#acezoro

“I know it’s not gourmet but you need your nutrients, right?” Ace laughed lightly, addressing the turkey and tomato sandwich with baby carrots. Definitely not gourmet, but Zoro appreciated the gesture. He began to eat the sandwich and Ace moved to sit down beside him. 

“Are you not gonna eat?” Zoro asked with a frown after he swallowed a bite of his sandwich. Ace shook his head and rubbed Zoro’s back.

“I already did, sweetheart, but your concern is sweet,” Ace said with a smile, the warmness in his voice making Zoro’s heart skip a beat. “Feel free to stretch your legs or whatever you need. We’ll be home alone for a while.”

Zoro nodded and finished the rest of his food, wiping his mouth on a paper towel. Swinging his legs out of Ace’s bed to throw away his trash, Zoro was hit with a sudden pain. An evidence of what they…did. His face flushed as he remembered that what Ace used on him wasn’t the biggest he had. A hand reached over to grab his hip to keep him from falling.

“You okay?” Ace asked with wide eyes and Zoro nodded. 

“Yeah, I’m okay, it’s just the…uh…”

“Ohh.”

“Yeah.”

“Well. I did a good job then,” Ace laughed lightly and moved to relax in his bed, putting his arms behind his head. The position emphasized Ace’s muscles, despite his lanky structure and Zoro had to focus on what he was going to do. Throw away trash, then stretch. When he threw his trash away, he began his easy stretching process. As Zoro stretched, he felt Ace watching him with intrigue and not the TV that was playing in the background.

“What are you looking at?” Zoro asked with a teasing tone as he stretched his leg into his lunge. Even without the joke, Zoro knew he was distracting when he was working out in just his briefs.

“You. I always love some eye candy,” Ace teased with a grin, giggling as Zoro sputtered in response. Zoro finished his stretching and his eyes darted over to the open spot on Ace’s bed, knowing Ace’s eyes were still on him. Without saying anything, Ace patted the open spot and Zoro walked back to the bed so that he could crawl back into bed. He snuggled into Ace’s side and Ace moved his arms down to wrap around Zoro’s waist. Zoro sighed softly and he felt his eyes become heavier. He tried to keep his eyes open, not wanting to only be sleeping during his time with Ace. 

“Sorry, I know I’m falling asleep, I’m just…” Zoro trailed off, trying to remember the word that he was looking for, “comfortable.”

“I would hope so, you know this is your home too,” Ace told him and brought his blanket over the both of them, “besides, it means you feel safe and comfortable around me. I read that somewhere, in an article. I forgot the name of it though.”

Zoro hummed in acknowledgement and he smiled as Ace threaded his fingers through his hair, his thumb occasionally brushing by his temple. Ace kissed Zoro’s forehead gently and Zoro could feel him smiling against his forehead. What had him so smiley?

“Can I confess something?”

“Sure.”

The smile dropped against his lips, not out of sadness but something that was more…nervous. Zoro shifted so that he could still lay down and look at Ace, noting how Ace had his arm around his waist. Ace bit his lip and took a deep breath. 

“I haven’t been with anyone else since we’ve started…our little friendship with benefits,” Ace confessed and Zoro’s eyes widened, feeling his own heart skip a beat. Ace’s own eyes widened and he began to stutter, “look, there’s no pressure for you to-”

“Neither have I, Ace.”

Ace’s jaw slackened and Zoro bit his lip, deciding he needed to be straightforward about everything neither one of them were saying. 

“I’ve liked you for a while and since we’ve started…this thing of ours,” Zoro said with a blush, his eyes darting to the side as he felt Ace’s grin come back, “I think I. Like you even more.”

“Really?” Ace asked softly, his grin becoming softer as he brought both of his hands to Zoro’s face. Zoro nodded and Ace pulled him into a hug, nuzzling his head into the side of Zoro’s own head. Wrapping his own arms around Ace, he hugged him back tighter and closed his eyes. As they both gently pulled away from the hug, but never each other, Ace kissed Zoro’s forehead with a small smile.