꧁ The cat is out of the bag ꧂

Hazel let out a heavy sigh as she walked back behind the counter after having brought the wrong order to a customer for what was already the third time that afternoon.

"Where is your head today, Haz?" Eleanor playfully scolded her, watching her prepare what she could only hope was the right drink.

"Anywhere but here, it seems," she sarcastically replied.

Hazel couldn't help but replay in her head the events of that morning. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel Marco's warm breath on her lips. She had lost count of how many times she had already cursed Shanks in her mind for robbing her of a so much longed-for kiss.

The woman had become quite adept at hiding her feelings. James had always only wanted the happy version of her, the one with the instant smile and the warm things to say. It was her role in his life and he wouldn't have tolerated anything different. He could be broken and expect her love and patience, he could show his scars and have the certainty that she would always help him. Yet if Hazel was sad for more than a few hours, a day even, his impatience grew. So she would swallow down that bitter pill and move on, giving him the impression that a little "tough love" had been all she needed. But Marco was different: he had seen her at her worse and still hold her in her arms.

"Hazel," a loud voice called her from behind the counter, bringing her back to reality.

The woman spun around and was surprised to see a worried-looking Izo sat on one of the stools. "Oh, hello there," she replied with a smile.

"Glad to see you've finally come back to us," he joked, shaking his head. "I called you three times, Haz," he then added, seeing the confused look on her face.

"Sorry about that, I was...thinking," she replied, not knowing what else to say. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Well, the salon is closed on Sundays so I had some free time," he told her. "And we're overdue a conversation, I think."

"Right," she nodded. "Let me just bring this to that table and we can talk," she said as she put a tall glass of coffee on a trail and walked towards a customer.

"So, Thatch didn't tell you anything?" she asked once she got back.

"Tell me what?"

Hazel sighed and lowered her gaze. "Well, I seem to be in a complicated situation with Marco."

Izo raised an eyebrow. "A complicated situation?"

"Indeed. It's obvious we have feelings for each other and," the woman paused, wondering for a moment if she wasn't making a mistake. "And we almost kissed this morning."

"YOU WHAT?" not one, but three voices yelled in unison.

Hazel's head shot up and she felt the colour draining from her face: standing behind Izo, her brother was looking straight at her.

"You're kidding," Eleanor then said, grabbing her arm. The conversation had caught her interest as soon as she'd heard Marco's name. Contrary to Ace, however, she seemed to be ecstatic about it.

"I am not," she confessed.

"And why didn't you?" her brother asked, sitting down next to Izo.

"Shanks called," she murmured, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Damn it," he whisper-yelled, punching the counter.

Both Hazel and Izo were stunned by his reaction, while Eleanor just laughed it off and went back to work — someone had to.

"You wanted them to kiss?" Izo inquired.

"Of course," Ace replied. "They've been crazy about each other for years, it was about time they realised it!"

"Now, that's not fair," Hazel retorted. "I've always been aware of my feelings. He's the idiot."

"Can't argue with that," her twin nodded.

"Wait a second, how long have you known about this?" she then asked, feeling somewhat angry that he never confronted her.

"About what?" he said. "Your feelings for Marco? Or his feelings for you?"

"Both."

"Well, I'm not gonna lie, you were kind of hard to figure out. But he was obvious," Ace replied, receiving a glare in return. "You're just blind, Haz."

"Ace, do you wish to die today?" Izo asked, somewhat worried about the icy stare Hazel was giving her brother

Before he could try to defend himself, however, their attention was caught by a very extravagant character who had just entered the Cafe. The two men gulped while Hazel smiled brightly.

"Iva!" the woman exclaimed as she ran to hug her.

"Dearest!" the queen of all queers replied, happily returning the embrace. "It's so good to see you. Now tell me, did you finally dump that pathetic excuse for a man that dared to claim to be worthy enough to be your boyfriend?"

Hazel laughed loudly. "Yes, yes, Iva. We broke up."

"Good," she nodded, as they both joined the men at the counter. "Really good. Oh, hello you two," she then added, turning to Ace and Izo.

"Good afternoon, Iva" they greeted her, although secretly hoping she'd focus entirely on her favourite pupil and spare them the interrogation on their love life or a long and harrowing lecture on fashion.

"What can I make you?" Hazel asked, getting back to her spot.

"Oh, I'm afraid I don't have much time, darling," she quickly dismissed her offer. "I'm just here 'cause I'm in desperate need of your assistance."

"Anything for you."

"Are you free on Wednesday night, by any chance?" Iva asked her, ignoring her twin's questioning glare.

"I should be, why?"

"You see, one of my girls is sick and we have a very important night on Wednesday. Do you think you could maybe fill in for her?"

"Absolutely not," Ace replied in his sister's stead.

"Ace, my dear, she can speak for herself," Iva retorted. "Besides, I would never put her on display as one of the dancers, she'd be just a waitress."

"Just a waitress? I'm very well aware of what kind of club you run, Ivankov. As well as the clientele it attracts. I won't let my sister work at the very heart of the underworld's nightlife. Not even for one night," the man stated firmly.

"Ace-"

"If you're so worried, you and your brothers are welcome to visit," Iva replied, cutting off Hazel's attempt to calm him. "It's been far too long since the last time, after all," she added with a honeyed voice.

"Just what kind of people do you think-"

"That's enough," Hazel ended the discussion. "While I appreciate your concern, I'm a grown woman and I can make my own decisions, Ace. I've been at the Lotus before, it's nothing I can't handle."

Ivankov smirked proudly at her, while her brother looked like he could have killed someone if it wasn't for Izo holding him down.

"I take that as a yes?" Iva beamed.

"Yes, I'm happy to help. Just let me know when I should be there."

"That's great! Thank you so much, my dear. You're truly a lifesaver. I'll text you all the details later," she said, getting up. "Am I to assume I'll see all the Newgate boys on Wednesday as well?" she then added, turning to Ace.

He sighed but nodded.

"Very well then, I can't wait. Goodbye, my darlings. Bring my regards to your papa," she told them before leaving.

"That was intense," Izo commented, finally able to release Ace's arm.

"You can say that again," he agreed. "But the worse is yet to come."

"We need to tell Marco," Hazel explained, seeing her friend's confused look.

"Of course," he nodded.

"Maybe Thatch can help with that," Ace suggested. "Us three could corner him tonight."

"Thatch is busy tonight," Izo spoke before thinking and regretted it instantly.

"How do you know?"

"He told me yesterday," he said, trying his best to be believable.

"Right, he was talking about going out with Jozu and Vista," Hazel came to his aid.

"Well, shit," Ace sighed.

"It's fine, we'll figure something out," his sister reassured him.

"Bet a kiss might help," he joked, only to receive a hard slap on the head.

The three couldn't help but laugh at their situation and hope that the strict blond wouldn't be too upset with them.

✵✵✵✵

The very moment Ace and Hazel arrived back home, the latter was scooped up by an incredibly stressed Sabo, who held her captive in his room for a good forty-five minutes. When she showed back up in the living room, she was exhausted and mentally drained, but proud of herself for having managed to help her brother finally pick an outfit — out of the ten he had in mind — for his date with Koala.

"God, you look terrible," her twin said, opening his arms for her.

Hazel gladly let herself be comforted by his embrace.

"Well, how do I look?" asked Sabo as he entered the living room.

"You look fine, dumbass," answered Ace.

"Why does it matter?" replied Luffy, giving him a confused look.

"Uhm, I don't know. You might wanna try on something else," said Thatch.

The blond paled, not recognising the sarcasm, as Ace promptly took off one of his slippers and offered it to his sister, who immediately threw it to the brunette with all the strength she had left.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed, massaging his forehead. "I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry!" he added when the woman threatened to throw the other one. "I was joking. You look great, Sabo."

"Really?"

"Really."

The blond let out a sigh of relief and grabbed his jacket. His older brother imitated him.

"We're off then, see you later guys," Thatch said.

As soon as they opened the door, however, they froze on the spot: Marco was standing on the other side, with the keys in his hand and a very annoyed expression on his face.

"Marco!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Where the hell have you been all day? You look like-"

"Not now, Thatch. Where's Pops?" the blond cut him off as he walked in and removed his shoes and jacket.

"Study," he quickly answered.

Marco didn't wait another moment and made his way towards his father's study, followed by his siblings' worried gazes.

"You two go, we'll take care of this," Hazel reassured her brothers, who were now hesitant about leaving.

They eventually nodded, trusting her words, and left.

✵✵✵✵

While waiting for Marco and Pops to finish their business and join them, Ace and Luffy had decided to kill time playing Xbox. Hazel, meanwhile, had gotten comfortable on the sofa with an open book in her hands, albeit unable to focus on its words.

After a time that seemed endless, father and son finally made their appearance in the living room. The first sat down in his usual armchair, while the second headed upstairs without even glancing at them. Worried, Hazel decided to follow him. After recovering the cinnamon roll she had hidden that morning, in the hope that it would cheer him up, she headed for Marco's room. She stopped in front of his closed door, wondering, for the second time that day, if she wasn't making a mistake. Eventually, she decided to knock.

"May I come in?" she asked, partly opening the door.

Marco was sitting on the bed with his elbows resting on his knees and his face buried in his hands. He was somewhat surprised to hear her voice, but glad nonetheless.

"Of course, yoi," he told her, patting the bed beside him as if to ask her over.

"I don't want to bother you. I just want to make sure you're okay," she said carefully, shutting the door behind her and going to sit beside him, just as he had asked.

"For you," she then added, offering him the pastry before she'd forget.

The man couldn't help but smile at the gesture as he took the cinnamon roll and placed it on the bedside table beside him.

"Thank you, yoi," Marco murmured as he turned his attention back towards her. He noticed the concern in her face straight away, and almost felt guilty as she spoke.

"Are you okay?"

Normally, Marco would have it in him to lie, to plaster a grin across his face and use a cheerful tone thick enough to fool anyone. But the look in Hazel's eyes felt sincere, and the least he could do was offer her honesty. With an exasperated sigh, he finally relaxed his body, flopping to the side and falling into Hazel's lap, the woman not minding as she rested her hand on his head.
There was a moment of comfortable silence between them. The woman took a lock of his silky golden hair in between the pads of her fingers and started playing with it. Marco seemed to be enjoying it as his head nuzzled into her lap, but then he pushed himself back up to hug her. Hazel instantly noticed his firm grip on her thigh, her cheeks heating as his fingers wondered further up her leg and his other arm wrapped around her waist.

"Can we stay like this awhile longer?" he eventually asked, talking into her shoulder.

Hazel brought her hand up to his back, running it across the toned muscles that sat below his shirt. "Of course" she replied, unsure if it was for his sake or hers.

In her embrace, the world stopped still on its axis. There was no time, no work, no problems. His mind was finally at peace. That was until the loudest of his brothers reminded him that he couldn't escape from reality for long.

Luffy barged into the room without bothering to knock. "You gotta come downstairs," he yelled, heedless of everything.

"What?" Marco barked, lifting his head but not loosening his hold on Hazel.

"You gotta come downstairs," Luffy repeated. "Pops wants to watch a movie."

"Give us a second, yoi."

"No. You need to come now," the boy replied sternly.

The man sighed but eventually agreed. Luffy, however, didn't seem convinced, so he didn't move from where he was.

"We'll be right behind you, darling. I promise," Hazel reassured him, as she reluctantly freed herself from Marco's embrace.

At that, the boy nodded and left.

"Why does he listen to you but not to me, yoi?" the man asked sarcastically, shaking his head.

"Dunno, mommy issues?" she joked.

The blond burst out laughing: that was the last answer he had expected.

"Be grateful he's worried about Pops and didn't pay attention to your food," she then added, hinting at the cinnamon roll that was still in his hand.

He nodded. "Listen Haz, I-"

"COME DOWNSTAIRS!" Luffy yelled from the stairs, cutting Marco off.

Marco let out a sigh as Hazel smiled and took his hand, dragging him with her.

"Let's not make Pops wait. We'll talk later," she said.

Feeling somewhat reassured by that, the man decided to humour them. In truth, he didn't have the heart to refuse an evening with his father, especially considering how busy he had been lately. His confession would have had to wait.