Chapter Text
Blueberry was remarkably like a baby in how she had a few modes: play, eat, and sleep with play being the most important of the three. She had an automatic ball launcher in the basement (which was part home gym, part rec room, and technically part Kotatsu’s bedroom), but nothing beat her rope toy. All the other dogs indulged her from time-to-time, but her favorite playmates were Cheese, who was equally high energy as her, and Mutton, who would just hold the other end of the rope between his teeth and let her go to town.
Of course, she loved playing with Ace and Marco the most no matter how inopportune the moment was.
Seriously. Whenever Marco had the opportunity and chose to work from home Blueberry would inevitably find him and drop her favorite blue (because of course it was blue) rope toy at his feet. Her cute little smile was just impossible to resist! Even though he knew that was just the shape of her snout doing the most of the work, Blueberry was genuinely so joyful and whimsical that it couldn’t be seen as anything other than an eager smile.
At least he’d gotten used to this by now. He’d give her a few minutes of play before Ace “rescued” him and so chivalrously took Marco’s place as Blueberry’s playmate.
“Oh! Someone has a lot of energy today,” Ace commented as he wrangled the other end of the rope just enough so that he wasn’t yanking it away from her. Blueberry growled playfully, tapping her paws against the hardwood as she tugged. “Maybe someone needs a puppy enrichment day?”
Blueberry dropped her end of the rope toy as if gasping in excitement, her tail wagging a million miles a minute. “Puppy enrichment day” as Ace dubbed it, was a favorite of the dogs. It meant a mostly solo day for each particular pup with a trip to the pet store included among other things.
(It was only mostly solo since Hypnos had to be with Ace and Peanut and Bee always had their puppy enrichment day together.)
Ace picked Blueberry up tilted his ear towards her. “What’s that? The bluebird has to join for Blueberry day? Of course!”
It wouldn’t be the first time Ace had brought Marco along on puppy enrichment day–it was an excellent excuse for a date as well.
Marco raised an eyebrow and shot Ace a look over his glasses. “Is that what she said?” He gestured towards his laptop. “I’m a little preoccupied. I have to start drafting materials for this fundraising event.”
“That’s funny.” Ace stared right back at him. “A certain big sister told me that my bluebird would try to bring ‘nonmandatory work that isn’t due yet’ to the nest.”
“Bay,” Marco muttered. Ace still hadn’t told him when he’d gotten her number, and Bay also refused to say anything.
“And it’s a long weekend. Perfect for puppy enrichment day! Besides,” Ace paused to hold Blueberry right up to Marco, “you can’t resist this face.”
She gave him her same dopey yet adorable smile. Surely she had no thoughts in her little head besides ‘it’s Blueberry day!’
“Alright, alright,” Marco sighed as he shut his laptop. “Do you need me to text Makino and Dadan to tell them to check on the dogs later?”
Ace smirked. “Already done.”
Marco was starting to think that this puppy enrichment day wasn’t as spontaneous as Ace had framed it to be.
Once they made it into town, they first grabbed a quick lunch at a little bistro with outdoor seating. The real first stop of puppy enrichment day was the pet store, a place that Marco was getting more and more familiar with.
And as always, they were greeted by his younger sibling.
“Oh you got the bird out of the nest?” Haurta grinned as Marco rolled his eyes. “That must mean…”
“Yep!” Ace chimed as Blueberry scuffled over to sniff Haruta’s pants. “Puppy enrichment day!” Blueberry flopped over in front of Haruta and wagged her tail (though the tail wagging had been constant since leaving the house), eagerly waiting for belly rubs.
Haruta provided, bending down to rub Blueberry’s tummy with vigor. “Make sure you show me what you get before you leave, Blue!”
And she of course would later, but only after taking her time to sniff at all the fun sights!
They roamed the store together (Hypnos patient and focused as he usually was when his vest was on), letting Blueberry carefully examine the different toys and treats on selection. Occasionally, Ace would stop and lift her up.
“Just in case! She can’t see up here like we can.”
Eventually, she showed interest in one particular bin full of various blue dog toys. She buried her head in before grabbing one and pulling it out.
“What have you got there, Blue?” Marco asked.
She turned to him as if to show it off, the toy squeaking when she did. It was a stuffed blue chicken. Marco almost cried tears of joy at the sheer adorableness of the sight.
Ace smiled and leaned against Marco. “She picked that for you, bluebird.”
“I know she did.”
Haruta personally rang up their purchases at the front (Ace even had a special discount because of how many pets he had).
Haruta stopped Marco for a second on their way out. “Don’t be a stranger, Marco. I’m glad Ace is getting you to go out more.”
“You and me both. It’s a nice place you’ve got here.” He said it every time, which was probably the guilt of not visiting nearly enough when Haruta had made this place their own once taking ownership. “I’m proud of you.”
Next stop: dog park. Their vists to the dog park tended to be hit or miss, especially depending on which dogs they brought with them. It wasn’t busy today though, so Blueberry was free to frolic and run around with Hypnos (who had been taken “off-duty” for the time being). They got a lot of mileage out of the little milk crate that housed tennis balls for fetch, staying until Blueberry tired out.
Their final stop was Thatch’s café. They absolutely needed to pick up some of his special pet safe goodies for everyone!
Stepping into the café always felt like home to Marco. The different shades of brown and cream reminded him of chocolate and coffee and the walls were decorated with framed photos of Thatch’s culinary journeys around the world. Ace had been the one to paint the a few cartoon teddy bears around on the walls, each one doing a different task lile baking or making coffee. Since coming here weekly with Izo (and now a bit more frequently on the occasional date here with Ace), Marco knew this place better than his own apartment. Thatch and his incredible staff always knew just what he needed.
So it was a surprise when there was a different face behind the counter. She was usually only here on occasion to help out, but Marco had only met her a few times through Izo.
“Kiku?”
Marco glanced at Ace. Ace may have sounded normal, but Marco felt the way his hand briefly tensed in his hold.
“Hello, you two!” Kiku greeted, smiling wide and giving them a small wave. “Oh! And hello to Mister Hypnos and Miss Blueberry too of course!”
Blueberry spun in a circle in excitement, already anticipating her sweet treat.
“What are you doing here today?” Marco asked, pulling Ace closer to the counter as he stepped forward. “No dance classes to teach?”
Kiku shook her head. “Nope. Just some spring cleaning at the studio. Thatch called me to help cover the counter though, so Yamato said he would handle the cleaning for me.”
Ace’s grip tightened again, harder this time.
Marco continued. “What’s up with Thatch? Everything alright?”
Kiku covered her mouth and gestured for him to come closer. Marco leaned in. “Just between us, Izo got a call this morning about the wedding venue.”
“Really?” Ace gasped and moved closer. “The restorations are done?” And this news at least seemed to perk Ace out of whatever stupor he was in. Marco couldn’t blame him. Izo had been talking about his dream wedding venue even before he met Thatch (he’d always been a romantic, of course). He and Thatch had been only newly engaged when the news of his foster parents’ death came from overseas, which also came with ugly legal disputes over the ancestral home, which was where Izo wanted to have the ceremony. He couldn’t imagine having it anywhere else, even with uncertainty over the outcome of the situation. Even after the legal trouble, the place had fallen into disrepair, leading to a lengthy restoration process. Thatch had stuck with Izo through it all, the test of a years-long engagement only strengthening their bond.
Marco admired that about them.
Kiku shook her head. “Not quite, but Hiyori and Momonosuke wanted them to know the timeline so they can make plans as soon as possible.”
Marco nodded. “Makes sense.”
“Just don’t tell Izo I said that! He wants it to be a surprise.” She blushed sheepishly.
“We won’t tell. Promise.”
“Though Izo might be able to figure us out anyway,” Ace added.
Blueberry let out a bark, uninterested in all this wedding talk. This was not part of the puppy enrichment day itinerary!
“Whoops.” Ace rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry, Blue. We’ll get your treats now.”
“So chatty today!” Kiku giggled. “Let me go get the pups’ usual order. Anything for you two?”
“Pineapple Mango Iced Tea and a Pineapple Bun, please,” Marco answered immediately. He usually preferred hot teas, but he knew the tropical concoction would hit to spot.
And it would take his mind off the thoughts starting to creep in.
“Hibiscus Berry Tea and a slice of Ube Cake for me!” Ace added as Kiku started to pick pastries from the case for the specialty pet desserts Thatch made.
“Of course!”
Kiku rang them up at the register once everything was in the proper boxes. “Okay, so your teas and pastries plus one Happy Hypnos Pet Ambrosia, one Polaris’s Polar Bear Cream Puff, one Cheese Tax Pet Grilled Cheese Bite, the Peanut and Bee PB&J Tartlet Duo, one Mutton’s Meaty Mouthwatering Morsel, one Cuddly Kotatsu’s Kitty Cookie, and…” she pasued for dramatic effect and looked right at Blueberry, who was drooling in anticipation. Marco swiped a few napkins to wipe her drool. “A Blue’s Berry Bonanza Muffin!”
Marco was impressed she could say all that without stumbling on a single word, but she did have the confidence of someone who had worked in food service to pay her dance tuition fees. Thatch really went all out with the alliteration when he named each specific treat after Ace’s dogs (even he got his tongue twisted at times whenever Marco and Ace came by for puppy enrichment day). Their dogs’ names were damn near half the selection in the case!
Ace held up a finger. “One extra muffin please! It’s Blueberry’s puppy enrichment day after all.
Blueberry barked in agreement. She got to have one immediately, Kiku feeding it to her with glee.
As they drove back together (Hypnos and Blueberry napping in the back seat), Marco and Ace fell into a comfortable silence, but then Marco started to think again and the silence felt too silent until he found himself speaking.
“It’s about time, right?” he said, not realizing how forced his words sounded. “Everyone has wedding bells ringing.”
“Not Law and Luffy at least.”
“You don’t think it will happen?”
Ace shrugged. “Luffy’s not the type, and Law wants Luffy to be happy. They’ll stay together no matter what. I mean, who knows? He could always change his mind and prove me wrong anyway.”
They almost slipped back into that quiet when Marco then said what they were both thinking.
“And… us?” He almost regretted saying it. He kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead, not even daring to glance over at Ace for his reaction.
Ace didn’t say a word, but eventually, Marco felt a comforting hand on his thigh. “Well, what do you want? And don’t just tell me you want whatever I want because that’s a cop out.”
“It’s just that…” Marco sighed. He knew what he wanted to say, but that didn’t make it any easier to get the words out. “I don’t think I can survive another long engagement, but… I think I still want marriage. Is that stupid?”
“Not at all,” Ace said, patting Marco’s leg. “I want a future with you, Marco, wherever that goes. If that leads us to marriage, then I’d be happy to call you my husband instead of just boyfriend–not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
Marco felt his vision getting blurry. He blinked to clear the tears out of his eyes. “I really want to kiss you right now.”
“Well, you’ll have to wait. Eyes on the road, bluebird.”
“I know, firefly.”
Marco could tell that the conversation wasn’t over yet though. “So–and you can tell me to change the subject if you don’t want to talk about it––but how long is a long engagement?”
They didn’t talk about his ex very often let alone that fact that Marco had been previously engaged, but if there was any time to be honest about it, then he guessed it was now. “It was three years. Together for four before that.” Nearly a decade of his life had been wasted on that man.
“Izo and Thatch got you beat there,” Ace noted in an attempt to inject some lightheartedness to the conversation.
“You can say that again. I just don’t know how they do it.”
“You should ask them sometime then, bluebird.”
Marco had to admit that that didn’t seem like a bad plan.
“As long as we’re asking the hard questions,” Marco started, the curiosity from earlier still in the back of his mind, “what was that with Kiku earlier? You were acting weird.”
“What?” Ace laughed so awkwardly that the words that came out of his mouth could only be a lie (and a bad one too). “What are you talking about?”
“Ace…”
“Fine.” Ace conceded quickly. Marco could read Ace too. “You know Yamato, her boyfriend? Uh. It was years ago, but he’s my ex. Kiku is nice and all and I know she doesn’t have anything against me, but I still don’t know how to act around her.”
The revelation was enough to make Marco grimace. “Oof. That’s–“
“Awkward? Yeah that’s an understatement.”
Marco did eventually have his chance to talk to Thatch during a dinner at the lake house, Sabo and Koala gathering everyone to announce their news. The cooking was done and everyone was starting to mingle and chat outside while setting the table, but Marco was able to catch him for a second while he was putting finishing touches on a fruit tart.
However…
“I can’t believe I missed a puppy enrichment day! And Miss Blueberry too!” Thatch whined. Instead of actually finishing his tart, he was on the ground, rubbing Blueberry’s belly. She’d beelined it for him as soon as he’d pulled out her namesake to place atop the fruit tart.
Even though Thatch and Izo had dogs of their own (and an adorable calico cat named Ganmodoki), Blueberry was his favorite of Ace’s dogs. He’d been the one who coined her name after she’d gotten into his bag of groceries during one of his and Izo’s visits. Thankfully, she hadn’t consumed anything unsafe, but chose to snack on an entire carton of blueberries.
“Thatch, can I ask you something?”
“Cutie little baby!” Thatch sang, Blueberry wagging her tail at his serenade.
Marco cleared his throat and tried again. “Thatch?”
Thatch finally looked up. “Oh. What’s up, Marco! Wanna join me?”
Blueberry wiggled her whole body at the prospect of even more belly rubs, and Marco just had to indulge. It would give his hands something to do as he talked at least. Marco sat on the ground and did in fact join Thatch in petting Blueberry.
“You said you wanted to ask me something?”
“Oh. You heard me the first time then?” Marco said dryly.
“Well, I had to give the lady some attention first, now didn’t I?” At being called a lady, Blueberry decided the time for belly rubs was done. She rolled back over and clambered into Thatch’s lap snuggle. “So what’s up?”
Marco took a deep breath. It felt weird to have this conversation on the floor (with a very happy dog in the middle), but there was no time like the present. “How did you know that it was still right after all that time waiting?”
Thatch raised an eyebrow at him. “Kiku said something, didn’t she?”
Marco blushed. “I’m sworn to secrecy.”
Marco’s response regardless, Thatch continued on, a loving look in his eye as he looked through the glass doors at his fiancé. “There was never any doubt,” he answered simply. “I told him when I proposed in Paris that I wanted forever with him and I told him the same thing when our plans were put on hold. If our forever was being engaged forever so be it–but I’m happy that we can finally tie the knot.”
They’d been as close to married as they could get anyway. Izo had been set on his vision for their wedding, and it wasn’t just some “groomzilla” situation. It was the emotional stress of losing family and connections from home, the regret from not visiting more sending him into a spiral.
“It wasn’t always easy,” Thatch admitted quietly. “But I’d do anything for Izo. Anything to see him smile.”
“Is he excited to see everyone back in Japan?”
“He’s over the moon.” Thatch grinned. “I have to drag him to bed so he doesn’t just keep talking to them on the phone.”
Marco could definitely imagine that.
“Why do you ask? You and Ace have a talk?” Thatch leaned in, eyes practically sparkling.
“Something like that,” Marco replied vaguely, which only made Thatch want more details, even though there really wasn’t much else to say.
“Are you two coming? It’s dinnertime!”
Blueberry heard “dinner” and immediately took Thatch’s sleeve between her teeth to tug him towards the doors.
“Better finish that tart, Thatch.”
“Oh shoot. You’re right.” Thatch gently pried Blueberry off of him, but she continued to follow him anyways as he stood up to wash his hands. “Hey, man. Just letting you know that we’re behind you two no matter what decision you make.”
“I appreciate that.”