclaimed, falling to his knees and kissing Izo's hand while Izo looked on flabbergasted.

"–Marco's brother," Ace finished his sentence.

Izo could feel Sanji freeze up for a second, before he rose to his feet, coughing to hide his embarrassment. Obviously, he had mistaken Izo for a woman, which had happened before, though Izo usually shattered their illusions soon enough himself.

"Idiot," the green haired man muttered, though loud enough for Sanji to hear.

"Shut up, moss head," Sanji snapped and he cleared his throat. "Well, I'm Sanji." He shook Izo's hand that he had been kissing only moments before.

Ace grinned. "And this is Zoro, Sanji's boyfriend."

Izo's eyebrows rose, and he couldn't help but be intrigued. Sanji's abrupt stop of his action when he had taken Izo for a woman had implied that he was straight or even homophobic, yet here he was standing with his boyfriend. This was proving to be an interesting evening.

For now, though, he decided to pretend it never happened and turned to Zoro. "I've seen you before, haven't I? You were at my gallery."

"Oh, so you're the guy who draws all those naked people," Zoro said with an understanding nod.

"Guilty as charged," Izo replied as he let them pass him. When they entered the living room, they were greeted by Thatch, who wiped his hands on his apron.

"Hey, you must be Sanji," he said, clasping Sanji's hand with both hands and shaking in what appeared to be a painful manner. Thatch had a tendency to do that when he was nervous. If he was in pain, though, Sanji didn't show it. "I'm Thatch."

"Hello," Sanji said through gritted teeth.

"Thatch, honey," Izo said and gestured to their hands, as Thatch hadn't stopped shaking yet. Thatch seemed to understand and let go of Sanji with a sheepish look on his face. Sanji shook his hand behind his back, indicating that the shake had hurt after all.

"And this is Zoro, Sanji's boyfriend," Ace said, seemingly oblivious to it all. "'Cause Sanji is bi too," he added cheerfully as if it was completely appropriate and cast a meaningful glance at Thatch.

"That's… cool," Thatch said slowly, exchanging a look with Izo. Izo just rolled his eyes. He knew what Ace was doing, though he'd better stop it right now before Thatch got wind of it too. He narrowed his eyes at Ace, who just shrugged innocently.

"Anyway," Sanji said, clearly trying to change the subject, "oddly enough, I didn't come here to discuss my sexuality with strangers, thank you very much. I'm here for the food."

"Aren't we all?" Ace asked with a grin.

"How about I show you to the kitchen?" Thatch suggested. He seemed to have gotten over his nerves, and Izo gave him an approving nod, which was answered by a grin.

After the two left, Izo was still standing with Ace and Zoro in the middle of the room. "Please, have a seat," Izo said towards the latter, as Ace had already made himself at home.

"So Izo, Zoro's part Japanese as well," Ace said to break the silence.

"Really?" Izo turned to Zoro, who was sitting next to him on the couch. Zoro replied in Japanese, prompting Izo to continue in that language. It was nice to talk Japanese to someone. Izo had made a few journeys to Japan, but other than that, he barely used the language, aside from reading it. They continued until Ace started to complain that he couldn't understand a word they were saying. By that time, Thatch and Sanji came into the room with hors-d'oeuvres.

"How's it going?" Izo asked softly when Thatch handed him one of the snacks, placing a hand on his arm.

Thatch hesitated for a bit, eying Sanji, who was arguing with Zoro about one thing or another. "I think it's going okay," he finally said slowly. "He's critical, but he definitely knows what he's talking about and he gets excited easily when we're discussing food. Though, he does seem to have a bit of a temper," he said frowning as he watched Sanji kick Zoro harshly in the shin.

Ace leaned towards them. "Yeah, I probably should have mentioned it before, but it can get a bit violent in the kitchen. Lu's a dishwasher and he often tells of fights that break out."

"Yeah, you could have mentioned that before," Izo said sharply.

Ace shrugged as he snatched another hors-d'oeuvre. "It's still the best restaurant in town."

The rest of the evening, Izo and Ace tried to sway Sanji's opinion by stating how good the food was, and even Zoro was helping in some degree by saying that it tasted way better than Sanji's own cooking, but that only made Sanji mad and start a fight.

After dinner, when Ace and Zoro were helping with the dishes, Sanji went outside to smoke, and Izo followed him. "So tell me," he said, "does he stand a chance?"

Sanji took a long inhale from his cigarette to buy himself some time to think of an answer, no doubt. "He is a great chef," he finally said.

"But?" Izo asked sharply.

Sanji hummed, leaning against the wall of Izo's house. "I fear he might be too nice."

"He's no pushover, I can assure you of that," Izo said, crossing his arms before his chest. Thatch was a people pleaser, that much was true, and probably the reason why he became a cook in the first place, Izo suspected, but he did know the boundaries between nice and being used as a doormat.

"That's not what I mean," Sanji said. "I don't know if Ace told you about how it goes in the kitchen of the Baratie?"

"The fights, you mean? Yeah, he mentioned that just now."

Sanji nodded. "Well, Thatch doesn't seem like a guy you want to punch."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Izo asked.

"Look," Sanji combed with a hand through his hair, "I'm not making the decision. All I can do is ask my old man to give him a chance and maybe a trial night, but honestly, I'm not even sure he wants to work there after seeing what it's like. The other chefs are…" His lips quirked into a smile. "Well, I guess the best word for it is rogues."

"And you?" Izo asked challengingly.

The smile grew. "I wouldn't call myself a rogue."

Before they could continue their conversation, the door opened and Zoro appeared. "The dishes are done, curly brow."

Sanji rolled his eyes – Izo had noted that he had oddly curling eyebrows. "Well, what do you want? A medal?" Still, he stomped out his cigarette and followed Zoro inside. Soon after, they were all leaving, thanking Thatch for the food – Ace in his own ridiculously polite way. He whispered to Izo that he was going to try his best to talk Sanji into hiring Thatch.

When they were all gone, Izo sat down on the couch and took the glass of wine Thatch offered him gratefully. "So, are you satisfied with the way it went?" he asked as he took a sip.

Thatch thought for a moment, pursing his lips. "I guess I am," he said. "I mean, of course it didn't go anything like I expected, but good nonetheless. And you know, if he doesn't hire me, that's okay too. There are enough other restaurants in the city who'd be happy to have me."

"You're acting so maturely about this," Izo said teasingly. "I didn't know you had it in you. Careful! I have wine," he said when Thatch elbowed him in the ribs.

They sat together for a while longer, before Izo prodded Thatch. "Come on, you're falling asleep here." He placed his empty wine glass on the window sill and helped the sleepy Thatch up. Upstairs, Thatch went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, while Izo moved into the bedroom. He was about to undress when Thatch knocked on the door and entered.

"Before I forget," he said, "I called with Acilia's friend today. You know, the one who wants to rent my apartment."

"Oh?" Izo asked absentmindedly. His blood ran cold when he was reminded of Ace's words, that he had to confess to him before Thatch had no place to run anymore.

"Yeah, I think she's like eighteen or something, so a bit young, but she seems nice. I'm going to meet her for coffee soon, though, just in case."

"That's a little young for you, isn't it?" Izo tried to joke, but it came out more bitterly than he intended.

"It's not a date," Thatch said firmly. "I just want to see who's going to touch my stuff. And by that I mean my furniture and such, before you make an innuendo out of it."

Izo hummed, but he was barely listening. Distractedly, he grabbed his brush and started to brush his hair with brusque movements.

"Izo."

The seriousness of his voice made Izo turn around and he placed the brush back on his dressing table.

Thatch had sat down on the edge of the bed, patting down beside him. "Could you come here for a moment?"

Confused, Izo obeyed and sat down next to Thatch on the bed. He seemed nervous for some reason, fidgeting with his clothes.

"So," he finally started, "the past few weeks have been great, and…" He stopped talking again, seemingly not knowing how to continue.

Izo leaned down to try to make eye contact, but Thatch evaded his glace, worrying Izo. "Are you okay? Have you changed your mind about moving in?" he asked.

"Could you just shut up for a moment?" Thatch asked harshly, but he seemed to startle even himself with his tone. Rubbing his face with his hands, he took a shaky breath. "I'm sorry, I just really need to say this."

Izo remained silent, but he did take Thatch's hands in his to encourage him to talk. After a few minutes of silent prompting, Thatch finally looked Izo in the eye, taking a shaky breath.

"I think I'm in love with you."