Work Text:
Bed covered in rose petals? Check. Candles ready to be lit? Check. Dinner in the oven? Check. Ridiculous outfit? Reluctant check. Everything going according to plan? Not check.
Law reached for his phone, anxiously checking the clock for the third time in the last five minutes. Ace should have been back by now and there was no way he’d forgotten. The two of them were not incredibly romantic people, Ace more so than Law, but still, not the most romantic guy. They agreed on doing all the cheesy Valentine’s Day things, just because they never had and Ace was convincing enough to get Law to play along. The plan was to have Ace come over after he got off work, have a nice dinner and a few glasses of wine, and then spend the rest of the night in each other's warmth until the sun came up.
Except Ace was now eighteen minutes late. And he hadn’t even bothered calling.
He gave Ace a call, hoping he would at least get an explanation as to why his boyfriend wasn’t here yet. There was a faint sound of Hotel California , Ace’s ringtone for Law, coming from the other side of the door followed by the jingling of keys. “Darlin’? I am so sorry about being late. I know you've been planning this and-” Ace didn’t even get as far as closing the door before Law was closing the space between them.
Ace kissed like he was hungry and Law was his last meal. It was open-mouthed and hot with Ace’s tongue desperately attempting to drag across the back of his boyfriend's teeth. Law indulged his lover, how could he not? Tattooed hands snaked around Ace’s torso, much too clothed for Law’s liking, if he was being honest.
Law forced himself back from Ace, pushing an arm’s length back from the brunet. “Dinner. I went through the effort of cooking, you have to have some.”
“Absolutely, darlin’.” Ace smiled widely. “What did ya make?”
“Blackleg-ya recommended it to me. It’s called penne arrabbiata.” Law led Ace to the kitchen and bent over to pull the dish being kept warm out of the oven. “I think you’ll like it, it’s spicy.” He set the pan on the stove top. Law could feel Ace’s eyes burning holes in his back. It was the damn outfit, he was sure.
As if on cue, Ace pressed his hands firmly on Law’s sides, bunching up the fabric beneath his fingertips. “These pants make your ass look fantastic. But this shirt…” Ace nosed his way into the crook of Law’s shoulder and neck, standing on his toes to stare down Law’s chest. His hands slid around to Law’s front and began undoing the buttons of his long sleeve black button up. “Should undo this though… All that ink and you’re hidin’ it.”
Law turned around, shifting himself to lean against the counter instead of the front of the oven. He stared at Ace, who stared back at him with that cocky, half lidded grin he gets when he really wants something. “Dinner.” He said curtly, crossing his arms across his now half exposed chest. Law was careful not to crush the bright red flower pinned to his lapel.
“What if I’m hungry for somethin’ else..?” Ace’s tone was an innuendo in itself. He licked his lips, eyeing his boyfriend up and down. His eyes trailed across each of the ink details painting his chest and torso, lingering on his favorite one, the mess of thorns surrounding a heart made of sharp lines that was centered under his navel and spread out to each side of his abdomen. He had rested his hands back on Law’s sides, thumbs tracing the edges of his glorified womb tattoo.
The doctor’s expression deadpanned. He searched Ace’s face for a reason to deny him what he was asking only to come out empty-handed. “You’ll just have to wait until after dinner.” Law was not a pushover, and he detested being bossed around, but he was usually willing to give in to Ace’s requests. This time, he found himself wanting that cheesy, ridiculous Valentine’s Day nonsense that is only ever seen in the movies.
Ace couldn’t have possibly rolled his eyes back further. He took a step back from Law and walked back to their dining room table, littered with rose petals and a candle between the two place settings. Law was nice enough to serve them both, and he poured himself a glass of red wine before he sat down across from Ace.
“It sure does look good.” The brunet reached for his fork and promptly dug into the meal. A satisfied hum to let Law know that it was good. Ace wasn’t hard to please when it came to food, but Law still went out of his way for his boyfriend. “And it does have one helluva kick. You gonna be able to eat this?”
Law only offered a pleased huff of a laugh and a nod. “Yours is spicier than mine. I’ll be fine. Enjoy.”
They ate in a comfortable silence, sneaking glances at one another with smug grins on their faces. Ace finished first, but stood for seconds. When he came back and sat down, Law leaned on his palm, elbow propped on the table, eyeing Ace, the lingering shit-eating grin across his lips. “How come you were late?”
Ace looked up from his plate, surprised. “Oh… Um…” He fumbled with an excuse for a moment before exhaling a defeated sigh. “I was trying to keep it a secret until later, but since I think you’re already on to me.” Ace stood from the table and took a few steps towards the doorway where he had dropped his bag as soon as Law had kissed him. He pulled out a long narrow box wrapped in cheesy, red and purple heart print wrapping paper, finished off with a large pink bow. Back at the table, Ace didn’t sit down this time. Instead, he stood beside Law while handing him the box. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Law took the box with caution, eyeing Ace, then the box, and back to Ace’s innocent, freckled face. He removed the bow and placed it in the dead center of Ace’s chest with a grin. “You said we weren’t doing gifts.”
“I know what I said. Open it.”
There was no more argument from Law before he carefully unpeeled the tape holding the paper together and unwrapped the box. Underneath it was just white, plain, undecorated. He shot Ace another unsure glance before taking the lid off. Inside, tucked carefully in bright red padding foam, was a yellow stethoscope. Decorating the bell was a symbol Law had drawn more than once, a smiley face with six outward protrusions.
“How did you manage to pick this out?” Law asked, removing it from the protective padding to get a better look at it. “Ace, this is a very expensive brand.” He put it back in as if it were the most delicate thing he had ever been handed and set the box face up on the table.
Ace wore a proud grin as his boyfriend checked out his new tool. “Well, Marco helped me pick a good one, but I picked the color. You can be real doom and gloom, but you’ll always be yellow to me.”
Law stood and pulled Ace into another kiss in one swift motion. His hands cupped Ace’s cheeks and soaked in the warmth growing at the top layer of his skin. Ace draped his forearms across his boyfriends shoulders, hands overlapped behind his neck. When Ace threatened to deepen the kiss, Law pulled back. “Not yet. Wait here.”
The doctor paced to his bedroom where he disappeared for a moment. Ace took the opportunity to try Law’s less spicy portion of the dish he had made for dinner and found it equally good. When Law returned, he was holding a medium-sized square box. It wasn’t wrapped, but there were no clear labels on this one either.
“I also got you a gift.” Law admitted while shoving the box into Ace’s hands.
Ace didn’t waste time sliding the lid off, being met with a silver watch. He pulled it from the confines of the box and went to put it on before noticing the back of it. Engraved in cursive was the phrase “Live With No Regrets” along with a small engraved flame. It was something Ace said often, a code he lived by. The watch face was a bright orange and yellow marble, reminiscent of a hat Ace wore often, decorated with a red ring where numbers would be and a pair of blue cartoon faces, one frowning and one smiling.
“This has got to be more expensive than that thing.” He said, pointing at the stethoscope on the table.
Law shrugged and pulled Ace in for another kiss. Ace was careful not to drop the watch, but set it back down on the table. This time when he dared to slip his tongue between his boyfriend's lips, he was met with a pleased sound. Law didn’t mind the lingering spice, nor did Ace mind the acidity of the wine. They kissed for what felt like an eternity, taking their sweet time with one another at the moment. Law was the first to part, unable to keep the smile off his face.
“Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“Time for dessert?” Ace asked, tucking his hands into Law’s back pocket with that same smug grin he had earlier.
Law rolled his eyes, but nodded. “Help me clean up, and then you can have your way with me, okay?”
Ace cleaned well and he cleaned quickly before dragging Law off to the bedroom, spending the night tangled in each other and a mess of blankets.