Chapter Text
The first time Marco met Ace was a day like any other, then again, the days tended to blur together when he was on long shifts in the ER. He walked up to the door for his next patient and could hear the argument before he even knocked on the door.
“Ace, I’m telling you, I’m fine,” one masculine voice said.
“And I’m saying I didn’t ask, Lu,” another voice answered.
Marco quickly knocked and opened the door to see his patient. The man sitting on the table seemed much younger than Marco, though it was hard to tell much when he was coated in a layer of soot and ash. His hair was plastered down against his face and he was scowling at the other man in the chair. Marco only spared him a quick glance, taking in the freckles across the bridge of his nose that made Marco think cute , before he introduced himself.
“Good afternoon, I’m Marco Newgate and I am your doctor today. What brings you in?” He asked as he booted up the computer off to the side.
“Nothing, I’m fine,” his patient, Monkey D. Luffy his chart said, exclaimed.
“Luffy you had half a ceiling fall on you!” The other man argued back, making Marco raise his eyebrow. “Even if you are fine, you have to get checked out. You’d be giving Zoro the same spiel if it had happened to him.”
“I’m the captain,” Luffy huffed, and it was only years of emergency experience that let him catch the flinch the young man tried to hide. “It’s my duty to make sure they’re taken care of.”
“Yeah, that’s why the chief sent me. I’m off duty now meaning I’m here as your big brother and you can’t pull rank. Now shut up and let the nice doctor check you over,” the other man said. He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms in satisfaction.
Marco couldn’t help but laugh, nearly doubling over at the force of it.
“Sorry, sorry,” he said as he wiped his eyes. Luffy had tilted his head in confusion as the other man smirked. “That just sounds like a very similar argument I’ve had with my younger siblings.”
Marco shook his head and forced his head back in the game. He looked over the information that the nurses had already put in the system and made a plan.
“I know you said you were fine, but like your brother said, it’s best to be safe. I'm going to send you down to radiology to get some X-rays. Mostly just to make sure everything is okay with your ribs,” Marco informed.
“I’m Ace, by the way,” he introduced with a smile. “Hey, how long do you think it will be before tall dark and scary shows up to scold you?” Ace teased.
“Eh?” Luffy responded as Marco put in his orders. “Torao’s in a whole different department, I don’t think he even knows I’m here.”
“Yeah, but this is his hospital, you really think he’s not going to find out?”
Marco had just locked the computer, was starting to turn to ask who they were talking to, when the door slammed open. Marco was ready to say something, scold whoever was rude enough to barge in to a patient’s room, when he realized who it was.
“Torao!” Luffy’s smile faded as the hospital’s head of surgery snarled.
Marco watched wide eyed as Trafalgar Law stormed into the room, golden eyes flashing dangerously as he ranted in German at an increasing pace.
“Torao I–. Wait I can–. Torao!--” Luffy tried to get a word in edgewise, only to keep getting cut off. Finally ending in “I can’t understand you when you yell at me so fast!”
So gobsmacked by the sight in front of him, Marco barely noticed when Ace stood to stand beside him.
“They’ll be like this for a minute,” Ace sighed.
“So they’re always like this then?” Marco asked. Ace was very cute, Marco realized, with stark black hair that fell into bright silver eyes and a crooked smile.
“Yes and no,” Ace shrugged. “Our job isn’t exactly a safe one and Luffy isn’t always the best at taking care of himself. This isn’t the first time Law’s come down to rip him a new one for not telling him we were here. They’re usually weirdly cute though.”
“Oh?” Marco had a hard time envisioning the tattooed surgeon as ‘cute’.
“Oh yeah, watch this,” Ace smirked at him. “How long have you two been together again?”
“It’ll be three years next month,” they answered in unison, Luffy’s bright and chipper while Law’s sounded fondly annoyed. Marco couldn’t help but laugh.
“Oi, doc, you able to hang around so I can go to work or you have shit to do?” Ace asked.
“I took my lunch to check on this idiot. I’ll be around unless an emergency comes up,” Law sighed and finally turned to Marco. “I apologize for interrupting, Doctor Newgate.”
Marco smiled, he wasn’t close to the other doctor personally, but they had worked together several times. Marco knew that under the rough exterior, he was a kind man, and his choice of partner certainly showed it.
“Completely understandable, Doctor Trafalgar. I’d be worried too if I was in your shoes,” Marco said. He got back to work, nodding at Ace as he left the room.
He found Law someone easy to talk to, sharp tongue and quick wit made for amusing observations and Luffy’s constant cheer and optimism made him quick friends with pretty much everyone he came into contact with. It made the hour that Luffy was under his care go by quickly and he almost felt as though he had made a new friend in the situation. Though later, when his siblings asked about work, if his mind went to silver eyes and a mischievous smile, well that was just for him.
0808
Marco was eating lunch a week after meeting Ace when Law came up to his table.
“Law,” Marco greeted. “How’s Luffy?”
“He’s fine. Already back to causing an overwhelming amount of chaos,” he answered. If Marco hadn’t seen the two interact together he would think the surgeon disliked the firefighter.
Marco smiled and took another bite of his sandwich, glad that somehow after a ceiling had fallen on him, Luffy had only ended up with a couple of bruised ribs. He watched Law pick at his rice, certain that the other doctor had something he wanted to say, but Marco was nothing if not patient. He had to be with the insane amount of people who called him their older brother.
Marco was happy to let them sit in companionable silence, at least until his phone buzzed. He rolled his eyes when he saw who it was from, having a bad feeling about what they wanted.
<<Thatchy
Hey Marco! You’re free this weekend right?
<<Thatchy
I mean it’s on the family calendar that you’re actually not working.
Marco set his phone back down. That wasn’t a can of worms he was wanting to touch at that moment and Law had finally opened his mouth like he was going to say what was on his mind.
“I have a favor to ask you,” he said finally.
“Personal or work related?” Marco responded easily.
“Personal. Are you working this weekend?” he asked, running his hand through his hair.
“Working? No. Busy? That entirely depends on what you’re getting ready to ask me.”
Law chuckled before sighing, “There’s a firehouse event going on at Foster Park this weekend. I made a mistake by promising Luffy I’d be there, but I cannot handle being around that many muscle heads all fucking day.”
“So you’re asking me to go and keep you company?” Marco surmised.
“More or less. There will be free food and drinks and I may or may not have information on that drug trial we were talking about last week.”
“So now I’m being bribed,” Marco laughed.
“It’s not not a bribe,” Law conceded.
Marco thought about it as he chewed on a grape he had brought with his lunch. On one hand, he would really like to relax on his day off, maybe see his brothers if that’s what Thatch was implying. On the other hand, he enjoyed talking with the surgeon and a firehouse event meant that maybe Ace would–no, no, he needed to quit thinking about it.
Before he had made his decision, his phone buzzed again.
<<Thatchy
Listen man, I have this guy I’ve been working with lately. Totally your type, and I thought we could maybe get drinks or something.
Marco scowled.
“I’m in. What time is everything starting?” he asked.
Law raised an eyebrow, “That easy, huh?”
“Well, I would much rather a community event than a blind date set up by my younger brother,” Marco muttered, typing on his phone.
>>
Got plans, sorry bub.
The event was already in full swing by the time Marco got to the park. It was a beautiful late spring day and Marco could already hear the sounds of kids squealing in delight in a bounce house over the roar of his bike.
He parked next to another motorcycle, took off his helmet, and looked around. He saw a bounce house being manned by a frankly enormous man that Marco could hear laughing from where he was parked. There was a grill already fired up and smelling amazing as well as one of those fire simulation houses for kids.
Marco couldn’t help but smile as he looked for the man who had invited him. The local firehouse was popular in the community for a reason. They hosted events like this happily and often and Marco had always heard good things about the fire captain, even from his siblings.
“I never considered such a prim and proper doctor pulling in on this beast of a machine,” someone whistled from next to Marco, who still hadn’t gotten off his bike.
Marco turned to see Ace walking up to him, hands on his hips, and Marco’s mouth went dry. When Ace had been in the ER with Luffy he was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt that was at least a size too big. Now Ace wore a dark pair of shorts and a black form fitting tank top that showed off not only the incredible amount of muscles the firefighter had, but also the tattoos that trailed down both biceps. He also had an orange cowboy hat hanging from a string around his neck.
“What, never see a doctor on a motorcycle?” Marco managed to tease, finally dismounting from the bike and stowing the helmet in his saddlebag.
“On a motorcycle, sure,” Ace smirked, leaning his hip against the other bike. “On a Heritage Softail with a Screamin’ Eagle kit? That I didn’t expect.”
Marco grinned, “So you know your motorcycles then?”
“Do I know my bikes,” Ace scoffed. “Built this baby nearly from the ground up and I only trust one other person to work on her.”
Marco looked at the other bike closer now. It was a bright red Sportster, the paint holding just a touch of ghost flame in it that, oddly enough it matched the blue and gold ghost flame on his own bike, with the word ‘Striker’ emblazoned down the side in gold. It was a beautiful bike.
Marco was saved from coming up with a response by a long drawn out “AAAACCCEEEE!” before a smaller body slammed into Ace’s side. To his benefit, Ace barely jolted as his brother tried to take him down.
“Luffy!” Ace snarled, “how many times do I have to tell you not to do that to me near Striker?”
“But Ace!” Luffy whined, “ Torao said you were over here flirting with his doctor friend and told me to come get you before you corrupted the only other brain cell in the park.”
Marco was saved from Ace seeing the way he flushed when Ace himself went bright red and started pulling at Luffy’s face.
“Mind your own goddamned business you fucking pest,” Ace muttered darkly.
Marco took that as his cue to slip away as the two hit the ground and started rolling in the dirt. Law joined him quickly, both of them watching the firefighters as they tussled, though Marco noted Ace was careful to roll them away from the bikes.
“They really do act like children,” Law sighed.
“You should see my siblings when we all get together,” Marco chuckled, though he could still feel the heat in the tips of his ears.
“In all fairness,” Law said quietly, leading Marco further into the park, “I didn’t mean for Luffy to interrupt you.”
“It’s fine,” Marco waved him off as they came up to the picnic tables. “I’m sure he was just teasing anyways.”
Law looked at him incredulously but didn’t argue.
Marco could honestly say that he was enjoying his day. The weather was lovely, the food, made by Sanji, who introduced himself as a friend of Luffys, and the community was always lovely to be around. Luffy and Ace seemed to know most of the people by name, especially the kids, and the paramedic, Chopper, was incredibly excited to talk with Marco and Law about work and research.
He had been left alone, Law being dragged off by an excited Luffy to do God knows what, when Ace sat back down beside him. He had a full plate, though Marco was sure he had seen the firefighter have at least three others before. He also had another can of soda that he set in front of Marco.
“Hey, I uh– I wanted to say thank you,” Ace said, not looking at Marco.
“What for?” Marco responded, cracking open the tab on the drink.
“For taking Lu seriously when we were in,” he sighed. “I know at the end of the day it’s his body and choice on if he actually gets treatment, but we’ve had doctors before that took him at face value when he said he was fine and then we found out later he was actually hurt.”
Marco sat quietly for a moment, absorbing what Ace had said. “I’d say it’s just my job, but like I said then, I have younger brothers who are just as hard headed. I’d hope if they ended up in someone else’s ER they would be taken as seriously as if I were taking care of them.”
Ace was quiet in return for a moment, though Marco was amazed to see that the plate was already empty when he turned back.
“How many siblings do you have?” he asked finally and Marco laughed.
“I have fifteen brothers, all adopted.”
“Holy shit!” Ace laughed. “I thought Shanks was crazy enough for adopting Luffy, Sabo, and I. Your family must be insane !”
“Oh yeah, for sure,” Marco agreed with a smile.
Ace’s smile softened as he looked at Marco.
“Tell me about them?” Ace requested, resting his elbow on the table.
So Marco told him about his family. Told him about Thatch’s restaurant, Izou’s most recent fashion line, the orphanage Pops had been volunteering at, anything that popped into his head really. In turn Ace told him about his brothers, how Sabo was a lawyer, though it sounded like he mostly did pro-bono cases, about how he and Luffy had decided to follow in Shanks, the previous fire chief’s, footsteps. If Marco thought he had a crush on the firefighter before, it was nothing after they had spent the day talking.
“Can I take you out on a date?” Ace asked, his smile a lot more bashful than his tone, interrupting his thoughts.
Marco’s breath caught in his throat for a moment before he smiled. “You don’t think how we met is a bit odd?”
Ace shrugged. “Law and Luffy literally got together because Law was thirsting over Luffy doing pull-ups with the garage door up. Law started taking his lunch on that bench,” Ace pointed to a bench down the way with a clear view of the firehouse doors, “and he completely forgot to actually eat when he saw Lu. Luffy chased him down two weeks later and wouldn’t let him off until he agreed to go out with him.”
Marco laughed, looking over to where the aforementioned couple were sitting together. Luffy was talking and gesturing wildly while Law just watched fondly.
“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Marco admitted.
“So,” Ace drug out the word, “can I take you out?”
Marco looked at Ace, he should say no. Ace was clearly much younger than him, and was frankly out of his league, but he found that he didn’t really want to.
“You know what, if you can find a time between both of our busy schedules, sure,” Marco agreed. He was nearly blinded by the answering smile.
0808
It took over a month for Marco to get to see Ace in person again for more than five to ten minutes at a time. They texted as frequently as they could, and did voice and video calls when they had more than a few moments at a time, and occasionally they would eat lunch together, Marco getting used to the sheer chaos Ace seemed to bring with him everywhere and Ace laughing at Marco’s dry wit and near savage reactions when he felt his family was wronged. But at the end of the day, they both worked incredibly demanding jobs that took up the majority of their lives.
The first date they had tried to plan got cancelled due to a warehouse fire that caused nearly every firehouse in the city to gear up and Ace had gotten called in. The next time a flu epidemic meant that the ER was overflowing in cases and even the doctors were dragging, so Marco had to step up. Then Ace had gotten sick, then there was a four car pileup that was an all hands on deck situation.
Needless to say, Marco was frustrated and tired of his job by the end of the month. He would be the first to admit that he was in a bad mood as he made his rounds, counting down the minutes until his shift was finally over. Ace had just had to cancel another date, the text still open on his phone as he glared at it.
<< Ace
Sorry Birdie, something came up. Don’t think I can make tonight 😭
>>
I get it. I’m sorry too.
And he did, Marco really understood. All Ace wanted to do was help people, he and Ace were the same in that way, and unfortunately, jobs that help people tended to not help a social life.
He was broken out of his musings by a sharp voice. “Get another doctor,” the voice was raised, but not shouting.
He couldn’t hear the response, but the voice, familiar now that Marco noticed it, responded. “No, I am demanding a new doctor. You will not touch her.”
Marco wasn’t the only one who was on their way to the room, though he was the fastest with his longer legs. He came up to the room as another doctor, a woman he wasn’t overly familiar or fond of, stormed out. She had a dark scowl and completely ignored everyone, going as far as to shoulder check Marco on her way past.
Marco furrowed his brow as he peeked in, curious as to who was in here to cause such a reaction.
“Ace?” he breathed as the man in front of him clicked with the voice.
Ace looked up from his turnout jacket, face set in a scowl until he saw Marco.
“Marco,” Ace sighed. “Please for the love of God tell me that you can take this case.”
Marco’s brows furrowed again until Ace’s jacket wiggled and Marco realized something. He had thought Ace was still dressed in his turnout gear, holding his hat over his chest, now he realized that it was a child wrapped in his coat wearing his hat. He also finally noticed the blood on Ace’s tank top. Marco nodded and leaned out the door to let the nurses know he was taking over. He locked eyes with Ace and motioned closing the door with a tilted head, continuing to close the door when Ace nodded.
“Hey sweetheart, this is my friend Marco. I promise he’s a lot nicer than the last lady,” he heard Ace promise.
Marco felt his heart break a little as a little girl turned her head to look at Marco. She had blood caked in her brown hair and down her face, the cause of which seemed to be a pretty bad gash over her tear filled brown eyes.
“Oh, honey,” Marco said softly, crouching next to the bed. “That looks like it hurts, can I take a look at it.”
Ace flinched slightly as the girl gripped onto Ace harder.
“It’s okay,” Marco soothed, “Ace can stay with you, and I won’t touch you if you’re not okay with it.”
“You promise?” she croaked.
“I promise,” Marco smiled at her. “We can just sit here and talk for a bit if you’d rather.”
“We can talk,” she agreed, loosening her hold.
“Wonderful!” Marco stood up and wet some paper towels in the sink, he explained what he was doing before he handed them to Ace. “I’m not going to touch you, but I imagine you’re getting a bit itchy with all that drying on your face, but I’m sure Ace would be more than happy to help clean you up while we talk.”
“That would be okay,” she agreed, twisting to sit sideways in Ace’s lap.
“Great job,” Marco praised. He pulled a chair up so he could sit next to them. “Now, I know Ace’s name, and you know mine, but I still don’t know yours, little ma’am.”
The girl giggled even as she flinched at the drag of the rough paper towel. “My name is Isabella, but I like Bella better.”
“I think Bella is a beautiful name!” Marco teased. “Now, miss Bella, can you tell me a little bit about what happened that made Ace bring you in?”
“The ladies driving me hit another car,” she said with a sniffle.
Marco looked over her head at Ace who just mouthed I’ll fill you in later .
It took a while to gain the girl’s trust enough that Marco could actually examine her. The cut on her face had needed a couple stitches, but the girl was very brave with her new friends. Even more so when Tate, the head nurse, brought her in a very soft stuffed teddy bear. After Marco had finished the stitches, Bella dozed off, wrapped in Ace’s coat and cuddled with her new stuffie.
Marco brought Ace outside the room, leaving the door cracked open so they could keep an ear out for the girl.
“So, what happened?” Marco asked, making Ace sigh.
“It’s a convoluted story,” Ace sighed. “But first,” Ace stepped into Marco’s space and wrapped him in a hug. Marco nearly melted into the embrace, he had been looking forward to spending time with the firefighter, but not like this.
“I take it Bella was why you had to cancel today?” Marco murmured into Ace’s hair.
“Yeah, I–Shit,” Ace stepped back and rubbed his forehead. “You were supposed to leave over an hour ago, weren’t you?”
“It’s fine, I got to spend time with you anyways,” Marco teased, making Ace snort.
Ace sighed as he looked back at the door. “Her mom’s in rehab, from what she was saying, her grandma has legal custody, but she’s disabled. She’s been living with her aunt and older cousin for the last several months. Anyways, mom’s boyfriend was supposed to take her to go see her mom at the rehab facility, but instead they ended up at his friend's place. She said they hadn’t been there long when he fell asleep on the couch.”
“Was he–” Marco interrupted.
“She doesn’t know if he doped up while they were there. She said he was breathing and I didn’t dig anymore. Not my problem. Anyways, they tried to get ahold of her aunt but Bella didn’t know her phone number, she knew vaguely where they lived, so I guess the girls just decided to try and take her home. Of course they weren’t exactly sober either, so they managed to crash the car,” Ace finished explaining and leaned against the wall. “Lu was working with the cops to find her grandma and aunt, but she got really attached to me when I got her out of the car, so they sent me with her here.”
“No wonder the poor girl was so scared,” Marco murmured.
“Yeah,” Ace sighed. “The other doctor just kept trying to grab her and told me I was in the way, so I’m glad you were there.”
Marco hummed and opened his mouth to say something, when an older woman ran around the corner, an officer and a younger man following closely behind.
“Are you Ace? Do you have my niece?” she asked breathlessly.
Ace smiled brightly, “You must be Aunt Dee, Bella spoke very highly of you.”
“I’m Doctor Newgate,” Marco cut in. “I’ve been taking care of Bella. She fell asleep a couple minutes ago, but if you want to go in I’ll be in in just a moment to talk about what’s going on.”
The woman nodded and went into the room. The young man started to follow, but paused and looked at Ace.
“The people that were driving her, what happened to them?” he asked.
“No idea,” Ace shrugged. “I left with Bella before the cops were done talking to them.”
He looked between the doctor and the firefighter before he followed his mom into the room.
“You know,” Ace murmured thoughtfully, “if they had managed to get Bella back home, I think that kid might have killed them.”
“I can respect that. God knows I’ve nearly killed for my family,” Marco agreed.
Ace chuckled in response before stretching his arms up and sighing.
“If you want to hang around for a little while I’ll clock out as soon as I’m done. We can go back to mine and order a pizza or something,” Marco told Ace.
Ace’s face lit up before it fell slightly. “I’d love to, but I really want to take a shower and I don’t have a change of clothes,” he bemoaned.
“I have a perfectly functional shower,” Marco smirked, voice quiet. “And I think you’d look great in my clothes.”
Ace’s face went pink and he had to clear his throat. “Ah, well. That sounds fine.”
0808
Just as Marco promised, Ace was walking out the back doors of the hospital with Marco half an hour later. Ace had pulled his turnout coat back on after Bella gave it back, mostly just to hide the blood still smeared on his shirt. Though it didn’t matter much with how dark it already was outside.
Marco led him out to his old Nissan, fighting the urge to reach out and grasp the firefighters hand.
“Would you be offended if I said I’m a little upset that you didn’t bring the Harley?” Ace teased as he opened the car door.
“I don’t bring the Phoenix to work,” Marco laughed. “My hours are too long and I won’t risk leaving it in the elements.”
“Honestly, perfectly understandable,” Ace smiled.
They rode back to Marco’s in companionable silence for a while, letting Marco’s after work playlist play quietly as Ace fiddled with his phone.
“Everything alright?” Marco asked, glancing at Ace.
“Sabo’s asking if I need a ride home later,” Ace said hesitantly.
“I mean,” Marco hummed, “even if we just hang out, you’re welcome to stay the night. I do have a guest bedroom.”
Marco let the thought linger for a moment while Ace typed before continuing.
“I won’t deny that I was looking forward to having you in my bed tonight though,” Marco teased. Smile turned to a smirk as Ace had to clear his throat.
“Sounds good,” Ace’s voice was a bit strained. “I’ll let Sabs know you’ll take me home tomorrow then.”
“Sounds perfect.”
It didn’t take them long to get to Marco’s, Marco leading the way in and hanging up Ace’s coat by the door.
“I’ll order us dinner while you shower. Pizza sound okay?” Marco asked, leading Ace up the stairs to the master bathroom.
“How many people turn down pizza?” Ace teased.
“Law,” Marco countered easily.
Ace waved him off, “Law can’t eat most pizzas, he doesn’t count.”
“Fair enough,” Marco laughed. “Help yourself to whatever.”
Ace just hummed as he turned the water on. Marco left him to get undressed while he found something that would fit the firefighter. He heard the shower curtain close, though he still knocked before he entered.
“I found something that should fit you,” Marco called over the water. “I’m also going to see if I can get the blood out of your shirt.”
“Thanks birdie!” Ace called back.
By the time Ace had joined Marco downstairs again, Marco had their dinner ordered and was pre-treating Ace’s shirt with the laundry detergent he bought specifically for blood.
“Thanks for letting me borrow your clothes, Marco.”
“It’s not a problem,” Marco started, turning around to face the younger man, but whatever else he was going to say dried up along with all the saliva in his mouth.
He knew Ace was cute, he knew Ace had the muscle mass to make teenage girls swoon, but it had never quite clicked like this that Ace was hot .
Ace’s hair was still damp from the shower, sending droplets of water down his shirtless chest to where he wore Marco’s sweatpants, the waistband rolled several times to make up for their height difference. Marco couldn’t stop his eyes from mapping out the ridges of muscles and freckles, from the defined shoulders down to his Adonis belt. When he finally managed to force his eyes back up he was met with a crooked smirk wide enough to show one sharp canine tooth, like he knew exactly what he was doing.
“Oh, you are dangerous,” Marco muttered. He stalked forward to put himself in Ace’s personal space.
“I have no idea what you mean,” Ace grinned, hooking his fingers through Marco’s belt loops.
“Oh really?” Marco teased, running his own hands from Ace’s hips to his waist. “So you didn’t come out here looking like my favorite dream to torment me? I know I left a shirt in there for you.”
“You dream of me often then, birdie?” Ace trailed a hand up Marco’s chest to wrap around his neck, glancing from his eyes to Marco’s mouth.
“Shut up,” Marco muttered before pulling Ace flush to him and finally connecting their lips.
Ace’s lips were warm and soft as they moved together, Marco wrapping his arms around Ace’s middle, groaning as Ace nipped his lower lip. Ace used the moment to lick into Marco’s mouth, humming as they tangled together. Marco walked Ace backwards until they hit the dining table. Marco easily hoisted Ace up to set him on the table, making Ace groan at the casual display of strength.
“What? You think you’re the only gym rat around here?” Marco teased, moving to brush his lips down Ace’s jaw to his neck.
“Shut up,” Ace muttered back, using his grip in Marco’s hair to pull his head back up. At least that was the plan, until the doorbell rang.
Ace groaned and threw his head back while Marco chuckled and leaned his forehead against a freckled shoulder.
Marco took a deep breath and stood up. “Why don’t you grab the food and settle down in the living room, there’s beer in the fridge if you want one. I’m going to go change clothes real quick.”
Ace hummed before dragging Marco down for another quick kiss. “I’ve been wanting to do that since the spring cookout,” he hummed. “Alright, hurry back.”
Marco would forever deny the way he stumbled going up the stairs in his hurry, but he couldn’t deny the way Ace’s laugh warmed his chest.
When Marco came back down, also only in sweatpants because two can play that game, Ace had set one of the three pizza boxes on the coffee table with plates beers and a glass of water for Marco. Ace was lounging on the couch like he belonged there already devouring a slice.
“Wasn’t sure if you drank much after work. Figured if you didn’t want it I’d drink it later,” Ace said, looking at Marco over the back of the couch. It was Marco’s turn to smirk as Ace’s eyes drifted over his torso.
“I’ll drink it, thanks for being considerate though,” Marco let himself flop onto the couch with a sigh before he picked up the TV remote. “Anything you want to watch?”
“Anything that isn’t the news,” Ace wrinkled his nose.
Marco helped Ace finish off the first pizza and laughed as Ace ate the other two by himself while some animated show played in the background. Slowly, they started moving closer together, as though the longer they sat still the stronger the magnetic pull between them became, until Ace was leaning heavily into Marco’s side with the doctor’s arm thrown over his shoulder.
“I’m sorry I’ve done such a shit job at getting a date put together,” Ace sighed.
“What on earth are you talking about?” Marco asked incredulously.
“Well, you told me at the picnic if I could plan a date for us you’d let me take you out. And here we are a month later,” Ace shrugged and ducked his head.
“Ace, what are you talking about ?” Marco twisted to look at Ace better. “I canceled just as many dates as you did, do you think I need to apologize?”
“Well, no. But–”
“No buts,” Marco cut in. “I know what your job is like, you know what my job is like. Besides, I honestly think this was better than a dinner out or anything like that.”
Ace looked up at Marco in near wonder. “You really mean that, don’t you?” he breathed.
“Of course I mean it,” Marco scoffed. “I wouldn’t have brought you home to make out with you and feed you if I didn’t. I like you, Ace. Like want to keep you around and introduce you to my brothers, like you. And I know that dating you means working around both of our incredibly demanding schedules. That isn’t a deal breaker for me as long as it isn’t for you.”
Marco watched Ace’s face go through a complicated set of emotions before it settled on something Marco couldn’t quite name as he sat up and threw his leg over to straddle him.
“You can’t just say things like that,” Ace murmured, pulling Marco into a chaste kiss. “You’re going to make a boy fall in love.”
“How do you know that’s not the goal?” Marco knew his smile was more than a little goofy. “To make you just as hooked on me as I am on you.”
Ace didn’t answer, just pressed their lips together again. It didn’t take long for the kiss to get heated as hands roamed over exposed skin.
“Were you only teasing about taking me to bed tonight or was that a promise?” Ace’s voice was husky as he pulled away from the kiss, grin sharp.
“I had planned on leaving that up to you,” Marco’s grip tightened on Ace’s waist and rolled their hips together, “but I think you’ve already made that decision.”
“Hell yeah,” Ace grinned.
“Alright, off you get,” Marco squeezed Ace’s hips again before letting go. “I may be able to carry you, but I’d rather not try to carry you up the stairs.”
Ace pouted dramatically before laughing as Marco shoved him off, laughter continuing as Marco chased him up the stairs.
0808
Marco was a bit disoriented when he woke up. The room was dark, though that meant nothing with the blackout curtains he had on all the windows. He tried to rub his eyes, but something was holding down his arm. Something very warm and naked, soft skin pressed up against his own.
It took Marco a few blinks for his eyes to come into focus enough to see the dark hair spread across his chest and groggy silver eyes looking back at him. Marco smiled as he remembered everything that had happened the night before.
“Sorry,” Marco murmured, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
Ace hummed and pulled at Marco’s waist until he was mostly laying on top of the firefighter.
“It’s fine,” Ace nuzzled his nose into Marco’s neck, making him chuckle. “I’m a pretty light sleeper anymore. Was pretty happy to see blackout curtains when we came to bed, to be honest.”
Marco was perfectly content to just lay there for a while longer as Ace almost started drifting back to sleep, when his phone buzzed. Marco had intended to ignore it, he wasn’t on call and the only person he truly cared to talk to was laying under him, pliant and warm. Then it buzzed again, and again.
Finally Ace groaned, “Please just answer it so they’ll shut up.”
<<Izou
Marco I know there is no way you are still asleep and I know you aren’t working.
<<Izou
I expect you to make an appearance at lunch today.
<<Izou
If you don’t agree I WILL send Haruta to fetch you.
Marco put more of his weight on Ace as he leaned over him, making Ace grunt and laugh.
>>
Izou has it ever occurred to you that I have had a long week and would like to spend my day off at home?
The answer came quickly.
<<Izou
No.
Marco huffed in annoyance, rolling off Ace but staying where Ace could see the phone.
>>
Okay, have you considered that I had a date last night and you are interrupting me?
<<Izou
Also no. Though on the off chance you are telling the truth and actually liked this person enough to let them stay over, bring them to lunch.
Ace just laughed. “I don’t have any plans for the day, birdie. Though I don’t think you’d like me meeting your family in your clothes.”
Marco just stared at Ace for far longer than he maybe should have.
“What’s with the face?” Ace tilted his head. “I mean obviously I don’t have to go if you don’t want me–”
“I’m just surprised you’re willing to meet my family,” Marco interrupted. “I mean technically we’ve had one date.”
“Marco, babe, I told you, I'm just as hooked on you as you are on me,” Ace's grin was so sweet as he brushed a kiss on Marco’s cheek. “If you want me to meet your brothers, I'll meet your brothers. Hell you've already hung out with Luffy several times, and Bo's chomping at the bit to meet you ‘cause I never shut up about you.”
It was Marco's turn to grin as he pulled Ace into a real kiss.
“Now it's you saying things that could make a boy fall in love,” Marco teased. “Come on, let's shower before I make you breakfast. Then I can run you home to change.”
“That sounds like a plan to me.”