B—B—B

The Boys Are Alright

Sanji thought about it a moment, listening to the wind whipping around outside. It would be nice to hitch a ride with Ace, but if he was going to be having a heart to heart with Smoker it might get a little awkward with all of them there.

"I appreciate it, Ace, but I think I'm gonna walk."

"You sure? Storm's supposed to get pretty bad."

"Yeah," Sanji opened a new tab to check the weather advisories, "plus the movie isn't starting for a while yet."

"Alright, man. I'll see you later then. Have fun on your date, and good luck." Ace shot him a wink before hanging up the call.

Sanji huffed a laugh, "I'm not the one that needs the luck, dumbass." Sanji took a look at the advisories and a frown began to settle in. From the looks of it there was a good chance they wouldn't be able to make it to theater. To be extra sure whether the effort to get downtown would be worth it, he pulled up the website for the theater. As he read the front page notice, Sanji felt his mouth twist into a disappointed frown.

"Ah, shit..."

The storm was already getting bad outside when Ace pulled up to Smoker's place. He probably should've insisted on driving Sanji, but it was a little late for that. He jogged up the stairs, being careful not to slip. He shot Smoker a text, announcing that he'd arrived. It took a minute, but he was finally let inside.

"You know, you could've rung the bell."

"Oh, right. Forgot." Ace stepped inside and brushed the snow from his hair, "Damn, it's fuckin freezing out there." He looked up at Smoker, his usually bright smile falling into a sheepish one.

"Thanks for agreeing to talk. Is Zoro around? I owe him an apology too." Ace saw Smoker's brow twitch and immediately started to backpedal. "I mean, at some point, but us talking is the, uh, priority here."

Smoker nodded, "Zoro's upstairs in our room, but I can kick him out and we can talk there."

Ace nodded, afraid to say anything more at the moment, lest he have another foot-in-mouth moment. The pair made their way upstairs, already hearing bickering coming from the twins' room.

"Oh yeah, shit, Perona's also here." Why did her dumbass have to get grounded? At least their parents were out of the house that night or there really wouldn't have been any personal space whatsoever.

"Yeah, no, that's fine. So, uh, do we still wanna talk in your room? Or we can go downstairs?"

"Nah, let's leave my brother and sister alone. If Perona knows you're here she might try and eavesdrop. Let's go to my parents' room."

It was, admittedly, a little weird going into his parents' room and sitting on their bed next to one of the biggest dumbasses he'd ever had a thing for, but Smoker didn't really see any alternatives. At least none that had lockable doors.

"So…" Ace began awkwardly, neither boy really able to look the other in the eye, "I...want to apologize for pulling that dumb stunt with Zoro. I just…" Ace took a deep breath, "I...I really like you, and I don't really know how to go about liking people. I'm not very good at…" he brought up his hands and meshed his fingers together as he tried to explain, words failing him.

Smoker sat patiently, waiting for Ace to continue. He wasn't going to give him an out or put words in his mouth.

"I'm...I never...fuckin, okay," Ace ruffled his hair with frustration as he tried to get the feelings in his head to translate into words. "I was talking to Thatch and Marco about how to go about, I dunno, going about getting you to like me. Not...not that you're something to be gotten, but if I could prove to myself that you liked me by making you jealous it would've been easier for me to ask you out. Marco told me it was a bad idea, but Thatch was so sure it would work that I got swept up in his shit idea"

Smoker slowly nodded, tongue running over the inside of his cheek as he processed what Ace was telling him. "Hm...I see." Good to know that Ace's friends were also idiots. Well, this Thatch guy was anyway.

"And I get that that's selfish of me, but it made sense at the time. You know, before I realized that it was not a good idea."

Smoker couldn't help but snort a laugh at that, "You're a fuckin dumbass." His smile fell again when he looked at Ace, seeing that his face was still wrinkled up in a frown.

"I know I am. I didn't think of anyone else when I pulled that shit. I hurt you, Zoro, Sanji was pissed at me for a bit there, and that all could've been avoided if I wasn't such a coward."

Smoker took a moment to really hear what Ace was saying. The pair sat in silence for a moment before he finally spoke up. "You're really torn up about all this."

Ace sucked in his lips until his mouth looked like a flat line. He couldn't bring his eyes up off the decorative throw at the end of Smoker's parents' bed.

The two sat in another stretch of silence until Smoker leaned back against the headboard, a sigh slipping from between his lips. It was definitely his turn to say something. "I know I'm not the easiest person to get close to and that I'm not particularly readable," his family reminded him of that often enough, "but I mean… It's not as if I don't have feelings and shit. Explaining why you did it helps me understand where your head's at, but it doesn't really make me feel all that much better."

Smoker caught the way Ace glanced at him, the way the dark-haired teen's shoulders slumped a little further. Ace's eyes darted side to side, mind running a million miles a minute as he clearly tried to put together what to say next.

Before Ace could open his mouth, Smoker continued, "I feel like you tried to manipulate me. You did manipulate me, screwed with my emotions, and that's going to take some time to get past."

Ace waited until he was sure Smoker had said what he needed to before opening his mouth. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I'm not asking you to forgive me, but I really hope that… I don't… Would we…?" Ace didn't know how to pose the question. He wanted a second chance, but was struggling to ask for it. "Can we try again? Or I mean...I? Can I try again? With the whole normal way of going about liking you."

Smoker did his best not to laugh as Ace fumbled. He'd never seen the guy at such a loss for words, so frazzled and awkward and unsure of himself. He couldn't keep from cracking a smile, "And how should we go about doing that?"

Ace perked up, finally able to look Smoker in the eye. A shy smile spread across his face. "You mean it?" His eyes practically shone with hope and an eagerness to atone for how royally he'd fucked everything up.

Smoker hadn't been prepared for a smile of that calibre. A frown set in as his ears started to burn bright red. He gave a noncommittal grunt, turning his head away to break off the intense eye-contact.

Ace's confidence returned, "Then...would you like to hang out? Maybe go see a movie? I've got my car out front. Unless that would be too soon?"

Before Ace could launch into whatever he was about to figure out, Smoker interrupted, "How about we join my brother and sister and just play some video games for a while?"

Ace paused, eyes darting over Smoker's face as he tried to get a read on him. This wasn't Smoker rejecting him or refusing to spend time alone with him, but him needing to start slow before he could begin to completely trust Ace with his feelings again. He nodded, "Sounds good to me."

"Good." Smoker nodded before swinging his legs around to get up off the bed. "You know, I was all set to kick your ass if you fucked this up."

Ace laughed nervously, scratching at the back of his head as he meekly followed Smoker out of the room. He wasn't going to press on that one.

Zoro was alone in his room when Ace and Smoker entered, having just changed into his date outfit. "That was fast. You two make up already?"

Smoker grunted, "Something like that." He clicked the TV and playstation on, grabbing a controller and tossing it to Ace before grabbing one for himself.

Ace almost didn't catch it, distracted by Zoro's outfit. "New look for you." He couldn't help the smirk on his face as he noticed the similarities between Zoro's outfit and the one he'd helped Sanji pick out. "That for your date tonight?"

The twins shared a suspicious look before Zoro hesitantly spoke, "Yeah…? Why?" He patted over his chest and waist, starting to second guess the choice.

"Nah, you look great. Sanji's a lucky guy." Ace flinched before looking sheepishly at Smoker. "I mean he does, right? Back me up on this."

Smoker nodded, "Perona knows what she's doing." He settled on his bed, loading up the game. "Speaking of, where is she? Figured she'd be here to batter us with questions."

"She went downstairs to eat. She'll be back soon enough." Zoro got comfortable on the bed, checking his phone in hopes of a text from Sanji. "I'll take winner."

Smoker and Ace settled into their game, Smoker clearly getting joy from beating the everloving shit out of Ace's character. The laughter and shouting of the three hypercompetitive boys drowned out the sound of the doorbell.

Perona had just pulled her diet meal from the microwave, frowning at what was bound to be a tasteless experience. She could hear her brothers shouting through the ceiling and wished to be a part of it. Just as the timer was about to hit zero, the doorbell rang. Thinking it was one of her friends come to collect her, Perona got up with a sigh, tying her hair up as she approached the door.

When the door swung open, both parties were surprised to see the other person across the threshold.

"Ah! The cutie from earlier?" Sanji cried in surprise.

"Eek! The pervert!" Perona flinched, instantly on her guard. She gripped the doorknob as if the door was her weapon of defense. "What're you doing here? Are you stalking me? I'm gonna get my brothers and they're gonna beat you up!" Though it was weird that a stalker would come to her door with a bag of groceries in hand.

"Wh-Wha—? No, no, no, I'm Sanji, I'm here for Zoro." Man, what was with everyone in Zoro's family being attractive? "I didn't know you were his sister."

Perona's face fell into one of disappointment. She couldn't believe she'd wasted time and effort to make sure her brother looked good for this creep; that she rooted for her brother to get together with the guy that had been hitting on her.

"Ugh, alright, I'll go get him. Make sure to knock the snow off your shoes and leave them on the tray." Perona instructed before turning around, haughtily tossing her ponytail over her shoulder before sashaying up the stairs.

Without warning, she burst into her brothers' room, judgemental frown on her face. "Zoro, your playboy is here."

"Sanji? He's early..." Zoro cocked a confused eyebrow before getting up and hurrying downstairs. He found Sanji setting his boots on the shoe tray, having already stripped himself of his coat. Upon hearing the creak of the stairs Sanji turned around.

"Zoro, hey. Sorry for not texting you, but I checked the theater site, and apparently they had to close cause of the weather." He picked up the bag off the ground, holding it out for Zoro to see into. "I thought maybe instead of going on a pilgrimage through the storm that maybe I could make us dinner and we could watch a movie here?"

Zoro was surprised by Sanji's forethought and it made his heart flutter. He would've just traipsed through the snow and found out the hard way that the entirety of the downtown area was closed down.

The blonde had hoped to surprise his date, but Zoro was just staring at him blankly without saying a word. He felt a little awkward and diverted his gaze. "Sorry, I should've texted you."

"No, I'm just...impressed. I—" Zoro was interrupted by excited shouting from upstairs, Perona's shrill victory laugh cutting through Smoker and Ace's good natured arguing. "Sorry, everyone's here right now. Except my parents, they won't be back till close to midnight. Here," Zoro extended his arms to take the groceries, "I'll take that into the kitchen. You can put your coat on the newel post."

Sanji carefully handed the bag to Zoro, relishing the brief contact. "There's a bottle of wine and a bottle of sake that I nicked in there, if you're interested." Sanji wasn't sure how straight-edge Zoro was. The topic had never really come up, but judging by the grin Zoro shot over his shoulder, his date was more than okay with it.

"You know me well. Normally I wouldn't touch frilly ass wine, but I can humor you this time." Zoro teased, instantly putting Sanji at ease.

"The wine's to be paired with dinner, not that you'd know the first thing about pairing alcohol with food." Sanji hurried after Zoro, not at all minding the view he got following behind.

"Who the hell cares? The point of drinking is to get drunk." Zoro began unpacking the food, eager to see what Sanji would be making them. "So, what're we having? And where the hell did you get all this stuff?"

"We always cook at home so we've always got stuff like this lyin around. I brought pork chops in a salt brine that can sit for a while yet, and some veg that we're gonna roast in the oven." Sanji began unpacking the ingredients he brought over as Zoro began fetching cooking utensils. "Heat the oven to four-fifty would you?"

Zoro obediently moved around the kitchen, following each of Sanji's instructions as the two prepared dinner together. The kitchen began to glow with the delicious smells of roasting veggies and sizzling pork chops.

"This isn't so hard," Zoro commented smugly from where he sat, "I don't see why the guys in the kitchen are always complaining. Even I could do this."

Sanji snorted as he placed the skillet with the seasoned pork chops in the oven. "You're only competent in a kitchen because you were following my orders to a T. Plus cranking out food for twenty tables is different than making dinner for two." Sanji grabbed the bottle opener, popping open the bottle of wine. "Glasses?"

Zoro hopped up and fetched them two wine glasses, "You want these, right?"

"If you think you can handle that level of sophistication." Sanji took the glasses and filled them, sitting down across from Zoro, watching as he took a swig. Despite the fact that this was supposed to be a date, it still felt like they were just friends hanging out, making dinner. Sanji wasn't sure how to go about transitioning from an antagonistic friendship to a romantic relationship.

"You know," Sanji sat up a little straighter when Zoro finally broke the silence, "I thought it would be weird, trying the whole dating thing with you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I thought it would get weird and we wouldn't be able to talk like we normally do." Zoro took another swig of wine, "But we're still the same."

"Well," Sanji started to blush a little, "not completely the same. Like we'll eventually start doing more...coupley things."

"That...that's true." Zoro stared into his drink, feeling a bit of red tinge his cheeks. He looked up at Sanji and the two shared a shy smile before the timer dinged.

"Ah, dinner's ready." Sanji popped up from his chair, hurrying over to the oven and pulling their dinner out.

Zoro was practically drooling at that point. He hadn't eaten since his break at work and was starving at this point. Plus, Sanji's cooking was always better than anything his parents made. "So can we eat now?"

"It'd burn your mouth if you tried to eat it now. Besides, the chops have to sit for a couple minutes." Sanji set the food down and turned the oven off. "Set the table for me?"

"Yeah, sure." Zoro got up and began to pull the plates down from the cabinet before grabbing the silverware. When he turned back around he saw Sanji trying to hide one of his shit-eating grins. Zoro's face instantly fell into a frown out of reflex. "What?"

"You're so obedient. It's not everyday I get to see you so compliant. I'm treasuring this." Sanji couldn't help the tiny snicker as Zoro began to set their places.

"So, you like the obedient type huh?" Zoro's frown shifted from prickly to condescending, "I thought you were only a pervert with women. Guess it's too ingrained into your system at this point, huh? You gonna push all your weird fantasies on me now?"

Sanji's smug grin disappeared and his face quickly started to turn red. He looked down and away as a hand went up to his hair; a nervous habit. "Uh, well," he cleared his throat, "maybe that's something we can talk about...further down the road? Not really a first date conversation." Sanji tried to laugh it off, but he was growing steadily more red and more embarrassed. He took another swallow of wine to try and quell it.

Zoro didn't realize Sanji would take his teasing so seriously. Yet, as he thought about it, they were dating now. Zoro used to listen to Sanji as he prattled on and on about scenarios and fantasies that he wanted to experience with a future girlfriend. Zoro's mind started to paste himself into all of the fantasies Sanji had shared with him and soon his face was as red as Sanji's.

Zoro awkwardly cleared his throat, "Ah, well, I was just joking, but…" he took another swig of wine, "...in future, I don't think I'd be...completely opposed to some of it."

The two boys finally managed to make eye contact again, sharing shy smiles. "Shall we eat?" Sanji reached down to grab their plates, but when he looked up he saw Perona peering around the door.

Zoro noticed Sanji's surprised look and followed his eyes. "Geh! Perona! What're you—?"

"Relax, I just came down to grab my dinner." Her face was also slightly red, indicating that she'd definitely heard some of their more personal conversation.

Zoro watched through skeptical eyes as she edged around the kitchen towards the microwave. He could tell from the way she kept glancing at their food that she had undoubtedly smelled it from upstairs and was hoping to partake. He sighed, "Fine, fine, take my portion." He glanced back at the doorway, "The three of you can share it."

"Ah, we've been discovered." Ace peeked his head around the doorway, "Sorry, sorry, but it smelled really good. We were getting hungry."

Sanji tisked, "A bunch of goddamn moochers is what you are." He served up the two plates, bringing them over to the table before taking his seat.

"It's fine, isn't it? We can share." Zoro offered as he downed the last of his wine.

Smoker appeared behind Ace, "You know if Mom and Dad find out you're drinking they might actually kill you."

"Quit pretending like you came down here for a noble reason." Zoro scolded before getting up and grabbing one of the plates Sanji assembled and holding it out for his brother to take. "Take it and get out of here before I kick your collective asses. We're trying to have a date, you assholes."

Perona swiped it out of Zoro's hands and immediately absconded, Ace and Smoker chasing after her, the three of them arguing about how to most fairly split the meal.

"Che, bunch of assholes." Zoro went back to sit at the table, this time taking a seat next to Sanji.

"This isn't so bad is it?" Sanji cut off a piece of the pork chop and speared it, "Besides, this way I can do this." He held out the bite for Zoro, "Here, Marimo, open up."

Zoro tried to stick Sanji with a distasteful frown, but broke out into a smile. "I never thought I'd ever fall for your doting bullshit." Zoro leaned in to take the bite, but Sanji pulled it just out of reach.

"It must not be bullshit if you're falling for it." Sanji teased, putting the bite in Zoro's reach once more only to pull it away again. "Ohh, fell for it twice."

Zoro laughed along with Sanji, not minding the teasing as much as he thought he would. He scooted forward, attempting to bite it off Sanji's fork only to have it pulled away a third time. "Bastard, let me eat it." He grabbed hold of Sanji's hand and brought the fork to his own mouth. "Ha," he celebrated with a mouth still full of pork, "got it."

"You neanderthal, finish chewing." Sanji scolded as he took a bite for himself, pleased with how his food turned out. "Damn, I'm good."

"Yeah you're good, good at blowing your own horn." Zoro teased as poured himself another glass of wine.

"Hey now, don't drink it all. You're gonna get drunk quick if you keep it up at that pace." Sanji speared a piece of potato and presented it to Zoro, letting him take the bite off his fork this time.

"Nah I won't. It's not like it's hard liquor or anything like that." Zoro topped off Sanji's glass as well. "Besides, being tipsy and eating good food is a nice combination."

"Ah, you called it good! I win."

The two boys bantered, ate, and drank together until they finished their meal and one bottle of wine. They were both pleasantly tipsy at this point, and were enjoying a comfortable silence as they worked to clean up the kitchen.

"This was really nice. Bummer we couldn't go to the movie, but I think this was better." Sanji confessed, as they finished putting everything away.

"Yeah, me too." Zoro leaned back against the counter, "I'm also glad those guys didn't interrupt us a second time. Your food must've worked some sort of magic over them. That or they're up to something."

"Is Mom nervous about the young'uns?" Sanji barely managed to block the hit to his arm.

"No, but I'd like to maybe watch a movie in my room. We can break out the other bottle. The others would probably still be in my room, but if you're okay with that..."

Sanji considered it a moment. While he wanted to spend one-on-one time with his date, he figured it could be fun enjoying a movie with everyone else. "Should we grab some shot glasses then?"

"Yeah, only ones for Smoker and Perona, though. Ace isn't supposed to drink with his meds." Zoro warned as he pulled the bottle of sake from the bag.

"Ah yeah, shit, I forgot about that. Think he'll be okay with us drinking around him?" Sanji didn't want to make their friend uncomfortable. "Well, he drove here anyway, so that's another good reason."

"True. C'mon, let's see if they're down for a movie."

The pair made their way upstairs, already hearing dramatic music coming from the other side of the twins' bedroom door. Zoro opened the door and peeked in. Smoker, Ace, and Perona were all sat on Smoker's bed. Perona was cocooned in the blanket while Ace and Smoker were sat together on her left.

"What're you guys watching?"

"Sinister. We just started so you haven't missed much. Ace and Perona haven't seen it yet."

"Yeah? It's alright, as far as horror flicks go." Zoro got comfortable next to his sister, Sanji settling next to him. "We brought sake if anyone's interested."

"Oh hell yeah, pass it down." Smoker reached his hand out, Zoro passing down glasses to his siblings. "You okay with us drinking, Ace?"

"Yeah, that's fine. It really fucks with my meds and my sleep so I've gotten used to not being allowed to drink. Besides, someone's gotta get Sanji's drunk ass home." It was a bummer, but Ace had to take his health into consideration.

Drinks were distributed, and a communal shot taken. The three siblings were quickly enthralled with the film, Zoro and Smoker taking quiet enjoyment in already knowing what was going to happen. Sanji and Ace were definitely feeling the fear.

Zoro only noticed how afraid Sanji was when the blonde jumped and grabbed for his arm. He leaned in and drunkenly whispered, "Hey, hey, if you're—if you're scared, you c'n lean on me."

"I ain't scared," Sanji slurred back, "but if I wan—if you want I can sit behind you, cause like, I know you're scared. So, you know what? Fuck it, I'm sitting behind you, scooch up."

Zoro mentally praised Perona for keeping from saying anything, even if it was obvious to anyone who could see the glee in her expression as Sanji moved to sit behind Zoro. The blonde wrapped his arms around his date, partially hiding behind him as he held on for dear life as another jumpscare popped up on the screen. Zoro shifted down and let his head fall back against Sanji's shoulder, resting a comforting hand on Sanji's leg.

Ace had also taken notice of the couple, having diverted his gaze from the spooky scary nonsense on the screen. He nudged Smoker, quietly whispering to him, "Hey...they're pretty cute, aren't they?"

Smoker glanced past Perona at his brother and Sanji before turning his attention back to the movie. "Zoro looks happy a'least. So, good for them, I guess."

Ace cocked an eyebrow at Smoker's attitude. He wanted to ask more, but not while Sanji, Zoro, and an eavesdropping Perona were so close. "If something's on your mind we can talk about it."

Smoker reached for the nearly empty bottle, pouring the last shot before downing it, hissing as the alcohol burned his throat. "Nah, nowzz not the time. You're missin the movie, yanno." He smirked, "Or izzat the point? Ya scared or s'mthin?"

Ace chuckled nervously, "Little bit. It's creepy as hell. Makes me never wanna have kids."

"Hey, well, don' be scared. I'll protect yer fuckin scaredy-ass from the boogleman."

"Gonna use your drunk-fu against the boogleman?" Ace teased, cuddling a little closer to Smoker.

"Yeah, I'll kick his ass. Jus' you fuckin watch me." Smoker went to pour another shot, but was disappointed when he discovered the bottle was empty.

"Here, lemme take that." Ace took it upon himself to make sure that all the glasses were collected and the bottle was picked up before anything could fall to the floor and break. "I'll go clean these up before your parents get back, alright? Zoro, Sanji, Perona, I need your glasses."

Ace carefully plucked the glasses from the three other drunks before excusing himself from the room and heading downstairs to clean up. He washed the glasses and put the empty wine and sake bottles back in the grocery bag Sanji had brought them in. His attention was drawn from the task when he heard irregular creaking as one of the drunks made their way down the stairs. He went to the base of the stairs, finding Smoker slowly making his way down.

"Hey."

"Mmm, hey." Smoker greeted, running a hand up his face and through his hair. "Thought I would help clean up, but looks like you got it."

"Yeah, looks like Zoro and Sanji already cleaned up their mess. Now just to dispose of the evidence." Ace held up the paper grocery bag with the alcohol bottles inside.

"Yeah, that's probably good. I'll come with you." Smoker shuffled over to the boot tray, reaching down and almost falling forward.

Ace watched as Smoker struggled to yank his boots on without untying them first. "You sure? the storm's still pretty bad out there. It's gonna be cold, and I know how much you gripe when it's cold out."

"Shhhuddup. I'm coming. It'z my house, so my rules."

"Alright, alright." Ace slipped his shoes on and grabbed his coat, slipping it on before helping Smoker with his zipper. Or trying to, rather, as the elder twin wasn't making it easy. "C'mon, let me zip you up."

"Don' you fuckin patronize me." Smoker argued, continuing to smack the helping hands away.

"Alright, you can do it yourself then."

"Damn right." Smoker continued fumbling for a moment as Ace watched. Even when he turned his back, no longer able to see Ace's steady, patient gaze, Smoker struggled pitifully. He harrumphed and decided that he didn't need to zip up his jacket. "Lez go then." He grabbed his gloves, managing to put them on without too much trouble.

Ace sighed, figuring that if Smoker was unhappy with the cold it was his own doing. He followed him outside, seeing that the wind had died down, but the snow was still falling heavily.

"Ahh, it's actually kinda pretty outside." Ace stuck out his tongue to catch a little group of snowflakes that had clumped together during their descent. Instead, he got a face full of compacted snow. He stumbled backwards out of surprise, falling back on his ass and dropping the bag.

Smoker was already balling up another snowball as Ace wiped his face. He was chuckling drunkenly as he took aim, but Ace was privy to his plan of attack this time. Smoker could do little other than shout in protest as Ace rushed him, tackling him into the snow.

Ace quickly pinned the drunk beneath him, sitting on his stomach. "Eat snow, bitch!" Ace shoved a handful of snow into Smoker's face, smirking as he exacted his revenge. "That'll sober you up, huh?"

"...Didjyou jus say 'eat snow, bitch?'" Smoker smirked, "haaa yer such a loooser." He shivered reaching up to wipe the snow from his eyes and nose.

"Says the drunk that couldn't even zip up his jacket." Ace reached down and started brushing the snow off Smoker's face and out of his hair. "C'mon, let's hurry up, throw out these bottles, and get you back inside." Ace climbed off Smoker and grabbed his hands to help him up. He took advantage of Smoker continuing to try and wipe the cold from his face to finally zip up the stubborn teen's jacket.

Once he was sure Smoker could stand on his own, he went to pick up the discarded recycling and went to go throw it out. When he returned, he found Smoker lying on his back in the snow once more, waving his arms and legs as he tried to make a snow angel.

Chuckling as he approached, Ace stood off to the side as he watched the drunken wriggling. "Having fun?"

"Ain't done this in forever." Smoker grinned as he finished his masterpiece. He lifted his arms, "Help me up, I don' wanna ruin it."

Ace obliged, helping Smoker to his feet. "Quite the piece of art you created there." His hands shifted to hold onto Smoker's forearms, bringing them a bit closer. "You ready to head back inside now?"

A) Go back inside

B) Stay outside