The leather-bound, musty old spell books were piled so high Ace could barely see over them. He trod down the hallway carefully, mentally going over the directions Marco had given him. He knew he was in the right place as soon as he heard Thatch's laughter echoing down the hall.

Ace's eyes automatically skimmed over the door, a slight grin spreading across his face as he kicked it lightly as a knock. "It's Ace," he shouted, his eyes lingering on the paper sheet duck taped to the door.

The original Keep Out message on the door seemed to have been crossed out long ago, and a series of other things had been written below the original message. The most recent one read Danger: Thatch cooking in Thatch's own quirky handwriting. So far, it had been sufficient to keep intruders and troublemaker's away, though the wizard's reputation for brewing explosive mixes preceded him.

The door opened in front of him and a pair of warm hands rubbed his giving him chills as the books were lifted from his arms with haste. "Took you long enough," Marco muttered with a hint of a scowl. Ace ignored the irritation in his voice and rubbed his hands together where Marco had touched. The dark bags under his eyes and the green and blue hues in his hair told him he'd been up all night and still hadn't figured out how to turn his hair back to its usual golden blond. When the light hit it, it shone and Ace could swear it was as warm as the sunshine.

"Damn first-year brat!" The sudden shout brought Ace back to reality. "Are you going to stand there all day?" Ace shook his head and stepped inside the practice room, pursing his lips into thin lines. Marco was in a bad mood, and on those occasions, he had a predisposition to yell at people.

Thatch and Izo were busy with their own projects, open books and several ingredient jars littered atop their desks. Izo's project was related magical tattoos and the community around them – which he was a part of, possessing quite a few himself. Thatch's was a secret – they always were until they were ready – but a there was a pinkish smoke rising from his cauldron, bubbling, and hissing occasionally.

"Ace," Thatch called. "Would you be so kind as to taste test my new work?"

Usually, Thatch's projects were either huge successes or failures of epic proportions.

Ace's brows furrowed together and he took a small step back almost on instinct. "Wha- What does it do exactly?"

"Oh, it's harmless," Thatch gave him a warm smile. "It shouldn't affect you physically but the effects should be immediate."

Marco glanced between the two and shook his head slightly with a disapproving look before returning to his work. "I wouldn't recommend," he muttered without looking up, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Ace stole a glimpse at his hair and at the pink liquid Thatch was pouring into a cup, and swallowed dryly, hoping the worst thing that could happen was his hair turning pink. He accepted the cup and took a good, solid minute to look at it.

"Bottom's up," Thatch said in encouragement.

Ace brought the cup to his nose and found the smell rather appealing. "Bottom's up," he muttered and he gulped it down.

The pink liquid left a sweet aftertaste in his mouth and throat but otherwise, he felt fine – at first – and then it hit him like a kick in the stomach, and Ace barely felt the strength leave his legs. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor.

"Ace," he heard Marco whisper, and Ace raised his head to look at him. His eyes focused on every detail of the other's face: his pupils were dilated, his usually half-lidded eyes wide open at him with concern, his brows knitted together in a frown and his lips were pressed thinly together. Now, he looked at him, Ace thought. Ace dropped his gaze to the floor, to his own interlocked fingers.

Marco kneeled in front of him, his paint-smudged fingers reaching to touch his. "Ace, how are you feeling?" A humming sensation flared under his skin where Marco's hands touched him, warm.

"I… I think I'm okay," Ace said in a low voice, snatching his finger's away from Marco's grasp a bit too swiftly, a bit too brusquely.

Thatch and Izo who had been watching their interaction very intently released a sigh of relief almost in unison.

"What in the hell was that, Thatch?!" Marco nearly shouted at him, his anger blatant but kept in check. He stood slowly, turning to face them.

Thatch glimpsed sideways at Izo, who simply raised a brow in response, crossing his arms in front of his chest. The potion itself still bubbled, still released a translucid pink cloud that smelled faintly of vanilla. Thatch took a glimpse at it, at the recipe, and finally at Marco. "Well, it doesn't seem to have worked the way it was supposed to," he admitted in a deliberately slow manner and gave them a nervous grin.

Marco's eyes narrowed at him with suspicion, and Izo too gave Thatch a dubious look, a wrinkle between his brows. "Say it," he barked.

"To tell you the truth, I thought I was making a dove charm, but I think I might've mixed some of the wrong ingredients because this wasn't what was supposed to happen." Thatch stole a quick look at the handwritten recipe. "This was something I found folded inside an old book that a senior left behind and the handwriting is a bit hard to decipher so…."

"So?" Marco demanded, his hands curled into fists at his sides.

"So, I might have misread it. There is a small chance that it might actually be a… love charm."

Ace's lips parted in surprise.

Marco glanced back at Ace, his eyes wide in what seemed to be fear. "What exactly do you mean, Thatch?"

"That's the problem," he admitted, his lips curling into a nervous tight-lipped smile. "I'm not entirely sure but if it is, in fact, some form of love potion he'll fall for someone… unless… he's already in love with someone."

"It's okay, Marco," Ace said, struggling to get on his feet. He saw the floor move, shift out of place for a moment, but he focused on the solid feeling beneath his feet. "It's not Thatch's fault. I agreed to drink it."

"Yes, and a wonderful idea that was!" Marco snapped with a slight curling of his lips. He shook his head slightly and muttered a curse under his breath.

"And, you," he pointed to Thatch. "I'll have a word with you later." Thatch simply nodded. He had a sullen, guilty look about him, and he was no doubt fearing his conversation with Marco.

Afterwards, they went back to Marco's place. He wouldn't let Ace out of his sight, and he had more assignments than there were days in a week, so Ace didn't protest.

Marco's grades had earned him a private room in the dormitory. It wasn't much bigger or different than Ace's, though. In fact, the only thing different was that instead of a bed across from his own, Marco had a couch.

Ace was lying on the couch, a cold compress on his forehead, covering most of his field of vision. "Marco?"

He sat at the table, a pair of reading glasses propped on his nose as his eyes darted between his notes and his open laptop. "Yeah?"

Ace pushed himself up on his elbows, and into a sitting position. The cold compress fell to his lap with a soft plop. "I'm feeling perfectly fine now, so I'm going to head back to my apartment."

"Ace…" Marco glanced away from his laptop's screen. His brows were knitted together in concern, his lips pressed together tightly.

Ace felt the heat rising to his cheeks and dropped his gaze to his lap. "It's fine, Marco. I don't want to bother you any more than I already have…

"Ace you're not—

"And it's getting late and my brothers will probably freak out if I don't go home soon…"

Marco stared at him silently for a moment, shoulders slumped and lips pressed into a line. "Ace, you know why I can't let you go home."

Ace took a glimpse at him, his eyes lingering on the other's face longer than he wanted to. "You don't have to worry about me falling in love with someone, Marco. If it was going to happen, don't you think it would've happened when I drank that damned thing? Or on the way here?"

Ace's lips curved into a grim smile. If only Marco knew, if only he was as attentive to him before he drank that potion, he would've noticed Ace was already in love with him.

"Do you even understand what love potions do, Ace? They don't make you fall in love. They make you infatuated with someone, obsessed with them. The stronger the love potion, the worse is the effect. Some people stop eating, stop sleeping..."

Marco's sudden silence sent a shiver down Ace's spine, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Some people stopped eating, stopped sleeping… and what Marco left unsaid was that some people died.

"I'm fine," he said flatly. "And I'm leaving."

Marco shot up from his chair faster than Ace could push himself up from the couch. He almost sprinted to stand in front of him, his hands raised to stop him. He grabbed Ace's shoulders in a tight grip and tried to push him back down. "Ace, sit down."

Ace was nearing his breaking point; he couldn't stand Marco's careful tone, his frequent glimpses when he didn't think he was looking. "Or what?"

Marco's lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes averting Ace's. "Please stay," he said gently.

Ace's heartbeat was loud against his ears. Whether it was because he was angry or nervous he wasn't sure, but he'd never heard that tone from Marco before, and it scared him a little.

He stopped struggling, and let Marco push him down to a sitting position. He gave Ace a small smile before he back stepped and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Marco, you and I both know I'm fine. Other than that initial reaction, nothing has happened," Ace said. "If I was under the effect of a love potion wouldn't have I tried something by now?"

Marco's gaze was intense. "Something?" he asked.

Ace blushed, suddenly acutely aware of the possible meaning of his words. "I don't know… something."

"Something…" Marco murmured and swallowed dryly. He reached for Ace's hand, stopping just a few inches from touching him. His hand lingered in the air for a second, before he touched Ace's. He glanced up to look at Ace whose cheeks were redder than a tomato, his lips slightly parted in anticipation. "Something like this?"

.

.

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A/N: This started out super fun but then I had a lot of trouble with the ending, so I'm pretty sure I won't be continuing unless it gets really good feedback... Or I might use this AU again for another pairing or even the same pairing but in a different situation, who knows...