Hello everyone, here is the next chapter!
I hope you will enjoy this
Read and relax
Marco smiled at Ace, glad he was back, and they were still in the hospital. Ace was currently doing something on Trevor's phone, when Ace hummed and looked at Trevor. "Also, I am keeping this phone." Trevor hummed. "You can, that's why I gave that one and not my main one. Keep it." Ace nodded. "I will, at least until I get new ones."
There then was a knock on the door and Bay came in again with some papers. "Okay, I got your discharge papers, and you can grab some medicine from the pharmacy here as you might feel awful when what we have given you is out of your system. Just so you are prepared for that." Ace nodded. "I will do my best to be prepared. And when I have filled this out, can I leave?" Bay nodded. "You can, there isn't much we can do for you here. Just relax, drink fluids, get food down, and relax. Should you feel acutely bad, come back." Ace nodded. "Sounds good. I will fill it out now." And Ace got to it after he got a pen from Bay, then he was allowed to leave and seemed in a good mood. Then they left and Sabo said he needed to grab something at the company property, and Luffy joined him, as Ace said he would head home. Marco did ask if he could join Ace home, which Ace said was okay.
It then wasn't long before they walked into Ace's home and Ace gave a satisfied breath as he turned on the lights. "Home again. Damn, I need a shower." Then Ace looked at him. "Give me a bit, I really do need a shower I feel." Marco nodded. "Sure, yoi. I will be here." Ace nodded and went to shower, Marco soon hearing the shower being turned on while he went to watch some Tv while he waited. But as he did, the doorbell rang, and he first wasn't going to answer it, as he didn't live here, but he felt he should and did, opening the door to show a woman there, looking stressed.
Marco gave a hello, and the woman looked at him. "H-hello. Is Ace home? I- I saw the lights on, they haven't been much on, and I need his help." Marco nodded. "He is in the shower, what do you need, yoi?" He wasn't sure if she would tell, but she might. The woman took a breath. "I live in number 12, and my fridge just gave out. I know Ace has already done so much for us, but I am a mother of 4, I need that fridge. Just, can you ask him if he can do anything?" Marco nodded and gave a compassionate look. "I will tell him, yoi." The woman gave a breath before she gave a small bow. "Thank you." Marco shook his head. "It is nothing. Hopefully he can help, yoi." The woman gave a breath. "I hope. He has already been such a help, renting this place so cheap… I am forever in his debt. I will leave now." And the woman left.
Marco then went back inside and watched the Tv, and when Ace came down again, newly showered, Marco told about the woman who had come by, and Ace nodded. "I see, that is Lori, I will call and have a new one bought and delivered asap." Said Ace as he went on his phone, or Trevor's phone more like it, as Ace still needed to get his own phones again. Then it didn't take long before Ace got a call and went outside to make sure the fridge got to its right place, and the woman, Lori, seemed so thankful she almost cried, but kept on a brave face as her children were home as well. She thanked Ace again and again and said she would repay him when she could, to which Ace said no, this was the least he could do for her. And when it was all done, they went back home to Ace's home, and Marco asked who Lori was.
Ace hummed and said she had helped raise them a bit after they moved away from Dadan, she had helped watch Luffy now and then, and just helped them get to know the area, so Ace felt he owed her a lot. Ace was so kind to those who deserved it and it was clear she had helped him and now he wanted to help her. He stayed a bit with Ace, at least until Luffy and Sabo came back, which was a couple of hours later, and Ace did say he was starting to feel worse, and would go lay down, so Marco took that as his cue to leave, heading him, just glad Ace was okay.
The next day, which was a Wednesday, Marco called Ace, wondering how he felt, and Ace answered after a few rings. "What?" Was asked in a weak voice, and Marco had a feeling Ace didn't feel good. "Hey, it's me, yoi. How are you?" Ace gave a breath. "Awful! My fever is almost 104, I want to puke, and life sucks with a headache!" Marco had searched it up and that was normal when one had Dengue fever. "Have you taken something for it, yoi?" Ace sighed. "I have tried, but it didn't really work well, but I will take a higher dose next time. Hope that works." Marco nodded a bit to himself. "Want me to drop by, yoi? Or you want to be alone?" Ace gave a breath. "I would love it if you could drop by with some food." Marco smiled. "I will be there after work, yoi." Ace gave a breath. "Yeah, that sounds good. I will try and sleep again. I'll leave the door unlocked. I am also dying on the couch." Marco chuckled. "See you in a few hours then, yoi." Ace gave a sound before he hung up and he got Ace felt bad.
He then finished all his work, and he got to leave half an hour early and went to grab some food from a restaurant, and then he went to Ace's home and the door was unlocked, and while Marco took off his shoes, he yelled it was only him, and he got a small groan in return, before he went to the living room and found Ace lying under a set of blanket on the couch, sitting up as he came in. "Please say you have food!" Marco nodded and showed it, he had grabbed some easy dishes for when one was nauseous and sick, and Ace seemed to appreciate it, so they ate it while a show was on, speaking a bit. And Ace did say the last dose had worked and he felt a tiny bit better and the fever had gone down a bit. Which was good.
Marco did ask where Luffy and Sabo were, to which Ace said they had some business meetings to do, and they would be back tomorrow. Marco did decide to stay with Ace for a while, and ended up staying the night, just being with Ace, who felt worse as evening came, feeling nauseous he said and had a bad headache, same with the fever, and Ace said he didn't like that and wasn't good with them. He always felt so bad. They did end up a lot of the time cuddling on the couch, and later in bed, and Marco could often feel the fever on Ace, and he hoped it would be over soon for Ace. When the next day came, he did leave for work so he would make it, and kept in contact with Ace all day, just to make sure he was okay, and he said he felt a bit better at times, but it didn't last. When Friday came, Ace said he did feel better throughout the day, so he hoped it was over for him. They did invite Ace over on Sunday, and Ava would come as well, who was glad Ace was okay. As she knew Ace was a close family friend to them.
He did end up going to Ace's place on Saturday and Ace looked to be better, but still had a light fever, which might take a day or three to fully go away. Luffy and Sabo was home now and they spoke and played some games as well, both board games and video games, and Ace seemed very adept in video games, saying he played to calm down and enjoy them, which he did when he had spare time, which was now and then, Ace always found some time. They also had dinner at Ace's, and they decided to order in, which was just perfect. Marco did pay for his share, even though Ace tried to say no, he shouldn't pay, Marco still did, he stood his ground. And Sabo seemed happy with it, and Marco got it as Ace had been used before for his money, and Marco wasn't in this for the money. He was here since he liked and cared about Ace.
Marco did leave when the clock was around 8pm, heading home. And the next day, Ace came to their place a bit past noon, his brothers with him, and they would stay until after dinner. It was for his family to get to know Ace and his brothers more. Luffy also really liked Stefan, playing around with him. Vista did say that the place they had gotten was perfect and he liked to work with Chip, which was good. It was a bit later that Ava came and Thatch was around her for a while, just being glad to be able to be with her, and it was so clear Thatch was fully smitten and in love, and it did seem Ava was the same. Ava also seemed glad to see Ace again, but also a bit wary.
It was a bit later that Marco saw Ace walking over to Ava and spoke a bit with her, which did seem to have her a bit shocked and then act like she felt bad, before she left a bit early. Thatch did ask Ace what that was about, what he had said to her, but Ace said it was nothing. But told him to make sure she was okay, and Thatch said he would. Then the day went on, before Ace and his brothers also left, and Ace and Marco decided to meet again on Tuesday after work, as Ace was still working a bit less after being gone for 2 months, and he wanted to make sure he was fully well as well.
-x-
The next day, Thatch blinked as he got a message from Ava, which was if she could drop by, she had something she needed to tell, and Thatch said it was fine, and it sounded serious. So when she came, they went to his room and Thatch looked at Ava, who looked nervous, and Thatch moved and kissed her. "Hey, what's up? It sounded serious." Ava nodded. "Yeah… You… you should sit." Thatch blinked but did, sitting down on a chair he had. Ava took a breath. "I- I know you like me, Thatch. But there is something I need to tell you. About me, why you haven't met my family, why we haven't done anything." Thatch nodded. "Okay? I know you are religious, and I am okay with waiting." Ava sighed. "No… Or, my parents are very religious, but I am not." Thatch blinked, he didn't expect that. Ava took a breath. "Thatch, I am a trap. As in… I am a man." Thatch blinked, before it made sense. All the small signs he now realized it.
Ava hung her head. "I will leave now, I am sorry for wasting your time." And Ava headed towards the door, when Thatch stood up and hugged her-him-, being sure to hug carefully. "Ava, I like you. I don't care if you're a man or woman, I like you. And if you're okay with that, I would love to still be with you." Ava stood silent, as he was hugging her from behind, he didn't see her face, before she turned and hugged him tight. "Really?" Thatch nodded and kissed her on the head. "Yes, really." Ava then started to cry, sobbing, and Thatch did his best to comfort her.
After a small bit, Ava leaned back and dried her cheeks, her makeup having gotten smudged and such, but Thatch didn't care about that and smiled at her. "You are such an amazing person, and that's what I care about. I guess your parents don't know you dress like this?" Ava shook her head. "God no, they would disown me right away. I have always liked… men, but I know they wouldn't agree, and I couldn't just go around like me, and I feel… comfortable like this. More than when I dress like… my parents want me to." Thatch nodded. "Is your name Ava? Just curious." Ava shook his head. "No, it is Adrian… But I like Ava." Thatch smiled and cupped her cheek. "It is an amazing name, you choose so well. Which name do you want me to use? Which pronouns?" Ava sniffled. "Ava, and she." Thatch nodded at her. "Then I will go by that, Ava." He could see tears well up in her eyes again, and Thatch hugged her again.
After just hugging her for a bit, Thatch spoke. "What made you come clean?" Ava sniffled and leaned back. "I knew I needed to. And… Ace kinda told me I should, and that you would be okay with it… I didn't believe it. But…" Ava smiled at him with tears in her eyes. "You are." Thatch smiled and hugged her. "Yes, I like you as a person, your personality. Screw gender." Ava sniffled. "Thank you, Thatch." Thatch shook his head. "No. It is nothing. You are so amazing, and I love you, not your gender." Ava sniffled and leaned back. "You're way too kind. How did I score someone like you?" Thatch smiled at Ava. "I could say the same thing. You're amazing, Ava, and I really like you." Ava looked emotional, but happy, and hugged him again, and he was sure things would be fine. Thatch had a feeling Ace had done a background on Ava and found out she was a he, and then told her to come clean. How Ace knew Thatch would be okay with it, he didn't know. But Thatch spoke the truth, he really didn't mind Ava being a he. Thatch liked both genders. He did tend to like women more, being a bit of a womanizer, but still, he liked both sides.
-x-
Whitebeard walked out of his company building, being the last one to leave as he had some stuff he needed to finish. And when he was outside and went to his car, a voice spoke to his left. "Hello, Newgate." Whitebeard remembered that voice and turned to see Lilith, who had a black coat on. Whitebeard wasn't sure what she wanted, Ace should have gotten their file deleted. "Lilith, to what do I owe this?" Lilith hummed. "Just a random encounter. And I know your file is deleted, but know this, you will mess up again, and when you do, I will come after you." Whitebeard nodded. "And until then, have a good day, Lilith." Lilith nodded and then walked away, her heels clacking.
Whitebeard went into his car and drove home, and when he was home, he went to his office and called Ace, and told about this random encounter, which Ace hummed to. "Yes, she is known to do that. She has a high rating of putting away bad people, doing her job perfectly. But I have handled it and I did get a copy of your file. And I have handed the real scammer, who promised to never do it again. And they honestly didn't have much, she was grasping at straws mostly, but I feel she was after me, but as usual, she didn't have what she needed to make an arrest. I also have handled the things with Marco, Thatch, and Vista, who no longer have a target on their backs. The one who Vista tattooed didn't get into the mafia because he jumped the gun on the tattoo. I have made so Thatch's family can't use Thatch's bank account against him, and they should lay off, at least for now, and I hope for good. Marco's name is fully away from the stocks he bought. So it should all be okay."
Whitebeard gave a breath, glad it was all good. "Thank you, Ace. Really." Ace chuckled. "It is nothing, glad to help. And you've been a huge help yourself, especially with my brothers while I was gone. It was the least I could do." Whitebeard nodded. "Still. And Trevor, Cioup, and Mika also helped a lot, they were never far away." Ace hummed. "Oh, I know, and I have thanked them too. We are a little group of our own, and will always stand up for each other." That was clear and he was glad about it. He then spoke a bit more with Ace, before they hung up and Whitebeard brought the good news to those who needed it, saying that there were no longer any worries with anything as Ace had handled it. It made them glad, and Thatch said he never doubted Ace, Marco said he knew Ace had control, and Vista said based on what Chip had said, Ace was the best.
Whitebeard did ask what the deal with Chip was, and Vista said Chip's daughter had gotten with the wrong crowd and was really heading for the wrong side of society, when she got in with a bad mafia, but Ace made sure she didn't and was okay, even after she almost got killed when she tried to leave. Chip's daughter was also only 14, but some gangs were around her school and tried to recruit people, often children, as they were influential and easy to get to go with them as every teenager felt like they were going to do something great and wanted to stand out. But she was good now, and Chip was in debt to Ace. Ace had said he had repaid him with what he did with Cillian, but Chip felt he still owed Ace so much. Ace was an amazing man who knew what he did and he was sure in Ace's mind, Chip had repaid his debt.
He was also glad it was going well between Marco and Ace, and they were all getting to know Ace and his brothers more, them being over often. Thatch had also told about Ava, that she was really Adrian, but didn't like that and therefore dressed as a woman and Ava, but she really did like Thatch, but Thatch didn't care that she was a he, as Thatch was so smitten with her and lover her, not because she was a female, but because she was amazing. And he knew Thatch was such an amazing open person, who also leaned both ways. Things were going fine. Izou also wanted to make some clothes for Ava, as he had such amazing fabrics at his hands now, since he had started to work with Aveil. Izou also really looked up to her and Whitebeard felt things were going to go just fine for them.
And that's the chapter! Hope you enjoyed
This was a calm chapter, as we needed that
If you have any ideas, don't be afraid to share them!
I hope you enjoyed, and if you want to, I do love feedback, so don't be afraid to leave a review, or send a PM!
If you also want to, I have a Twitter/X account, my name is Azuruko, and I have a discord, my tag/username is just azuruko, as well as a server (Instant invite: discord . gg / 6hzMhbR) where everyone is welcomed! Updates is also posted there, both on discord and on twitter