Probably my favorite chapter of the fic. Hope you like it 🧡
Rated T | 5.4k words | ao3 link
[previous]
Two days later, Ace took the train to Coburg.
It was a modest-sized town, so instead of a cab he opted to walk the thirty or so minutes to the Richter manor—in order to save money and be more incognito, of course.
It certainly was not because his skin was clammy with cold sweat and the urge to bolt was becoming more and more pressing with every step of directions his phone's navigation app gave him.
Ace really should have taken Meg's advice and simply mailed the keys.
His plan had just felt too good to pass up on. He'd go to Felix's house while Felix was at work, use the key to get inside, help himself to a few more shinies he'd been denied of when their evening was cut short, and leave the keys and a mysterious note on Felix's kitchen table like a suave gentleman thief. It would be the perfect ending to their short-lived romance.
But as Ace arrived at his destination and stared at the intimidating exterior of the Richter manor, all thoughts of his plan flew out the window. The house wasn't that big—at least compared to the awful McMansions rich people across the pond seemed to swear by—but it was old, clearly having been passed down through generations of accumulated wealth. The photos Felix had shown really didn't do the house justice.
The manor was clearly lived in, though. A couple expensive-looking cars were parked by the garage and while all the hedges and flowers were carefully trimmed, there was a bike leaning against a lamp post and children's toys scattered across the front lawn. The garden had to be behind the house; it was a little weird that Ace already knew from the pictures what the koi pond looked like and where Felix had built a playhouse for Klara despite never setting foot on the property.
But the very worst thing about the manor was that it wasn't even guarded. The yard was surrounded by a fence that was low enough to easily jump over, but even that was unnecessary because the gates were wide open for anyone to waltz right through and break in with a stolen key.
Ace's gut churned unpleasantly and an overwhelming sense of wrongness washed over him. He might be a gambler, but this was playing with fire; if he got caught and arrested, he'd ruin not only his own but also Meg's life.
What the hell was he thinking, coming all the way up here?
Ace spotted a mailbox attached to the fence and hurried over to it. Before he could second-guess himself, he flung the lid open and shoved the little plastic bag with the keys and keychain through the slit, until they fell in with a soft clang against the metal of the box.
His hands were shaking as he slowly closed the mailbox and stayed there leaning on it for a couple uneven breaths. His heartbeat pounded in his ears but this was it. It was done.
Ace winced as he realized he'd have to come up with some excuse to explain to Meg why he showed up empty-handed after promising to procure more of Felix's stuff. He'd just have to spin a tale about impenetrable gates and 24/7 surveillance, maybe throw in a couple feral guard dogs—
"Ace?"
Ace's head snapped up in alarm and he immediately locked eyes with Felix, who was standing next to the garage only a few meters away. He looked a lot different than before, wearing an ugly orange sports jacket and sweatpants instead of the festival outfit, staring wide-eyed at Ace like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Probably wondering how someone could be stupid enough to rob him and then come to the one place they knew where to find him.
For a moment, they both stood frozen in place. Ace's body was already tensing in a familiar reflex to bolt at a moment's notice.
Shit, shit, shit. Ace had even worn a disguise for the very unlikely possibility that they’d cross paths, but of course Felix miraculously managed to see right through the sunglasses and baseball cap. Why the hell was he even home at this hour!?
"Papa?" a soft voice asked from further away, breaking the awkward staredown as Felix immediately looked away.
Ace followed Felix's gaze to see a girl walk out of the garage and to Felix's side. She looked exactly like in the pictures and was wearing oversized rubber boots that Ace knew she used when feeding the koi.
"Ja?" Felix asked.
"Who is that?" Klara asked in German, staring at Ace curiously.
Ace, who should already be in full sprint and getting the hell out of here, but inexplicably still remained rooted to the spot. In all the time he'd spent putting his stupid plan together, he'd somehow completely managed to neglect the possibility that not only would Felix be home, but that he'd recognize and even talk to Ace.
Felix glanced back at Ace. "It's a friend," he said in English, then turned back to his daughter and continued in German, "Why don't you go wash up and then get the cookie I promised?"
Klara nodded enthusiastically and they both watched her clumsily run inside the house in her too-big boots.
As soon as the door closed behind Klara, Felix's sharp gaze was back on Ace and he started walking closer. "What are you doing here?" he asked, but it sounded about ten times less angry than Ace expected.
"What—what are you doing here?" Ace shot back dumbly. "I thought you were at work?"
"Klara felt ill this morning, so her mother dropped her off once I said I could stay home today." Felix stopped as he reached the fence and frowned down at the mailbox between them. "Did you just put something in my mail?"
"I…"
"Of course not!" Ace should say, or, "I'm just seeing the sights," or the classic, "Gotta go, bye!"
"Yes," Ace confessed instead. When Felix kept staring and waiting for him to elaborate, he sighed and took a step back. "Just open it."
Felix easily stepped over the waist-high fence with his long legs. He unlocked the mailbox while Ace stood guiltily beside him like a kid caught with his hand in the candy jar.
Felix grabbed the little plastic bag—in his panic, Ace had forgotten he was supposed to take the keys out with gloves to prevent fingerprints—and his eyes widened as he registered its contents.
"This is…" Felix's voice trailed off as he pulled out the keychain.
And that was when it hit Ace that Felix might not have had any idea before now just who was responsible for his missing personal belongings. He could have been too drunk to remember anything: maybe he thought he’d simply dropped the items during the festival or got targeted by some faceless pickpocket in the crowd.
And Ace, the idiot that he was, had just served him all the evidence on a silver platter.
"Please don't call the cops," rushed out of Ace.
Felix turned to him and frowned. "What?"
"I can't leave Meg," Ace continued, the panic rising in his chest. "She'll be all alone stuck in Germany, and—and I know I was an idiot for coming back, I just needed to…I don't even know—"
"Papa!" a shrill shriek interrupted. They both turned to look at the front door, where Klara's scrunched up face was peeking out. "The zipper is stuck!" she complained, her voice approaching tantrum levels.
"I'll be right there!" Felix called out.
And then he turned to Ace and smiled, and Ace swore he nearly had a heart attack. "Won't you stay for coffee?" Felix asked.
"Uh." Ace blinked to feebly try to clear his head and make sense of the situation. "What?"
"You…this means a lot to me." Felix clutched the keys to his chest. "Please. Allow me to thank you."
What the hell? Was this some kind of trap?
"I know you're not stupid," Ace said warily. "You know what I did, and I think it's best for both of us if I just leave."
"If you want to, I won't stop you," Felix said. "But do you really think I would let you meet Klara if I didn't trust you? That I would call the police for a meaningless trinket I got from some business associate?"
Wow, okay; Felix really just referred to his thirty thousand euro watch as a trinket. A voice in Ace's head that sounded suspiciously like Meg was screaming at him to run away, but it wasn't like Ace had ever been particularly good at listening to any voice of reason.
"Coffee sounds nice," Ace said.
Felix smiled again—a real smile, the same one he'd had at the festival while listening to Ace talk about Meg.
—
The inside of the manor was surprisingly cozy despite its intimidating exterior.
It didn't feel stuffy and stale like Ace expected from a building this old, nor was it tackily extravagant like so many upper-class homes Ace had broken into in his youth. At least the foyer Felix led him through and the living room Ace could see further ahead looked recently renovated, with light hardwood floors and timeless pieces of furniture that only highlighted the exposed beams and wood carvings that had to be original features of the house.
Ace should probably have guessed that an architect would have an eye for interior design.
The kitchen, however, was sleek and modern. Ace had half-expected to be served tea and fancy pastries in a formal dining room, so it was a relief when Felix gestured for him to take a seat at the small breakfast table by the window.
Klara was already waist-deep in one of the lower cabinets—probably rummaging around for the promised cookies—and Felix hummed softly to himself as he went to get the coffee started.
Ace still felt very out of place as he carefully sat down and somewhat reluctantly removed his shades, hat and jacket, leaving him in an old damask shirt and absolutely nothing to hide his face behind. If he'd known this was how the day would go, he would have worn something nicer or at least washed his hair.
But then again, Felix was only in a tee and sweatpants and didn't seem at all embarrassed about being underdressed. And as Ace watched him scoop regular filter coffee into the machine and Klara emerge from the cupboard with two plastic packages of cheap cookies, he felt himself starting to relax.
Maybe their worlds weren't so different after all.
Klara started making her way across the kitchen, only to be stopped by Felix's pointed words of, "I said one cookie."
Klara turned to give her father a thoroughly unimpressed look. "They're not for me, they're for our guest." The "you dummy" was implied, Ace assumed.
"Really doubt I'll be able to eat all that, princess," Ace said.
Two pairs of startled blue eyes snapped to Ace's.
Klara grinned. "You speak German?"
"Of course I do," Ace said, smiling back at her before glancing up to see Felix's reaction.
Felix had his head bowed and was pinching the bridge of his nose, but his shoulders were shaking with quiet laughter.
"Of course he does," Felix muttered to himself, then looked up with a small smile. "Why am I not surprised?"
Ace smiled innocently. "Because I'm very talented at a great many things?"
Felix blushed—hopefully thinking back to Ace's incredible flirting and kissing prowess—while Klara smacked the cookies on the table and eagerly demanded, "Can you draw!?"
Ace's cocky smile faltered. "Oh, uh… Not that well." But looking at the kid practically bursting with excitement, he remembered, "But your dad told me you're a very talented artist."
Klara's cheeks pinked but she was still beaming up at Ace. "Can I show you?"
Ace knew exactly how this would end even before he replied, "Of course!"
—
Ace should really stop underestimating anyone named Richter.
Over the next hour, Ace saw what was probably Klara's entire drawing portfolio since the day she was born. She kept explaining her art so fast that Ace struggled to keep up with translating in his head, all the while Felix tried his best to stop her from spilling over either of their coffee cups in her enthusiasm.
Ace was starting to run out of synonyms for "cute" and "great" but Klara showed no signs of stopping, getting carried away just as easily as her dad had with his photos a few days prior.
"This is me and auntie Élodie!" Klara said, pointing at her latest masterpiece.
"Well, you both look very pretty," Ace said.
"She gave me a backpack from Egypt!" Klara said excitedly. "I can show you—"
"Klara." Felix abruptly stood up and reached for his keys on the countertop. "Did you see what Ace brought?"
Klara paused and looked up at her dad—she had to tilt her head comically far back—before noticing the keychain he was holding.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, then turned back to Ace. "You found it!"
"I—uh," Ace floundered, because he couldn't very well say, "Yeah, I stole it from your dad when he was drunk. How funny is that!"
"He did," Felix chimed in. "And he was nice enough to come here all the way from Münich to bring it back."
"That far!?" Klara exclaimed, her mouth falling open in a surprised 'O'. "Is that why you look so tired?"
Ace huffed a surprised laugh. He even heard Felix snort, because apparently this family were all secretly little shits.
"Yes, it is," Ace lied, because, again, it was better than, "I was actually playing slots in a dingy bar until two a.m." "It's a long train ride."
Klara hummed. "Do you live in Münich?"
"I'm going to get more coffee," Felix announced before Ace had a chance to reply. "Klara, do you want another glass of juice?"
"Mm-mm!" Klara shook her head. "I'm going to watch TV."
Felix nodded and made his way to the coffee machine. As soon as his back was turned, Klara grabbed two more cookies before innocently walking out of the kitchen.
By Ace's count, she'd already had four in between showing her drawings, but that kind of stealth deserved to be rewarded.
Ace downed the last bit of his now-cold coffee and watched Felix wash a few dishes and fiddle with the coffee maker. It was a welcome beat of silence after the intensity of an excited six-year-old rambling about her hobby.
Ace should probably be on the edge of his seat from nerves now that the buffer of Klara was gone, but the atmosphere in the kitchen just felt…relaxed. Felix looked calm and ridiculously domestic in his home clothes, such a far cry from the stuck-up asshole or nervous wreck from the festival, and Ace—
Ace had really, really missed him.
Ace cleared his throat and stamped down on the fluttering feeling in his stomach. "If I'd known I was meeting the next Van Gogh, I would've taken German lessons in art critiquing,” he joked.
Felix chuckled and turned to look at him, leaning back against the kitchen counter in a way that made him look unfairly attractive.
"Thank you for humoring her," Felix said. "Your German is quite good."
It was nice of him to not draw attention to the part where Ace had lied in his face about that fact.
Trying to return some of that kindness, Ace smiled and said, "Being nice to your kid is really the least I could do."
Felix hummed in a non-answer. "I didn't expect her to want to talk to you for so long. She's usually quite shy."
"Well, you did say she was sick," Ace joked.
"Oh, that." Felix rolled his eyes. "Klara told me she went to the movies with her mother yesterday, and I'm pretty sure her 'illness' this morning was just too much popcorn and candy last night."
"Or she just wanted to hang out with you for a day," Ace said before he thought better of it.
Felix looked at him in clear surprise, before he winced and ducked his head. "Maybe you're right."
Wow, great move: shaming his more than a gracious host for bad parenting was surely the way to go.
"Sorry, I didn't mean—" Ace tried.
Felix sighed. "No, you're right. I need to figure something out with the company. It's one thing that I miss Klara, but if she misses me this much, I have to do something about it."
Ace stayed quiet and tried to ignore his steadily growing attraction to Felix, because this was ridiculous. Yes, Ace had dealt with absent fathers both when it came to Meg's and his own upbringing, but surely at fifty he was way too old to still be having daddy issues.
After a moment, Felix cleared his throat. "Sorry, I was just thinking out loud." He brought the coffee pot to the table and poured himself another cup, then turned to Ace. "More coffee?"
Ace glanced at the clock on the wall. "I really shouldn't."
Felix ignored him and refilled his cup anyway, and Ace got the distinct feeling that the conversation was far from over.
But Felix also got a carton of milk out of the fridge and placed it next to the bowl of sugar in front of Ace. Because even though Felix took his own coffee black, he remembered Ace's offhand comment about bean water from the festival.
It was such a small thing, but Ace's traitorous heart still skipped a beat.
"So…" Ace said once Felix retook his seat.
"I love Klara more than I love anything else in this world," Felix stated.
Ace instinctively straightened in his seat from the serious tone. It seemed they'd reached the portion of the visit where Felix would—rightfully so—chew Ace out for his lying and stealing.
"And there is nothing I wouldn't do for her. Nothing." Felix stressed the word, staring dead straight into Ace's eyes.
Ace swallowed. "I've gathered as much, yeah."
Rather than yell at Ace, Felix just relaxed and leaned back in his chair. "So why should I judge someone else for what they have to do in order to keep their family safe?"
"…What?" Ace said.
"It's obvious how much you love Meg," Felix said. "So if my stupidly overpriced watch allowed you two to travel more together or helped you save up for her college fund, that's a much better use for it than anything I could have done."
Ace bit the inside of his cheek as his instincts yelled at him to not say too much. Even if he doubted that Felix was secretly recording their conversation for the police, he knew he shouldn't just volunteer information like that.
But at the same time, there was a part of Ace that desperately wanted to talk about this to someone. Felix seemed to value honesty above all else and after the kindness he'd shown Ace today, lying would just put them back to square one.
And, well, if worse came to worst Ace knew that the front door was unlocked and only a room away in case he needed to make a quick escape.
"She's…Meg's not actually mine," Ace said. "There's no college fund or father-daughter bonding or whatever you're picturing. We're not even related."
Felix frowned. "But you care about her."
"Of course, but I only met her three, four years ago; she actually tried to pickpocket me, if you can believe that." Ace laughed, though it was a hollow sound. "She was just a kid, orphaned after her mom died—that part's true—and she had nobody, and I just…helped her get back on her feet. And then she never left. I mean, I know I'm not her dad—"
"You are," Felix interrupted, his voice surprisingly firm. "In every way that matters."
It was a nice sentiment, and some days, Ace desperately wanted to believe it. But he knew better.
Ace huffed and looked down at his coffee cup. "I don't think good dads teach their kids to hotwire cars or make them live in shitty motels for four years."
Felix fell silent and Ace prepared himself for the inevitable look of pity he was bound to receive. He always made sure they never looked homeless and that at least Meg had access to all necessities, but empty sympathy was the last thing either of them needed.
Though if Felix were to offer another of his thousand-dollar accessories, Ace would have to swallow his pride and accept it. Maybe he and Meg could stay at an actual hotel next time, instead of a shitty hostel with bed bugs.
Instead, Felix sighed and clasped his hands on the table. "You know, I was raised in a cult."
"Excuse me?" Ace asked, his eyebrows steadily creeping up towards his hairline. He must have misheard that.
Felix grimaced. "My parents were part of…they called it a secret society, but it was a cult. Both of my parents and a few others were murdered by its other members over twenty years ago."
Ace was openly gawking now. What on earth was this? Was Felix just messing with him?
"I was orphaned at seventeen and my best friend at even younger than that," Felix continued. "We spent years trying to leave that awful life behind: I had to suck up to my distant aunt until rightfully receiving this manor and the rest of my inheritance, and Élodie…" Felix paused. "Has been running errands for the black market since she was sixteen."
"Fuck," Ace commented eloquently.
"If we'd only had somebody…" Felix trailed off, then looked up at Ace with a smile. "You can understand why I look at what you did for Meg with nothing but admiration."
Felix might have been smiling, but the words "orphaned at seventeen" kept echoing in Ace's head. For a moment, he saw the same sadness in Felix's blue eyes that he'd seen in Meg's all those years ago.
It was difficult enough to think back to Meg barely surviving out on the streets as it was, nevermind imagine her having to deal with some crazy murder cult on top of that, or being forced to turn to the black market, or—Christ, what if she'd gotten trafficked?
Ace clenched his jaw as he realized that he hadn't even considered that possibility before. Realistically, he knew how the underworld worked and could think up a great many grim fates that might have awaited Meg if he hadn't intervened, but…she was still just one girl. And god knows how many people before her Ace had willfully ignored or even outright sabotaged for his own benefit.
He didn't deserve a medal for one singular instance of being a decent human being.
"I don't do this, you know,'' Ace finally spoke. "I never help people just out of the goodness of my heart or whatever. I don't know what made me decide to make an exception with Meg, but trust me when I say that was a once in a blue moon occurrence."
Felix tilted his head. "You've never thought about the reason?"
"I mean, I guess saw a lot of myself in her when I was that age." Ace said.
And wasn't that an understatement. Ace didn't have a sad backstory of losing a parent, unless being disowned after gambling away his mom's house and life savings counted. He'd managed to burn bridges and drive himself into such a corner that there had really only been a few ways out.
"Except I sold a kidney to get out of the country and Meg just had to put up with my shitty jokes,” Ace said. “I guess that's better."
Felix didn’t say anything, so to lighten the mood, Ace jovially added, “But let’s face it, not that much better—at least according to my exes.”
Felix blinked, and then as the joke sank in, let out an ugly snorting laugh that echoed in the kitchen and twisted his handsome face into a goofy expression wholly unfit for a serious architect.
Felix quickly covered his nose with his hand to hide it, but he couldn’t seem to stop quietly snickering. It made Ace's chest feel warm and his face split into a grin of its own accord. Felix hadn't laughed like that—really laughed—the entirety of the festival.
If Ace allowed himself to, he could easily fall in love with that laugh.
"That was terrible," Felix said once he'd recovered.
"Then why did you laugh?" Ace teased.
Felix side-eyed him, eyes still sparkling with amusement. Like he knew Ace was trouble but didn't care.
"Anyway," Felix said. "Because of the cult…ehm." He paused, glancing at the doorway that led to the living room.
Ace suddenly remembered that they weren't alone. "I probably shouldn't have talked about selling kidneys."
"Yes, saying it again surely helps," Felix deadpanned, and Ace barely suppressed a way too loud laugh at the unexpected sass.
He wheezed quietly into his sleeve instead, which was surely not much better.
When Ace managed to collect himself and looked up, Felix was smiling warmly. He wondered if Felix liked his ugly laugh too.
"It's alright,'' Felix said. "She's watching the Lion King. And based on the song…" He grit his teeth; the face of a father who had heard Hakuna Matata about two hundred times too many. "We have around half an hour before she even remembers that we're here."
Ace smiled. "I'll take your word for it."
There was a beat of silence as they both stared into their coffee cups.
"So, you were saying?" Ace asked. "Before the singing meerkat and ugly laughing happened?"
"Well." Felix cleared his throat. "I was simply going to mention that it took quite many years of therapy to understand that ritualistic animal slaughter and branding children with hot irons might not have made for the most balanced childhood."
Ace was very glad he didn't have coffee in his mouth because he definitely would have spit it all over the table.
"Holy shit," Ace said, his eyes wide. "Are you serious?"
Felix gave a small smile. "Hotwiring cars suddenly doesn't seem so bad, does it?"
Ace huffed. "Guess not."
"Don't worry, most of the people responsible are behind bars now—courtesy of Élodie and an investigative journalist," Felix said. "But I only recently finished painting over the summoning circle in the basement."
Ace was still reeling. Felix had seemed so normal and he never would have guessed that there was something this dark hiding underneath. No wonder he was so reluctant to let people close.
And Ace had trampled all over that hesitant trust.
He gave a shaky smile. "And here I thought living in the slums and picking pockets from age five was a shitty way to grow up."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to—to make it a competition." Felix grimaced and ran a hand through his hair. "I haven't told many people, because…well, they always treat me differently, and…"
"And you don't want pity," Ace said.
Felix nodded. "The fact that you haven't said 'I'm sorry' yet amazes me."
Ace sighed and ran his thumb over the rim of his cup. "I think I've used up my quota of lies with you."
He wasn't sorry for stealing some of Felix's considerable wealth to provide for himself and Meg. He also didn't pity Felix for having a rough life: that was for the cult to apologize for, not Ace.
"I am sorry about the keychain, though," Ace remembered. "I didn't mean to take it."
"I know," Felix said. "You came to return it even when you didn't have to. And actions always speak louder than words."
Ace snorted. "Yeah? What does stealing valuables from someone drunk off their ass say?"
"That you'll do anything to make sure Meg has a good life," Felix said earnestly. "I also know that you're kind—and respectful. You were nice to Lauren and polite to me even when I was an asshole, and you waited six whole hours for me to make a move." Felix's cheeks pinked and he cleared his throat.
Ace chuckled. "I was wondering why my charm wasn't working."
"Some of us need…a considerable amount of liquid courage." Felix winced. "But even then, you could have simply left me back there after you got what you wanted. But you helped me into a taxi to make sure I got home safely."
Ace raised an eyebrow. "Are you actually defending me for tricking you and your friends and stealing from you?"
"No, I just—my point is," Felix said, "that I will never be upset at someone based on their past or the things they have to do in order to survive. I know it's not always black and white."
That was a surprisingly good point, and definitely not something Ace had expected of anyone with Felix's status to consider.
"I guess so," Ace said.
"And what about you?" Felix asked. "Now that you know all this about my past…do you see me differently? Do you think there's something wrong with me?"
Felix looked at him, and for a second, he seemed genuinely scared of Ace's reaction. He was wringing his hands nervously—a man who was so used to rejection, but still held out a sliver of hope.
"Well…kind of?" Ace said.
Felix's face fell and he hunched in on himself, so Ace quickly reached over the table to grab his hand before he could retract it.
"But trust me when I say that that is in no way a turn-off," Ace explained. "Who isn't at least a little fucked up in the head? That's just life; we all work with what we’ve got."
"I wish it was that easy," Felix murmured, almost as if to himself. "My first therapist kicked me out because he found my childhood too disturbing."
"His loss," Ace scoffed. "If someone thinks less of you because of any of that, that's their problem. The way I see it…"
Ace paused and frowned in thought. He'd meant to say he didn't care, but that wasn't exactly right either. If anything, knowing that Felix had a dark past just made him seem more approachable—more human.
"Actually, is it weird to say that I like you more because of the cult shit?" Ace asked.
Felix stared at him for a second and Ace almost regretted the words. But then Felix burst into laughter again, an absolutely hideous snorting laugh that made Ace want to keep him.
"It is." Felix said, still smiling. "It's absolutely horrible. And it's probably just as horrible that I laughed at it."
Felix gently loosened Ace's hold on his hand only to intertwine their fingers. His hands were more callused than Ace remembered but his eyes were soft, crinkling at the corners as he smiled and making Ace's heart pitter-patter happily.
Ace could almost physically feel the walls crumbling inside his head. The decades of lies, masks and self-preservation instincts weren't needed in this moment. Felix knew the ugly truth and he was still here, coaxing out what Ace thought were long-buried feelings of trust and affection and…
Hope.
And hope was a dangerous thing. Ace knew firsthand how hope always preceded disappointment, and betting his heart was the riskiest gamble of them all.
But without risk, there was also no reward.
Ace smiled, his mind successfully made up. Breaking the silence, he said, "I’ve gotta say, I didn't expect hand-holding to be on the menu today."
"Yes, I, ähm.” Felix’s face flushed but he didn’t let go of Ace's hand. "Me neither. But I'm glad. That…that you're here."
"Yeah," Ace agreed.
A beat of silence followed, though it wasn't necessarily awkward. They both no doubt had a lot on their minds with just how much had happened in the last couple of days.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Ace asked playfully. "Though now that I think about it, I probably need that penny more than you."
It was another joke in poor taste, but Felix still chuckled at it.
Ace was definitely keeping him.
"I was just wondering…" Felix trailed off, then cleared his throat. "I know this is very sudden, and I don't mean to be presumptuous, but…how much does Meg like Germany?"
Ace smiled brighter than he had in years. "I think she can be convinced to stay a little while."
Since October with its prompt lists and writing challenges is almost here, I created a list of seasonal, spooky and cozy riconti tropes. And now I encourage everyone to join me in filling it out!
Goal of the event
During October, I invite fellow riconti (Ace X Felix) fans to help fill the entire card of prompts in a collaborative effort!
When October starts, I'll create a masterlist with works submitted for the event and update the bingo card to display which prompts have been successfully filled (and how many times, if there are multiple entries!).
I'll also reblog every work created for the event, and made an ao3 collection where you can submit your works.
How to participate
Just pick a prompt, create a riconti work inspired by the prompt, post on tumblr/ao3, @ me or DM me, and rinse and repeat for as many prompts as you want!
Some rules:
Any fanworks are allowed: fic, art, headcanons, moodboards, playlists, etc.
Works must be new (created after this post)
Works must focus on the ship of Ace and Felix, but pre-relationship or platonic works are also welcome!
You can enter works with the same prompt or enter works of a prompt someone else already filled. The more the merrier!
And that's everything! I'm excited to start writing and hope that shippers will enjoy this sort of low-stress event <3
A special shoutout to @gooobert @robinsarm @trevsawriter for helping me brainstorm prompts 💞
i find it amazing that one day my silly little brain decided that i love the idea of ace and felix together and then i came online to discover that there are more people out there that love those two idiots as well?!?!?! i love tumblr and ao3…
Élodie all but bolted up the stairs and into Felix’s office. She’d done it! She’d managed to get a hold of Ace, managed to explain what he’d been left in the dark about, and now had a (loosely) scheduled time to go and see him. She wanted so badly to throw herself up the stairs and through his office door, but two things kept her from doing so. One, she didn’t want him getting mad at her for keeping Ace from him. She needed a moment to fabricate a conversation that she and Claudette never had and deliver that to Felix. And two, Ursula was currently standing at the top of the stairs giving her a questioning look. There was no hope containing her excitement, so Élodie simply didn’t, smiling wholeheartedly up at her.
“Good news?” Ursula questioned as Élodie reached the bottom of the staircase.
Felix discovers minecraft and gives a tour to a very intrigued Ace. (1.1k words)
If you prefer to read on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40888431
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
“Hot chocolate love?”
“Yes please” Felix doesn’t look up from the screen on his lap as he calls back. He hears a chuckle from the kitchen at his answer, then the sound of the kettle starting to boil.
“What’re you doing in there?”
Felix looks up now, noticing Ace stood in the doorway to the kitchen smiling at him.
Felix smiles back at the man looking over at him. He’s sat with his legs tucked up on the sofa and his laptop resting on his lap, the volume only slightly turned up.
“Building.”
“Building?” Ace steps onto the carpeted floor of their living room to turn on the lamp in the corner, lighting up the room that was starting to get dark.
Felix nods “mhm”
With another small laugh, Ace strolls back into their kitchen and out of sight. Felix can hear him begin to pour their drinks and silently turns his focus back to his game.
After a few more minutes, Felix hears the flip of the kitchen light being switched off. Ace walks back into the room with a steaming mug in each hand and moves over to where Felix is sat on their sofa. He places the mugs down onto the small table in front of where Felix is sat, then sits down beside him. “Hey”
Felix looks up and places a kiss onto Ace’s cheek, the other beaming at the display of affection.
The tv is turned on and showing some random channel, though Felix isn’t paying any attention to it. Ace leans forward to grab the remote from the table and turns the volume down so that it’s just a small noise in the background, then returns his attention to the man beside him.
“So, building huh?” He tucks his knees up onto the sofa, similar to Felix’s current position, and leans over to rest his head on the German’s shoulder.
“Minecraft.” Felix points to the laptop screen which Ace squints at, managing to make out that Felix’s character is stood in a fully decorated room, seemingly a bedroom.
“I didn’t know you played video games” he smirks, “so, what do you do?”
Smiling brightly at Ace’s willingness to listen to him explain, Felix begins to talk. “You build” he starts “things like houses”.
Felix wouldn’t describe himself as someone who liked to play games, far from it actually. He’d hadn’t played a video game since he was a kid, but recently he’d discovered minecraft. The game had seemed peaceful and happy, Felix noticing that he could simply play it alone and build things, which intrigued him enough to download it.
For the past two days, he’d been working silently on creating a small wooden house and garden. The grass surrounding his house was covered in small yellow flowers and he’d even added a set of oak fences now filled with small rabbits.
“This is your house sweetheart?”
“It is. I’ve been building it, but i think it’s done”
Ace nods, “Can you show me around? Give me a look at what you’ve been spending your time on instead of giving me attention?”
Felix laughs, he loves this man.
“Okay.”
He starts to move his character around, showing Ace everything that he’d built and decorated over the last two days. He introduces him to his two dogs, still unnamed as he admits that he focussed a lot more on the building of his house, then gives him a tour of the garden.
While Felix continues to show Ace around, Ace holds his mug with two hands, bringing it up to his mouth to blow on it, cooling it down before taking a sip. He continues to watch the screen, showing genuine interest in the things he was being shown, full attention on what Felix was saying.
Until Felix returns back to the room he started in, the bedroom.
“The windowsill is pretty”
Felix doesn’t say anything to this, and when Ace looks up he spots the blush spreading across the others face.
“What? I like the flowers.”
Ace is referring to the five potted flowers by the window, the colours varying.
Felix doesn’t turn his attention away from the screen, “I- erm..yes” he clears his throat, and Ace laughs at the idea that his own husband is still nervous around him.
“They’re for you”
“For me? Oh amore you didn’t have to!” Ace smiles his signature smile and presses a kiss to Felix’s forehead. “Thank you.”
“Of course. I had to search to find the right colours, they’re the same as..” His eyes flick to their real windowsill, the curtains still open showing the crescent moon outside. Resting on the window, there’s a clear vase with a few flowers in some water. Red, yellow, blue, pink and white. The same colours as each of the flowers in Felix’s minecraft house.
The flowers in their window had been a gift from Ace to Felix. He’d brought them about a week ago, surprising the blonde when he arrived home from a long day at work. It had been a rough week, the night before having Felix sobbing into Ace’s chest.
And Ace had just comforted him. Sat with him and held him just to make sure that he would be okay. He didn’t try to stop him or convince him that his feelings were irrational, but instead reminded him that he would always be there by his side, and that whatever Felix needed he was willing to help him.
So when Felix had arrived home the next day, Ace had grabbed his hand and brought him over to the window where the arrangement of flowers sat.
Now, it seems, Felix had wanted to do something similar for him.
They weren’t real flowers, and Felix hadn’t gone anywhere to get them, but clearly he had put a lot of thought into the small gift, and Ace appreciated it just as much as he would a real flower.
“I love you” he beams, his attention turning away from the flowers and over to Felix. Felix Richter. Wow, he was perfect.
Felix finally moves the laptop away and closes it, the screen going dark. He’s still blushing, but he isn’t as nervous, leaning forward to kiss the other.
He then rests his head against Ace’s, both smiling.
“I love you too”
He’s clearly holding back a yawn.
“But i am tired”
Ace laughs and pulls Felix into a hug, “let’s get you to bed, sleepy”
And as they’re walking together up to their room, drinks abandoned in the dark of the living room, Ace turns his head one last time to look at the flowers.
With that, we've reached the end of this fic! Cheers to @robinsarm for the beta and I hope you all enjoy the last chapter <3
Word count: 2.4k
[previous]
The Bavarian countryside sped past the car window, not allowing Felix or Ace a moment to enjoy the scenery. They were heading to the airport, heading back home - back to normal.
The radio was playing low music, tuned to the retro station, and the car smelled faintly of the strawberries Ace had already helped himself to while he hummed along with the melody.
It was all so comfortable. Felix wanted to spend every vacation this way; on the road with Ace, enjoying the first bit of relative peace and quiet in companionable silence, the summer sun already low in the sky and bathing them in an orange glow.
"You want one?" Ace suddenly asked.
Felix glanced at the passenger seat to find Ace holding out a strawberry.
Felix smiled. "Yes, please."
Ace's eyes glinted in the sunlight as he beamed and reached over to feed Felix the berry.
Felix's lip tingled from both the juice of the strawberry and the brush of Ace's finger across his skin. He forced himself to keep his eyes on the road, but the heat spreading over his cheeks probably told Ace everything he needed to know.
"Thank you," Felix said.
Felix caught Ace's wink out of the corner of his eye. "My pleasure."
A new song started playing on the radio and Felix glanced at the clock on the dashboard, confirming his fears: they were only another hour away from the airport.
Felix’s heart clenched pitifully at the reminder that their time was coming to an end. He’d desperately tried to gather enough courage to broach the subject of the future. He simply couldn't let Ace slip through his fingers; not again. If he could just ask Ace –
"So," Ace started. "When we get to Münich and I fly back to the states..."
Felix's entire body sagged in relief. Ace’s seemingly innocuous comment may just have saved their entire relationship.
"Yes?" Felix prompted.
"Once I leave, do you wanna go back to the way things were?" Ace asked.
There were few things in life Felix had ever been as certain about as this.
"No," Felix said. "I want this – more than I've wanted anything in a long time."
He glanced at Ace, only to find him smiling.
"Me too," Ace said.
"I just… don't know where to go from here," Felix confessed.
"Yeah," Ace agreed, and it made Felix feel a little better. "But we'll figure it out."
Felix nodded, not entirely convinced. There was so much to think about; they'd spent this week in a vacuum, sealed off from the rest of the world. How would they manage to slot their lives together once they returned to their day-to-day routines? The typical arrangements of a long-distance relationship alone were difficult to begin with. At the very least, they needed to be on the same page before trying to sort anything out.
Speaking of which…
“Just so we’re clear,” Felix said. “By this, you mean a relationship – right? And you’re sure you want that? With me?”
Ace raised an eyebrow. "What could possibly have given you that idea? The way I've plastered myself to you for the last week, the puppy eyes whenever you so much as look my way, or me spilling my heart about every two days?"
Felix flushed and looked back at the road. "It's not going to be easy.”
He saw Ace tilt his head out of the corner of his eye, so he continued.
"Even if it weren’t for the distance, I’m not the easiest person to be with," Felix said. "I work a lot – often too much. I also don't know how to relax because I'm constantly worrying about something."
“You think that's bad?” Ace replied, his tone much more jovial than Felix had expected for a conversation of this nature. “I never know when to shut up, so I just crack jokes until something sticks.”
“I have chronic insomnia,” Felix shot back.
“I snore,” Ace said. “Loudly.”
“I know, I've been sharing a bed with you for a week.” Felix glanced at him with a smile. “And it's not that loud. It actually calms me.”
“Well…” Ace faltered. “I can't be trusted with money because I have no fucking clue what to do with it and always just end up in debt.”
Instantly, Felix realized that this was different from all their other teasing. He knew Ace’s financial situation was a sore subject and that by bringing it up, he was making himself vulnerable for a rejection from Felix.
But rejection was the furthest thing on Felix’s mind as he looked at Ace with a gentle smile. “Fortunately, I'm very good with money. And I have much more than I know what to do with, even if you mess up.”
Ace visibly relaxed. “Gonna try my best not to. Just don't give me a credit card or leave me alone with loose change when there's a slot machine in the vicinity,” he joked.
“Only if you promise to rip my phone from my hands whenever I try to check work emails at midnight.”
Ace grinned. “Deal.”
As Felix kept looking at Ace, at his content smile and eyes full of fondness, he realized that this was really happening. Ace still wanted Felix; wanted a relationship with him, and Felix thanked whatever powers may be out there for bringing Ace back into his life –
And then Felix’s phone chimed loudly between them, making them jolt in their seats before Felix quickly turned his attention back to the road.
“Shit,” Felix said, mentally scolding himself for getting lost in Ace’s eyes and endangering them both.
“I’ll say,” Ace remarked. “Why are your alerts so loud?”
“Because I tend to zone out and don’t notice it otherwise.” Felix glanced at his phone’s lit up screen where it was lying between their seats. “Can you check the message?”
Ace hesitated long enough that Felix almost felt the urge to explain himself and his sudden need to focus on driving.
“Uh, sure,” Ace eventually said and picked up the device. “Oh. It’s from Elodie!”
Felix sighed in relief. Getting a message from the woman shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was definitely much more welcome than some work text asking him to come to the office as soon as he got home.
“What does it say?” Felix asked.
He already had a vague idea: trust Elodie to keep tabs on his schedule and immediately check in on him after a harrowing week with his relatives.
“In all caps, and I quote.” Ace cleared his throat. “‘TELL HIM BEFORE THE FLIGHT OR SO HELP ME I’LL COME TO YOUR HOUSE AND DRAG YOU TO THE AIRPORT MYSELF!’ Followed by a knife, bomb, and three angry face emojis.”
Felix nearly choked on his spit. That was definitely not the wellness check message he’d expected.
“She’s, ähm,” Felix stammered. “She was very insistent that I should tell you about my feelings when we talked on Thursday.”
“Hmm.” Ace only hummed, though his expression thankfully seemed more amused than embarrassed. “Do you think we should update her, before she shows up at the airport to kidnap me or something?”
“Probably,” Felix admitted. “Do you want to respond to her? My lock screen pattern is a house.”
“Of course it is.” Ace grinned and swiped the right symbol in his first attempt while Felix only flushed from being so predictable. “I mean, not just because you’re an architect and your code is a house, but because I could see your fingerprints in the reflection of the screen. These things really aren’t that secure; I was just being polite in not unlocking it earlier.”
Felix blinked in surprise before remembering Ace’s colorful past. He briefly wondered how many arbitrary locks and codes Ace had cracked in his time as a swindler.
“Uh – sorry,” Ace apologized and looked away. “That’s probably not something you wanna hear before even date number one.”
“You should teach me sometime,” Felix blurted, making Ace perk up. “I mean – not lockpicking, per se, but how to keep my belongings secure.”
Ace smiled, wide and bright. “Deal.” He held up the phone. “Now, just how much did you want me to tell Elodie?”
“Anything you want,” Felix said honestly.
“You don’t mind?” Ace asked, seeming surprised. “I mean, this – everything’s still so new, and, you know, I have kind of a reputation…”
“Of course I want to tell her about you,” Felix said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “But you don’t have to unless you want to – though I’m sure she’ll wrangle it out of me sooner or later.”
Ace chuckled. “Yeah, I figured that’s a given; I’ve met the woman, you know.”
Felix smiled as Ace turned his attention to typing out a reply to Elodie. He had a feeling Ace and Elodie would get on splendidly, now more than ever, even outside of the fog. Felix truly couldn’t wait to share the news with her.
While Ace was busy with what seemed like scrolling through emoticons for his message, Felix's mind was already returning to the practicalities. He needed to clear out the Richter manor guest room for Ace, and he had to let Lauren know he'd be busy during the days that Ace was visiting, and…
And he still didn’t even know when Ace was coming back.
“So,” Felix cleared his throat. "Do you know when you’ll be returning to Germany? If you give me the time, I can pick you up at the airport again."
And forcibly arrange my work and meetings and conferences and stupid obligations and entire life to make room for you, he refrained from adding.
“Hmm,” Ace pondered, looking up at the ceiling in thought. “I don't know, I’ll have to check my busy schedule."
Felix nodded stiffly and continued to stare at the road.
He’d always known that Ace loved to travel the world and the furthest thing Felix wanted was to take that away from him. Ace was probably tired of being joined at the hip with Felix for the past week, and it wasn’t like Felix could expect him to abandon all his obligations at the drop of a hat.
"Probably in a week or so," Ace said.
Felix whipped his head to the side to look at Ace, only to find him smirking. “Wait, what?” Felix exclaimed.
Ace barked out a laugh. "I’m the furthest thing from busy; I was just pulling your leg.” He grinned. “I really can't think of any place I'd rather be. As long as you don't get sick of my mug."
The last bit was said in a joking tone but Felix could see the insecurity hidden underneath.
Felix wanted so badly to kiss Ace at that moment. Fortunately, he now had more self-control and settled for reaching over to clasp his hand instead.
"Never," Felix promised, gently squeezing Ace’s hand to further prove his point. “I can’t see myself ever getting tired of you.”
"Well." Ace cleared his throat and his thumb caressed Felix’s knuckles. "I can maybe push it from seven days to five if you’re gonna keep being a huge sap every chance you get."
A giddy chuckle escaped Felix’s throat. “Really?”
"Sure," Ace said. "I just have to swing by Cali for this gig I promised Jonah. I can probably make it back here by the weekend."
Felix smiled. “I’d like that.”
“Hey,” Ace said, leaning forward until he was in Felix’s field of vision. “You realize I’m actually gonna go through with it, right? If you need more than four or five days far, far away from me – wouldn’t blame you, honestly – then this is your last warning.”
Felix huffed in fond amusement. “I'm sure, Ace. I wouldn't mind even if you never left in the first place.”
Ace blinked, clearly caught off guard by his answer. Felix bit his lip to stop himself from saying more: he was definitely moving too fast for someone who had only been dating their partner for two days.
But after the initial surprise, Ace’s look softened. “Well, damn, you sure know how to make a guy feel welcome,” he teased and leaned further into Felix's space, until his breath was ghosting over Felix’s cheek. “Five days. I promise.”
“Ace, I’m driving,” Felix gently reminded. “Can this wait until the airport?”
“Fine.” Ace sighed dramatically and slumped back into his seat. “Damn you and your gorgeous, responsible self.”
Felix had half a mind to protest, but the sound of his phone vibrating on the console drew his attention. “Is it Elodie?”
Ace picked up the phone with a grin. “Yup. And she definitely won’t be coming to the airport to interrupt anything.”
“Oh?”
“I might have texted her something like ‘Don’t worry, he did tell me. Among other things, winky face’,” Ace grinned. “And she might be a little enthusiastic about that, based on the number of exclamation marks and heart emojis.”
Felix chuckled even as he mentally prepared himself for a long phone call with Elodie this evening.
“Well, since you’ve already charmed my friends and family…” He shot Ace a bashful smirk. “I practically have to keep you around now.”
“Oh, I see how it is,” Ace teased. “You wanna sic me on Elodie and your relatives to get out of the spotlight yourself, hmm?”
“Maybe a little bit,” Felix said. “But really, it’s more like... For the first time, I actually enjoyed a family gathering like this.”
“Aww, pudding,” Ace cooed obnoxiously and placed his hand on Felix’s thigh. “We can go to as many dry cocktail parties as you want to – I promise. As long as I'm with you, I'm gonna have the time of my life.”
Felix put his hand atop Ace’s. “Me too.”
He glanced at Ace’s smiling face, catching the very moment Ace perked up with some new idea.
“I just realized,” Ace smirked. “After next week, I might have to stay in Germany for a while after all.”
“Hmm?”
“Apart from an angry Elodie coming after me if I don’t,” Ace said. “We've been dating for two years, you know. Got a lot of time to make up for.”
Felix smiled. “We do.”
“And I still need to teach you tennis so we can knock your hoity-toity aunt down a peg next time we play.”
Felix’s laugh nearly drowned out Ace chuckles and just like that, he knew that they would be alright. Even if slotting their lives together would be more difficult than a week of parties and luxury, Felix was confident that they could make it work.
It was only once they made it to the wedding venue and sat down before the ceremony that it dawned on Felix:
This was the first day where he and Ace were actually a couple.
They no longer had to pretend, and that realization made Felix smile wide enough that Ace nudged him in the side and raised an eyebrow in question. Rather than reply, Felix redirected his smile at Ace and gently clasped his hand, and Ace beamed up at him and scooted even closer to Felix on the uncomfortable church pew.
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Unsurprisingly, the ceremony ended up being delayed – no doubt due to a hair crisis of the bride or something of equally "critical" importance. But Felix tuned out all of Agnes' shouting at the photographer and the service folk stumbling about making last-minute preparations. Having Ace by his side, holding his hand and pressed up against Felix's side much closer than any of the previous days made up for any annoyance Felix might have felt towards his family or the forty-minute delay.
When Vanessa finally walked down the aisle – in a different wedding dress than in yesterday's photos, making Felix wonder just how many of them she'd purchased – he had to admit that she looked absolutely stunning. Felix could see the joy and pure love in Alexander's eyes when he watched his wife-to-be walk up to him, both of them with matching, soft smiles on their faces that spoke of just how smitten they were with each other.
Because Felix knew it was the same way he and Ace looked at each other.
═════════════ ♧ ═════════════
Ace stayed surprisingly quiet and non-fidgety during the entirety of the lengthy ceremony. Most of the details also flew over Felix's head, but not because of a language barrier. No, Felix was zoned out due to an entirely different – and somewhat unexpected – train of thought that had come from seeing his cousin and her fiancé standing at the altar.
He simply couldn't stop imagining getting married to Ace.
Felix didn't think their wedding would be anywhere near as extravagant as this one, but would rather be one unique to them. He could almost see it playing out in front of him: an autumn wedding in a small chapel, with all their friends there, Zarina taking photos and Adam officiating them, Ash cracking jokes with Ace and being the worst best man ever, while Elodie performed her role as Felix's admirably – maybe even insisting on walking him down the aisle or something equally ridiculous.
Ace would meet Felix by the altar and he'd wear a dazzling smile and a suit that matched Felix's own but had that personal flair of Ace. Maybe they could read parts of their vows in their native languages, and Elodie would need to stock up on tissues because Felix would definitely not make it through the ceremony without tearing up.
They would ask Claudette to do the flower arrangements and hire Kate to play guitar at the reception. Plenty of the kids would bicker for a role in the preparations and Ace would give them some meaningless task to appease them. Meanwhile, Felix would insist on handing the rings to someone responsible like Cheryl and wouldn't trust anyone but Yun-jin with actual wedding planner duties.
After the wedding, they'd take a day to recharge and see their friends off before heading to their honeymoon. Maybe they'd even go to Milan, to honor this week and the circumstances that led them together, and then they'd check into the hotel with the same last name –
Felix's hand was tugged and he snapped out of his thoughts long enough to follow Ace's lead in standing up with the rest of the guests. Applause filled the church and Ace shot Felix a cheeky smile before letting go of their joined hands to join in on the clapping.
Felix dumbly copied him and finally looked in the direction of the altar, noticing that he had daydreamed through most of the ceremony. Vanessa and Alexander were smiling brightly and waving to their audience like some sort of movie stars, all the while several photographers frantically took their pictures from different directions.
The wedding march started playing as the applause died down, and then the happy couple were strutting by their guests and into the limo waiting outside.
Others started flocking to the door but Felix hung back, not wanting to find himself in the middle of the crowd.
"What did you think of the ceremony?" Ace asked.
Felix glanced at Agnes who was just passing their seats. "Oh, it was great," he lied. "The vows were beautiful."
Ace looked rather unimpressed. "Really."
"Yes. You can really tell how much they love each other."
"Oh, I agree," Ace said. "I'm just surprised you got all that from staring emptily at the back of Bernard's bald spot for the last thirty minutes."
Felix flushed. "I, ehm, may have zoned out a bit."
"Hey, whatever you were thinking about, it was probably much more interesting." Ace grinned. "You were smiling the entire time."
Felix didn't want to lie again, so he merely cleared his throat. "Lots to think about, with these types of events."
Ace smiled quizzically but didn't ask further questions.
═════════════ ♢ ═════════════
They were among the last ones to arrive at the reception, which suited Felix just fine. Most of the guests were already seated so he and Ace shook hands with the newlyweds and exchanged their pleasantries before Felix steered them to the gift table.
Felix had already made a generous donation to the couple’s honeymoon fund beforehand, but he had also brought a gift: an expensive espresso machine, similar to one at his office that both he and Lauren swore by.
Ace seemed a little rueful to let the machine go after Felix had sung its praises earlier, but when Felix suggested "You should come by my office to try it sometime", Ace perked right back up and suddenly couldn’t seem to get rid of the thing soon enough.
═════════════ ♤ ═════════════
The dinner and speeches went by without any hiccups and Felix had to admit that the rehearsal dinner might have helped in that regard. The familiarity with the program also helped soothe his own nerves, and he was able to focus on the food and Ace and chatting politely with the rest of their table.
And then the time for dancing came and Ace politely extended his hand and asked “May I have this dance?” and effectively threw a wrench in the comforting predictability of it all.
“I, ehm,” Felix started. “I’m not the best dancer.”
“Wow, really?” Ace smirked. “And here I thought you were a professional. You mean all Germans don't tap dance in their wooden shoes and lederhosen every weekend?”
The woman seated next to Ace giggled and Felix’s neck flushed hot. At this point, he was almost certain that it would be more embarrassing to stay at their table and have Ace continue to heckle him to dance than it was to just bite the bullet and do it.
“Fine,” Felix relented, taking Ace’s hand and leading him to the dance floor. “But I won't accept any complaints when I inevitably crush your toes.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, sweetheart.”
═════════════ ♡ ═════════════
The dancing was horrible.
Felix tried so hard to focus on remembering the steps and not trampling on Ace’s feet that he couldn’t even enjoy the happy smile Ace sported or the closeness of their bodies. He was rigid as he silently counted the beat in his head and stared at the other couples to copy their movements, trying not to bump into them in the process.
But Ace clearly loved it, so Felix grit his teeth and promised himself just a few more songs, because there was very little Felix would ever deny Ace –
"Can I lead the next one?" Ace asked.
Felix nearly tripped over his own feet from surprise, his wide eyes meeting Ace’s for the first time since they started dancing.
“It’s okay if you want to, but I thought it might help you loosen up a little,” Ace explained with a patient smile, easily adapting to Felix’s misstep. “You wouldn’t have to focus so hard.”
Embarrassment bloomed on Felix’s cheeks. He had led on autopilot, not realizing that he was dancing with a man – one who was trained in ballroom etiquette and certainly knew how to lead.
“Of course. Sorry.” Felix hurried to lift his hand from Ace's waist to his shoulder.
“No harm done.” Ace adjusted to the new position before smirking up at Felix. “Now strap in and follow my lead, beautiful.”
It took a couple songs to get used to letting Ace lead. But in the end, Felix realized how nice it was; even if he was much more clumsy than Ace had been before, it felt comforting to just follow.
Everyone except Ace always seemed to rely on Felix for something. Maybe that was why it was such a relief to know that whenever Felix fell short – be it in socializing with his difficult relatives, entertaining his cousin's child or playing a sport Felix was terrible at – Ace was always there to cover for him without thinking any less of him.
Felix was falling hard for this man and had absolutely no complaints about that fact.
Seeing Felix's dopey smile, Ace quirked an eyebrow in question – and how amazing was that, Felix thought, that Ace could not only read him but that Felix had learned to pick up on Ace’s subtle expressions as well.
Affection curled pleasantly in Felix's chest and found himself leaning in, only half consciously, like Ace was an irresistible pull.
"Can I…?" Felix whispered.
Ace smiled, wide and beautiful, and his flawless choreography was ruined as he leaned up and closed the distance between them.
Warmth radiated from Ace's lips and seemed to seep into every corner of Felix's body. His hand on Ace's shoulder moved up to settle on his neck while they kissed, and Felix knew that people must have been staring but he didn't give a damn, not when Ace made him feel like this.
"Trust me when I say," Ace murmured when pulling away. "That you can do that any time."
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Later in the evening – after they'd both had too much wine – Ace managed to coax Felix into somewhat enjoying the corny, ridiculous party games that for some reason seemed to be a staple of any wedding celebration.
Their table ended up coming second place in a quiz where Felix found himself yelling out answers about the history of the Hoffman manor a little too loudly – courtesy of the aforementioned wine – before the guests gathered to watch the groom retrieve the bride's garter. Ace nearly howled with laughter at the obvious skit of Alexander emerging from underneath Vanessa's third wedding dress first with a pocket knife and then with a digital camera in his mouth, before finally managing to surface with the garter.
After that, a projector was booted up and Agnes and the groom's mother presented a slide show together. Most of the pictures were from the Vanessa's and Alexander's childhoods – making Ace coo and pinch Felix's cheek when one came up of a twelve-year-old Felix showing his drawing of a house to an unimpressed toddler Vanessa – but the last slides were reserved for the pictures that had been taken of the wedding party and guests yesterday.
And Felix swore he had a small heart attack when his and Ace's photo was projected onto the wall of the venue.
The picture was one taken only moments before their first kiss. They were standing in front of the rose hedge in their white suits, Felix's hair and Ace's watch glinting gold as they caught the sunlight. Felix had an arm around Ace and his head was bowed in a laugh, while Ace's smile was full of fondness as he watched Felix laugh.
It made Felix shuffle his chair that much closer to Ace’s. Ace smiled brightly and leaned his head on Felix's shoulder in a tipsy display of affection, and they enjoyed the rest of the slideshow in closeness.
And then Ace's warmth was robbed from Felix as volunteers were asked for another game and Ace instantly sat up in his chair. Ace proceeded to down the rest of his merlot in one go and shot Felix a manic grin before getting up to join a few others on the empty dance floor.
The maid of honor announced the rules of the game and Felix nearly choked on his tongue; the game consisted of an assortment of male guests and Alexander lining up in a row while the blindfolded bride fondled her way through their butts in search of her husband's.
Ace, however, didn't seem bothered in the slightest by the embarrassing activity. He eagerly took his spot next to Alexander, elbowing the man and saying something that made the groom throw his head back and laugh. The participants were shushed by a bridesmaid before Vanessa was led to the start of the line, a necktie secured over her eyes. Chuckles were heard from around the room as the bride proceeded to grope butt after butt; until she reached Ace's and seemed to linger. Ace was clearly holding back laughter as Vanessa kept squeezing his ass through his slacks and slurring "yes, very cute, very nice" in German, and Felix watched on in both horror and fascination.
And as Vanessa moved on and finally settled on the groom's brother in her tush endeavors and caused an eruption of laughter and wolf whistles, Felix only glared down at his n:th drink while trying to tell himself that he wasn't jealous that someone Ace barely knew got to touch his body in that way before Felix.
"Well, that was something," Ace said jovially, slumping back into his seat. "Been a while since anyone's appreciated my ass that thoroughly."
Felix grit his teeth and squeezed the wine glass to stop himself from blurting out something embarrassing like "that should have been me" or "you seemed to enjoy yourself" or "I want to appreciate your ass every day."
"Felix…?" Ace leaned closer, but upon inspecting his expression, a sly grin replaced his frown. "You're not jealous, are you?"
Don't pout don't pout don't pout –
"No," Felix lied, his bottom lip sticking out.
"Oh, honey," Ace cooed obnoxiously. "You know you're the only one for me, right? I only have eyes for yoouu."
Ace poked him in the cheek and though Felix knew Ace was only teasing, it still made him huff out a chuckle and snap out of his sulking.
"Sorry," Felix said, clasping Ace's hand. "I know it was just a game."
"Well, then, in the nature of the game…" Ace grinned and leaned in, until his breath ghosted over Felix's ear. "I hope you know that you're more than welcome to do that whenever you want; you can kiss me and touch me and so much more."
Felix's breath caught in his throat. Ace's voice was rough with promise and the tickle of his beard made goosebumps rise on Felix's skin as his blood rushed away from his face and south. Ace leaned back far enough to lift their still joined hands up and place a kiss on a dumbfounded Felix's knuckles, all the while looking up through dark lashes that fanned his reddened cheeks, flushed from the wine and heat –
And as fun as they’d had tonight, dancing and drinking and playing games, Felix suddenly needed the wedding to be over, now.
found an old scrapped fic in my drafts and decided to rescue it. my writing is a little rusty but i hope you still enjoy!
word count: 4.2k
Felix x Ace: Charade
“Every decent con man knows that the simplest truth is more powerful than even the most elaborate lie.”
The sound of laughter across the survivor campsite pulled Felix out of his task of sorting through an accumulated pile of maps. The camp had been quiet with most of the group summoned into trials, but some of the younger survivors seemed to have initiated a game to stave off the boredom.
And based on the way Steve was swinging his arms from side to side, strangely silent while his fluffy hair bobbed with the motion, Felix would guess that said game was charades.
“Face camping Billy?” Cheryl asked with a confused frown.
“Blight charging!” Nea guessed.
“Nope!” With a grin, Steve promptly mimed colliding into something before flailing his arms around wildly.
“Oh, I know –” Meg started.
“Bubba going into tantrum!” Feng screamed with way too much volume, effectively interrupting the redhead.
“Correct!” Steve beamed.
“I was gonna say that!” Meg huffed and crossed her arms, glaring at Feng.
“Gotta go faster, Sanic,” the girl grinned smugly over her victory.
An argument ensued between the two while Nea got up to do the next charade. Felix looked back into his lap with a frown on his face; he felt like he was twenty again, sitting on the sidelines while his classmates goofed around between lectures.
Felix had never been bullied per se, but all the way from kindergarten to university, he'd known knew his peers weren't particularly fond of him. Everyone had seemed content to forget he existed until they needed to copy homework or find a group project partner that would do most of the work. And Felix hadn't even minded; he always thrived on learning new things, and had tried to use the opportunity to also improve his lackluster people skills.
It was a shame most of his classmates had preferred to bond over nonsensical chatter and sports – and later, alcohol – as opposed to actual studying.
Felix had never been a talkative person and unlike practically every single one of his countrymen, he also hated football. For quite some time, he'd tried way too hard to fit in, but he was pretty sure that even with his play-act of pretending otherwise, it was obvious what a miserable time he was having. He didn't think he'd ever been as uncomfortable as when he attended a rave with one of his classmates, the obnoxiously loud music and sweaty bodies of strangers pressing up against him the furthest thing from a good time he could possibly imagine.
So he'd stopped trying to fake his interests as a way of making friends, and that's probably when people started perceiving him as a snob.
“Chicken!” Steve suddenly yelled, and Felix turned his attention back to the kids.
Nea was now effortlessly improvising the next part of the game, miming a chicken and making particularly obnoxious clucking noises.
“You already said chicken like three times.” Quentin was looking at Steve in dry amusement.
“Rooster!” Steve guessed.
“Cock!” Meg corrected with a snicker.
“Crow?” Cheryl hesitantly suggested.
“God, you guys suck!” Nea huffed, crossing her arms. “It's Dwight! Obviously!”
Something uncomfortable twisted in Felix’s gut at the admission and he glanced over at their leader to gauge his reaction. Fortunately, he spotted said leader peacefully napping against Jake's shoulder, the saboteur merely rolling his eyes at the younger survivors.
While Feng started whining about Nea cheating, some of the tension in Felix’s body faded. He liked to believe that he would have stepped in if the situation had escalated to outright hostility. But admittedly, giving stern talks to contractors and employees had been Felix’s least favorite part of his job and whenever possible, he was happy to avoid confrontation altogether.
Focusing back to the task at hand, Felix rolled open the map in his hands to reveal a graphite drawing of the Yamaoka estate. The sketch was a project he’d been busying himself with on and off for a few weeks – he had found it a good outlet to draw certain buildings after trials to redirect his attention from the phantom pains of hooks and blades in his back. Despite Felix himself seeing the sketches as crude, Kate and some of the others always "ooh"ed and "aah"ed at them whenever they caught glimpses: like Felix poorly copying the structures from memory was some sort of impressive feat.
He unfurled the parchment fully and the action dislodged a handful of crystal beads hidden inside, making Felix hiss out a quiet curse as he barely caught them before they tumbled over the edge. Carefully positioning the trinkets to the side, he couldn’t help his amused smile over the surprise gifts as his mind wandered to who had surely left them there for him to find. After all, there was only one person who seemed to have knack for finding such valuable items on the regular.
Before Ace’s friendship Felix had thought himself doomed to never fully fit in with their ragtag group. Sure, he also had Élodie, but the years spent apart from his childhood friend had taken their toll and the old wounds were slow to heal. Felix had also occasionally tried to reach out to the other survivors, but because he was analytical and subdued in nature, most of them quickly tired of having to carry a one-sided conversation. That was if they even liked Felix to begin with; he knew he was difficult to approach and slow to open up, but after hearing sneers about his wealth and whispers about his ties to the Entity, Felix had gathered that he was far from anyone’s favorite person at the campfire.
“Wow, you’re staring holes into that paper – don’t tell me you found another mistake?”
Well... perhaps with the exception of one.
Felix should be embarrassed of how quickly he found himself perking up at the sound of Ace’s voice. The Argentine was making his way over with a spring in his step, having most likely just gotten back from a successful trial.
Ace was smiling as usual – something the others claimed to be annoyingly fake, because nobody can smile that much when we’re trapped in literal hell – but that Felix had learned to recognize as genuine. The gentle curve of Ace’s lips softened his features and made his eyes crinkle at the corners, and Felix instantly felt some of his own tension evaporate just from having that carefree smile directed at him.
“Only twenty or so,” Felix said, happy to poke fun at his own perfectionism. “But I think I can make it to fifty before my next trial.”
“I guess I need glasses then, because from where I’m standing that looks absolutely amazing.” Ace took a seat next to him, easily slipping into Felix’s personal space. “I swear, that shit belongs in an art museum. Are all architects this good at drawing?”
“I don’t know.” Felix tried to hide the smile creeping onto his features. “Maybe.”
“Damn, I picked the wrong career,” Ace joked.
As Ace leaned over to look closer at the drawing, Felix’s focus was immediately torn between getting back to his work and observing the handsome man next to him.
So maybe he'd found himself vying for more than Ace’s friendship as of late. It wasn't really a surprise; despite being a late bloomer in the relationship department, Felix had long since accepted his wide range of taste in potential partners – just another unconventional thing about him – and he'd fallen for people he didn’t know half as well as Ace.
And well, as far as silly crushes went, he could do a lot worse.
In addition to his easy camaraderie and encouraging smiles, Felix had discovered Ace to be surprisingly selfless. Unlike Claudette’s motherly care or Bill’s heroic rescues, Ace’s was a quiet compassion – one that he never drew attention to and if pointed out would laugh away and joke about only looking out for himself.
But Felix had seen the proof. He saw how Ace bugged Quentin to play cards with him whenever the teen was struggling to stay awake; how he stepped in between arguments in camp by drawing ire towards himself and often earning David’s knuckles to the face for his efforts; how quickly new survivors seemed to acquire a stash of med-kits and toolboxes with the very best add-ons.
And how when it was just the two of them left in a trial, Ace would shove a key in Felix’s hand with a wink and run off to find the killer before Felix could protest.
Felix snapped out of his thoughts as Ace’s hand suddenly brushed against own. He’d joined Felix in a more direct approach in inspecting the drawing and his callused finger carefully traced over the center of it, like he was worried of smudging the graphite.
“You know, I think I got a good look at these pillars the other trial,” Ace said. His face was just inches to the side of Felix’s as he leaned closer, all focus on the drawing. “You wanna add some more detail?”
Felix’s dumb, smitten heart fluttered with affection. He'd complained about not recalling those same pillar markings a few days ago, his ever perfectionist nature not letting such a crucial detail be amiss. And Ace remembered.
“I would love to,” Felix said. He could already feel the familiar excitement of a problem solved bubble up in his chest, but tried to curb his enthusiasm. “But… it’s okay if you don’t remember.”
“C’mon, who do you take me for?” Ace scoffed, leaning back up and flicking his cap in a cocky gesture. “I didn’t get this far with just my good looks and silver tongue, you know.”
As Ace snatched a stick from the ground and started drawing various Japanese symbols in the dirt – making up some story about their history as he went – Felix let his face settle into a smile. It was endearing how focused Ace got when he was on a mission. Though the gambler often acted carefree and almost oblivious, he was drawing the foreign characters with nearly photographic memory – even if Felix was pretty sure one of them did not, in fact, mean “penis” as Ace claimed.
As soon as Felix recognized one of the symbols, he snapped out of his thoughts with an excited gasp.
“That’s the one! Thank you so much.” Felix offered Ace a quick smile and hurried to add the detailing to his sketch.
“Don’t mention it.”
Feeling Ace’s eyes on him while he gave Felix peace to work, Felix realized that maybe he should feel sad that what they had would never become anything more than friendship. But in his mind, it was no different than a simple math equation; no matter how much he wished, two plus two would never equal five, and refusing to accept that universal fact would just be self-deception. There were simply too many variables in the equation, including Felix's unborn child and the ring occasionally on Ace’s finger, and the probability was not in Felix’s favor.
And it didn't need to be; he was more than happy being friends. He’d even go as far as to describe Ace as one of the closest friends he’d ever had, even before the realm – though he doubted a social butterfly like Ace would return the sentiment.
Abruptly, Steve burst out laughing across camp and Felix and Ace both looked up to see Cheryl making the next charade. She was miming struggling against something, writhing and huffing from effort while swinging her fists wildly from side to side, before apparently “falling” on her feet and doing it all over again. In her audience, Steve and Nea were holding their midsections from how hard they were laughing.
“Shut up, shut up!" Feng was screaming, smacking Steve next to her in her competitive rage. "It's us abusing the struggle perk to wiggle free!”
“Holy shit I can't breathe–” Nea howled from the force of her giggles.
“That's perfect! Good job!” Even Quentin was snickering.
Felix huffed and shook his head at the group’s excitable nature before going back to his work.
“Looks like the young'uns are having fun,” Ace commented conversationally. He didn’t seem able to suppress a proud smile over the group getting along. “I’ll admit I was always pretty shit at that game.”
"Bad at a game? You?" Felix asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Shut up." Ace snorted before lightly bumping their shoulders together. "I'd still kick the kids' asses. Wanna see?"
The unspoken question hung in the air. Ace always gently pushed, gauging Felix’s reaction to branch out and spend time with their teammates. The others sometimes joked about Ace monopolizing Felix’s time, but Felix felt it was the opposite; Ace got along splendidly with nearly everyone, yet he chose to spend his time here with Felix.
“I'll take your word for it,” Felix said.
"Not a charades fan?" Ace asked. "Or just don't wanna get your eardrums screamed out by Feng?"
“Both," Felix said. "I’m enjoying myself much more right here than I ever could with them.”
As usual, Ace didn’t seem the slightest bit phased by his bluntness or antisocial behavior.
“Me too,” Ace said with a grin, giving Felix another playful nudge. “Don’t tell them, though. I’m pretty sure Steve thinks he’s my favorite.”
“I didn’t think you had a favorite,” Felix said.
Ace gasped in an overly exaggerated manner, clasping his hand over his heart.
“After all this time? You wound me, Richter,” Ace heaved a dramatic sigh.
It had become somewhat of a running joke how much he and Ace enjoyed each other’s company. Through all their differences – from their social status to their way of carrying themselves and even their worldview – they'd eventually found common ground. Ace was understanding and open-minded, and Felix had shared (and maybe even overshared) his struggles to fit in and the crushing loss after his father's disappearance. And Ace, despite his colorful history and enough charisma to charm almost anyone, had confided in Felix about a turbulent upbringing and the lack of direction he’d felt for most of his life.
Felix chuckled. “Somehow, I imagine you’ll live.”
“Oh, you’re on thin ice, mister,” Ace said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Don’t think I won’t confiscate those sunglasses you borrowed.”
“But I thought I was your favorite,” Felix shot back.
“Doesn’t mean you’re not a little shit, too.”
They shared a chuckle before Felix turned his attention back to his drawing.
“Can you tell me more about Vegas?” Felix asked, eyes on the sketch while he worked. “You didn’t finish the story before you got called to the trial."
Instantly perking up over getting asked about his favorite topic, Ace resumed his extravagant retelling about his first visit to the city of sin.
"So, I'd just gotten kicked out of the hotel –"
And Felix was all too happy to listen. Even when in his excitement, the gambler proceeded to get distracted and went onto tangents that the average person would struggle to find interest in, Felix was drawn into the world Ace painted with his words.
It was invigorating, seeing Ace drop his mask to speak so freely about detailed poker games and card counting and running from security. And when Felix would snort at an incredulous detail, Ace would only grin and amp up the story and suddenly the jackpot he’d won was five times as big as when the story started.
This was precisely how they spent most of their time together, and it was a strangely symbiotic relationship. Ace got to expel some of his endless energy by talking for hours to someone who actually listened. In turn, Felix was encouraged to discuss his drawings and even when he found himself going into long speeches about architecture, Ace would smile through Felix’s sheepishness and claim he should never feel sorry for talking about something he loved.
Still, despite their conversations often drifting to “mind-numbingly boring” topics as Yui had once said, Felix couldn’t remember ever laughing as much as he had with Ace during the last couple of months. He simply connected with him more than any of their teammates, as most of them were – well. He wanted to say childish, but with Felix’s geeky enthusiasm in his niche and Ace’s steady stream of immature jokes, that would make him a hypocrite. There was just a certain connection that came from being on the same wavelength as someone else: something that Felix had only shared with a handful of people in his life and never thought he’d find here, of all places.
Abruptly, Felix became aware that he’d paused his sketching in favor of listening raptly to Ace’s story, unconsciously proving his own point. Ace’s volume and wide smile were intense but there was that same softness in his eyes accompanying his story, once again showing Felix that there was so much more to Ace than the endless jokes and flamboyant nature. Embarrassingly enough, it made warmth blossom in Felix’s chest and he cleared his throat, ducking his head to try to hide the heat creeping up on his face.
Unfortunately, the action gave Ace pause.
“Well, shit – I’ve been monologuing for about…” Ace glanced at his watch. Predictably, the clock hands hadn’t moved – they hadn’t in years. “Well, I’d estimate around ten hours. Your turn.”
“No, keep going,” Felix encouraged. “I like listening to you talk.”
No matter how many times Felix said it, surprise still flashed over Ace’s features – how the hell do you put up with me, he’d once joked – before a dorky smile replaced it.
“I can do that,” Ace said, his eyes nearly twinkling.
Felix nodded and looked back down at his sketch, needing a moment to collect himself after the earnest exchange.
However, before Ace had the chance to pick up his story again, Meg distracted them by shouting on the other side of camp.
“My turn, my turn!” the redhead hollered.
Felix and Ace exchanged a silent look – Felix rolling his eyes in exasperation and Ace responding with a secretive smirk – before looking over to where the kids were getting carried away by their game once more.
Meg radiated excited energy as she practically bounced into the middle of the half-circle formed by the group. Instead of another lively pantomime, however, she proceeded to merely sit down on one of the tree stumps.
“Sitting!” Steve guessed.
“Shitting!” Nea yelled, making Ace snort in amusement next to Felix.
“You are a child,” Felix scolded.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ace shot back with an innocent smile.
Before he could tease the man further, Felix heard Meg sighing wistfully and saw her looking dreamily into nothingness while twirling her braid between her fingers. She very much looked like some harlequin novel protagonist, waiting for her Prince Charming –
“ACE!” all of the kids screamed, in unison, at the top of their lungs.
Felix’s brain proceeded to overload from a mix of mortification and confusion, an inaudible gasp escaping his lips. That was the furthest thing he would have expected any of them to say, yet they sounded so certain –
“Come on Red, even I got that one,” Jake huffed from further away.
"Okay fine, that was too easy!" Meg snickered.
“I mean we already did Dwight, so it could really only be Ace.” Quentin’s explanation earned nods from the others, but it only served to make Felix more confused.
Slowly, he turned around to face the object of their strange joke. The easy smile on Ace’s face had been replaced by a shaky grin and he’d taken to fidgeting somewhat maniacally with a poker chip in his hands.
“Damn, kids huh?” Ace joked. His voice was calm and steady but his body language was anything but. ”See if I get you anything for Christmas this year, you little brats. And for the record, I might make puppy eyes but I never sigh like that –”
“Why would they say that?” Felix interrupted. He didn’t sound anywhere near as collected as he’d like as the uncertainty bled into his voice.
Ace glanced away and ran a hand through his hair while exhaling a pointed breath through his mouth. All things Felix recognized as signs of anxiety, though it had been some time since he’d seen them so clearly on someone else.
“Ace, what’s going on?” Felix asked, worry for his friend quickly overtaking all other emotions. "You know you can always talk to me."
In the background, Feng was doing chainsaw sound effects for the next round of the game and Felix got a sudden, uncharacteristic urge to yell at her to shut the fuck up. The others seemed to not have noticed the impact of their relatively harmless comments, not even looking in his and Ace’s direction.
“Well, thing is…” Ace trailed off, seeming to struggle with his choice of words for once. “They’re not… exactly wrong?”
“What do you mean?” Felix tried to quell the sudden wave of hope surging through his system. Ace couldn’t possibly be implying…?
“No, well – honestly, I don’t feel too far from our dear Megan’s impression, when I’m with you.” Ace finally met his eyes, and that’s about when the entirety of Felix's rational brain shut down.
“I –” he started, but Ace was already continuing.
“Yeah, I know – you don’t have to say it.” With a huff, Ace pocketed the poker chip and shoved his hands in his pockets, dropping his eyes to kick at a pebble on the ground. “I wasn’t planning to tell you, I get that you’re freaked out, I mean this is me and you’re you and I know you’ve got obligations –"
So Felix did something he never thought he’d want to do; ask Ace to stop talking.
“Ace, shut up.”
“I – yeah, sorry. Fuck,” Ace sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat.
“I feel the same,” Felix confessed.
The words flowed out more easily than Felix would have ever thought. Maybe it was because he already knew they were returned, but getting his feelings out felt like a heavy burden lifting off his shoulders.
It was cute to see Ace come to the same realization as he perked up in clear surprise, meeting Felix gaze with wide eyes that slowly melted into something unguarded and fond. Felix recognized the look; it had been directed at him countless times before, but he had never realized its meaning until now.
He didn’t know how long they sat there, staring at each other stupidly like a couple of nervous kids exchanging love notes. Ace’s foot was tapping a nervous beat on the ground while Felix’s palms sweated and his heart rate picked up in anticipation.
“So should we –”
“Did you want to –" They both spoke at the same time before breaking out into an awkward chuckle.
“Fuck, we’re bad at this.” Ace was grinning sheepishly, and Felix couldn’t help but agree.
“We are.”
“I swear I’m not usually this much of a mess. No, wait, actually – scratch that, I’m always a mess, but not like this,” Ace prattled on. The nervous energy from earlier still remained, but so did the soft smile on his face. “You make me stupid.”
Felix laughed softly in response, and just like that, the whole thing seemed so clear. How could he not have noticed that Ace had been hiding this from him, and how did Ace ever think that his feelings wouldn’t be returned?
“Can I…?” Felix asked carefully, hand hovering over Ace's
“Hell yeah.” With a grin, Ace took the initiative to grasp Felix’s waiting hand between two of his.
Ace’s hands were still twitching and Felix’s was still sweating but neither of them seemed to care. Felix merely basked in the comfort of the touch and the affection in Ace’s eyes.
“So, about Vegas…” Felix eventually prompted, giving Ace’s hand a slight squeeze.
Ace smiled brighter than the sun as he resumed his story for the third time – now with tangible proof of just how much Felix enjoyed listening to him.
The kids eventually got bored of their game but Ace stayed by Felix’s side for hours, trading stories and fond looks well into the neverending night. It was like simultaneously nothing and everything had changed between them; Felix still got carried away talking about buildings and they still chuckled at each other’s terrible jokes, but Ace couldn’t seem to stop the occasional babe and sweetheart from slipping into conversation, and Felix didn’t tire of rubbing soothing circles over Ace's knuckles.
Even later, when Ace kissed him in the relative privacy of the immediate forest surrounding the campfire, it felt like a natural extension of the bond they had already established over the last few months.
Felix pulled Ace into an embrace, melting into the slow press of lips and enjoying the feel of Ace’s goatee and the familiar-but-still-new body against his. How did Felix ever think this wasn’t a possibility for them? If he could, he’d buy Meg a fruit basket or something –
“I’m tempted to give Meg all my purple flashlights,” Ace suddenly pulled away long enough to say, causing Felix to huff out a small laugh into their shared breathing space.
Felix knew that still had a lot of navigating through their relationship to do, but somehow, he had a feeling they would often be on the same page where it mattered. After all, spending an eternity trapped in the darkness of this world didn’t sound nearly as bad now that he knew Ace’s bright smile would be right here to guide him.
the last calm before the storm. i have so much in store for these two >:)
word count: 1130
[Riconti] Good at pretending (part 3)
[previous]
Dread pooled heavy in Felix’s gut as the trees around the road cleared and they pulled up to the estate’s driveway.
There were already several cars present and even a goddamn limousine, despite the wedding being six full days ahead. It seemed Felix’s aunt had rented the thing for the entire week – or maybe even bought it for her daughter as a wedding gift.
A low whistle came from the passenger seat. “Holy shit, you weren’t kidding about the size of this thing.” Ace was leaned over the dashboard and staring out over the estate grounds in awe.
Felix spared a cursory glance around as he parked. The manor’s garden was even bigger than the obscenely big driveway next to it, and it was in pristine shape – no doubt to be used for wedding photos later in the week. Behind the garden was a greenhouse, and further away he could see the enclosure for the tennis court.
And of course, the extravagant mansion stretched beside the attractions, looming over them in all its excessive glory.
“You didn’t tell me we’d be spending time with royalty,” Ace joked. “Damn, is that a hedge maze?”
“Now that you mention it, I think my uncle’s wife has some distant royal lineage,” Felix said. “But mostly everyone just has far more money than they know what to do with.”
“Fuck, I can tell."
Ace sounded genuinely in awe and uncertainty twisted in Felix’s chest as an unexpected problem made itself known. What if Ace ended up enjoying himself too much, and Felix was left alone to wallow in his own bitterness while Ace preferred to mingle with his filthy rich relatives?
“Any last minute advice before we head into the lion’s den?” Ace asked.
Felix looked up to meet Ace’s encouraging smile and realized that he’d stayed frozen in his seat despite the car now being parked.
“Uhm…” Felix racked his brain for anything worthwhile, trying not to let his insecurity shine through. “My oldest uncle – Bernard, you read the profiles I sent you – has no concept of tact and will ask invasive questions about people’s bowel movements at the dinner table. The bride, Vanessa, has never been told ‘no’ a single time in her life and if she asks you to do a silly dance for her social media post you’re expected to comply, no questions asked.”
Ace merely shrugged. “Good thing I’m a great dancer. Anything else?”
“Most of the guests will probably be speaking German,” Felix explained. “Everyone knows English – some better than others – but I can always translate for you. Though to be honest, you’re probably better off not understanding most of the conversation.”
“I’ll leave it up to your discretion,” Ace said with a smirk. “Should I, uh, be prepared for certain comments?”
Felix frowned. “Comments?”
“You know… being a guy and all?” Ace raised an eyebrow in question, his easy smile faltering just the tiniest amount.
“Oh!” Felix exclaimed. “No, no, nothing like that. Or, well… there will be whispers and Bernard might put his foot in his mouth again, but they, ähm. They know. About me.”
Ace’s curious gaze stayed on Felix and Felix wanted to melt into the car seat from embarrassment. Rather than push the subject, however, Ace merely nodded.
“Okay, good!”
“What about you?” Felix asked. “Will you… does it bother you?”
Ace looked at him funny and then laughed.
“Okay, whoever gave you the idea that I’m straight deserves a raise because that’s some tough shit they’re selling,” Ace chuckled.
Felix felt his brain screaming no no no while his heart pounded with an enthusiastic hell yes!
“But for the record, no, it doesn’t bother me,” Ace said. “I swing both ways and given the situation, I kind of figured you swung at least a little bit this way.”
Ace reached for the door, clearly expecting that to be the end of the conversation, but Felix suddenly needed him to know.
“I do – a lot,” Felix blurted out. Ace paused, waiting for him to continue. “I mean… both. I do both. W-well, at the moment I’m not ‘doing’ anyone, but… guh.”
Felix groaned and barely resisted the urge to slap himself. He should have just dropped it; now he was stuck making a fool of himself before they’d even stepped out of the car.
“And that’s where your fake boyfriend comes into the picture!” Ace slapped his hands together with a grin, blissfully letting Felix’s awkwardness slide. “Now are you ready to get this show on the road?”
Felix managed one last steadying breath before reaching for the door handle. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
He climbed out of the car and it was a relief to finally be able to stretch his legs after the long ride. At the sound of a groan, Felix looked over the hood at the car – only to nearly swallow his tongue at the sight that greeted him.
Ace seemed to have had the same idea about stretching, at least based on the way he raised his arms high above his head with a downright indecent sound. His dress shirt and vest hugged him perfectly – Felix had paid good money to have the whole week’s wardrobe tailored for Ace on such short notice – and the clothing only highlighted his broad shoulders and the cinch of his waist.
A clearing of a throat snapped Felix out of his stupor, and he suddenly noticed his aunt’s thoroughly unamused butler standing nearby and watching their display.
“Welcome, Sir Richter,” the man spoke in German. “Can I get someone to fetch your bags?”
Felix glanced at the overflowing suit bags in the back of the car. “Thank you, that would be lovely.”
“Very well. Feel free to make your way inside, the madam is already awaiting you.” The butler held out his gloved hand for Felix to deposit his car keys in.
With the bag situation taken care of, Felix turned around planning to inform Ace, but it seemed Ace was one step ahead of him. He was already right next to Felix, standing just that much straighter and giving the butler an acknowledging nod to which the man responded with a polite bow of his head.
“Are we ready to go?” Ace asked. He’d smoothly slipped into the act, knowing to avoid introductions and waiting for Felix’s approval to proceed.
Felix couldn't help but be impressed. “Of course." He made an effort to stand a little bit taller, himself; it was easy to put on his play-act to mirror Ace’s. “I heard our host is already waiting for us.”
And then Ace took his arm and sidled up to Felix like he belonged there, looking up at him with a teasing smile. “Then lead the way, darling.”
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