✨

You get a little lost in the sensation of Ace kissing your neck, your legs wrap around his waist, and you can feel how hard he is. You bite your lip to stop yourself from smiling, the fact that you can have Ace wrapped around your finger with a few touches makes your heart flutter.

He goes back to kiss your lips and you grip his shirt, trying to hold him closer. He’s so warm you can’t help but crave his touch. You roll your hips and bite his bottom lip making him moan “Are you trying to kill me, pretty?” He gasps, and his lips curl into a smirk.

Even with all of your senses being consumed by the heat of the moment, you hear a faded sound of a phone buzzing. Your eyes shift to the clock on your nightstand.

Shit, shit, shit.

“Well, I don’t need to kill you. Pretty sure Marco is planning to already”

“Huh?” Ace follows your gaze. You see him pale when he notices the time “shit shit shit. Why didn’t you tell me?” He gets up from the bed and extends his arm to help you get up too.

Your glare at him while fixing your dress “I just told you we were going to be late!”

“When?”

“I don’t know” you gritted “somewhere between you eating me out in the kitchen and you tossing me into my bed to make out”

“Oh, I didn’t hear you” Despite the cheeky smile he’s giving you there’s a slight hint of pink on his cheeks “can’t help it when you look like that”

You roll your eyes “you say that every time” you walk up to him and fix his shaggy black hair. From how close you are, you can see the freckles on his face. He’s so handsome and probably doesn’t even know what he’s doing to you. “Uhh— I think you need to fix your hair too. Sorry about that” He sheepishly says.

“I know” You sigh. knowing how much Ace loves to ruin you, you don’t need to check on a mirror to know the state you’re in “And fix my make up too, probably” You reach for the phone on the nightstand “Text Marco. Tell him I’m on a call so we’re going to be late”

“I’ll do that” He flashes his signature boyish smile “Thanks for coming with me by the way”

It’s the way he looks at you.

It’s the way he looks at you that always pulls you back into him.

It started casually.

One night you two were complaining about relationships. You struggle a lot to meet new people, always too focused on work, always too emotionally unavailable —or at least that was all your exes said. And Ace…well, he had issues, issues you don’t know except for tiny bits of pieces, never enough to get the full picture. He didn’t think he was worth the hassle, he thought he wasn’t worthy of love, even when it was so clear everyone around him loved him so deeply. He kept saying he wasn’t the type for long term relationships, he wasn’t the type to commit.

“What if I want to have an adventure?” He said. The living room was dark, the only light came from the TV playing a movie you two forgot about. “Can’t ask someone to leave everything and come with me”

“You know, I’m surprised. When I first met you I thought you were going to bail on me and leave me to pay rent alone”

Once upon a time, Sabo was your roommate. You two met in college and became good friends despite Sabo’s loathing for big corporations and you constantly trying to climb the corporate ladder. You two lived together for a few years until it was time for him to move with his long term girlfriend Koala.

You were the one who introduced them. Koala was a good friend of yours and you happily played matchmaker even if you knew it would end up in seeking out for a new apartment.

One day, when you were about to give up on apartment hunting, Sabo told you all about his brother coming back to town and that he needed an apartment to stay in. At first you hesitated, the guy didn’t sound reliable enough. for what Sabo told you, Ace had a habit for adventures, he never stayed in the same place for a long time, he was always on the hunt for something “what is he hunting for? Mhm I don’t know, that’s just how Ace is” is what Sabo had said back then.

It took you a while but you accepted, he’s sabo’s brother so what could go wrong?

And that’s how Portagas D. Ace entered your life.

“Nah” Ace nudged you “I know how stingy you are”

You slapped his exposed chest (why the fuck is this guy never wearing a shirt?). You know Ace is conventionally attractive, but maybe this is the first time you actually pay attention to how toned his chest is, just like his biceps. “Shut up Ace” you sip on your drink, and try to erase the thought of Ace’s body off your mind

“I’m just joking, babe” The nickname came out more like a mockery than out of endearment but it still made you feel something funny inside “want another one?” He asked, pointing at the empty cup you’re holding.

“Sure, cranberry juice and—”

”Vodka with a little bit of lime, yeah i know” He walked to the kitchen and you get a good view of his back. Oh, the guy works out, that’s for sure. It made you feel a little bit giddy, you’ll blame the alcohol tomorrow.

Once he’s back he’s holding your cup and a beer. You notice how low his sweatpants are, low enough for you to get a good view of his his v-line “Here’s your drink”

“What a gentleman”

He smiled “Me? Always” he sits down next to you. You noticed he was closer than before, because his knee is touching your leg and one arm wraps around your shoulders “Although a few women would disagree”

You raise your cup “For shitty relationships and even shitty exes” you toast and Ace laughs as he clicks his beer against your cup.

It was quiet for a while until Ace spoke again “i do miss sex though”

You groaned “God, same. It’s been months” Eight months, to be specific, but Ace didn’t need to know

“It’s been more than a year for me” he admitted

“No way” you raised one eyebrow “There’s no way you haven’t fucked in a year”

He blushed, it’s the first time you see him act so coy “Why? Is it so hard to believe? I’ve been busy"

“I mean” You took a sip of your drink, the taste of alcohol burned and made you feel hot. You took off the hoodie you were wearing, leaving you in the tight tank top you had underneath. You noticed Ace’s eyes shift from your face to your chest, only for a second before returning his focus to your face. “I find it hard to believe women are not interested, that’s all”

“Oh? And why is that?” It was like the air around you became thicker. Something in the universe shifts.

You blushed, if it was for the way Ace was looking at you so intensely or for the alcohol you wouldn’t know. “Well, i been told you’re attractive”

“By who?” He smirks.

”Some friends. They think the politeness and boyish smile combo is cute”

“Some friends” He repeated in a low voice “and you? You think I’m attractive?”

You breath hitched. Your mouth was dry. “I —yeah, I do. What about it?” You challenged with fake bravado

He smiled and leaned close “well, I’m flattered. I also think you’re very attractive”

“Yeah?” You leaned closer too

His hand cupped your cheek, his thumb rubbed against your lips. He's so close to you and you’re sure he can hear your heartbeat.

He stared at your lips “yeah, can’t help but keep fantasizing about you”

There was a familiar sensation on your lower belly. “Oh, really? What do you fantasize about?”

He smiled sheepishly, he almost looked embarrassed by his words “About kissing you, touching you, I —yeah, you get the idea”

You bit your lip to stop smiling so hard “yeah, i get the idea” You reached for his beer to put it down along with your cup and then you straddled his waist, hands wrapping around his neck. “Kiss me then, Ace”

It started like that.

It was an agreement. You two get all the benefits while continuing to be friends.

But Ace’s always so gentle and caring, and the lines blur sometimes. You can’t help but wonder if the feelings you have are purely platonic.

”Of course” You smile back at him “Anything to see Izou” You joke and watch his grin fall “now, get out of my room. I need to fix the mess you made”

”Stop with the Izou jokes” he says, grinding his teeth. “He’s way too old for you”

”He probably looks younger than all of us” You laugh “have you seen him do his skin care routine?”

“Well, he does but —wait, when have you seen him do his skin care routine?”

You try to push him towards the door but he doesn’t move “Ace, get out”

He crosses his arms and looks at you like you had offended him “Well? Having any sleepovers I don't know about?”

“Oh my god, you need to chill” you groan “I asked and he sent me a video showing me his step by step routine”

His shoulders relax, you didn’t even notice how tense he previously was “yeah, okay” he’s eyes soften and finally moves towards the door, only stopping when he reaches the door frame and turns to look at you “but you —you wouldn't, right? You know, have sleepovers I don't know about ?” You want to be mad at the implication of you having sex with other guys but the way he asks that makes it sound so vulnerable. He’s not teasing, nor being an ass about it, it’s like he genuinely wants to know if you’re seeing someone else.

“Unless me staying at Nami’s, who I have nothing sexual going on with, counts then no, I’m not having sleepovers with anyone else”

“Good, me neither” He flashes a toothy smile “I’ll go and text Marco” He says and closes the door.

“Text Izou too! Tell him I can wait to see him”

“Shut up!”

————

“Am I supposed to believe that half-assed story about (y/n) getting a call from her mom on a Saturday night-yoi?” Marco looks so done with him. He grips the back of his neck and drags him away from the group of people “You’re playing with fire kiddo”

Thatch’s backyard was huge. He adorned it with some lights, and a table big enough for the entire family. It was the old man’s birthday and the family planned a dinner to celebrate it. All the “sons and daughters” were there already. Thatch cooked so much food, the inside of the house smelled amazing. Ace wanted to take a look at the kitchen but got dragged by you and Izou to the backyard “No, you’re not going to steal food, especially not after being late” Izou had said.

It had been a while since everyone had reunited. One of the reasons why Ace moved back to Grand Line was to be closer, not only to his brothers but to his other family as well. Pops wasn’t outside when they arrived, Marco said he was in the bathroom.

”Stop calling me kiddo” Ace rolls his eyes “and i don’t know what you’re talking about”

Marco looks at him with narrowed eyes “there’s sparkly gloss on you neck”

Ace tenses, his hand reaches to wipe with his thumb the spot on his neck you were previously kissing “No there’s not” he says when he’s sure there’s no gloss on him

He sees Marco smirk. Oh, Ace fell right into his trap “Glad to know you two were having fun at least”

“It’s not like that” Ace tries, but he’s not sure what he means by that.

Marco sighs, patting his shoulder “just be careful both of you”

“oh” Ace's eyes widened with realization —that’s right! Marco is a doctor “Don’t worry dude, we always use protection”

“What? No —fuck Ace, i didn’t mean it like that” The older man looks absolutely done with the conversation, Ace would feel more embarrassed if he didn’t find the situation amusing “i meant don’t get your heart broken”

Oh. His smile falters “why—”

”You know” Marco cuts him off “I’m just saying kid, things can get messy if you two don’t communicate”

”We have — We do communicate! Just before this we —“

”Ace! my son. Long time no see” the voice of Edward Newgate is something that gets heard no matter what size the room is. A strong voice for a strong man, that’s how Ace sees it.

Ace smiles, and heads towards the man that took care of him when he was younger “You saw me like two months ago old man” Ace says before hugging his dad “Happy birthday pops”

Newgate hugs him back, and laughs “Well, you can’t blame a dad for missing his sons”

Ace pulls away, smile still on his lips. “Oh, there’s someone I want you to meet”

He turns to look for you, but you’re already standing close to him. He reaches for your hand, and pulls you to his side, his arm wraps around your waist. “This is (y/n), my roommate and best friend”

There’s someone laughing in the distance but Ace decides to ignore it “Oh” Newgate looks down at Ace’s arm wrapped around you “and girlfriend I assume?”

Now everybody behind the two of you are laughing, and it makes Ace blush bright red. From the corner of his eye he can see you blushing too, the tip of your ears matched the red shirt he’s wearing.

“Dad!” He sounds like a teenager being embarrassed by his parent

“Nice to meet you, sir.” You chime in, extending your hand so Newgate can shake it “we’re not dating, we’re just friends! Best friends actually”

Newgate takes your hand but doesn’t shake it, instead he presses a kiss on the back of it. If you were blushing before, now you feel your face is about to melt. Ace wants to scoff “Nice to meet a pretty lady like you. Hope living with Ace is not too bad”

“It's not!” You grin “he’s the perfect gentleman, and now i know where it comes from”

It makes Newgate laugh, Ace can also hear Marco and Thatch chuckling “I was a gentleman before meeting this old man” Ace is not pouting, he swears.

Newgate smiles softly at Ace and turns his gaze to you “Take care of my son, will you dear?”

“Of course” you smile. Ace feels something heavy on his chest.

Oh

”well, now that we’re all here, let’s feast”

The night goes well. Thatch’s food is always delicious and Ace is welcomed to eat as much as he wants. You get along with his family, it always surprises him how easy you and Marco can get into a deep conversation, how well your taste matches Izou’s and how you can keep up with Thatch’s teasing. At some point of the night you managed to best friend Whitey, the two of you were having a long conversation far from the group, Ace excuses himself from the conversation he’s having with Izou and Marco to walk up to where you’re standing.

“Hey Whitey, stealing my best friend?”

The woman rolled her eyes, but her playful grin remained on her face “jealous?”

“Of course, don’t want anyone steal her away from me” both of his arms wrap around your waist so he’s hugging you from behind, his chin rests on your shoulder “She’s mine”

For a second he’s sure you tense before relaxing once again. Huh? Why would you be so tense around him? “Well, sucks for you, she said I’m funnier that you”

Ace gaps dramatically “You said that??”

”Sorry to brake it to you, babe” you shrug “Whitey is giving you a run for your money”

“How dare you?” His lips brushed against your neck “You're breaking my heart” he can’t help himself and gives your neck a little peck, he can smell the perfume he picked out for you and it makes his heart melt…platonically.

Whiney’s phone starts ringing, there’s a photo of a guy on her screen “Oh, my boyfriend is here, I gotta go” She kisses you cheek as a goodbye “Text me! I have a feeling that we’re going to be good friends” she smiles and ruffles Ace’s hair “and you, do not ruin this friendship for me, okay?”

“mhm, don’t know what you’re talking about witch”

“Sure you don’t” She rolls her eyes again. “Goodbye you two” and with that she leaves you two alone.

“Hey, are you having a good time?” You turn to face him. You move a strand of hair that was covering his face.

His arms stay firmly put on your waist “Yes, i really missed this. Also I’m glad you’re here”

“you know, this is not helping with the girlfriend allegations" you look over Ace’s shoulder “Thatch is taking a photo and Vista is whispering something in his ear”

Ace groans, he buries his head on your shoulder “They’re going to tease me so much”

“Again, this is not helping” you pat his back so he can let go of you.

“i dunno” Ace pulls away, his arms finally let go of your waist and he shoves his hands on his jeans pockets “I’ve always been very physical with people, I like hugs”

“mhmm yeah, i guess you do” You snicker “Won’t stop your family from teasing you though”

He thinks you look so pretty tonight. He wants to go home, watch as you take your make up off and then join you for a midnight snack. He wants the quiet time and the stolen laughs only he gets to hear in the comfort of the apartment.

“Want to go home?” He says without thinking.

He wonders for a moment, when did he start to refer to the apartment as home?

“Sure” you nod “let me get my purse and we can say goodbye” you run your hand through his arm before walking away and something inside him feels weird.

————

“Ohh, you’re so fucked” Marco says once Ace says goodbye to him

He insists on taking care of the dishes, even if he hates washing the. Keigo tells you to relax and open a bottle of wine to share with him. You sit on the counter and drink some wine while watching him struggle to wash a plate. Once he’s done he tells you to sit on the couch, he’ll join you soon. He playfully smacks your ass when you start to walk over the couch.

Keigo is smart, he takes the opportunity of you being distracted and steals your phone to write an email to your boss saying that you can’t come in for work because you got very high fiver, he schedules it to send automatically tomorrow morning. What’s the worst thing they could do? Fire you? Keigo can easily support you economically if you ask.

He joins you on the couch, holding his glass, the wine bottle and a blanket. He pulls you into his lap, you two fall easily into conversation, you don’t tell him what’s bothering you but that’s okay, Keigo has all the time in the world. He’s so physical with you; his hand is on your thigh, his thumb is caressing your skin, he buries his face on the crook of your neck.

It’s around midnight when he notices how sleepy you are and takes you to bed. It’s when you two are in bed, when you open up, Keigo listens to you while playing with your hair, he thanks you for telling him and kisses your forehead. If you ask for advice, he’d give it to you. If you just want to vent, he’ll listen. It’s whatever you want. He whispers a soft ‘I love you’ before you fall asleep holding him close.

When you wake up he’s already in the kitchen making breakfast. The little shit is shirtless and with sweatpants that hang a little too low. This is Keigo, of course he's going to use his looks to his advantage, and what better use than look hot for his significant other?

“My alarm never went off and I just woke up to an email from my boss saying that she hopes I feel better” ”oh? I wonder how that happened” He doesn’t say it was his doing but you know anyways, he smirking nonstop tells you everything you need to know. You take a quick shower while he cooks.

He's not the best in the kitchen but he manages to cook you a decent breakfast. He already texted Tokoyami to tell him he is not going to work today. It’s not something he does often, but coming home yesterday and finding you in distress without him being there to comfort you made him feel awful.

You place the dirty dishes on the kitchen sink to wash them but he lifts you up by your thighs and places you on the counter “so, it’s my turn to have breakfast” he says, running his hands over your thighs. “Just sit back and let me take care of you”

Touya

oh, Touya sucks. He sucks at comforting people. He hears you crying the moment he enters the apartment and considers leaving so he doesn’t have to deal with it. He takes a peek at you sitting on the couch; Puffy eyes, tears streaming down your face, quieting your sobs by covering your mouth. Something breaks inside him, he rushes to your side and wraps his arms around you. No ‘Hello’, no ‘I’m home’ he just hugs you without saying anything. He lets you cry on his shoulder, he draws circles on your back to soothe you “there, there, I’m here for you” he doesn’t care how long you cry for, he doesn’t care if the position you’re in hurts his neck, he just wants to make you feel better. “Who do I have to kill?” He jokes just to make your laugh.

Once you calm down he gives your forehead a quick kiss and tells you to rest a little. He goes grocery shopping to cook you dinner, once he returns he makes sure you’re still sleeping and runs you a warm bath and even lights some candles he knows you like. He wakes you up by caressing your face with his thumb, his touch is so light he’s a little surprised you actually woke up but he didn’t want to startle you by shaking you. He tells you to go and bathe while he cooks, the way he looks at you is so soft, so caring and intense. He makes your favorite food, out of the two of you he’s the better cook. He smiles when he sees you walk out the room with a hoodie and baggy sweatpants, he thinks you look so cozy like that.

You two eat in the living room while watching a movie. Touya talks throughout the entire thing, snarky comments about the plot, jokes about how stupid the main guy is, points out flaws in the script and you laugh at his silly commentary. He enjoys this, watching you laugh, making you laugh. He doesn’t ask what's bothering you but he watches carefully how you react to certain things, how you look sad when your phone rings, how your lips tremble when he mentions certain people in your life. He notices all of it.

He takes the dirty dishes to the kitchen, he can feel you following after him. “We’ll clean tomorrow” he says, and tugs your hand to lead you to the bedroom.

He’s not exactly clingy but he lets you cuddle him, he’s so warm you can’t help but tangle your legs with his. His hands slide under your hoodie to rest on your waist, he likes to touch your skin. It takes a while but you finally tell him what’s bothering you. His blood boils because some asshole made you feel bad, he already has at least ten ways to get back to them. “Whatever, don’t let losers like that make you feel this way” he says, his tone is a little too neutral but you know he’s trying his best at comforting you with words; he’s just better at it with actions.

He traces your spine with his index finger, the sensation makes you sleepy. He tells you about the video game Tomura’s been talking about, about Toga spamming his phone with memes. He teases you when you close your eyes “oh? Are you not listening to me? After everything I just did for you?” It’s all in good fun, you know because he keeps looking at you with soft eyes and giving you a boyish smile.

“Hey Touya?” You whisper, closing your eyes and snuggling closer to him “you’re such a good boyfriend”

He kisses you, it's slow and lazy and both of you are already half asleep but god, Touya loves that he gets all of you, your attention, your love, your praise.

For you he will always try.

The next day when the person that made you feel bad posts a photo of their flat tires you smile knowing Touya always has your back.

Aizawa

He has this controlled, of course he does. You text him that you had a bad day and that you feel like shit and he gets into action. He makes sure the freezer is stocked with your favorite ice cream, he buys your favorite wine, he buys extra tissues. He times your arrival perfectly so when you get home you two can take a warm bath together. When you get home he’s already pouring two glasses of wine. He welcomes you with a hug, because he knows you want him to hold you. He guides you to the bathroom, and slowly takes off your clothes, but it’s not sexual. It’s also not sexual when he joins you in the bath. Your back is pressed against his chest, you two talk and drink your wine. From time to time Aizawa kisses your exposed shoulder.

He orders food, not because he can’t cook but because he wants to be lazy around the house with you. He’s in his sweatpants and a shirt that has a couple of holes in it but he thinks it's too comfortable to throw away, his hair is up in a ponytail. You wear an old hoodie of his and your underwear, that’s it. You two sit on the couch waiting for the food to arrive, your legs are on his lap. He’s not a big talker, he’s more on the ‘listening to others talk’ side but in the comfort of your house he loves to tell you about his students, about the bad written essays, and about the two students that definitely have a crush on each other but they’re still too awkward to confess, he tells you how proud he’s of them all.

It doesn’t matter how tired he is, he doesn't think twice about getting up from the comfortable couch to open the door to get the food. You both eat in comfortable silence, it’s routine by now. Aizawa lets you steal some of his food like you always do. He takes care of the dishes, he takes care of throwing out the trash —and most importantly, he takes care of you.

He talks to you with the patience of a saint. He asks questions to get you to open up about what’s bothering you. Communication is key in your relationship, so you trust Aizawa with your issues. He listens and doesn't interrupt, sometimes nods just to reassure you that he’s still listening. The moment you start to cry he pulls you closer, his hand cups your cheek and dries your tears with his thumb. He kisses your forehead once, twice, as many times as you need. He’s not dumb, if you try to hide something he calls you out, he insists you need to let it all out if you want to feel better. He also calls you out if you keep saying “it’s not a big deal” because it is, it’s a big deal to you and it’s a big deal to him, “you need to stop saying that. it’s okay to cry you’re not exaggerating”

He takes you to bed but he stays awake grading tests while you sleep next to him. He thinks you look so pretty in your sleep, so peaceful and relaxed. Once he’s done he mumbles a soft “i love you” and closes his eyes pulling you closer to him.