Fenton was quite sure at this point that his raison d’etre was to keep his friend alive.

It was.

Knowing that Ace did the exact opposite of everything Fenton said, he chose to use reverse psychology.

He just mentioned to Levi his idea, and then Levi mentioned the idea, so technically it was never his idea, to begin with, and voila.

It worked.

Ace was leaving his house more often and was generally much happier and Fenton was impressed, his master plan had come to fruition, but at a price. He had pushed his friend straight into the hands of a sociopath, but Fenton told himself, Well, no one is that stupid, he must realize that Levi’s dangerous eventually.

Eventually.

He did not.

So, in the mornings after Ace did not have his night shifts after he had fed the dog, and argued with Invictus about nothing, he made his way to Roue Park near his apartment.

He assumed it was called Roue Park because someone misspelled the word Rouge, all the trees with red bark instead of brown, the dirt with a slight red tint as well, the leaves a kaleidoscope of colors year-round, and it was his favorite place to go because it was emptier than the rest of the town, people preferring the sandy white beaches to a placid park.

Wearing his brown Blink If You Want Me shirt, black shorts, and running shoes, Ace met Levi at Roue Park, and they had become jogging partners.

Yes.

Nothing more.

They were nothing more than jogging partners as they started meeting up more often, at the beach, restaurants, Ace’s apartment, and Levi’s apartment, which to Ace felt more like a one-floor luxury home.

Ace remembered what Fenton said, that he was using sex to deal with his issues and that he wasn’t attracted to Levi, he might just be lonely, so he repeated this in his head whenever they met up at Roue Park, underneath the arch carved out of a tree, the wingspan of several people, at the entrance.

It was a rare day, Levi arrived after Ace, wearing a Sike black jacket and pants set with a white shirt and matching shoes as well.

“You’re late,” Ace said smugly, crossing his arms. “How the tables have turned.”

“Don’t let it get to your head,” Levi mumbled. “You still can’t keep up with me, I’m sure you’re still cheating.”

“I’m not!”

He was.

“So you’ll wear a grounder to neutralize your abilities next time we meet up,” Levi asked.

“I don’t like these accusations,” Ace huffed.

Levi chuckled, and then ran off, taking a head start, and Ace chased after, proving that he could keep up, caught again, cheating when there was no need to, believing there was some sort of imaginary competition when there never was.

Halfway to the halfway point, he was sweating, a dying mess, hanging on to one of the ridiculously wide trees, and Levi smiled his half-smirk because he was right.

“If you stop now, there’s still a chance to improve,” Levi said.

“I never cheated.”

“So why are you tired?"

Ace’s nostrils flared, and he stuck his right hand out wildly, and Levi understood the signal and passed him his grey water bottle. Greedily drinking from it, Ace stopped, because Levi was being strange, well, stranger than usual.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Ace said.

“I like looking at you,” he replied.

He walked right up to him, right up into his eyes, and Ace looked away, confused at the sudden change in mood, certain that maybe this was another dirty dream, and looked away, his face going hot as Levi leaned in closer.

Levi leaned in close, so close to Ace that he could feel his breath on him. He smelled like cigarettes, but Ace didn’t mind. He gathered as much courage as he could and tried to ask what he wanted.

“Can I kiss you?"

Ace didn’t answer.

He grabbed Levi by the waist and kissed him.

Ace felt like the world had stopped spinning and the only thing that existed at that moment was them and the small park.

When the kiss was over, Levi and Ace didn’t let go. They stared at each other, expecting the other to make the next move. Ace was impatient and didn’t wait very long. He grabbed him by the shoulder and brought all of him in, wanting to savor every kiss, every touch, every moment.

Levi’s toes curled as Ace kissed him, feeling weak as Ace kissed him over and over, the soft sounds of their heavy breathing filling the air.

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He wanted Ace to fill up every part of him, every crack and crevice in his soul. He parted his lips slightly and Ace took the chance to put his tongue inside, twisting it around his. Levi shuddered as Ace flicked the tip of his tongue with his and Levi gripped his waist even tighter.

Levi realized he stopped breathing every time Ace kissed him, and tried to breathe through his nose, but it only made his heart increase and his groans get louder. Ace stopped kissing him and jerked away and it surprised him.

Face flushed and looking around haphazardly, Ace looked as if he was caught committing a crime.

“What’s wrong," asked Levi.

Ace continued to look around the small forest, anxious and afraid.

“I swore I heard something," he muttered.

“You’re just imagining things," Levi assured him.

“No, no I’m not,” Ace whispered.

A man going for a walk told them that it’s okay, he was young once too, and continued on, as they unglued themselves from each other, remembering that they were in public, and then Ace remembered Levi was married, and Levi remembered that he quite frankly didn’t care once Ace mentioned it.

Ace was disgusted with himself, that he had sunk so low, and ashamed that he liked it, that it was exciting to do something wrong, and he told himself, well, we might not get caught.

Standing under the colorful leaves, sweaty and red, unsure if it was from his recent fumbling, running, anxiety from lack of morality, or all three, Ace did the exact opposite of what any rational person would do in that situation.

He tried to find a reason why what he did was okay.

“Let’s talk about this later. This probably wasn’t a good idea,” Ace said.

“I want to talk about it now,” Levi replied.

He wasn’t going to let his obsession slip through his hands now that it was within reach, and Ace, once again forgot that no was a complete sentence and acquiesced.

“We could go back to my place and talk about it,” Ace said.

Levi nodded and put his hand on his shoulder, and within the blink of an eye, they were at Ace’s small apartment. It was quiet, the TV off, the bedroom door open, the dog was fast asleep, snoring like an old man, and Ace realized that this was not a good idea.

Levi sat on the old couch, but Ace stood, because he wanted to stop thinking with his other head, trying to have one moral left, and regretted bringing him to a place where they could be alone.

To not be distracted, Ace muted his phone and refused to sit, and Levi was even more uncomfortable the longer he stood.

“Sit,” Levi commanded.

“No thanks, I’m good,” Ace mumbled.

Levi gave him a strange look, and Ace opened his mouth, trying to explain why, but decided against it, because it would make everything much worse than it already was. So he tried to stick to why he brought him over.

“I can’t, I can’t do this Levi. My life is finally normal now,” Ace said. “I can’t do this.”

“Do what?”

Ace glared at him, and Levi regretted his words because he was being scolded when he expected something more physical.

“I am not sleeping with you, I’m not your piece of meat, ” Ace hissed. “That was stupid. Let’s forget about it. I won’t tell Mary Jane.”

“I’m not trying to”

“Don’t lie to me! Why else have you been so nice to me lately!?”

Levi couldn’t lie that it wasn’t true, but it also wasn’t true.

“I wanted to be a better person. I thought helping you get a job in town would make up for how I used to be an ass to you,” Levi replied. “You don’t have to sleep with me.”

Forgetting his decision to stand, getting swept up at the moment, he sat on the couch, because Levi was pouting, and he was there to console him, and Ace’s goldfish memory was his own demise.

“I’m really bad at this extra stuff,” Levi grumbled.

“What extra stuff,” Ace asked.

“ This. Talking about this. ”

Levi turned away and didn’t want to look at him, and Ace, still easily swayed, held his hand, and they talked about the extra stuff.

“I’ve always liked you. For a very long time,” Levi admitted.

His face was still turned away, as he could only say it, not looking at him.

“Sometimes, when I look at you, I feel like I’ve known you much longer,” Ace replied.

Levi turned back to look at him, and their faces were closer together, their lips pressed together, not much talking was done at that point. T-shirts came off, and promises of this is only a one-time thing, happened, while they groped each other on the couch, as the door opened, and then slammed shut.

Ace and Levi put their shirts on, saying nothing, while the dog barked, awoken by the slammed door, and Levi left, silent, ignoring the person standing outside the door.

Fenton knocked on the door this time, and Ace told him to come in, and he did.

“I uh, I texted you that I was coming over before I arrived,” Fenton mumbled. “Why didn’t you tell me not to come?”

Ace remembered his phone was on silent.

Fenton felt like he was watching pornography in a public library when he opened the door. He did not like that feeling and did not want it ever again. He took his spare key off his key ring, placed it on the wooden coffee table between the couch and the television, and said he would call later.

The dog came over, sensing something was wrong, sitting next to Ace, and placed his head in his lap, as Ace once again, looked upwards, watching what little dignity and self-confidence he had left fly off into the sky.