Chapter Text
There are very few things that could pull Ace toward them. Usually, he's the one doing the pulling, and everything else just gets attracted to his field.
That being said however, apart from his brothers, there are two things which pulled him in.
One of them was his call to be a patissier. He adores each and every minute of being one. Like this very moment, for example.
Ace beams at the pleasant aroma of the fresh croissants, nodding with satisfaction at his work. He doesn't have to taste to see if the batch turned out right, he knows it did.
He sets the tray aside to cool down and turns around to get the blueberry muffins, only to find Deuce place the last one on the display rack.
"Hey Deu, are those all of them?"
Deuce sighs and points at a takeout box placed atop the white counter. "I've already saved some for him. Six, to be precise."
The other thing that had pulled him in is Marco Newgate, his ex-bestfriend-cum-ex-lover who is also currently his good friend.
Ace grins. "Thanks Deu!"
"Why are you both still dancing around each other? It's high time you guys patched things up and got together again." The blue-haired man finishes with an exasperated sigh.
Ace's smile turns fond with a hint of sadness. Sunlight filters through the open window, bathing the white counter and the man standing next to it in a golden hue. He runs his hand over the takeout box. If things were that simple, they would've already done that.
Things had gotten ugly between them. Too ugly.
But a chance meeting about a year after their break up resulted in a very fragile but comfortable friendship, and Ace is forever grateful for that. He doesn't plan on ruining it any time soon, his love life be damned.
"You don't worry about that Deu." Ace stretches. "Can you set up the croissants for me? I need to check in on the macarons."
Deuce doesn't press further. "Sure thing, bossman."
|•|
Marco cannot stop the smile creeping up on his face as the signboard Cafe Spades comes into view. He takes a quick look at the blackboard placed at the entrance and the colourful text written on it: Today's house special - Grilled Chicken Panini. He grins. Ace's panini is one of his favourites.
The bell chimes softly as the blonde opens the door. Ace looks up from where he was resting on the counter and greets him with a smile.
Marco's eyes immediately wander to the display rack. "Aw, shucks! And here I thought I'd get the Thursdays-only blueberry muffins today," Marco says eyeing the empty tray behind the Blueberry Muffins nameplate. "Anyway, I'll take one house special with an espresso, please!"
"You know, you've got some nerve waltzing into my cafe after it's closed and ordering the house special." Ace teases, already entering the kitchen to prepare the order.
Marco's laughter rumbles through the empty cafe. "You've been waiting for me, nevertheless." He doesn't get a reply, but he knows that Ace is smiling.
The blonde settles down on one of the bar stools lined near the counter. With nothing else to do in the meanwhile, he turns around on his stool and looks up to see the rows of small potted plants hanging from the ceiling. He notices that one of the pots has a different plant than the one he saw last time. Cool. The man drops his gaze to the pop art frames of the king, queen, jack, and ace hanging on the farthest wall. Seeing the ace always made him inwardly chuckle at the irony, and this time is no different. He once again turns on his stool to face the counter and absentmindedly runs his hand over the golden strip running along the length of the counter. His fingers reach the tip of the strip and his gaze wanders to the empty trays on the display rack. Each and every tray is empty, as usual. Cafe Spades provided a wider selection of pastries than any other cafe in Grandline, and that's one of the reasons why he has a larger pool of customers. Not to mention, Ace is damn good at this. The smell of grilled chicken and melted cheese wafts through the place, prompting Marco to face the front and get ready to receive his much awaited order. He cannot help looking at the painting of the Moby Dick hanging on the only wooden wall in the cafe. Marco had gifted that for the inauguration.
The door adjoining the wooden wall opens, and Ace comes out with Marco's sandwich on one hand, and coffee on the other. "Here's your grilled chicken panini with espresso, enjoy!" He chirps, occupying one of the stools next to the other man.
Marco wastes no time digging in. He takes one bite and moans. "How do you manage to make it taste so good each and every damn time, Ace?! Seriously!"
Ace laughs. "It's just because you like panini so much."
"I regret not asking you to make this every time you were in charge of the kitchen."
Ah. Marco grimaces.
Classic mistake.
He hadn't meant to bring up their former relationship. Hopefully, Ace won't continue the conversation.
"I don't think it would've made much of a difference. Ace looks outside the window. "You barely came home anyway."
Ouch.
Right where it hurts.
Marco simply hums and acknowledges what Ace said. At least that will be the end of it.
"And while we're on the subject," Ace interjects, dashing his hopes, "Deuce thinks that we should stop dancing around each other."
Marco looks up at Ace, mildly surprised. "I thought we had cleared this up?"
"Yes yes, we have. But it got me wondering about what would happen if we did get back together, you know." Ace maintains an indifferent expression, but Marco can see the nervousness behind his words. Not that he blames the man. This friendship between them is just in its baby steps. So one wrong move and it can all come crashing down.
"I was too busy to care for you, Ace." Marco looks him in the eye for a second, and then stares at his plate. "And to be honest, things haven't really changed on that front."
"And I was too much of a brat to understand." Ace sighs.
Marco snorts. "While I would've agreed with what you just said back then, I don't believe that's necessarily true. You did a lot to adjust."
"Not really, Marco. What I expected was the typical schedule of a doctor – like getting called at night or, you know," Ace pauses for a second, thinking of the right word. "having to turn back from a trip at the last second because of some emergency at the hospital." He breathes in before continuing. "I was wrong to think that the schedule of the most sought-out surgeon in the country would be similar to a regular doctor's."
"And I behaved as if you never existed in my life. Like you weren't there at home, waiting for me return and spend time together." Marco laughs humorlessly. " I just got too tired that day. My shift and all the surgeries, and then coming home to find you pissed off at me about my work commitments and being vocal about it."
"Huh." Ace puts on a thoughtful look and rubs his chin. "I guess you really were tired that day. You told me to go fuck myself even though you knew that I already do that because you aren't around at all. You wouldn't have said something that dumb if you were in your senses. You're smarter than that."
Marco genuinely laughs at that. "I suppose so. But at least we both learnt our lessons, so there's that." He continues after a moment, looking Ace directly in the eye. "We're better off like this, Ace. I don't think we can afford a repeat of all that again. Don't you agree?"
Ace's face is somber only for a split second. If he wasn't sitting this close, Marco would've thought that he imagined it.
"Yeah. We were friends before, and we get to be friends now. I mean," Ace vaguely gestures with his hands. " Somewhat." He smiles. "I'm grateful for that. It's enough for me."
It felt like there was something more that Ace wanted to say, but held back. Marco decides to leave it at that. "The feeling is mutual. Even if it wasn't many, Deuce won't have to worry about walking in on us making out in the pantry anymore."
Marco and Ace's mingled laughter fills the entire space.
The rest of their conversation isn't as heavy, and the blonde enjoys it as he finishes his meal. He pays for his order and is about to turn around and leave when Ace shoves a takeout box in front of his face.
"Blueberry muffins. I saved some for you before we opened. And this one's on the house."
They both grin at each other.