"So..." Ace mentioned, spinning lazily in the lab chair across from you. Clearly bored, he picked up a stray Petri dish from the counter, holding it up to the light to inspect it better. "Cloning, huh?"
"Yes. Cloning." You stare at him from the corner of your eye, prompting him to set the dish back down on the counter with an apologetic smile. He wasn't even supposed to be in here, but you'd let him in, so you couldn't exactly fault him for looking around. But he knew better than to touch things. Your eyes narrow. "What about it?"
"Nothing! It just sounds really interesting." You saw the upward tilt in the corner of his mouth, even if he tried to hide it. Hmm. "Are you, ya know...testing it on humans yet?"
"No. Only live cultured cells at the moment. Human testing will still be a long while, probably years out."
He seemed to ponder your answer for a moment. "Huh, too bad."
You knew something was up when Ace started asking questions about your research. In all the years you had known him, he'd never bothered to inquire about your work, thinking it was all above his intellect to understand. You were the scientist, after all. He'd told you as much before.
You stare at him another moment, trying to determine why he was suddenly invested in your work. You still couldn't be sure if he simply was curious or if he had another ulterior motive for asking, but you let it go for now and continue comparing the cells observed under the microscopes on the counter.
"Is it dangerous?" He asks suddenly. "The whole cloning process?"
"So far, we haven't seen any adverse effects." You say, half distracted by your task at hand. You scribble a few more things in your notebook, blinking away the irritation from the overly bright lab lighting. "Though, it's a little too soon to speculate if it's outright dangerous or not."
"I wonder what'll happen when people find out what you're doing." Ace says with an amused grin. "People might go a little crazy with it."
"That's why this research is top secret. Not even you are supposed to know about it. But nothing I can do about that now." You say, focused on the task at hand as you tap away at the data pad with your findings. "You can't go around talking about it. Even to Sabo and Luffy."
He made a noise of disappointment, but it was surprisingly less petulant than you'd expected. Glancing at him again, you see that he's still got that tiny smile at the corner of his mouth. Strange. "Yeah, I know..."
"I'm serious, Ace. No talking about it. I'd be in deep shit if the corporation found out."
This was supposed to be a top secret project funded by the Elite, a luxury or experimental new technology that would give them an upper hand on the market without competitors knowing. And of course, somehow, accidentally, Ace had stumbled his way here when looking for you one day and just so happened to see the subject you were researching. It had taken a lot of convincing to keep him quiet about ever being here, but luckily the potential danger you'd be in was all he needed to hear.
"I swore I'd not say a word, Y/N. I keep my promises." The tone of his voice left little room to doubt his conviction.
He wouldn't risk your life for his own entertainment. His own? Possibly. But yours? Absolutely not. It was one of the things that endeared him to you so much.
"Thank you."
You continued your work, glad for the silence so you could concentrate. Ace spun around in the chair some more, before finally sighing. "Are you almost done? I wanted to hit up the VR-cade before going home. They installed the new Duty's Call 74 and everyone says it's even more garbage than last year's version."
"Why would you want to play it then?"
Ace chuckled. "Some things you just have to try out for yourself. And a little...morbid curiosity. I wanna see how bad of a train wreck it could be."
With a roll of your eyes, you glance at the clock. Hmm. It was rather late. Much later than you'd anticipated ending the day, so you straightened from the microscope, writing down the last few findings you needed to record, before closing the file and sliding it towards the middle of the counter.
"Fine, I guess I should stop here for now." Ace doesn't try to hide his relief as he stands from the chair. "But you need to stop coming here. If anyone sees you-"
"You'll be in deep shit. Yeah, I know." He conceded with a shrug. And for a moment he had the wherewithal to look chastened. "But...what can I say? You're good company. Plus it must get so boring being in this lab all day with no one to talk to."
"It's easier than you think." You mutter, picking up your back before leading him to the door. You tap the holographic screen to turn off the lights. Ace is only a step behind you as you exit the lab, holding the door for him.
"Wanna come with me? It's not far." He stuck a thumb behind him, presumably towards the VR-cade in particular he was headed for. "We can grab a bite at the conveyor belt sushi place under the gun store after if you want."
Your mouth opens, ready to turn down his offer, but your stomach chose that unfortunate moment to rumble it's betrayal. You glance down when Ace grins at the noise, chuckling to himself.
"Maybe food first, then."
You glance towards the direction of your apartment. "I should get home-"
"C'mon, Y/N. We never hang out. You're always cooped up at work, or stuck at home doing work when you're not supposed to be working. You need to get out and breathe some fresh air."
"This city hasn't seen fresh air in four decades." You say automatically, eyeing the disgusting haze that was not a permanent fixture of the neon-drenched city. No wonder advertisements were so colorful. They tried their best to distract from the awful stuff you were breathing in.
"Well, it can't be any worse than whatever chemical shit you're inhaling in that lab." Ace figures, not letting your realist comment get to him. He flashes you another winning smile. "Please? My treat."
He's right and you know it. You've been working too hard lately, so determined not to mess this huge project up. If all went well, you'd be on the path to a very successful career, a shining pillar in your field. Your name would go down in history, if you managed to get it all to work.
But you could feel the burn-out creeping in at the edges. Taking a load off wasn't always the easiest thing for you to just...do, but perhaps Ace would provide sufficient distraction and socialization to align you back where you needed to be.
Plus...he could be great company. The yin to your yang, so to speak. He was always vibrantly positive, cheeky and charming, and despite your array of differences, you both got along well. That is, when he wasn't doing something insanely stupid.
You give a little sigh, before shrugging your shoulders. "Alright. Let's eat first. I am starving."
"Nice!" Ace fell into step beside you, hands in the pockets of his printed cargo pants. "You won't regret it. I know the owner. He's like a brother! He'll give us a discount."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unsatisfied by your lack of results thus far, investors were getting impatient.
Shortened deadlines and a push for results never ended well, you knew that. The timetables you'd suggested for the stages and escalation of testing were instead replaced by the corporation's version. Summed up, you didn't have years to carefully and properly examine all of the data, test it with caution and a critical eye. You had months.
The reality had you seething. People who didn't understand the necessary steps involved in establishing a technology like this were pushing you for results, breathing down your neck without so much as a clue as to the dangers of rushing the timeline. Mistakes were going to be made at this rate. You were certain.
Days off became non-existent. Most days, you simply slept in your lab, poring over your notes and data sheets over cups and pots of coffee and energy boosters. Sometimes mixed together. There were plenty of warnings on the labels about ingesting more caffeine and the synthetic chemicals than were safe in a day, but you didn't care. You weren't prepared to squander this opportunity of a lifetime because you got a little sleepy.
Ace took notice of your lack of communication pretty quickly. You'd unfortunately had to ignore several of his calls from your holographic watch. You were simply too busy, writing out results and redoing only the most crucial of tests so as not to waste time. It was slow and arduous, yet rushed and completely against everything you'd learned as a student of science and research.
It was...lonely. Ace's company on a Friday night after he'd finish his deliveries for the day had become something of a routine for you. He wasn't supposed to be in your lab to begin with--you knew there would be hell to pay if the corporation found out you'd leaked the project to anyone at all--but his company had been appreciated.
The quiet and often times solitary life you'd thus far lead had been broken up by Ace's high-energy and fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants lifestyle. He was a whirlwind, a stimulant, and most of all a great friend. You couldn't be more different from each other, but perhaps that's what made the two of you such fast and close friends.
You missed him. For some reason, you hesitated in admitting such a thing, but it was true. He had become someone important to you. And truth be told, had your life taken a different path, you fantasized about a life at his side having crazy adventures. Your infatuation was held at bay by your own pessimism and resignation that your work was too important to neglect.
You hated it. Hated the thought of having to choose between two loves. Yet you loved the thought of being ever closer to success, to becoming someone in this world where so few were remembered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Y/N!"
You nearly jumped out of your skin at the sound of your name, and you whirled around to see Ace push his way through the lab's door. Usually it required a keycard and a retinal scan to even get through--the corporation hadn't been stingy with their safeguards--but he'd long ago found out how to bypass the security entirely. Chalk that up to his endless curiosity and penchant for being places he shouldn't be.
"Now's not a good time, Ace." You turn back to your research, irritated by the distraction and yet frustratingly relieved to see him. It had been so long. That internal longing rose up again, but you shoved it down. You didn't have time for this. Once your work was done, you could visit with him as you liked.
"Another time? It's been a month and a half since I've seen you." He leans against the other side of the counter, peering into your face despite you trying to duck it down to pretend to look over your data. "Did I do something wrong? You won't respond to my messages or calls."
"I've been busy."
"So busy you couldn't answer a message? It would've taken 10 seconds, Y/N." You can hear the hurt in his tone. You tried to avoid looking at what must certainly be an expression of pain on his face. "I've been worried about you."
You sigh, staring down at the counter before setting down your pen and finally looking up at him.
"The investors moved my timeline up an incredibly ridiculous degree. I expected this project to take years. I told them as much when they approached me about it. Now they want results in a matter of months or I lose my funding. My first deadline is the end of January."
You can't help but run your hands over your face, feeling the fatigue hit you unexpectedly. Either the energy drink mixed with the synthetic mitochondrial boosters was wearing off, or your body was taking advantage of this tiny respite from work to remind you how hard you'd been pushing it all these weeks.
"This will be the breakthrough of a lifetime." You say quietly, hearing Ace approach from around the counter. "My entire career, my place within the scientific community, will be guaranteed if I can get this to work. I'll have contributed something to this city, I'll become someone in this world that erases existences in the blink of an eye. No one will forget me.
"So I can't just...stop." You say with a scoff. "I can't take a break, until it's done. I'm not letting these investors take away what I know I can be, just because they get impatient. And that means I can't take the time to entertain you or talk to you, or even answer a message. Not until I finish this."
There's a long silence as Ace looks at you with so much concern. You can practically see the gears turning behind his eyes as he works up what he wants to say to you. Your overworked brain is already turning itself back to the task at hand. But when you try to turn away to go back to your data, Ace stops you with a hand on your shoulder.
"I understand." It's the most serious you've ever heard him. "But you'll drop dead from exhaustion if you keep going at this rate."
You're already shaking your head before he's done speaking. "I can't-"
"Y/N, let me help take care of you while you work, ok? I'll stop by with food or something every day, since you clearly haven't been eating." He glances over you, and it's now that you notice you're skinnier than before. You've lost weight. As if reading your mind, Ace's head shakes. "Don't lie, I can tell."
All you can manage is a deep sigh. Your head is hurting something fierce. Your hands itch. You need to get back to work...
"Promise me you'll take like...ten minutes per day to just do nothing, ok?" He gives your shoulder a shake, gaining your attention again. "Promise me?"
"...I promise."
"Good." He smiles again, though it's less enthusiastic than what you're used to seeing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As promised, Ace visits every day after and in between his deliveries. His gifts range anywhere from a quick snack from the nearest convenience store to boxed take-out from the fanciest non-synthetic restaurants in the city. How he could afford all this food you weren't sure. Deliverymen didn't make that many credits, did they? You weren't sure.
Behind the gratitude you feel for the care he's showing--not to mention that little wiggle of your feelings wanting to break out from the hole you'd buried them in--is regret.
You're costing him a fortune. You're sucking away his free time. Ace now has to worry about if you're eating and drinking, on top of his regular concerns in life. All this because you selfishly pursued your research.
Did that stop you? No. But it damn sure made you feel terrible. What a great friend you were turning out to be...
There were many times you caught him looking at you with concern. Or, strangely, focusing on the many notes and data sheets you had piling up on your desk or entered on your research console. Ace was unusually invested in your work, but in your desire to see it to its end, you didn't bother to ask why.
Given his frequent visits, he's there in the lab when you finally, finally,begin the more serious testing phases of the technology. After weeks of fine-tuning the equipment, worrying over even the tiniest details, you're tentatively confident that you could begin the next step: live organisms that weren't cells in a Petri dish.
Ace leans against the counter, arms crossed, as he stares at the machine you'd powered up behind the see-through plexiglass. "So, how does it work?" He asks curiously.
"The chamber on the left extracts DNA or composition data from whatever is placed inside." You explain patiently, pointing at each part of the machine as you go. Verbally stepping through the process is actually a help. It ensures you don't miss anything.
"That data is analyzed, coded, and extracted through the console. Those calculations are then interpreted and executed in the chamber on the right. Organic material is then distributed from the element repositories within, to put it simply. The end result should be a copy with an identical physical makeup to what was placed in the left chamber."
"...right." Ace nodded along as if he understood, if only to humor you.
"I just have to...figure out what to do the initial test on." You say hesitantly, looking back at the variety of cages containing various rodents, insects, and birds caught from within the city. "I don't know what might be the best option as a first test."
Ace turned to you with a serious expression, catching you off guard. "I'll do it."
You blink, processing what he's said. "...what?"
"I'll do it. Let me be the first test."
"Ace, no, this is just the preliminary test on an animal, I'm nowhere close to considering the human testing stage-"
"You said it yourself. You're on a time crunch. There's only 3 weeks left until your first deadline." He said, and hearing him speak your own words back at you was more painful than you cared to admit. "I understand the risks. And I accept whatever happens to me in there. But I want to help you."
"I can't let you do this." You say adamantly, shaking your head. "This technology is unproven, untested on an organism of a human scale, there's no guarantee that you'll come out alive-!"
"That's ok." He interrupts, giving you a soft smile. You're shocked into silence as he steps closer, cupping your cheek with one hand. "Even if I did die...I wouldn't regret helping you complete your research, Y/N. But I have faith that you know what you're doing. Let me go first. If it works...then you're about to be the most renowned scientist in the whole world, and, well, I guess I'll have a second 'me' to contend with, won't I? Sounds pretty fucking cool if you ask me."
You're at a genuine loss for words. His dedication to you was on par with your own to the research you'd agonizingly slaved over for the past many months. Such passion should have been easy to recognize and relate to but...in this context it's all so surprising and...touching, that you didn't know how to respond.
You blame weeks of improper sleep and a concoction of caffeine and energy stimulants for the kiss you lean up and steal from his lips. In a state like yours, you couldn't be held responsible for your actions.
It's quick. It's hard, and uncoordinated. But it's an admission of all of the feelings you've held at bay over these many months. And it felt so fucking good to finally show him how much he meant to you. Maybe, in some insane stroke of luck, you could have your name in the records for centuries to come and someone to share the rest of your life with, too.
And if the way he kisses you back with such earnest is anything to go by, Ace is more than happy to oblige that selfish wish.
You pull back, hands reaching up to bury themselves in his leather vest. "Whatever you do, Ace...Do. Not. Die. I couldn't live with myself if you do."
His signature grin returns, and you've never been more glad to see it. "Hell, after a kiss like that, I'm not planning on it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The view from your apartment offered an unfortunate bird's eyes of the haze and putrid smog that blanketed the city streets below. Only a few months ago, you'd have been living down there in the dregs, amongst the criminals and low-lifes the city so enjoyed keeping impoverished. You still felt connected to such a place, but you wouldn't lie and say you missed it. The only affection it held for you were a plethora of pleasant memories.
The profit from the successful cloning technology had made you exceedingly rich practically overnight. The corporation had given you everything you'd hoped for: notoriety amongst your peers, a comfortable place to live out the rest of your life practically care free, and the ability to engage in any project you so desired henceforth. Who was going to turn down the help from the person who'd perfected cloning technology? As a scientist, you were in heaven.
Given Ace's involvement in your project, he too had been handsomely compensated for his efforts. What's more, Ace's clone was--on paper--technically yours. The law was still trying to work out whether he was by definition your property or his own person--a debate you were most certain would swing in the clone's favor--but it allowed you to bring him and Ace himself to live with you consequence free.
Gone were the days of working yourself to the point of exhaustion, overloading on unhealthy amounts of brain stems and energy mixtures to keep you progressing through the endlessly complex lines of data. Gone was the antiseptic-smelling lab, the worry and anxiety of finishing in time to show the world what you could do, and the painful smothering of your feelings for the very man who'd braved death to bring your dream to life.
Speaking of...
You feel the warm embrace of two sets of arms around your waist from behind. You smile, leaning against Ace's and the clone's arms. "Yes?" You ask coyly.
"You've been standing there an awful long time..." Ace--or his clone, you still struggled to tell them apart sometimes--said in a husky voice. "Why spend the evening there-"
"-when we could be doing something far more enjoyable?" The other one finishes. His mouth finds its way to the back of your neck, and you close your eyes. The way they often finished each others' sentences was something you often wondered about.
Did they share a connected thought process or, given that they were technically the same person, did they just think so alike they could anticipate what the other would say? You'd forever wonder...
"I was just thinking...about life down there." You admit softly, pausing as the gentle scrape of his teeth snatches your attention. "How things started out."
"Why dwell on that?" Ace said, humming in satisfaction when he felt you shiver in his arms. "That was all before I had you, and to me, that's just not a time worth thinking about."
You smile, laughing at his comment. "What a smooth talker..."
"Come to bed with us, Y/N." One of the Aces say, pulling you back towards the direction of the bedroom. "We know a way to bring you back in the moment."
"Well...if you insist." You say, unable to muffle the anticipatory chuckle that escapes your lips.
Your skin is lavished in kisses from the both of them, even as you make your way there. You feel light and tingly as the door closes behind you, and two sets of loving hands undress you. Their touches are soft, cherishing you in every brush of skin, every feather-light caress. It leaves you breathless already, and they've barely done anything at all.
One of them moves to stand in front of you, gazing into your eyes a moment before capturing you in a slow and sensual kiss. It's nothing at all like your first, and there had been many more after that one, but this felt like something else. Something indescribable in simple words.
You help the Ace in front of you undress, ridding him of his shirt and pants to pile on the floor, all too aware of the hands snaking in from behind to trail through the patch of hair on your nether regions. One finger slides through to your clit underneath, gently rubbing and making your breath hitch at the feeling.
They take their time, oddly enough. Ace wouldn't typically be described as slow and steady. Most instances of your love making were fast and hard and rough, in all the right ways. But today, something had come over him. Perhaps he too had been reminiscing.
A second pair of lips kiss down along your spine, hands still busy with rubbing your bundle of nerves in a slow and insistent rhythm. The tiny, dull shocks have your legs twitching from beneath you. You gasp against Ace's lips.
It's almost too much to focus on. Your head spins from the sensations coming from all sides, to the point where you barely notice the way they both guide you to the bed on your hands and knees.
The Ace behind you pulls away, presumably to undress himself, as the one in front guides you to lean down towards his erect cock, standing at attention. You lick your lips, eager to please, and need no further encouragement to take the head in your mouth.
Ace lets out a stuttering breath, one hand reaching down to rest against your hair. "You're beautiful, Y/N..."
"The most beautiful woman we've ever seen." The second agrees in a mutter.
You moan at his praise, making him tighten his grip on your hair. He doesn't push, but never lets go as you swirl your tongue around his cock head. You're feeling wetter by the second--due in part because the Ace behind you has returned his fingers to your slit again--and you want nothing more than to be taken by two of the man you loved most dearly in the world.
Bracing yourself against the bed, you lean forward, taking more of Ace's length in your mouth. His tip hits the back of your throat. The sound of his surprised gasp is music to your ears, and you set a steady pace of back and forth motion to pleasure him as best you could. You didn't want to disappoint now.
"She's so eager."
"Y/N never disappoints. Always so good with her mouth."
You do your best to match the pace of the fingers that pump slowly into your wetness. Your toes curl beneath you with every brush of his knuckles against your clit. So good, and yet nowhere near enough for what you want and what you need.
"We should reward her." Ace says from behind you.
As if reading your mind, the fingers pull away. Disappointment colors your groan, until you feel hands hold onto the back of your thighs. You nearly choke on the cock buried halfway down your throat as a hot tongue takes the place of where his fingers used to be, tasting your slick with an eagerness that had you squirming in place.
"What I wouldn't give to taste her myself..." The Ace who's cock is shoved far down your throat grunts out, staring down at where you're looking up at him, lips wrapped around his shaft. "Bet she tastes so good."
"Mmm..." The other one's agreeing hum only causes you to whine louder around his cock. The vibrations are nearly too much to handle, but you have no choice but to keep sucking. You don't want to stop.
The tongue inside of your cunt licks and plunges as deep as it can go, tasting your juices straight from the source, slicking you up as much as possible. You feel your hips pushing themselves backwards in an effort to get him to go even further. Your desperate need for more isn't lost on the two freckled Aces
"Don't think I can wait anymore. I gotta feel that pussy around me, squeezing me..." The Ace behind you says, kissing his way back up your spine. You miss the feeling of his lips on your cunt, but the promise of having his cock buried inside of you instead was just as tantalizing.
Your begging moan is enough to convince him, and with some adjusting and shifting of all three of you on the silk sheets, you feel his hands settle on your hips.
Eyes nearly rolling to the back of your head, you sink backwards as Ace slides his cock into your slick heat. You feel absolutely stupid for a brief moment, stuffed full with two cocks and hungry for all that they'll give you. All further thought besides having them cum in you flew out the window.
You're aware of the whispered words they speak between themselves, some to each other and some directed at you, but you're too far gone to understand what they are. The task of sucking and laving Ace's cock with your mouth occupies your entire mind, and your efforts are rewarded with his increasingly breathy groans from above. The grip on your hair has grown almost painfully tight, guiding you and urging you to take his length faster and further.
You're pulled both directions, until finally both Aces settle into a smooth rhythm. Fucked on both sides, the feeling of your impending orgasm approaches, that hot and tingly feeling building deep in your center.
The eroticism of the act means you don't last long. You cum hard and fast, body shaking and muscles clenching around the cock inside your cunt. While the pleasure rocks you to your core, you lose focus. While you're distracted, Ace takes the opportunity to practically face-fuck you through to his own orgasm, using your mouth as he needed to get him there. You're more than willing to let him.
The salty taste of his cum coats your mouth, and you do your best to swallow it down. There's so much, and the thrusting from behind jostles you enough to have some spilling down your chin and onto the sheets below.
Several more pistons of his hips and Ace is gripping your hips with a vice-like grip, cock thrust in as deep as he can go to ride his release. You can practically feel the throbbing of his member so far inside. The sensation causes you to clench your inner muscles, milking him for all that he has to give.
You're left to collapse amongst the two sweaty and panting men. They pull out from you carefully, gentle now that the act was done. The Ace behind you has the wherewithal to grab their shirts, helping his twin wipe the mess from your body.
They reverently clean your skin, letting you roll onto your back as they clean themselves afterwards, and join you back in the bed to lay beside you.
You're incredibly sleepy, the effort of taking both of their cocks having worn you out. You try your best to stay awake, to keep your eyes open, but the feeling of their fingers trailing your skin in gentle lines is the lull you need to send you into a deep rest.
You dream pleasant things, and know that the next morning would bring another day in the life you'd worked so hard to achieve.
ns 15.158.61.46da2
