Portgas D. Ace X Reader - The boy from the church

1

College has possibly been the best and also the worst period of your life. You've always found studying quite difficult and you've stressed yourself enough for tests and exams. Of course, your friends helped you to get through it with a smile on your face every time you thought you couldn't make it. Now you've successfully graduated and you can get any job you wished for. However, studying for finals was very hard for you, so, in order to get rid of that stress, you chose to go to your local church every sunday, not because you were the most religious person, but because you found going to the church as being a very peaceful and relaxing experience, to just pray and spend a little time there, as a replacement for meditation or therapy. The church you went to was a small, wooden one; it had a dark interior, filled with a sweet scent, with large, colorful paintings on the walls and ceiling. You always feel safe inside, especially since your soul deeply connects with the spiritual figure. Looking back, you would've laughed at yourself for having this weekly routine, but you soon got used to it and you still keep doing it, regardless of what your younger self or others would say about you.

You had your life well put together now, and you were quite proud of yourself for it. You knew exactly what job you were looking for, and everything was good overall. Sometimes you'd forget to cook dinner or you would often cancel plans because of tiredness, but that was your life, with both good and bad things, and you absolutely loved it. Your friends play a major role in your social life since you're an easygoing person with a lot of friends, but only a few of them were actually close to you.

You moved into your own house at a relatively young age, but that was only because your parents have inherited a small apartment in the suburbs for you; but now it was your house and you loved it. You would invite your friends over any time you could, because you could afford it now. However, when you go to the church, your only wish is to be alone. You can't stand whispering or talking in such a quiet and holy place. In general, you saw there the same faces over and over, because you would only go there in early sundays, so the people who you've talked to before would often nod when they see you. Some elders have spoken to you before about the young generation losing its faith, and that you were the example that proved them wrong.

Starting with a new week, a new boy would come to the same church as you, his ritual being much simpler and quicker, and what surprised you the most was the fact that he seemed so young. You've only seen him wearing dark colored jeans and boots, a brown leather jacket and a decorated cowboy hat that he would always take off before entering the building. At first, you thought he came here to pray for his exam results or something, but after you've seen him a couple of times sitting in the same spot and coming at the same time as you, you started to question his reasons.

'Maybe someone close to him has passed away...' you thought. But you couldn't ask him yet. This is supposed to be an intimate experience for each and everyone, plus, you didn't like to be approached by someone else either. Last time you saw him at the church, you even made eye contact with him, and that was when you noticed his pale freckles and his absent smile.

You headed home after you finally saw his face, and before you could think about it, your phone started ringing and you noticed that an old high school friend was calling you. 'This is unexpected...' 

"Hello, is this y/n?" a deep, soothing voice greeted you from the other side of the line.

"Yes, of course. Hello there, Marco." 

The man laughed out loud, and you couldn't recognize his voice anymore. "Sorry for bothering, are you in town today?"

"Don't worry about it, and yeah, I'm gonna be home today, why do you ask?"

"I was wondering if you wanna go out drinking. Just the two of us."

His words had you confused as hell, and you even thought about the both of you going on a date. You and Marco didn't get along well during high school, but he was a smart student and he did help you with the physics homework when you asked. It was still weird for him to call all of a sudden now.