TikTok keeps showing me videos of a game where you are a doorkeeper and decide to let people in or not. I've not looked into this game of what's really going on, but the concept seems to be that some kind of monsters are disguised as humans and try to enter the building. If they enter, they kill everyone. Game-name: That's not my neighbor
When the world is filled with monsters that can disguise themselves as humans, security in homes to make sure no monsters enter is the top priority.
In the end to make this easier, all humans lived in apartment buildings with a doorkeeper that interrogates everyone that enters. A extermination team ready for everyone deemed a monster.
No one batted an eye at this, it was normal. That was until Ace returned home and was denied access. Will Marco, who was already inside, be able to convince the doorman that Ace was a human? Or will Ace be exterminated like the roaming monsters outside?
Taggs
Happy ending
Angst
Inspired by the game 'You're not my neighbor'
Walking into the lobby of his apartment building, Ace was relieved to finally be inside and walked up to the secured window were the doorkeeper sat.
"Good evening!" Ace smiled and pushed his papers and I.D. through the small hole for the other to see.
The big burly man behind barely spared him or his papers a glance as he spoke. "… Name?"
"Portgas D. Ace. I live on the-"
"Didn't ask."
"Sorry." He apologized and waited as the man started rummaging through the cabinets next to him, finally taking his papers and holding them next to each other.
"Apartment number?"
"3D2Y, sir"
The man hummed, "Live with anyone?"
Ace knew the other could see everything about him and his apartment in those files, so it was obvious he was just being questioned to make sure he was really Portgas D. Ace and not one of those imposters. "Yes sir. I live with my husband Marco Newgate, he's home already."
Not really reacting the man just took a slice of some kind of pie with purple filling, shoving a bite in his mouth as he put the files away.
"Access denied."
"Thank y-huh?" He accepted his papers back and was about to step towards the next door inside, expecting to be let in when he really registered what was going on. "W-what do you mean?"
"Access denied. I'm not letting you enter the building."
"W-what Why?! It's me! Ace. I live here! I was out working and then visited my brothers, it's all in my papers. I should be on the list of people that will return to the building today."
"Yea, nope. You're not getting in."
"Sir!"
"Step away from the window."
"I can't go out, it's evening! It's-"
"Step away from the window and if you return here, I will be calling the extermination team."
"Call- You can call Marco! He will tell you that I'm not home yet-"
SLAM
Ace stumbled back as the iron shutters to the window fell shut and hurriedly left the area, moving more to the front of the lobby near the exit as to not get in the way and get the extermination team called on him. He knew they didn't examine anyone themselves and just followed the doorkeeper's judgment. And of the doorkeeper deemed someone a monster, they just accepted the call and made whoever was behind the shutter disappear without question.
Never had he had them against him. It was what kept them all safe and alive. Plenty of other building with humans had become ghost towers. Everyone killed inside after the doorkeeper took pity on a monster looking like a child, let them walk away instead of destroying them, leading to them knowing more info to try again and getting in the next time or even able to sneak in with the next person entering.
But now that the procedure was against him... It scared him immensely and he was at his wits' end of what to do. In the end he did the only thing he thought of that he could do, calling his husband who was already upstairs and waiting for him.
It took a few rings before the other end of the phone was picked up.
"Hello-"
"M-Marco! They're not letting me in! I-I don't w-want to g-go out. I-it's alr-ready getting d-dark!"
"Woah Ace calm down-yoi! What's going on? What do you mean they're not letting you in?"
"T-the doorkeeper-" Ace cried out looking to the open window a bit away again, the man just eating that stupid pie as if he didn't just sentence Ace to death! "He t-thinks I-I'm not me-. He's not l-letting m-me in t-the apartment."
"Why not!" Marco's flabbergasted voice came out of the phone, obviously distressed himself, "You have all your papers, right? Your identification? You should be on the schedule too to arrive back at this hour today. You got all the papers too that you got permission to visit your brothers too, right?"
"Y-yea! Ss-tamped and a-all that I went. H-he didn't e-even seem int-interested in my I.D."
"What!?"
"What do I-I do Marco? It's almost dark. The building will be locked soon for the night. I can't stay in the lobby and outsi-eeeeeeeh!"
Together with the scream and a thud Ace fell to the floor, spooking Marco immensely.
"Ace-yoi!? What's wrong?!"
Sobbing from his spot on the floor Ace replied, "T-there's m-monsters o-out. O-one is sta-staring at me-." He couldn't pull his eyes from the horrifying sight out of the window from the lobby. The monster not even trying to hide their appearance as their time to rule neared, "I don't- don't want to be eaten!"
"Shit. Ace, don't worry. You're getting in, I'm not letting them send you out to your death. Go to the doorkeeper again."
"H-he said he w-would call t-the exterminator team."
"Huh? So..." Marco was quiet for a second, musing over everything, "He should have called the team already if he thought you were a monster. Letting you walk around in the lobby means he knows you're not a threat, not a monster... Why is he not letting you in nor exterminating you?" The murmurs hurried out as minds spun and time for Ace to or enter or leave neared, "Maybe he knows you're human, but thinks you're from a different building. Even then he shouldn't kick you out, it's too late to go into streets at this hour... I... I'll call him."
"Call him?"
"Yes-yoi. I'll call him when you go over there. Get close to the window and then end the call. I'll then call the doorkeeper, as soon as you hear his phone ringing and he picks up, announce yourself. I will speak to him. Maybe I can convince him that it's really you and if anything else, it keeps the line busy
"O-okay." Ace sniffed, this was the only plan they got, "I'm scared."
"We'll get you in, Ace-yoi. I'm not going to stand by and let my love get eaten."
Riiiiinnngg-
Hearing the phone ring and the doorkeeper pick up, Ace hurried to stand before the window. "H-hi!" he smiled and gave a tiny nervous wave.
"You again? I told you-" The man looked annoyed at him but stopped speaking and with the eye movement to the phone Ace knew he was listening to Marco. "Hmm- hmm-…. He doesn't meet the criteria... No... Yes... He's suspicious... It's very late to return... I saw his application to visit his brothers... Yes... You don't need to do that... It's not changing anything-"
Ace fidgeted before the window, not hearing what Marco was all saying and judging from the answers and looks from the doorkeeper it wasn't too successful and the man didn't seem less suspicious of him. On the contrary, he even seemed to be getting annoyed even.
Then the call ended and Ace swallowed as the man stared at him, but before anything was said, Ace's phone went off again.
"S-sorry-" he hurried to take it out and planned to cancel the call, probably one of his brothers as they usually check in if the other got home. Surprised he saw it was Marco and picked up a tiny bit unsure.
"Ace-yoi. Listen to me but don't repeat anything I say." Marco spoke in a hurry.
"O-okay."
"I'm on my way down right now, the doorkeeper doesn't know. I'm going to open the door from the inside and you need to run in the second I open it. I'm going to end the call so you can pocket your phone and have your hands free, nothing in your way. As soon as you hear the air-pressure release from the door, you run inside. Got it-yoi?"
"Y-yes."
"Good. Now, I need you to sing twinkle twinkle little star."
"What?"
"I told the doorkeeper a monster wouldn't know our human children songs, even if he didn't seem convinced it was a solid test, it gives me time to run down. Now you need to start singing. We've been talking too long. Everything will be alright, I love you, Ace."
The call ended leaving Ace stumped on what to do, but a gruff from the doorkeeper got him going and he pocketed his phone before starting to sing nervously, trying to keep the rhythm of the little song.
"T-twinkle twinkle li-little star.
How I-I wonder what y-you are.
Up above the world so hi-igh,
Li-like a dia-amond in the sky."
His heart raced as he sang, fear coursing through him at every stutter. Fearing the other would call the extermination team and kill him. Fear he'll be sent away again and will need to go outside and into the dark night with all the monsters. Fear for Marco who was coming down and for sure would be punished even if he wasn't able to let him in.
"When the bla-azing sun is gone,
When h-he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little l-light,
Twinkle, t-twinkle, all the night."
But at the same time, adrenaline was coursing through his veins. He saw that the doorkeeper was bored out of his mind. He knew that the other one knew he was human, but for some reason did not want to let him in. He knew that his only shot at living was Marco. His husband risking it all to forcefully open the door to the outside. It was his job to run in at the exact moment, get inside quicker than other could press the alarm and send the building into lockdown.
"Then the traveller in the da-ark,
Thank you f-for your tiny spark,
He could-not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle s-so."
Marco should be about down by now. Any moment and the door would open. He was having difficulty keeping his eyes focused on the one before him and not looking towards the door. Though he was trying to focus on counting the missing teeth the other had. With his appearance this doorkeeper may have been a solid monster himself.
"In the dark b-blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep-"
Pssssshhhh
Ace's eyes widened at the sound of air releasing, already twisting on his feet before even fully grasping the sound and gunning for the door.
The doorkeeper flew up immediately, "STOP RIGHT THERE!".
Alarms blared through the building and the slamming of shutters falling down echoed. Yet the blond didn't hesitate to use his own body to stop the one from falling down in the doorway. Not able to stop it from moving down, but able to slow it enough for Ace to still slide under it.
As soon as Ace made it through Marco let it fall shut before the faces of the extermination team that were on the scene far quicker than expected.
"C'mon Ace! Let's run-yoi!" The blond grabbed Ace's hand and pulled him along as they hurled up the staircase. Both running up far faster than every before.
Getting to their floor, Marco used his card to unlock the metal door to their hallway, throwing it shut again when they were in but never stopping their run to their door. Once more he had to use his card to unlock the door to their apartment and he all but pushed Ace inside as he heard the door to the hallway open again and heard yelling.
"M-Marco-"
Ace watched as Marco entered too and closed the door before slamming onto the encased red button next to the door. A loud beep echoed in their home before shutters came down all around, not only in the openings of their doors and windows, but also covering every wall, making them be in a metal bunker.
They were enveloped in darkness as the electricity to their unit was shut off. This was the ultimate and last defense option they had should they ever be invaded by monsters. Their own little apartment was now completely separated from everything and everyone, and with the electricity shut off, the systems couldn't even be hacked by the highest authority personal to make the shutters open.
"We're safe-yoi. They can't get to us now." Marco spoke, voice still turned away from Ace showing he was still facing the door.
It took a second and some shuffling before a light popped on and Ace saw Marco pulling back from the battery powered lantern they had on the shoe-rack.
With a smile on his face Marco closed the distance and pulled Ace into a hug, squeezing the breath out of the raven.
Ace didn't hesitate to return the hug, trembling as he did and softly sobbing as everything caught up to him.
"I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I-I don't- k-know why t-they d-ddidn't l-let me in."
"It's not your fault, love. You had every piece of paper you needed. Every piece of evidence that you're you-yoi."
"N-now we're s-stuck. B-because o-of me."
A thick kiss was pressed to his head and he looked into blue eyes when Marco pulled away slightly, "Not because of you. Because that doorkeeper wanted to harm an innocent person. And Ace. I rather be stuck here forever then live free and all alone, knowing you were sent to your death for no reason."
Sniffing Ace smiled softly, "T-thank you. Coming to get me."
"Of course." Marco smiled back, moving to gently cares a freckled cheek, "I would never leave you alone. You're my everything, Ace."
"I l-love you!"
"And I love you too, my fire."
Both leaned in and shared a long kiss, carefully making their way to the bedroom to just lay down and rest in each other's arm. There was nothing else they could do right now. They were shut off from the rest of the world. No one could reach them, and they couldn't reach anyone else.
In a couple of days, they inside the home would get an option to open the shutters or keep them shut for a couple days longer. They would need to think of what to do. They had a lot of supplies in the house, they always did, so they could survive a long time inside. But still they couldn't stay locked up forever.
So, hopefully when they opened the shutters and the others saw that none of them were harmed. Ace didn't attack Marco. Then they would realize that Ace hadn't been a monster at all, that the doorkeeper was wrong in not letting him in and they could all forget this ever happened... Maybe with this, the building would even let them move out and they could join Ace's brothers in their own building. Start anew all together. Everything would be okay as long as they had each other.