Yo! So this is my story for the amazing Share the Love Month event on Tumblr. It's a good 17 days late because of reasons, so sorry about that. Also, I would like to say that it's the longest thing I've ever written.
Thank you lunarshores for beta'ing!
As Marco walked down the street, his nose caught the scent of delicious food, wafting out of many of brightly-colored food stalls.
He didn't know how Thatch had gotten wind of this festival, considering it was at least 50 miles away from home. And he didn't know why he had agreed to come here with him. Probably because Izo wouldn't have let him hear the end of it if he hadn't.
Nothing particularly caught his eye as he wandered through the crowded street, the cacophony of people shouting to be heard over the loud music blaring from speaker strategically placed around giving him a headache already
The setting sun painted the sky a brilliant crimson red. Marco had no idea where Thatch had wandered off to, and he didn't bother trying to look for him in the sea of people. He just kept on walking, hoping to find something worth investigating.
After a long while, Marco found himself at the end of the last few food stalls. Beyond that point, there was only the night sky, lit by the torches stuck into the ground to form a big circle, surrounded by people.
Intrigued, Marco rushed over there. He heard a woman reprimanding a crying child.
"Shh… the show's about to start."
He looked past them to see a young boy, no older than 15, walk around and start putting out the torches. When he was finished, he walked to the center of the circle.
"Hi, guys! I'm Luffy, and this is my brother, Ace." He pointed to someone far behind him. "Welcome to our Fire Dance!" The boy shouted, before turning on his heel and walking toward the back of the circle. Well, at least it was the back from Marco's point of view. Though, now that he took a closer look, it was the only part that was completely devoid of onlookers.
All of a sudden, he saw a flame come to life, and a boy, probably around 18 years old, walked out into the circle. He wasn't wearing anything but baggy black pants with a flame pattern climbing up one of his legs. Even his feet were bare. His face was illuminated by the torch he was holding in one of his hands. Gray eyes shone brightly, and his dark as night hair gleamed in the torchlight. He swept his eyes over the audience, as he bowed low.
When he straightened once more, Marco had to fight hard to tear his eyes away from the boy's rippling muscles.
Music began to play. It was soft at first. The fire performer lifted his right hand, the one with the burning torch, leaned his head back, and brought the flame to his mouth. Marco watched in shock as those delicate lips almost closed around the burning item. The performer removed it from his mouth a second later and proceeded to lift his left hand, in which, as Marco only now noticed, he held a second, unlit torch. He also took it into his mouth. Upon removing it, Marco noticed that it, too, was now aflame.
Ace turned around to face his brother, who had come forward with three more torches- one in his mouth and two in his hands. Ace started juggling the two he was holding, and one by one, Luffy threw the rest of the torches his way. Marco watched in awe as the performer threw them into the air and caught them once again with practiced ease. After about a minute of this, Ace threw the torches back to Luffy, who put them out as soon as he caught them and dropped them to the ground. The younger boy then proceeded to walk over to his brother and handed him burning poi*.
The music sped up, and once more, Marco watched, transfixed, as the dancer started waving them around to the rhythm of the song. The poi were swung in circles around the performer's body, and, in the light of the fire, Marco made out a sheen of sweat covering that toned body. The flames twirled this way and that as the dancer started moving. He swayed his hips and moved his shoulders up and down with each change in the poi's position. The balls of fire soared through the sky, weaving intricate patterns of red and orange.
As the music slowed down, Marco's eyes slipped down to the dancer's torso again. Ace's pants had slipped dangerously low, and looked like they were just barely covering his ass. Absorbed with what he was doing, the performer didn't seem to have noticed. Marco couldn't help but look on as, millimeter after millimeter, they slid down lower and lower.
And then the dancer stopped moving. Marco raised his eyes to look at that freckle-adorned face. Ace's lips were slightly parted, and he was breathing slightly heavier than before. The flush that adorned those cheeks was barely visible in the darkness.
He looked past Ace to see Luffy come forward again. Ace handed him the still-burning poi, and in turn, his younger brother gave him a bottle of… something, a burning torch, and a cloth.
Marco couldn't help but admire them for not being afraid of the fire.
Luffy went back to where he'd been standing for most of the show. Marco watched in slight disbelief as Ace opened the bottle and drank its contents. No, not drank. His throat hadn't moved, so he hadn't swallowed. Ace then put it down, so that he was left holding only the remaining two items.
He looked to be waiting for something. Marco noticed the music had almost completely stopped by now. When the last notes faded into the silence, he saw Ace tilt his head upwards and bring the torch up, about a foot away from his mouth.
He blew the liquid he had been holding in his mouth over the fire just as a dragon's roar sounded. The flame stretched for at least two yards up into the air, lighting up the night sky far more than any of the previous acts. For a while, all that Marco could see was the red and orange of the gigantic breath of fire. When it diminished and eventually subsided, he could once again see the performer, who lifted the cloth to his lips to wipe away the remains of the fuel. Then, he bowed.
People started cheering and clapping. Marco himself could only staring at the performer uncomprehendingly. The act had far exceeded his expectations. Luffy walked over to his brother once more. He waved his hands a bit to encourage the crowd to quiet down.
"Thanks for watching the show! My brother never ceases to amaze me, either, no matter how many times I see the show. See ya later!"
The people started leaving. Marco stayed behind to catch one last glimpse of the performer, before walking off in search of Thatch.
It was only an hour later, when he slipped his hand into his pocket, that he noticed that his wallet was missing.
It would have been really awkward reporting a crime to the police, considering that he himself was a policeman. When he went to the local police department and saw an impressively large group of people demanding that the officers find the person who stole their money at the festival, he returned to Thatch, who was waiting for him in the car, with a grin on his face.
"I still can't believe that someone pickpocketed you. You of all people. This is great!" Thatch exclaimed. "Or… err… it would be if you hadn't lost so much money." Marco sent a glare his way, before going around to the other side of the car and getting in.
There was no way in hell he would let Thatch drive, after the amount of alcohol he'd consumed at the festival yesterday.
"Come on, Marco. Don't be like that. I'm sure they'll catch the guy eventually. Marco turned to look at him skeptically, eyebrows raised, before starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot. He turned on the radio, keeping it at low volume, so that Thatch's headache wouldn't worsen.
"No, they won't. I doubt that they'll find him in the first place, considering it was dark and no one could see his face clearly nor his brother's. And even if they do, what then? They'll have no proof that he did it. He's definitely not enough of an idiot to keep the wallets. If I had to guess, he and his brother would take the money, and burn the rest of the stuff in the wallets, so that no one would be able to track them if any documents were found." He could see Thatch blink twice, mouth agape.
"But yesterday you told me that you clearly saw his face and could have described it in detail. And just now, you told me that it was impossible. Marco, you're acting very suspicious." All of a sudden, he grinned. "Was he that hot?"
Marco sighed, before taking one hand off the steering wheel, and putting it on the volume knob of the radio. Keeping his eyes on the road, he twisted it to the right. The music blared loudly in the car, and Thatch doubled over, hands covering his ears.
"Sorry! I'm sorry! Please turn that down!" It was Marco's turn to grin.
"Take a nap or something, Thatch. I'll wake you up when we get home."
Roughly a month later, Thatch pulled Marco along to another festival. This time, he wasn't the only one who was eager to go. Marco hoped to see the fire performer again. Of course, he had no idea what he'd do if he found him, but he figured that he'd improvise as usual.
Once more, Thatch wandered off, probably to look for a girl to flirt with, and Marco was left aimlessly roaming the streets. He was passing a stall that sold popcorn and cotton candy when he heard an all too familiar voice.
"Come on, Ace, let's get some more food!" Marco turned to look across the street. He spotted the person who spoke at once. It was Luffy. Ace was walking right beside him. He lifted a hand to run it through his hair.
"You know we don't have enough money to get any more. Besides, we have to go set everything up for the show." It was only now that Marco realized that he'd never heard Ace's voice. It was soft, and had a melodic ring to it. As the brothers started walking farther and farther away from him, he made a quick decision to follow them. He tried to stay out of sight for the most part, but he was pretty sure that Ace spotted him when he was rounding the corner. Marco saw Ace lean his head towards Luffy and whisper something in his ear. Luffy turned to look at his brother, concern clear on his face. When they came to the next intersection, the brothers split up. It was then that Marco knew for certain that he'd been found out. He let Luffy go, opting instead to follow Ace. Ace turned into a dark alleyway. Marco went after him. He didn't take more than a few steps forward, before someone came up behind him and pressed a knife to his throat.
"Don't move. Now, who are you and whaddya want." Marco recognized Ace's voice. He sighed.
"I want to help you Ace." Did he? He wasn't certain, but it's not like he had anything better to say to the boy holding his life in his hands at the moment. Ace pushed him up against the wall of a nearby building.
"How do you know my name? You a cop?"
"No, I'm not a cop," Marco lied. He had a feeling that if he told Ace the truth it wouldn't end well. "I saw your show in Paradise City a month ago." The second Ace's grip on him loosened, Marco grabbed the arm holding a knife to his neck, forced it away from him and ducked under it. He proceeded to twist that arm behind Ace's back, pushing him forward into the wall of the building he had just had his chest against a second ago. Marco tightened his grip on Ace's wrist, forcing him to let go of the knife. The metal blade fell to the ground with a clatter.
"Ahh! What the fuck?!" Ace exclaimed in surprise. Marco leaned forward. His lips brushed against Ace's ear.
"You're ten years too young to be picking a fight with me, brat. You know what I said a second ago? About me not being a cop? I lied. You shouldn't have let your guard down." He could hear Ace's breathing speed up. He started struggling to get out of Marco's grip.
"Let. Me. GO!" he shouted. Marco quickly looked around to see if they'd attracted anyone's attention. When he didn't see anyone nearby, he turned to Ace again.
"Only if you promise not to attack me anymore or run off," Marco replied. When Ace snorted, Marco twisted his arm a little more, eliciting a cry of pain from the boy in front of him.
"Alright, alright! I promise. Happy? You can let go of me now." Marco released Ace's wrist. Not taking his eyes off the boy in front of him for a second, he knelt down to pick up the knife. Ace's face was twisted with fury, and a fair amount of fear. Marco supposed it was only logical. After all, he'd just been pinned to a building by a man who'd admitted to being a police officer. He supposed it was only that fact that kept him from running off.
"Where's Luffy?" Marco asked. Ace glared at him harder.
"Like hell I'd tell you!" he exclaimed. Marco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He saw Ace's gray eyes follow his every move.
"Come on, Ace, I really do want to help the two of you." Ace scoffed. "Would you trust me more if I gave you your knife back?" He saw Ace bite his lip. Marco was certain that Ace knew he could easily take him down if Ace attacked again, but he also knew that Ace would feel better if he had a weapon. Ace slowly nodded. Marco reached out his arm and handed Ace the knife. The boy put it in the sheath he had at his belt.
"Why do you want to help us? You're a cop!" Ace demanded.
"Because sometimes the system doesn't work. Believe me, I know. I also know that you don't have any money, which is the only reason I'm not telling you to return what you stole. But if you do want me to help you, you have to promise that you'll stop stealing." When he saw Ace open his mouth to protest, he quickly added, "I know how it is to be desperate, but stealing will only get you in more trouble. Where do you and your brother currently live?" he asked. Ace shifted his weight from one leg to the other. He looked down, and Marco could have sworn that he saw Ace's cheeks redden. He mumbled something.
"I didn't catch that."
"On the streets." Marco looked at him with pity.
"Then come with me. You and your brother will have a roof over your heads, warm meals; you'll be able to get an education, maybe even a job. You won't have to steal from people to get by anymore." Ace lifted his head to look at Marco.
"Like hell! We're fine where we are!" Ace shouted. Marco sighed again.
"How do you think Luffy feels living on the streets? He has no way to get a proper education. How do you think his life will turn out later. Of course, that's if he lives that long." Ace glared at him murderously.
"There's no way Luffy would die that easily." Marco raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
"Open your eyes, Ace! He could fall victim to an illness, and you won't have the money to buy medicine. Someone could attack him when you're not there. A boy his age should have a proper home." Ace stayed silent, biting his lower lip. Marco could have sworn he saw blood trickle down his chin. Before he could make sure, Ace lifted his hand and wiped his mouth.
"What do you want in return?" he asked. Marco looked at him, puzzled.
"Excuse me?"
"I asked what you want for it. There's no way you'll help us, just like that, if there's nothing in it for you!" Ace shouted.
"I know you won't believe me, Ace, but I sincerely want to help you. Believe it or not, I know what it is like to be in your situation." Their eyes met, Marco's steady and cool, while Ace's darted from one bright blue iris to the other. When he found no sign of insincerity, he looked down again.
"If you try anything funny, or do anything to hurt my brother, I'll kill you on the spot." Both of them ignored the fact that Marco could easily take Ace down before he had the time to do anything of the sort.
Marco couldn't help but notice Ace's apparent lack of concern for his own safety.
Marco let Ace lead as they walked through the streets. Neither of them said a word, both lost in their own thoughts.
Marco resisted the urge to groan. Just what had he been thinking? Inviting someone he didn't know to live with him?
He should have thought this through… It wasn't like him to be this impulsive.
But it's not like he could just let people, both of whom were still just kids, go hungry.
Ace, meanwhile, wondered how he could have been stupid enough to accept some random stranger's offer. If it wasn't for Luffy, he would have told the man to fuck off and gotten on with his life. Unfortunately, as much as Ace didn't want to admit it, the blond was right. Luffy couldn't keep living on the streets.
And he wouldn't. Because as soon as Ace had the opportunity, he would rob the man, and they would hightail it out of there. The items he would get would be easy enough to sell, and they'd probably be able to get themselves a decent apartment, where they'd have access to running water and electricity.
Ace would hopefully find a job, and with a little luck, the cop wouldn't find it. He and Luffy would manage to get by somehow. They always did.
It must've been the shortest walk in his life. They got to the place he agreed to meet Luffy at far, far sooner than Ace had anticipated. His brother had already managed to get everything set up for the show. Once again, the torches were arranged in a circle in the wide-open space.
Luffy turned their way as soon as he heard their footsteps. Ace could see him tense when he noticed the stranger walking behind him.
"Ace… who is this?" Luffy asked.
"This is-" It was only then that Ace realized the he'd never gotten the blonde's name.
"Marco," the man finished for him, "My name is Marco." Luffy's eyes darted between the both of them.
"But who is he?"
"He's...ummm… he's a cop." Luffy's eyes narrowed.
"Why is a police guy with you?" Luffy kept his gaze on Marco, who didn't look the least bit bothered by the caution making itself visible in every muscle of the fifteen-year-old's body. Ace sighed.
"He knows." Luffy turned to look at him again. "He knows, and he wants to help us," Ace continued.
"I don't believe you, pineapple. Police guys never want to help us. They want us to go away." Marco looked at Ace, visibly surprised.
"The police wouldn't help you?" Ace shook his head.
"They wanted to take Luffy away and put him in an orphanage. We couldn't let that happen, so we ran away. Whenever we meet one of them on the streets, they treat us like trash. Then again, I guess that's not far from the truth." Ace shut his mouth before he could say anything else he would regret.
A warm smile appeared on Marco's face.
"You won't have to worry about that now. I promise that you'll be safe." And Marco never went back on his promises. Though he had a feeling he'd be kicking himself for making this one so easily before too long.
The ride home was very long, only the sound of music filling the ever present silence. Marco was driving, with Thatch sitting beside him. The brothers sat in the back of the car, both looking through the windows at what lay beyond.
Many people had come to see the brothers' show. Unfortunately, it hadn't been as good as the one Marco had seen before. You could easily tell that Ace's heart hadn't been in it. While Ace had been performing, Marco had kept a watchful eye on Luffy to make sure he didn't steal anything from the unaware observers. Other than them getting some tips at the end of the show, it was pretty uneventful.
When the show had finished, Marco had had found Thatch and introduced him to Ace and Luffy. His brother hadn't asked any questions, but Marco knew that he was more than slightly curious as to why two strangers were coming home with them.
After about two hours of driving, Marco finally pulled up before Thatch's house. He got out of the car along with his brother. Thatch walked up to the front door, before turning to face him.
"What's going on, Marco? Who are those boys?" Thatch asked. Marco just shook his head, and turned to look at the open car window. Thatch followed Marco's gaze and furrowed his eyebrows. He sighed. "Just promise me you'll be careful, alright Marco?"
"When am I not?" Marco smiled. Thatch huffed and turned to open the front door. Marco watched him disappear into his home, before going back to the car, where he was greeted with a hostile silence that lasted all the way home.
Marco led Ace and Luffy into the living room and gave them a cursory tour of the house. Luffy was definitely the more relaxed of the two. Ace's eyes were constantly darting around the unfamiliar rooms, coming to rest on Marco every few seconds.
"And this is your room. I'm afraid I only have one bed, so you'll have to share for now, but we can get you separate beds this weekend," Marco said. Luffy walked into the room past him, quickly followed by Ace, who dropped the two giant backpacks by the door.
"This is fine. We're used to sharing," Ace said coolly.
"Wow, look Ace! A real bed! And it's so huge." Luffy's outburst ruined the effect of Ace's indifference, making him flush. Marco laughed at their antics, causing Ace to glare at him.
The guest room was reasonably large. The king-sized bed had silver covers and light blue pillows. There were two nightstands pushed up against the wall on either side of the bed, and a dresser opposite of it. At the right was the window, and underneath it was a small bookcase. The walls were painted a vivid light blue color, while the ceiling was silver. There was a light blue carpet on the gray hardwood floor.
"As I already said, the bathroom is right across the hall. If you're going to shower, there are a few towels in the dresser. I'll be in my room if you need anything."
"So I've been thinking," Marco began as he flipped the omelet. He turned to look at Ace, who was already sitting at the table, having woken up a few minutes ago. His hair was slightly tousled, but not in an unattractive way, and his gray eyes were still unfocused. Marco fought the urge to tame the disarrayed locks with his hands, dragging his attention firmly back to the bacon.
"Hmm?" Ace glared at him at the innocent comment. Though they'd been staying with him for a while now, he still hadn't warmed up to Marco in the least. His watchful gaze always followed Marco, especially when Luffy was near. Luffy, however, had settled in nicely, claiming the pineapple was someone they could trust after breakfast the first morning.
"I think Luffy should start going to school." As Ace made to protest, Marco calmly lifted his hand. "You two have been living with me for about a week. I know it takes a while to get accustomed to something this big, but I have a feeling that things would be easier for Luffy if he found some friends his age. I can easily take care of the paperwork, so you won't have to worry about that."
Ace, for one, wasn't thrilled at the prospect of someone being in possession of his or Luffy's personal information, not that they could find him with it if he had no address. Still it might make things harder when he finally took off. Especially if Luffy got attached to friends at school.
"No," he answered bluntly. Marco turned to look at him again, gaze disapproving.
"He's going to have to go to school sooner or later, Ace. And it would be way better if he went sooner." Marco sighed and ran his hand through his hair- it was a nervous habit he'd acquired a while back. "How many years of school has he missed already?" Ace looked at his hands, folded before him on the table.
"Three." He lifted his head to look at Marco again and glared. "But I taught him whatever I could!"
"I don't doubt that, Ace, but Luffy has a lot of catching up to do. And he's not the only one, you know. What do you think about enrolling in high school?" Ace dropped his head, hitting it on the table. He sat there for a few seconds, before he sniffed the air. He lifted his head again, looking past Marco at their breakfast.
"I think the omelet's burning." Marco spun towards the stove.
"Damn it!"
After about another week of living at Marco's, both of the brothers finally enrolled in school. Ace's after school hours were spent studying what the other students already knew. Marco had debated on hiring a tutor, but Ace was doing pretty well on his own, and most of the time when he didn't understand something, Marco was able to explain it to him. After a while, Ace stopped being rude to Marco, but the blond noticed that he still tensed whenever he walked into the room.
It was about a month later that Marco decided to introduce Ace and Luffy to his family.
"Ace, you need to take a break. All of this sitting in the house isn't good for you. You need to get out more." Ace looked up at him from where he was sprawled across the bed, chemistry textbook in hand.
"Where to?" he asked, curiosity thinly veiled by the semi-glare on his face. Marco leaned down and took the book from him. When Ace tried to make a grab for it, Marco hid it behind his back. Ace let his head hit the giant bed that had yet to be replaced and sighed.
"Just when I was getting to the good part." Marco lifted his eyebrows, the corners of his eyes crinkling crinkling in amusement.
"You really like chemistry, huh?" Ace didn't respond. "So I've been thinking-" Marco started, but was quickly interrupted.
"I'm really starting to hate it when you say that." Marco ignored the comment in favor of continuing what he had been saying.
"How would you and Luffy like to go to Oyaji's house for dinner this evening?" Ace finally lifted his head, one eyebrow raised.
"Luffy'll go anywhere where there's food. I, on the other hand, am not sure whether that's a good idea." Marco blinked in surprise.
"Why not?" he inquired.
Because we're going to be far, far away from here soon. Ace pushed those thoughts away the moment they appeared. Despite his skepticism, Marco had turned out to be a pretty good guy. And honestly, this was way better than living on the streets, pickpocketing people to survive. But they would have to leave eventually. Ace had no explanation for why he kept putting it off. The more time he spent here, with Marco, the more attached he got to the man. The more he longed for this to last. It really pissed him off.
"Reasons. Now give me back my book." Marco shook his head, playful smile spreading across his face.
"You'll have to take it back. Or you can spare yourself the trouble and just agree to go and meet my family." When Ace made to get off of the bed, Marco briskly walked out the door and down the long hallway. The moment he entered the living room, loud footsteps thundered behind him, and he was tackled. Both he and his assailant fell on the couch in front of them. Ace tried to reach the book, but Marco wasn't going to let him get it that easily. He put it to his chest and wrapped his arms around it. Ace tried to pry them off, but to no avail. He started tickling Marco. At first, the blond didn't so much as twitch, but after a few seconds he was no longer able to withhold his laughter. Unfortunately for Ace, Marco still wouldn't give up the textbook.
When the blond somehow managed to turn them around, they both fell to the floor with a thud. Marco landed on top of Ace, straddling him. He let the book slide across the floor to the other side of the room, where it hit the wall. Marco dug his own fingers into Ace's armpits. Ace tried to escape his hold, but it didn't turn out to be as easy as he had thought it would. When Marco didn't stop within the next few minutes, Ace tried pleading with him.
"S-stop. Please pl-please please stop. I- I'll go, okay? I'll go," he said in between fits of laughter. Marco did as he was asked, his grin never leaving his face. He got off of Ace, and sat on the sofa. He watched as Ace's chest rose and fell, quick breaths passing between his lips.
"Great." Ace turned his head to glare at the blond, not that he looked all that threatening with his hair mussed and his cheeks flushed. "We'll be leaving at around 5 in the evening. Be ready by then."
Ace tugged on the collar of the shirt he was wearing. He really, really hated shirts. T-shirts were fine, most of the time. So were open button down shirts. But buttoned button down shirts? They were the bane of his existence. He scowled as Luffy laughed at him.
"You should see yourself in the mirror, Ace. You look hilarious!"
"You know what? Screw this! I'm gonna leave these two unbuttoned," Ace mumbled as he tugged the shirt open. There was a knock on the door.
"Come and see Ace, Pineapple! He looks almost presentable." One thing Ace hated about Luffy going to school was the fact that he kept on learning fancy, new words. The door opened, and Marco poked his head in. His eyebrows slowly rose on his forehead as he took in the sight of Ace dressed far different from how he usually looked.
"Wow. You're right, Luffy. He really does." Ace ignored the two, opting to storm out of the room and up to the front door.
"Are you guys coming or not? I'm not going to spend more time dressed like this than I need to."
While everyone watched Luffy as he inhaled the food, Ace studied each of the fourteen unknown people sitting at the table in turn. The man he'd been introduced to before- Thatch, was it?- was sitting next to some guy in a kimono, whom Ace had initially mistaken to be a woman. The two looked rather close. From them, his gaze flitted to the old man sitting across from him at the table. He had a gentle, albeit slightly intimidating air around him. His golden eyes looked kind, but at the same time screamed of danger. Ace didn't really know what to make of him. When the old man caught him staring, Ace turned his eyes to Marco.
"Where's the bathroom?"
"Go down that hall and turn left twice. Second door on the right."
"Thanks," Ace mumbled. He got up and went where he'd been told to go.
When he came out after a few minutes, he wasn't expecting to end up face to face with the giant man he'd been observing before.
"I need to talk to you, brat." Ace's body tensed and his stance immediately turned more guarded.
"What about?" he asked. The old man turned around and gestured for Ace to follow him. He did so reluctantly. They passed through a door and ended up in some sort of living room. The walls were full of photos, most of which seemed to be pretty old.
"Your intentions towards my eldest son." The old man whirled around to face him in a surprising display of speed and agility. He sat down on a nearby couch and motioned for Ace to do the same. Ace did so reluctantly, making sure to sit as far away from the Mr. Newgate as he could.
"What do you mean?"
"Marco is a good man, Ace, and I will not stand for his kindness being taken advantage of. So I ask you what you want from him." Ace furrowed his eyebrows.
"Woah, woah, woah. Hold up. It was his idea in the first place. I practically didn't have a choice in the matter. It was either moving in with him, or being reported to the cops." Granted, Marco didn't mention anything like that, but there was almost no doubt in Ace's mind that it would have happened. Mr. Newgate's expression morphed into one of thoughtfulness.
"Did he tell you why he wanted you to move in?" he asked. Ace shook his head, hair whipping from side to side.
"He only said that he knows that the system doesn't work, and that he knew what it was like to be in my situation." Mr. Newgate grinned.
"He sure does. Marco used to live on the streets, too." Ace's eyes widened in surprise and his jaw went slack.
"You've gotta be kidding me…" he whispered. "What's the story behind that?" Ace asked. When Mr. Newgate eyed him curiously, Ace felt his cheeks heat up. He quickly looked down, hoping his hair would block his face from view. "It's just that he hasn't really told me much about himself." Of course, Ace omitted to mention the fact that the information might eventually be used for blackmailing Marco. He didn't think it that it would go over well with the man's father.
When the car finally left the driveway, 7-year-old Marco jumped down from the tree. He made his way through the garden that was in front of the house, being careful so as not to trample any of the obviously well-cared for plants. He finally made his way to the front door. He checked to see if it was locked. When it didn't budge, he looked around for the key. He had long since learned that some people were stupid enough to leave a spare lying around.
Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case this time. Marco walked around to the side of the house, looking for another way in. He was about to give up when he saw that one window was slightly open. He clambered up the bricks and took a seat on the windowsill. He pushed his fingers into the small space and pushed up. He almost fell off, but managed to latch on to something inside the house at the last second. He slipped through window.
He was standing in a bedroom. A huge bed, bigger than any he had ever seen, took up most of the space. There was a desk, a dresser, and a few other items that he hadn't ever seen before. He looked through all of the drawers in the dresser. When he didn't find anything valuable, he moved to open the door. He had just taken his first step into the long hallway, when a sweet smell assaulted his nostrils. He glared down at his stomach when it growled, but decided to go look for whatever it was that gave off such a nice fragrance.
That's how he ended up in the large kitchen. It was also a very large room, definitely too big for the one man he had seen leave this house. A wave of panic swept over him when he realized that there might be someone else in the house with him. He only managed to calm down when he remembered the locked door, and the fact that he hadn't heard anyone.
All Marco wanted was to steal whatever valuable items he could find and get out of there, but his stomach seemed to have other plans. Eventually, Marco gave into temptation and climbed into one of the chairs surrounding the table in the middle of the room.
He never would have guessed that a cake could be so large. The four tiers towered over Marco's head. The top of each layer was covered in crimson frosting, while the sides were the brightest shade of white Marco had ever seen. Delicate piping in lace patterns covered the sides in a rich chocolate color, and there was a thick border of piped chocolate cream on the edges and bottoms of each layer.
Marco didn't waste another second. He pushed his hand into the bottom tier and dug up a handful of soft cake. He stuffed it in his mouth. It was the best thing he'd ever tasted! He licked his lips and reached for another handful of cake.
Marco heard the door open when he was eating his twentieth handful. His heart was pounding in his chest as he searched around for a place to hide. Unfortunately, before he had the time to go anywhere, someone grabbed the back of his shirt and lifted him into the air. The person holding him turned him around, so that he was facing them. Marco looked up to meet the stranger's golden eyes, face full of fear and guilt.
"And who do we have here?"
Ace burst into laughter. He lifted his hand to wipe away a tear that had slipped from his eye.
"He got caught because he decided to eat the cake? What happened after that?" he asked.
"Marco begged me not to call the police. When I found out that his parents had been killed a year ago and he was all alone, I decided to adopt him." Someone knocked on the door. Both Ace and Mr. Newgate turned to look at it. Marco strolled into the room. He smiled when he saw them.
"I figured that I'd find the two of you here." Marco turned to look at him. "We should go. Luffy fell asleep at the table." Ace sighed and stood up. He turned to Mr Newgate.
"It was nice to meet you, Mr. Newgate," Ace bowed his head respectively. The old man grinned at him.
"Call me Oyaji."
Ace returned the grin, before following Marco out of the room. Once they were out of earshot, Marco turned to look at Ace and asked, "What did the two of you talk about?"
Ace fought not to laugh as he was reminded of Mr. Newgate's ( he refused to call him "Oyaji") story. Looking at Marco now, it was almost impossible to imagine the small child that got caught eating a cake in a house he broke into. The man walking beside him was a police officer, not a thief. It was amazing how much a person could change over time... Ace shook his head to get rid of those thoughts.
"Oh, nothing much. He was just worried about you." Marco's eyebrows slowly climbed higher and higher up his forehead as he looked at Ace in disbelief.
"Is that all?" Ace did an imitation of Luffy, eyes widening to look at Marco innocently.
"Yeah." Ace could tell by the way Marco was looking at him that he didn't buy it. He yawned. Marco laughed.
"Looks like Luffy isn't the only one who's tired." Ace shot him a glare.
"I'm not tired," he protested.
"Of course you're not." Marco grinned. Ace couldn't help but notice the way his eyes softened and the skin around his crinkled. It made him look kind of-
Don't you dare finish that sentence, Ace!
Ace groaned. It was going to be very, very hard to leave.
Marco looked up at the clock. 11 PM. He sighed and put down the book he'd been reading. Marco stretched and got off the couch. He really needed to get some rest, seeing as he had to get up at around 5 AM tomorrow. Being a police officer was hard sometimes.
Marco walked out of the living room and into the hallway. Just as he was about to walk into his room, the bathroom door opened, and Ace walked out. Marco stopped dead in his tracks.
Ace was still wet. A single drop of water slid from his glimmering hair, down the side of his neck, his bare chest and abs, and soaked into the short towel he'd cursorilycursurly tied around his waist. Marco forced his eyes to travel back to Ace's face, hoping that Ace wouldn't be able to see his blush in the dim light. Unfortunately, looking at his face was a huge mistake. There were drops of water clinging to his long, black eyelashes, and his gray eyes seemed softer than Marco had ever seen them. Ace's skin looked far paler than it normally was, the dark freckles on his face standing out. His lips were opened slightly, and Marco could hear every single breath of air that passed through them. Ace looked up at him in surprise.
"What are you still doing up?" he asked curiously. Marco blinked twice, before trying to fish out something to say from his melted brain.
"I… I was…" It was of no use. He couldn't think of anything to say. And judging by the smirk that slowly made its way onto Ace's face, he'd noticed Marco's current state.
"Like what you see?" Ace teased. Marco felt even more heat come to his cheeks. He was pretty sure that Ace could see his blush now. Marco swallowed audibly.
"Ummm…." Marco stammered. He couldn't think of anything to say. Ace grinned and took a step forward. The towel slid lower down his hips. Marco looked away.
"Goodnight, Ace," Marco said as he turned around and walked into his room. As he was about to enter it, he heard a smack, followed by Ace muttering something.
"Stupid." Marco was pretty sure that he wasn't supposed to hear that, but he looked back anyway. Ace had one hand pressed to his forehead. After a few seconds, it left Ace's face to hang at his side once more. Not sparing Marco another glance, Ace disappeared behind the door to the room he and Luffy shared.
Marco followed his example.
At first, Marco had no idea what woke him up. He reached for his phone, which was on the nightstand. He flinched at the sound it made when he accidentally knocked it to the floor. He picked it up and unlocked it, flinching once again when the bright light reached his eyes.
3 AM. It was far, far too early for him to be awake. He put the phone back on the nightstand and tried to go back to sleep.
It was only then that he heard heavy breathing. Marco groaned and reached to turn on his bedside lamp. He put a hand over his eyes, blinking furiously for a few seconds, before finally getting up, stretching, and walking to the door.
The breathing was getting louder. Marco thought about getting his gun, but in the end he decided against it. He put his hand on the doorknob and opened it quietly, so as not to startle the possible intruder. He walked out into the hallway. There was a dim light coming from the living room. Marco peeked into it.
What he saw surprised him more than he cared to admit.
Ace was sitting against the wall. His head was on his knees, which were pulled up to his chest. His arms were wrapped around them, and Marco could see his whole form shaking. He approached Ace quietly and knelt down beside him. When Ace didn't react to his presence, Marco delicately touched his shoulder. Ace flinched away from him and lifted his head. The wetness on his cheeks glimmered in the light of the lamp. Marco had half a mind to reach out his hand and wipe them off. Ace's hair was even more of a mess than usual, the locks near his neck damp with sweat.
"Are you alright?" Marco asked, more concerned than he would like to admit.
Ace didn't answer. Instead, he pulled his legs closer to his chest in what looked like an attempt to make himself smaller. Marco put a hand on his back, ignoring the way Ace shied away from him, and started rubbing soothing circles into the tense muscles. After a while, Ace began to noticeably relax. He stopped shaking, and his breathing quieted down. He lifted his hand to touch his face, wiping away every single tear he came across. To say Marco was surprised when Ace leaned into him would be a big understatement. His heart was beating in his chest, though he was sure that it wasn't nearly as loud as Ace's was. When Ace didn't say anything, Marco settled more comfortably against the wall and wrapped an arm around him. He didn't know how long they sat like that. The first rays of the sun were creeping into the room through the shutters covering the windows when Ace finally decided to speak.
"I'm sorry." His voice was hoarse after all of the crying. Marco blinked down at him, eyes soft.
"There's nothing to be sorry about," he replied.
"But I kept you up all night. I shouldn't have." Ace let his eyes slip shut. Marco sighed.
"It's okay, Ace. I stayed here of my own free will." They sat quietly again. Marco could hear his alarm clock go off in the other room.
"You should go get ready for work," Ace said. He opened his eyes and tried to get up, only to be pulled back down by Marco.
"I'm going to call in sick. After all, I can't just leave you like this all alone." Seeing Ace's confusion, he explained. "Luffy's at his friend's house for the night. He'll be back sometime during the evening."
"Oh, right. I forgot… I guess it's been a while since he's had friends he could visit… And anyway, I'm fine." Marco's raised his eyebrows, clearly dubious. "Just go to work." When Marco shook his head, Ace groaned.
"Will you tell me what happened?" Marco asked, changing the topic. Ace grimaced, pain quickly making its way back into his eyes. "It's alright if you don't want to talk about it," Marco quickly added. Ace sighed.
"I had a nightmare." Marco waited for him to continue.
"What about?" He asked after a few moments of silence.
"About my mom dying." Marco blinked in shock. Ace seemed to be doing his best to look anywhere but at him.
"How did it happen?" Ace let his forehead hit his knees. His hair fell forward, shielding his face from view.
"She was killed in a shooting. It was all that bastard's fault." Ace clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Marco was curious as to whom Ace was referring to, but refrained from asking. "He left us after the funeral. We landed on the streets and never saw him again after that. Not that we wanted to." Ace took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down.
"I'm sorry," Marco breathed, the words so quiet, that they could barely be made out. His heart ached at the thought of Ace and Luffy going through such a horrible ordeal.
"It's fine. You deserved to know, seeing as you've been sheltering us and stuff." Ace chuckled weakly. Marco hummed.
"How would you like to go to the movies?" Ace looked up at him. His eyes were hazy with unshed tears, and the dark purple bags under his eyes were a testament to just how tired he was, but Marco had a feeling that Ace wouldn't be going to sleep anytime soon.
"Man, that was awesome!" Ace shouted in what could only be described as pure delight as they exited the movie theater. He threw the empty bags of popcorn into a nearby trash can, then reached into his pocket to search for his car keys. To be honest, Marco didn't think the action movie was anything special, but seeing as this was the first movie Ace had seen in a while, he opted to keep his thoughts to himself. Both men slowly made their way to Marco's car, Ace jabbering about the movie, and Marco listening to him with a smile on his face.
He didn't notice when Ace stopped in his tracks. It was only when he heard something hit the asphalt behind him with a thud that he turned around to see if anything was wrong.
His eyes widened at the sight of Ace lying on the ground. Marco rushed forward and fell to his knees beside the collapsed body, heart pounding ferociously in his chest. Trying his best not to panic, he moved to check Ace's pulse, sighing in relief when he found it. It seemed… normal. He pulled out his phone and dialled 911.
"911. What's your emergency?" Never looking away from Ace, Marco replied, voice shaking slightly.
"My friend collapsed. We're in the parking lot behind the movie theater on East Blue Avenue."
"Is he breathing?" the voice asked. Marco nodded, then, realizing the the person couldn't see him, replied with a quiet 'yes'.
"The ambulance should be there shortly." Marco blinked as the line suddenly went dead. Not much time passed before he heard sirens blaring in the distance.
Ace forced his eyes, eyelids heavy with sleep, to open. He blinked as he took in the pristine white ceiling. Marco didn't have a single white ceiling in his house… He pushed his body up into sitting position.
And came face to face with a concerned-looking Marco. Ace blinked again, before looking around the small room he was in. Seeing all of the machines located in it, he came to the conclusion that he was in a hospital. Except that he didn't remember coming here.
In fact, the last thing he remembered was walking out of the movie theater with Marco. Everything after that was… well, gone. He turned to look at Marco when he stated speaking.
"Ace? Oh, Ace, thank God! I… I thought that you-" Marco broke off. "Never scare me like that again." Ace stiffened when Marco wrapped his arms around him, but nevertheless returned the embrace. It was… nice.
"I'm okay, I think… What happened?" Ace asked as he delicately removed Marco's arms from around his body, voice laden with sleep. He suppressed a yawn.
"You collapsed in the parking lot." Ace tilted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows.
"Collapsed?" he repeated. Marco nodded. "But I feel fine… How could I just collapse?" Marco avoided his gaze. Upon noticing this, all thoughts of sleep fled from Ace's mind. "What? What aren't you telling me?" Marco ran a hand through his hair.
"There's a doctor who thinks that you might have narcolepsy. She wants to run some tests."
"Narcolepsy? What's that?" Ace asked.
"It's a sleep disorder. And it's incurable."Marco ran his hand through his hair again, something Ace was starting to recognize as a nervous habit.
"...Is it that bad?" Ace asked after a pregnant pause. Marco finally raised his eyes to meet Ace's.
"It'll interfere with your life. A lot. You'll randomly fall asleep. You might have sleep paralysis, sometimes paired with hypnagogic hallucinations...cataplexy, night-time wakefulness and automatic behavior…" Marco broke off when he heard a voice behind him.
"Looks like somebody did their research." Both men turned to face the person who spoke. An elderly woman was standing in the doorway. She was dressed in vivid colors, and her nametag declared her to be Dr. Kureha.
"I had a bit of spare time," Marco muttered. Dr. Kureha smiled at Ace, who tried not to think about how much she reminded him of a witch.
"It's great that you're finally awake, kid."
"How long was I out?" Ace asked hesitantly.
"About half an hour. A bit longer than a normal episode lasts, but your friend said that you barely got any sleep last night, so it might have something to do with that. "Now, who's up for a multiple sleep latency test?" the doctor grinned maliciously. Ace gulped.
Luffy stared at Ace and Marco, who were sitting next to each other on the couch, watching a movie and talking to each other. Actually, it seemed like they were watching each other more than the movie. He narrowed his eyes.
It was just yesterday that he had tried to force Ace to tell Marco how he felt. Contrary to what most people thought, Luffy was very observant and tended to notice things other people missed, especially when it involved people he knew. He really didn't know how neither Marco nor Ace had realized that the other had feelings for them. And people called him stupid.
Ace had spit out his drink and his face had turned the color of a tomato when Luffy had asked when he would confess to Marco. Tomatoes… Now he wanted to eat some spaghetti, preferably with lots and lots of meatballs.
Luffy shook his head to rid it of the thoughts of food. When that didn't work, he went into the kitchen to get something to eat.
He came back to the living room after having devoured half of the food in the fridge. Ace would kill him for it later, but right now, he didn't care.
Luffy climbed onto a nearby chair to get a better look at the two men on the couch. From what he could see, Ace was lying asleep with his head on Marco's lap. Marco was combing his fingers through the mess of locks on top of Ace's head. Luffy grinned and silently walked forward until he was right behind the couch. If what Ace had told him about his disorder was true (and it probably was- Ace never lied to him), then he had a few minutes at the most before Ace woke up (yes, he did occasionally listen to his brother). Now, he just needed to find a way to keep Marco talking about Ace until he did. Of course, it wouldn't work if Marco refused to admit his feelings, but Luffy tried not to think about that one flaw in his not-so-planned-out plan.
"Sooo, pineapple," Luffy started. Marco turned his head so fast that he should've gotten whiplash and quickly removed his hand from Ace's hair.
"Do you need something, Luffy?" he asked, cheeks becoming more and more stained red by the second.
"Why don't you just tell Ace that you like him?" Luffy blurted out. Marco's eyes widened in shock. His mouth opened and closed a few time, and he seemed unable to formulate a response.
"I… I just-" Marco broke off, snapping his mouth shut once more. His cheeks were so hot that it felt as though someone had lit a fire in his mouth. I wonder if this is how Ace feels during his performances... He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. Luffy, meanwhile, spared a quick glance at Ace to see if he was waking up. He wasn't. That meant more talking… Ah, well. He'd think of something.
"Ace likes you too, you know." Actually, Marco didn't. And he wasn't sure whether or not to believe Luffy.
"Don't be ridiculous, Luffy. Of course he doesn't." Luffy glanced at his brother again. Ace's hand twitched. He needed to hurry.
"You can tell me the truth. I promise I won't tell Ace!" Maro knew how much a promise meant to Luffy. He sighed. If the brat left him alone, then what harm could it do? It's not like Ace was awake, anyway.
"I do, alright? I love Ace. I have for a while now. But that doesn't mean-." His heart stopped in his chest when Ace suddenly raised his head off his lap. Luffy was grinning madly, looking almost ready to jump up and down in joy at having gotten Marco to admit his feelings. Ace sat up straight and stared at him.
Marco decided to leave before he said anything else he might regret. If Ace had heard that (and Marco was certain that he had), then, at best, it would be very, very awkward if he stayed. He quickly got up off of the couch, barely noticing that Luffy was gone, and tried to retreat in the direction of his room as quickly as he could.
To say he was surprised when Ace grabbed his arm would be an understatement.
Marco stopped in his tracks, not bothering to turn around to face Ace.
"Marco?" Ace asked, voice quiet. Marco remained silent. "Is it true? What you just said?" Marco exhaled slowly, before nodding. He heard the couch creak softly as Ace stood up. Not letting go of Marco's wrist, he walked around him until they were face to face. Marco avoided his gaze, only lifting his head when Ace put a hand on his cheek and forced him to do so.
Marco's eyes widened in shock when something warm was suddenly pressed up against his lips. No, not something. Ace's lips. Ace was kissing him. The moment his brain had processed what was happening to him, he pulled away sharply. Marco avoided Ace's hurt gaze and raised his hand to his lips.
Marco sighed. "Look, Ace, you don't have to do this because you feel some sort of gratitude. My feelings for you are my problem, and I am happy to have you and Luffy here regardless." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'll just go to be-"
Ace caught Marco's wrist once again.
"Do you seriously think that I would do this because I was grateful? Come on, Marco. You know me better than that." At Marco's blank look Ace blushed. Now it was Ace's turn to avoid eye contact. "I- argh, Luffy was right. I just can't believe Luffy, of all people, was right!" Marco blinked at the unexpected exclamation. Ace started muttering under his breath. Marco smiled at the sulky expression on Ace's face, trying to crush his hopes about what exactly Luffy might be right about. Ace took a deep breath, when Marco pointedly cleared his throat.
"I… I love you, too." Ace ducked his head in hopes that Marco wouldn't see his blush become more fierce. Marco's eyes widened in surprise, but as he took in the sight of a highly embarrassed Ace, a smirk grew instead.
"Oh, really, now?" he almost purred, making Ace's gaze shoot up to meet his. A moment later, it slipped lower and fell on his lips. Taking that as an invitation, Marco tilted his head closer towards Ace, until they were only a few millimeters apart. Ace leaned forward and closed the distance between them. When he opened his mouth in a silent plea for more, Marco deepened the kiss. Their tongues fought for dominance, a battle which Marco won. This time, neither of them withdrew until they needed to catch their breath. Even then, they stayed close, foreheads touching lightly, noses threatening to bump into each other with the slightest move.
"I guess we owe Luffy a trip to the all-you-can-eat buffet," Marco whispered, his breath making Ace's skin tingle.
"Awesome, let's go! I'm starving," Luffy exclaimed, his face suddenly too close for comfort, before he dashed to the door chanting about meat.
Marco and Ace traded glances, both wondering how long he had been there.
"You really shouldn't have said that out loud." Marco and Ace laughed as they allowed Luffy to pull them out of the apartment.