Belated MarcoAce Week

Story One: Late For Dinner

Summary: It's their first official date. And Ace hasn't shown up yet.

Warnings: AU

Disclaimer: I don't own MarcoAce week, nor do I own Marco or Ace. I wish I did though. Oh yes, I really wish I did… Keheheh…

Marco was nervous, he wasn't going to lie about that. He was very nervous. Marco hadn't dated very many people in his life, maybe a total of only three or four people in the past thirty years. But this was the first person he dated that he felt the connection with. This was the first time he met someone who he felt so right with. And in truth, that made him think he found the one. The one who he was ready to spend the rest of his life with. He picked at the bottom of his tie as he walked down the street towards the restaurant before finally slipping the item of clothing back under his dinner jacket. His reached the doors of his destination, the big glass and gold doors made him momentarily hesitate. This is the fifth time meeting him, so why are you freaking out so much?

Because this was their first official date.

Well, it might be their official date. Marco hoped it would be, anyway.

Because tonight he was going to ask Ace out officially.

He walked inside and was instantly greeted by a host. "Um, reservation for Marco?"

The man smiled, "Right this way, sir." The restaurant was huge and fancy and definitely not cheap. It was rated the second best restaurant in the city, tying first place with The Baratie in a cooking competition. It was also the restaurant where his brother, Thatch, was the head chef. He was shown his table and he gave a nervous 'Thank you' before taking a seat. He got there several minutes early, trying to gather up his courage to face Ace later and ask the question. A million thoughts ran through his head as he took a sip of ice water a waitress poured him not a second ago.

What if he says no? What if he just wants to be friends? What if I'm been mislead and he's not even gay? What if he doesn't even show up?

So many what ifs. So many things could make the night end disastrously for Marco, but he knew he had to try to stay positive. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. He took a deep breath and laced his fingers together. There was no point in fretting; what happens, happens. He'd get over it, and move on in his life just like he's done before.

So Marco sat there and patiently waited as the restaurant's clock chimed seven times.

8:03

Marco nervously tapped his foot, his hands wishing once more to fiddle with his tie as he grew more and more anxious. Ace was an hour late. No call, no message, nothing. A knot began forming in the pit of stomach. Was he being stood up? He's just late, Marco thought. Ace had told him once he wasn't very good at getting to places on time. And he did live kind of far from the restaurant, not to mention the traffic at this hour… He's just late. He's just late.

He'll be here before nine. I'll wait until then.

So Marco sat there once more, waiting for that familiar freckled face to walk through those glass doors.

9:29

The nervousness had pretty much left Marco by then, and was replaced with an empty feeling. Two and a half hours late. He's not coming, Marco. The blond shook his head. No, he's coming. He will. But even he didn't believe his own thoughts. No, Ace probably wasn't coming. You've been stood up, Marco. Face it, he doesn't want you. It hurt. Marco wasn't going to lie about that either. It hurt. He should have known this would happen. A waitress and waiter across the room stared at Marco with sadness in their eyes. They had seen the male wait for his date to show up for the past two hours. It didn't help they knew who he was, they'd seen him come and joke around with his brother Thatch, their head chef. The two approached his table; the waitress hugging the tray and the waiter holding several menus. "Sir…?"

Marco looked up and gave a small smile, but the sadness never left his eyes. "Yes?"

"Would… Would you like some complimentary ice cream? Or complimentary wine?"

The blond's smile softened, but he shook his head. "No thank you. Thank you, though." The two nodded and left, leaving Marco alone once again. He sighed.

Ten o'clock. If he's not here by then, I'm leaving. He knew he was being foolish, if Ace hadn't show up in the first hour, why would he show up in the second or third hour of being late? He wouldn't.

But still, Marco sat there alone, staring at the table as he felt his heart break little by little.

10:07

The pain hadn't diminished at all. If anything, it increased. I really thought this would be the one, he thought. I really thought… "I should have known," he whispered. "I should have known better…" There was no point in waiting any longer, it was very clear that Ace would not be showing up. Marco had been stood up once before, but this time it hurt so damn much. He stood finally, and it felt as if his entire body was numb. Oh how blind he had been! He remembered the first time he met Ace, they were waiting in a long line at the grocery store. Ace had started the conversation. Ace was the one who suggested they meet up again some time to chat.

And it was Ace who seemed hesitant about coming to such a restaurant.

It was Ace that started this.

And it was Ace that ended it.

What was I thinking? He pushed away from the table and began heading for the restaurant's other exit. What were you thinking, Marco…?

Ace sprinted down the busy sidewalk as he tried his absolute hard to get the wrinkles out of his dress shirt. He gave a growl of frustration when the wrinkles decided they liked where they were and weren't going away anytime soon. He was nearly out of breath but didn't dare to stop, he wasn't even halfway to his destination yet. He looked absolutely shitty. He never had the time to finish doing his tie, his dinner jacket wasn't buttoned, his dress shirt was wrinkled everywhere… And now he was running down the street looking like a madman. "Move! Outta my way! Excuse me! Make a path, people!"

People were jumping out of his way to avoid being run over by the sprinting brunette, some yelling rude names and comments at him. But he didn't care. He didn't care about them at all. No, there was only one person he cared about, and he let that man down. He's not going to be there, Ace. No one in their right mind would have waited this long.

"He'll be there! He has to be!" No, he won't. It's been three hours. He probably left when it turned nine. No one waits three hours for someone, Ace. No one. "But he has to be there," Ace panted. He was having a hard time breathing but he absolutely could not stop. Why? Why had everything that could go wrong…actually go wrong on this important night? Why?

It was at that moment did Ace really wish he had told Marco he had narcolepsy. Because it was all thanks to his sleeping disorder that he was so late. It also didn't help that his phone broke and wouldn't work, so he couldn't call the blond to tell him he's sorry he's so late. And, to top it all off, his car wouldn't start! Everything was going wrong for Ace. Please, Marco… Please still be there…

The restaurant came into view and Ace never thought he'd be so happy to see those expensive glass and gold doors. He wasted no time at all. "MARCO!" He burst through the doors and all but screamed the male's name; his eyes searching for the familiar head of blond hair.

Marco's hand was on the exit doors, pushing them open and ready to step out, when the sound of someone actually screaming his name reached his ears. "MARCO!" The blond's heart stopped, and he looked towards the restaurant's entrance. The breath left him when he saw Ace standing there.

"Ace?" The young male's head snapped in the direction he heard the voice and ran – well, more like stumbled – over towards the blond. Marco motioned for him to sit at their reserved table and Ace gladly went over to it. But he didn't sit down, no. When Marco reached the table, Ace grabbed both of his shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes.

"I… am so… so sor… sorry… "

Marco took in the male's appearance. Ace's hair was a mess, as was his clothes. His tie looked like it was trying to strangle the neck it was tied around, his dinner jacket looked like it was ready to fly away or, at least, fall off his arms. His dress shirt was wrinkled beyond imagination, the bottom of his pants were soaked with water and now-crusted mud, as were his shoes. And Ace…well, he looked about ready to faint. "Catch your breath before you try speaking, or you're gonna faint," Marco smiled, giving a small laugh. Once Ace wasn't on the verge of falling unconscious and had most of his breath back, he started over again and let the words spill from his mouth.

"Marco, I am so, so, so sorry I'm late… I know I should have told you but I have narcolepsy and I had a narcoleptic fit earlier and no one was home to wake me up… so I didn't wake up until nine fifty and my phone was broke so I couldn't call and… then my car wouldn't start and I am so, so sorry I made you wait so… long but I'm so, so happy you waited for me because I–" Marco put a finger on Ace's lips to silence him. Azure eyes stared into gray ones for a moment before Marco made his move. Removing his finger, he placed a soft kiss on Ace's lips.

"It's fine, Ace. Catch your breath a little more while I fix your clothes." Ace was rendered silent after the kiss, a blush covering his freckled cheeks. "I'm just glad you showed up."

"And I'm glad you waited for me," Ace replied, smiling happily. "I really like you, Marco. So…will you go out with me?" Marco stopped in the middle of fixing Ace's tie and looked up at the male with mild shock. "I've been wanting to ask that since the second time we met but I figured I'd wait a little while… Then you suggested coming here and I thought, 'what better place to ask someone out?' So…"

"Yes, Ace. I will," Marco smiled. "Believe it or not, I was going to ask you out."

Ace laughed. "Guess I beat you to it, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess you did." Once Ace's clothes were all fixed, he grabbed the male's hand and smile happily when the waitress and waiter from earlier came over with a bottle of wine.

"A bottle of complimentary wine, and after dinner, two bowls of complimentary ice cream," they smiled, leaving the two to decide what they'd be having for dinner.

"Woah, they must really like you here," Ace chuckled. "I mean, this wine isn't exactly cheap!"

"Well, my brother is the head chef here. It'll probably be put on his tab," Marco added.

"Again, Marco, thank you for waiting. Not everyone would wait three hours for someone."

"We'll, you're not just someone. You're my someone."

"Heh. Love you, Marco."

"…Love you, too, Ace."

Bonus Outtake: 1

He wasted no time at all. "MARCO!" He burst through the doors and all but screamed the male's name; his eyes searching for the familiar head of blond hair. But he didn't find a tall, gorgeous blond anywhere. "…Marco? …Maaarrrcccooooo?" He turned to the director. "Where is he?"

The sound of a toilet flushing grabbed Ace's attention and he turned to see Marco emerge from the bathroom. Marco stopped in his tracks. "…Did I miss the take?"

"No no, I just thought I'd come running and bursting through the doors screaming your name for the hell of it."

Bonus Outtake: 2

He wasted no time at all. "MARCO!" He burst through the doors and all but screamed the male's name; his eyes searching for the familiar head of blond hair.

He found Marco alright.

Dancing the cancan with a clown on top of their table.

Bonus Outtake: 3

He wasted no time at all. "MARC–" Ace went to burst through the doors just like it was written in the script. However, as he soon discovered, the doors were locked. He barreled into the locked doors and fell to the ground. Everyone in the restaurant, cast and crew included, nearly doubled over in laughter at the sight.

Bonus Outtake: 4

He wasted no time at all. "MARCO–" He burst through the dousers and all but screamed the male's name; his eyes searching for the familiar head of blond hair. He didn't have enough time to find Marco, though, because a furious male wearing a chef's hat came storming at him from the kitchen; a large cleaver held tightly in his hand.

"You made my brother wait three hours for you! You nearly broke his heart!"

"Thatch, wait, I–"

"Shut up! Ai keel yoo!"

"Thatch–"

"Ai keel yoo!"

A/N: I simply had to throw in those Bonus Outtakes. I don't know why. Eh, not very funny. Oh well. (I totally don't remember where I got the Ai keel yoo reference though. Fail.) I hope the story itself was okay, though! If not, I apologize. And I know the end was sucky. Sorry about that too...

NOBODY TOLD ME THERE WAS A MARCOACE WEEK. I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THERE WAS A WEEK DEDICATED TO MY ONE TRUE PAIRING. UGH. I should have known though. I should have woken up in the morning with a feeling. I should have sat up straight in bed and said, "I feel a disturbance in the air… This is… MARCOACE WEEK!" And I should have ran out of the house in my pajamas, ran nine straight miles to the library, thrown some random guy off the computer he was using (even though there would have been an empty computer right next to his), and should have started writing like mad!

Alas, I'm too shy to run out of the house in my pajamas, I'm not physically fit enough to survive running nine straight miles in this summer heat, too kind to throw somebody off their computer, and too scatterbrained to write seven ideas so quickly. Not to mention I didn't even know about MarcoAce week. WHAT KIND OF FANGIRL AM I? I DON'T EVEN KNOW MY OTP HAS A WEEK DEDICATED TO THEM. Sigh, I'm a horrible fangirl. TT_TT And take my poll~

Your shy ice elemental,
~»roo the psycho«