#jefface

Ace didn't normally get road rage; in fact, he was usually the one laughing at Felix’s German insults and Zarina’s swearing behind the wheel. But today was his birthday, and it was a special kind of torture to be stuck in rush hour behind some Sunday driver when he just wanted to get home.

Not that there was anything there waiting for him. Felix was at work and would run late because of some seminar, Élodie was sleeping off the jet lag after her trip to Indonesia, Zarina was nose-deep in editing her latest documentary and had barely left her room for days, and Jeff was finishing up his latest painting for some art collector.

All things which were evidently more important than Ace.

At least Jeff was going to cook for him—which wasn't really saying much, since it was his turn to make dinner regardless, but Ace felt better if he didn’t think about that. Of course, grocery shopping had also been on Jeff’s to-do list, but he'd emerged from his studio looking so frazzled and asked Ace with his puppy eyes if Ace could possibly make the trip for him.

And because Ace loved Jeff, and had pretty much been lounging on the couch in his PJs doing absolutely nothing anyway—definitely not moping after he'd gotten up early to see Felix off for work and Felix not only didn't bring up his birthday, but asked Ace to make him coffee and then fucked off without even a goodbye kiss—he'd agreed.

Part of Ace had still been hoping the grocery run would reveal some sneaky plans Jeff had for his birthday. He'd patiently waited for Jeff to write a shopping list and then immediately read it as soon as he got into the car. But there was nothing: no birthday candles, no ingredients for any of Ace's favorite foods, no wine, no flavored lube…

Clearly, nothing indicating Ace's birthday at all.

Ace might have conducted himself a little aggressively once he arrived at the supermarket, flinging things into his shopping cart and purposefully ramming it into the cart of a blond guy in a suit. He also decided to get a bunch of extra items outside of the list and use their joint account to pay for all of it, because it was his birthday, dammit, and seeing as none of his partners bothered getting him any gifts he'd get them himself.

Except a grocery store at rush hour wasn't exactly the best setting for meaningful birthday gifts. Still, Ace vindictively piled on a couple gift cards, the most expensive bottle of wine he could find, one single cupcake and birthday candles, and a can of condensed milk he fully planned to eat straight out of the tin because fucking stupid Germany didn't have dulce de leche.

Ace was already feeling a little better as he made his way to the checkout: nothing like some good ol' retail therapy to fill the void of being ignored by the people he loved.

And then, of course, the card of their joint account declined. Because Zarina was responsible for it, and she'd barely remembered what day it was when Ace last saw her in the middle of her editing frenzy.

So Ace had to pay for the groceries with his own card and leave out all the extras, because he absolutely refused to pay for his own gifts out of principle. And definitely not because he couldn't afford them.

That turned out to be a blessing in disguise because Ace was barely able to carry the bags to the car as it was. And leaving the nice wine bottle at the store was somewhat preferable to trying to juggle it with the bags and having it smash into pieces on the parking lot pavement.

After all of that, a little road rage felt pretty deserved.

Ace's hands were still shaking on the steering wheel. He couldn't remember when he'd last been this angry; it wasn't like he'd expected much for his birthday, because he knew how busy everyone would be. But just some acknowledgement—or maybe a guarantee that they'd celebrate together at a later date when everyone had more time—would have gone a long way.

Ace didn't need brunch and champagne in bed like they'd done for Felix's birthday, or the seven-course dinner at that fancy restaurant they went to for Élodie's. Sure, Ace had planned those months in advance, but he knew the others weren’t as sentimental—even if he already knew what he was getting Zarina and Jeff even though it was half a year until their birthdays. 

But that was what you did, wasn’t it? Admittedly Ace had always been a little materialistic, but if you liked someone, you gave them something nice, even if it was just a bouquet of wildflowers you'd picked off the side of the road or a half-burnt omelet that didn’t quite turn out like the recipe promised. Ace would have been happy with birthday kisses and a cheap gift and ordering takeout from the shitty kebab place with free delivery, and that really wasn't unreasonable to ask of his partners; no matter how busy they were.

Maybe they just didn't like him enough to bother.

Ace let out a half-hysteric, half-pathetic laugh. If he somehow ended up getting dumped by four people on his birthday, he really didn't know what he'd do.

…Except piss in Felix's koi pond in revenge, but after that.

So he just wouldn't think about it. And besides, everyone acted like this was just a normal day, and not a let's-finally-kick-Ace-to-the-curb day. Ace just had to act like it too, because it wasn't like he could bring up the birthday thing now. If they genuinely forgot, it would make them feel bad and nobody would have time to throw anything together on such short notice anyway, and then everyone would be miserable. And if they actually were ignoring it on purpose, well, then Ace would feel even more awful than he did now.

Ace would just go home and unload the groceries, and then call his sister, because she'd sent him a happy birthday text earlier, because someone actually cared. By that time, Jeff would probably have finished dinner but he'd eat in his studio like he always did when he was busy, so Ace would eat alone and likely end up doing the dishes like some pathetic Cinderella without a fairy godmother.

Then he'd steal a couple of Élodie's expensive French chocolates for dessert, go upstairs and have a sad wank alone, and come back down to get a drink—probably trying and failing to find anything but the gross boxed Merlot they kept under the sink and nobody wanted to drink. Nonetheless, he'd take the garbage wine to the living room and spite-watch the new episode of Zarina's favorite show without her, and if he was lucky it would be late enough that Élodie was up and maybe joined him for some cuddles. 

Or yelled at him for eating the chocolates. Whatever.

In any case, Ace had no illusions that he wasn't sleeping alone tonight. Jeff and Zarina would work to well after midnight, Élodie would only start eating breakfast once Ace went to bed, and Felix would be in his don't-touch-me-or-talk-to-me mood after his work event inevitably ran long.

Lost in his thoughts, Ace managed the rest of the drive home without further meltdowns, but he was still seething once he pulled up in the driveway to the Richter manor. He didn't even bother to park the car in the garage—Felix would probably have nagged at him for parking wrong anyway—and just pulled to a stop by the front door.

He hefted out the ridiculously heavy grocery bags, silently complained that he was getting way too old for this shit, and left Jeff's car right there in the middle of the driveway to annoy anyone who tried to leave or enter the property. Hopefully it would get shat on by some birds.

Ace walked up the steps to the house and prayed that the handles of the bags didn’t snap. He managed to maneuver the bags into one hand without catastrophe striking, and unlocked the door with the other…

And the door got jammed. Fantastic.

"Fucking…piece of shit!" Ace cursed, violently jiggling the key in the lock.

Finally, the door unlocked and Ace shouldered it open. Once inside, he turned to face it and, hands still occupied, kicked it shut with as much force as he could.

The whole wall shook and rattled from the impact and Ace glared at the door some more.

“That’ll teach you,” he said smugly.

“Mon Dieu, what did the poor door do to you?”

“Very funny,” Ace said, still annoyed. He turned around to face Élodie, already complaining, “You gonna give me a hand or—”

And that was when he very nearly dropped the bags he’d worked so hard to get home in one piece.

Élodie was not wearing the comfy reindeer one-piece she usually lived in after a long business trip. Neither was she wearing her regular silk pajamas or one of Jeff’s oversized band shirts she was prone to stealing.

No, Élodie stood there in the Richter manor’s foyer on an unassuming Tuesday afternoon, dressed in nothing but a sinfully flattering bustier and lacy stockings.

“Welcome home, m'amour.” She strutted up to Ace and gave him a kiss on the cheek, which was probably good considering Ace’s mouth was occupied with gaping like a fish. “Do you like my new outfit?” she asked, stepping back and doing a little twirl.

"I, uh…" Ace floundered as he greedily drank in the sight of her, his previous anger all but forgotten.

The mint color of the lingerie contrasted Élodie’s skin tone beautifully. White lace framed the swell of her breasts and the tiny hem of a skirt was barely enough to cover her panties. Ace’s eyes followed the garter straps down her thick thighs and he had to swallow a groan once they reached the lace edge of the stockings.

Élodie really wasn’t playing fair; she knew how weak Ace was for the thigh-highs.

"You’re stunning,” Ace said, a little breathlessly. His fingers itched to touch and he realized he was still holding the stupid bags.

Not one to be deterred, he eagerly continued, “That bustier is gorgeous. Did you buy it on your trip? You look even more beautiful than usual, if that’s possible.”

Élodie smiled, clearly pleased. "Flatterer."

"Wait, how are you up already?" Ace remembered, reluctantly tearing his gaze away from her figure. “Were you waiting for me?"

"Of course I was,” Élodie said. “We had to send you away for some errands to not ruin the surprise.”

"What surprise?"

A low chuckle sounded to his left. "Don’t tell me you forgot your own birthday,” Jeff said, stepping out of the kitchen. “Oh, let me get those for you.”

Jeff grabbed the shopping bags from Ace, but he barely registered the action—a small part of his brain was celebrating that somebody had remembered his birthday, another was relieved to finally be rid of the heavy bags, but the rest chose to focus on…

"Are you wearing flannel?" Ace exclaimed. It couldn’t be: Jeff hated flannel. Jeff didn’t even own flannel, and Felix sure as hell didn’t either, so—

Jeff shrugged, his cheeks pinking. "You keep calling me a lumberjack, so…"

"A sexy lumberjack," Ace corrected. Then, his expression softened as he realized, "You dressed up as a sexy lumberjack for my birthday."

Jeff gave him a tentative smile. "Do you like it?"

Like it? Jeff looked like something straight out of a gay porno, with his luscious beard and messy man bun and red and black checkered shirt that hugged his massive shoulders and soft belly.

"I'm gonna climb you like a tree," Ace concluded.

Jeff laughed, then stepped back into the kitchen with an, “I’ll go put these away.”

"What’s with the dress-up party?" Ace asked, turning back to Élodie. "Did you two conspire some birthday shenanigans while I was gone?"

"Two?" Élodie quirked an eyebrow. "Your turn, mon coeur."

And that was when Felix stepped out from around a corner where he'd apparently been eavesdropping.

"You got me a Felix?" Ace joked. "I love it."

Élodie chuckled. "Your actual gifts are in the kitchen. I just thought this was more urgent."

"And that's why you're the brains of this household," Ace’s mouth ran on autopilot while he ogled Felix.

Felix fidgeted under his gaze, crossing and uncrossing his arms over his chest where he was wearing a gold-trimmed white vest over a black dress shirt. He looked unfairly good—he always did, but these clothes somehow only highlighted it.

Ace cocked his head. "Is the vest new?"

"No, but it's the first time I've convinced him to wear it." Élodie pushed at Felix's shoulder. "Turn around, mon chéri."

"I feel like a Barbie doll," Felix muttered but still did as he was told.

"You look like one too," Élodie shot back.

Ace was about to add his own witty comment but proceeded to choke on his own spit instead as soon as Felix turned around.

Felix's vest had criss-crossed lace down the entirety of the back, and suddenly it became clear why he looked even better than usual today. He wasn’t wearing just any old vest Élodie had dug out from his overflowing closet of designer suits: he was wearing a corset vest. 

Ace stepped closer like hypnotized, running his fingers over the X-pattern of the lace. The vest made Felix’s already drool-worthy shoulder to waist ratio even more pronounced, cinching his middle and highlighting both his broad shoulders and the curve of his ass. 

Ace had never seen a man in a corset before and his brain was more than a little scrambled. He simultaneously wanted to grab Felix's tiny waist and cling to his defined shoulders and pull on the lace while Felix laid on his front and squirmed and—

"Doesn't he look adorable?" Élodie asked once Felix turned back to face them.

Adorable definitely wasn’t the word Ace would use. "Uh…" he looked stupidly up at Felix, silently wondering how much he’d have to beg to get him to wear only the vest in bed.

Felix winced. "I told you this was a stupid idea. He doesn’t even like it—"

"I want to eat you," was what finally came out of Ace’s mouth.

Élodie laughed and Felix sputtered, his face flushing with pink blotches.

"But, wait.” Ace shook his head, trying to refocus. “I thought you had that seminar today? I wasn’t expecting you home before…"

"I took the afternoon off." Felix looked at him with a small smile. "I didn’t want to miss your birthday."

Élodie cleared her throat and Felix grimaced.

"...Which I only remember once Élodie called me," Felix said. “I forgot, I'm sorry. I must have seemed like an ass this morning."

"I'm suddenly having a lot of trouble even remembering this morning," Ace said, then smirked when an idea formed in his head. "But I do remember you still owe me a kiss."

Felix chuckled and leaned down to kiss him, wrapping an arm around Ace's waist and pulling him close the way that always made Ace weak in the knees. His mouth was hot and insistent and Ace did his best to kiss back while eagerly pawing at Felix’s muscular chest over the vest.

“I got you flowers,” Felix said when pulling away, much sooner than Ace would have liked. “They’re in the kitchen. Did you want to…?”

“Mm, no, that’s okay.” Ace stepped back and looked at both Élodie and Felix in turn; they really made quite a picture. “I bet they’re beautiful, but I’m enjoying the view right here. Though I feel very underdressed,” he added with a grin and self-conscious shrug.

Élodie smiled knowingly. "Do you need some help getting out of your clothes?"

Ace perked up and certain other parts of him did too. "Yes, absolutely. I am completely helpless and exhausted from carrying groceries and require at least four extra—" He saw Jeff exit the kitchen. "—six extra hands to take off my pants."

Jeff chuckled and leaned in for a quick kiss, his lips warm and a little chapped against Ace’s.

“Here,” Jeff said, handing him a drink.

The cocktail was bright red and had a small orange slice on top. When Ace sipped it, the strong tastes of Campari and vermouth mingled on his tongue—ah, an Americano.

Ace sighed indulgently and leaned into Jeff. “Oh, this is so much better than that under the sink wine.”

“Ugh, I keep forgetting to throw that away,” Felix muttered to himself.

“Why don’t we head upstairs?” Jeff asked, his voice a deep rumble in Ace’s ear.

Ace shivered from the pleasant scratch of Jeff’s beard against his hair and the warmth of his big hand splaying over Ace’s lower back. It was a small miracle he managed to resist throwing himself at Jeff and ask him to carry him to bed.

“Are you sure? What about dinner?” Ace asked instead, managing to summon the last of his brain cells. “And shouldn’t we wait for Zarina?”

Yes, he might have been getting a little greedy, as he already had three of his partners right here who seemed very eager to celebrate his birthday. But it wouldn’t be the same without Zarina, because Ace loved them all very much and was sentimental like that.

He also really, really wanted a fivesome if he could get it.

Fortunately, Élodie informed him, “Zarina finished her editing earlier. Who do you think laced Felix up?”

Élodie laughed and Ace did too, because Zarina was freakishly strong for her size. He could vividly picture her aggressively pulling on Felix's corset with one foot braced on his ass.

"I'm actually sad I missed that," Ace said.

"The screaming was a little funny," Jeff admitted.

Felix’s face reddened even more. "It wasn't supposed to be that tight, and I was staying still even if she claims otherwise!"

Ace barked out another laugh, then suddenly felt silly, standing there laughing with the people he’d been so annoyed with earlier.

"I can’t believe I thought you guys actually forgot.” Ace said. He took a sip of liquid courage and sheepishly admitted, “I, well… I kind of had a tantrum at the supermarket. And on the drive home."

Jeff rubbed soothingly up and down Ace’s back and Felix just nodded, like road rage was perfectly acceptable. Élodie however pouted and stepped closer, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry we made you think we didn't care," Élodie said, then kissed his jaw sweetly. "We love you, mon chéri. You are so precious to us."

Ace’s face heated and even Jeff and Felix shuffled their feet awkwardly. Talking about feelings wasn't really something any of them were particularly good at—Zarina included—but for Élodie, it always seemed to come easy. They'd somewhat accepted that sometimes, she had to speak for all of them.

"Thank you, mi corazon." Ace clasped Élodie's hand with his spare one and kissed her knuckles, before looking up with a smirk. "I feel a little bad about planning to eat all your fancy chocolates now."

Élodie patted his cheek. "Trust me, I would have done much worse if you forgot my birthday.”

Ace laughed. "Noted." There was a muted crash from upstairs. "Um…is Zarina okay?"

Élodie cocked her hip and smiled suggestively. "Yes, she's just making the master bedroom a little…cozier."

“I’ve never seen that many candles in my life,” Jeff huffed.

Felix's brows pinched together. “If she starts a fire…”

"Oh, relax, m'amour," Élodie said. "This evening is all about romance—"

"Has anyone seen my strap-on!?" Zarina’s voice echoed from upstairs.

"It’s still in Felix’s room from last time!" Élodie yelled back, not missing a beat. 

Ace nearly choked on his drink and Felix gave Élodie a look of absolute betrayal.

“Thank you!” Zarina shouted before a door slammed shut upstairs.

Élodie sighed. "Ah, and there goes that surprise."

Ace’s stomach did an excited little flip-flop. With the way things were looking, he probably wouldn’t be able to walk properly tomorrow.

But man, would it be worth it.

"We should check on Zarina," Felix said, when Ace knew what he really meant was, “I need to make sure Zarina doesn’t burn my house down or reveal any more embarrassing aspects of my sex life.”

Maybe Ace could convince him to demonstrate his previous encounter with Zarina and her strap.

“We should check on her,” Élodie agreed, then looked at Jeff and asked, "If everything with the order went okay?”

Ace craned his neck to peer up at Jeff over his shoulder. "Order?"

“I took the liberty of ordering in from that Ethiopian place you like,” Jeff said, still petting Ace’s back and making warmth spread though his whole body. “They're gonna deliver it in a few hours, since I figured we might be busy for a while.”

Ace frowned. “But they don't deliver this far out.”

"They do if you tip them well enough," Felix said in his I-threw-money-at-the-problem-until-it-went-away voice.

"More time for us to spend with the birthday boy," Élodie crooned, stroking Ace's beard. "Ready to celebrate, mon amour?"

Ace looked at his partners and felt unbelievably fond. To think that he was so sure they'd forgotten, when all this time they had all gone through so much trouble for him—Élodie masterminding the whole thing and even getting Jeff and Felix to play dress-up, Felix canceling his important work event, Jeff ordering his favorite food, and Zarina risking Felix's ire with the fire hazard…

Ace downed the rest of his cocktail in one go and grinned. "Lead the way!"

Élodie grabbed Ace’s hand and he locked elbows with Felix as she tugged him along. Jeff followed a step after them, his hand snaking around Ace’s hips and already undoing his belt buckle before they’d even reached the top of the stairs.

Out of curiosity, Zarina glances at the clock on Felix's bedside table—only to promptly bolt out of bed.

"Shit, it's already eleven!?" Zarina exclaims.

She flings open the heavy curtains, sharply illuminating the room and revealing a sun high up in the sky. Ace groans from the bed and burrows deeper under the covers.

"Ace!" Zarina accuses, tugging down his blanket. "Why didn't you wake me up? What happened to the alarm?"

Ace's answer is a sleepy and all too self-satisfied grin that tells Zarina more than any of his white lies ever could.

"You got into my phone again?" she asks. "I just changed the password!"

"It's the weekend. No alarms allowed," Ace mumbles, his face half-squished into the pillow. "Now come back to bed."

Zarina ignores Ace making grabby hands at her and wordlessly heads across the hallway and into her own room to get dressed.

The Richter manor is chillier than usual and Zarina realizes fall is creeping in. She makes a mental note to stock up on firewood and opts for woolen socks today, pulling the cuffs over her jeans.

As Zarina makes her way downstairs, she finds the missing Felix on his laptop in the living room.

"Morning," Zarina says.

Felix flinches, like he hadn't even heard her come down. "Good morning," he says.

Smelling coffee and breakfast, Zarina abandons further small talk in favor of walking into the kitchen.

Élodie and Jeff are standing by the stove, her head on his shoulder as she laughs at something Jeff says.

"Morning," Zarina repeats.

Both immediately turn around to greet her.

"Bonjour, ma chérie." Élodie kisses Zarina on the cheek. She smells of freshly ground coffee beans and Zarina gently pushes her way through Élodie to the espresso machine.

"Hey. You took your sweet time getting down here," Jeff says.

"Ace. Alarm," Zarina offers, making herself a cup of coffee.

"Pancakes?" Jeff suggests, tilting his pan to show a berry pancake frying. His hands are flecked with color, whether from the berries or a morning painting session is hard to say.

Zarina nods. "Thanks."

"Coming right up."

"My god," Ace groans as he enters the room. He's dragging his feet and goes straight for the coffee machine. "What's everyone's obsession with waking up early and being productive? I swear, living with four morning people is terrible for my blood pressure."

Élodie chuckles and leans in to kiss Ace's stubbled cheek. "Oh, ma crotte, if we weren't productive in the mornings, you wouldn't have fresh coffee and pancakes when you do get up grumpy and hangry."

"The coffee's definitely nice," Zarina agrees.

Even Ace perks up. "Pancakes?"

"Blueberry pancakes, to be exact," Jeff says. He finishes plating up two servings and holds them out to Zarina. "Can you take the other one to Felix? He hasn't eaten yet."

"Sure," Zarina says.

Zarina hears Ace pester Jeff about more pancakes as she leaves the kitchen, silently thanking her old waitress jobs while balancing two plates, her cup of coffee and utensils.

Felix is still where Zarina left him, frowning at his laptop. Charlie—Jeff’s old rescue dog that's now a family favorite—is dozing peacefully by his feet.

"I seem to recall a certain someone insisting no work before breakfast, complete with angry French cursing," Zarina says.

"Oh," Felix simply says as she sets the plates down, next to his no doubt cold cup of coffee. "Thank you."

Zarina happily digs into her meal. "Thank Jeff."

"I will." Felix turns back to his computer. "And I'm not working. There's a band that Jeff wants to see playing at a restaurant tonight, but I can't find an online reservation page."

"Hmm," Zarina says as she chews. "Maybe call them."

Felix's mouth presses into a line as he starts cutting his own pancakes.

She smiles. "Let me rephrase that: I'll call them, after we've eaten."

Felix deflates in relief. "Thank you."

Hurried footsteps approaching from the kitchen are all the warning Zarina and Felix get before Ace is flinging himself across the couch and into their laps, nearly making Zarina spill her coffee.

She sighs. "Ace."

Ace flops dramatically onto his back and has the gall to look at Zarina with puppy eyes. "Give me attention," he whines.

Felix takes Ace's surprise attack in stride, one of his hands already running through gray hair while the other keeps shoveling pancake into his mouth.

"Attention? Weren't you just smooching Élodie?" Zarina accuses.

"And Jeff," Ace huffs, leaning into Felix's touch. "And all was well in the world, before I got thrown out of my own kitchen—"

"We are not having piña coladas at eleven in the morning," Élodie says, emerging from the kitchen with Jeff in tow.

"Pineapple is a healthy breakfast food!" Ace protests.

"So how about that band tonight?" Jeff says, changing the subject before an Italian-French argument can ensue.

"On it," Zarina says, grabbing one last piece of pancake. "What time?"

"They start playing at eight," Felix says.

"So, seven thirty?" Zarina shoves Ace's feet off her lap and gets up. "We'll have time to order before."

"Yes, that sounds good," Élodie says. "Thank you, chérie."

"What band is it?" Ace asks.

"It's this new folk band from Nürnberg," Jeff explains, self-consciously picking at the stains on his hands. "It's pretty obscure, you probably haven't heard of it."

"It must be good if you like it," Zarina reassures, earning a warm smile from him.

Élodie slides into Zarina's seat and gently nudges Felix. "Remember your earplugs, mein Süßer."

Felix smiles at her. "Bereits verpackt."

Zarina dials the number that Felix helpfully left up on the laptop screen.

"So, dinner in eight hours. Does anyone have plans before that?" Ace prods, stealing Zarina's plate of half-finished food. "Other than enjoy my delightful company, of course."

Jeff huffs in amusement while Élodie rolls her eyes and pinches Ace's leg.

"Ow!"

"Everyone's calendar was empty today," Felix informs.

"Movie?" Jeff suggests.

"Whose turn is it to pick this time?" Élodie asks.

"We could play for it—" Ace starts.

"It's Felix's turn," Zarina shuts down before walking to the kitchen for relative silence.

Throughout the call, she hears bickering from the living room, and upon returning finds the screen paused on a nature documentary. Ace is now in Jeff's lap, sandwiched between Felix and Élodie on the couch, with the artist keeping him firmly in place as Ace desperately tries to reach for the remote.

Seeing as the couch is occupied with four people, Zarina plops onto the floor to join Charlie. Once Felix starts the movie, Élodie’s well-manicured hand immediately finds its way to playing with Zarina’s hair, making her lean back against the couch with a happy sigh.

And even when Charlie wakes up and lunges for the leftover pancakes next to Élodie, to the sounds of Jeff’s scolding and Ace’s laughter and Felix complaining about getting dog drool on his pants, Zarina can only smile.

”You never told me you’re a dom!”

Ace's affronted exclamation made Jeff look up from stocking a toolbox. The gambler was leaning over him, hands on his hips and looking down at Jeff with a demanding stare. 

They were on the edge of the survivor camp, yet some of the others had clearly heard Ace's little outburst. Nea let out a snort and Bill threw his hands up before power-walking away in a clear sentiment of 'I'm not drunk enough for this shit.'

If Ace wanted to have this conversation within earshot of the others, so be it.

“Huh." Jeff gave a one-shoulder shrug. "Guess it never came up,” 

Ace's gasp was as dramatic as it was fake, but the corner of his mouth twitched up as he struggled to keep a straight face.

“You’re withholding a vital piece of information!" Ace argued. "I had to find out during a poker game from Ash—Ash! Do you have any idea how unfair it is that that gossip-hungry bastard knows my boyfriend better than me!?”

Jeff bit back a comment about pots and kettles and merely watched as Ace went on a rant, hands moving in a blur above his head as he gestured vigorously.

“This is like a whole new side of you I never knew!" Ace said. "I thought relationships were supposed to be based on trust! Why would you keep something like this from me?” 

Ace actually pouted, then, seemingly trying to imitate a kicked puppy and finally giving Jeff a chance to respond.

“Because you’re not a sub,” Jeff explained calmly.

Ace scoffed. “I could absolutely be a sub!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Jeff caught Nea shaking her head and mouthing an exaggerated ‘No’ to a snickering Meg.

“But you’re not," Jeff said. "And even if I used to be involved in the scene, it's not something I need from a partner. I think you’re perfect exactly as you are."

The compliment made Ace fidget and clear his throat. “At least let me try.”

“Alright," Jeff relented. "What’s your safeword?”

“…Well, you see—”

“You don’t even have one, do you?”

“I’m thinking!”

 –

Jeff had never shied away from admitting he was wrong, and he was thrilled when that turned out to be the case with Ace.

As Jeff soon found out, Ace only needed minimal guidance to fall into a more submissive role in bed. Though he was far from passive, Ace was in fact capable of following orders—

"Put your hands against the tree."

"Make me."

—For the most part.

It shouldn't have been a surprise that Ace turned out to be a bratty type of sub. Luckily, Jeff could work with that.

"Hmm," Jeff said. "No, I don't think I will."

If Ace was just going to push back to get some sort of rise out of Jeff, he was fighting a losing battle. Rather than go along with Ace's goading and manhandle him into place or give another smack to the already reddening skin of Ace's ass, Jeff switched his touch to a gentle teasing, his touch feather-light on Ace’s heated skin.

"Wha…?" Ace said. “Come on, I was bad, punish me!”

“Not a very good punishment if you enjoy it more than your reward,” Jeff murmured against the skin of his neck.

He pinned Ace's chest against the tree with his bigger frame, rendering him mostly immobile. Jeff's fingers trailed over a bony hip before ghosting down Ace's leaking shaft, making the gambler feebly attempt to buck up into the touch.

"Nngh, tease," Ace whined. “What happened to the spanking?”

So impatient.

“New rules,” Jeff rumbled. “If you’re good, I’ll make it worth your while. If you’re bad, I’ll slow down until you can’t even think straight.”

Ace grunted in annoyance. "Not fair." His thighs were straining with the effort to grind against Jeff’s hand.

Jeff nosed against the baby hairs on Ace's neck. “Still remember your word?”

“Yeah,” Ace breathed. "Tramposo."

"Very good."

Ace sighed happily at the praise and Jeff smiled over having learned something new.

 –

They settled easily into this new aspect of their relationship. 

But, sometimes, Jeff forgot just how unfamiliar all of it was to Ace.

“That was pretty amazing, not gonna lie," Ace said one such time.

They were both still coming out of their respective headspaces after a successful scene. Ace was lounging on his back, a lazy smile on his face as Jeff carefully cleaned him up with a rag.

Ace's arms were still trembling from being restrained for so long. There were red marks of rope burn on his wrists that Jeff made a mental note to spread some herbal lotion on later.

“I loved it too. The rope was a great idea,” Jeff said. He placed a peck on Ace’s heated forehead before turning away to dispose of the used cloth. 

With his back turned to Ace, he started gathering their discarded clothes throughout the small campsite. As Ace preferred lazing around and enjoying the afterglow, it was usually up to Jeff to take care of cleanup.

Right as he was reaching for Ace's shirt hanging from a nearby tree branch, Jeff heard a choked whimper.

He whipped around, only to find Ace sitting up and staring at his trembling hands, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

“What the fuck—” Ace started with an unsteady voice, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand.

Jeff was by his side in an instant and pulled him into his arms.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Jeff said, hugging Ace tight against him. “I shouldn’t have left you alone. I’m so sorry.”

“What’s happening? Why on god's green earth am I bawling?” Ace’s voice was rising in pitch, a panicked edge to it. 

“Shh,” Jeff murmured against Ace’s hairline. “It’s just a sub drop. Completely normal.”

“I’m not a crier, I swear!” Ace tried to argue.

Leave it to Ace to be worried about his ego at a time like this.

“It can happen to anyone,” Jeff reassured. “Just let me hold you and we'll see if it goes away.”

For a moment, Ace tensed and looked like he wanted to protest. But eventually he gave in, collapsing into Jeff's embrace with a broken sob.

Jeff cradled his lover's head and kept talking. “You did so well. You’re perfect, and I love you so much.”

Ace choked back a whine and clutched at Jeff's back.

“Everything’s okay," Jeff murmured. "Take your time. There's no rush."

Jeff kept petting Ace’s hair and pretended not to notice the tears and snot running down his shoulder. Throughout all these years, he'd never seen Ace cry, but had experienced first hand how subspace could do funny things to one's emotions. Regardless, Ace sharing this moment with him felt both precious and fragile.

Once the worst seemed to have passed, Jeff spoke up again. “Talk to me, Ace. How do you feel?”

“It’s so dumb," Ace choked out. A hysteric laugh escaped among the tears. “First I was on cloud nine, everything felt incredible but then… you left, and it was like—like everything came rushing back and I was alone, even though I could see you were right there.”

“That's not dumb,” Jeff said. “I've seen people with years of experience drop much harder for the same reasons. You didn't do anything wrong.”

Ace exhaled heavily against him and, god, Jeff loved him so much.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jeff promised. "I’ll always be here for you, for as long as you want me.”

Ace nodded against Jeff's shoulder and hugged him tighter.

They stayed like that for a good while. Guilt gnawed deep within Jeff's heart, yet he tried not to blame himself. Now he at least had a much better idea of how to properly care for Ace after a scene.

Eventually, Ace pulled away. “Ugh, I’m sorry." He grimaced. “This is pretty embarrassing. Talk about being clingy.”

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about,” Jeff said, kissing Ace's cheek and the dried tears there. “It would take much more than a few tears to make me love you any less."

“You’re such a teddy bear. A big, sappy teddy bear." Ace smiled, poking Jeff's belly playfully. “But thanks. The, uh… the cuddling helped a lot.”

"Of course," Jeff said. "Maybe we should wait before doing something like this again. If that was too intense for you—"

"What?" Ace balked, looking thoroughly offended. "No, nuh-uh, you are not taking this away from me. Just because I happened to cry a little doesn't mean I wanna stop."

Jeff blinked. "You don't?"

"Fuck no!" Ace exclaimed. "Now get back over here and kiss me and promise we're doing this again tomorrow. Because if you don't, I'll tie you up myself, I swear to god."

Jeff chuckled and obediently moved in for a smooch. "That's actually a pretty tempting offer."