Archive of Our Own ^beta

The island was quiet and deserted and for the first time in literal months Ace was able to step off the Moby and onto dry land. He had never really been someone that needed frequent stops on islands since the ocean had always been excitement enough for him with her constant changing moods and her fierce attitude. And yet, after months of being told he couldn't go ashore with the rest of the crew, Ace could admit that he was finally starting to go a little stir crazy.

They barely got the gangplanks down before Ace was racing across one of them, ignoring the shouts from behind him to be careful as the entire thing rattled beneath his eager feet. It wasn't like they'd ever broken before and even if they did decide to spontaneously give out today, basically the entire crew was right behind him and there were more than enough non-devil fruit users that could scoop him out of the ocean.

Sand spewed outwards as Ace jumped onto the shore, his boots leaving two imprints in it. Behind him he could hear the rest of the crew following after him much more slowly but since Ace didn't care about that, he scanned the island instead, nearly bouncing on his toes in his excitement.

Trees grew right up to the sandy beach, their large trunks towering high into the sky. Heavy vines wrapped around thick limbs while ferns and bushes competed across the ground like a carpet of green. Leaves bigger than Ace's head swayed in the slight breeze that carried the sound of faint rustling and distant animal calls.

It made Ace itch to explore.

Steps thunked quietly on the gangplank behind Ace before they nearly faded away as people stepped onto the sandy beach. There were a few grumbles from people who had wanted to go to a populated island to stretch their legs, but since Ace had been promised a chance to get off the ship for a bit, they had been overruled to land here instead. At least out here and with no one around they could be as loud as they wanted and no one would ask them to be quieter. And they didn't have to worry about anyone accidentally starting any fights or burning anything down. Well, they had to worry about people starting a forest fire, but since it was really only Ace that might accidentally do that, they didn't have to worry about it.

“Someone's eager,” a voice teased behind Ace as someone stopped at his shoulder. Ace turned his head slightly to see Thatch standing there as he too surveyed the landscape in front of them. “Though, I don't see what for. I mean, what's there to do in a forest?”

“A lot of things!” Ace told him as he bounced from foot to foot. If he had had it his way he would have taken off the second his feet had touched the sand but since he had been forced to promise that he'd wait for Marco, he had to, well, wait instead. “I mean, I grew up in one and we almost never were bored. Between all the wild animals we could fight or hunt or all the exploring we did, there was always something to do.”

More steps sounded behind Ace and even though they were against the sand he still knew exactly who it was that was approaching him. The fondly exasperated voice that sounded a second later confirming it. “There will be none of that today, yoi,” Marco chided him as he stopped on his other side. “We can go on a short walk, but that's it.”

Ace rolled his eyes. Spoil sport. Sure he had a reason to worry, but still, Ace was fine. Sure his chest and back hurt a bit sometimes and sure he had to be more careful to not overexert himself since it made it hard to breathe, but still, he was fine. He just needed to regain his stamina was all. And to do that, he had to push himself. Something Marco either didn't seem to know or was pretending wasn't the case since he was adamant that Ace not push himself.

Thatch patted Ace's shoulder in consolation. “At least when you get back there will be food! And a lot of it.”

That still didn't mean he wasn't a little disappointed. He was glad he was allowed to even go on a short walk in the first place but he still wanted to be able to actually go exploring. To climb trees and crawl through caves. Not just meander along a path bird watching or whatever.

Sand crunched quietly as someone else skipped up to them and when Ace turned his head to the side he had to bite back a laugh. Rea was dressed exactly how what one would expect a jungle explorer to be dressed. She had khaki cargo pants on with a button-up short-sleeved deep green shirt and brown waterproof boots. An olive green safari hat that Ace had literally never seen before was perched on her head and she had a matching canvas bag already slung over her shoulders with what looked like an empty plastic insect holding container on one side and mesh one on the other and she was holding an honest to god net in one hand.

Marco looked down at her with slightly raised eyebrows but seemed to decide he didn't want to even ask as he looked back up and at the forest instead. That was probably the right decision. Ace, however, had a few questions.

“Hey, Rea.” He waited until the girl looked at him to gesture vaguely at her. “What, uh, what have you got there?”

Rea grinned brightly at him. “I'm gonna catch some bugs!”

Obviously. “Why?”

“For science!”

Uh....sure. Why not?

“And this little science project,” Marco broke in with a small frown. “Is it staying outside?”

“Nope! They're coming back on the ship with me! Curiel already made me a few little tanks to keep the bugs I catch in!”

Of course he did.

Marco looked like he wanted to argue but instead he slightly shook his head and looked at the forest once more. The less questions they asked of her the better, honestly.

With that settled Ace grabbed Marco by the hand and began to drag him after him as he made his way to the treeline, Rea scampering after the two of them. A few of the crew laughed and a few more shouted goodbye but for the most part they seemed preoccupied with setting up for the party they were going to have tonight.

It only took a few steps into the forest before the shore was already vanishing and within a few more it was completely gone, only the faintest sound of lapping waves and chattering voices still audible. Dim beams of sunlight filtered in through the canopy high above their heads, their light mottling the ground in erratic patches. Shadows hung beneath the undergrowth and swayed beneath shifting leaves and branches.

Their steps rustled softly as they made their way through the trees, small twigs occasionally cracking beneath feet as ferns rustled when they passed by. It was a serene place. And it was peaceful. And oh so quiet. Well....the forest was. Rea wasn't.

“Ooh look at that!” She darted ahead of them and towards a small plant that was growing on the downed trunk of a rotting tree, its many broad leaves branching out. “It's a bird nest fern! They're an epiphytic plant. Isn't that so cool?”

Ace didn't even know what that word meant but he nodded regardless. Not that Rea even seemed to notice, not when she was running off in a different direction with a squeal to point out a flower that was doing the same thing but on a living tree.

“That's a bromeliad!” She ran in a different direction. “And this is a tillandsia!” Then back the other direction. “Ooh and a stag fern!” And then she darted off into the foliage, her voice the only way they could find her. “Look at all these liverworts!”

“Do you know what she's talking about?” Ace asked Marco quietly as they trailed after her, trying to keep her in sight at all times as she darted in circles around them and from plant to plant, calling out different names both common and scientific as she did so.

“Not in the slightest.”

Good thing it wasn't just Ace.

“I thought she was looking for bugs,” Ace added as he had to stop short lest he run the girl over when she ran right in front of him and off to the side.

“So did I.”

Alrighty then.

They walked on in silence, an ear continuing to listening as Rea ran around. Despite her shouting and occasional excited squeal it was still a pretty peaceful place all things considered. The temperature was perfect if not a little warm while the small droplets of water that dripped from above offered some coolness. A few birds hoped around in the branches above them and a few small critters scurried by but it seemed that either there wasn't any large life on this island or, if there was, it was staying away from them. Not that Ace blamed them. Rea could be loud when she wanted to and while there were some that were sure to be curious, most had probably run for cover the second they heard her coming.

Eventually the—relative—silence became too boring for Ace and so he tugged on Marco's hand to get his attention before asking, “Have you heard from Rayleigh about Luffy at all? It's been like six months since they started training so I wasn't sure if maybe he'd given you an update.”

Marco looked over at him with slightly raised eyebrows, his lips quirking upwards in amusement. “You didn't keep this close of tabs on your brother when he was tearing through Paradise, yoi,” he teased.

Ace rolled his eyes as he stepped closer to elbow Marco in the side. All it did was make him laugh. “I did too,” he grumbled. “I just was able to use the newspapers to do so.”

Another laugh left Marco, this one a little longer. “Fair enough. He did seem to be in them every few weeks.” Shaking his head slightly, Marco added, “To answer your question, though, no, I haven't. Which isn't a surprise. He did say that you probably wouldn't hear from your brother much if at all during his two years of training.”

So he had. Didn't mean Ace still wouldn't like to at least occasionally. Sure he had gone a few years without hearing from his brother when he had set out from Dawn Island but that had been hard and he didn't want to have to do a repeat of that. He'd much rather be able to talk to him every few months just to make sure he was doing okay.

The hand that Ace had been holding untangled their fingers but before he could complain or ask Marco what he was doing he threw his arm around his shoulders instead and pulled him a little closer to his side, nearly making him trip over a tree root. “I can try calling him tomorrow. I'm going to tell you now, though, that he probably won't answer, but I can try.”

Mm. Ace would much rather be able to talk to his brother himself, but he supposed he could live with that. Maybe. It was more like he wasn't going to have a choice but to live with it and so he would have to make it work.

Footsteps scampered up to them and Ace stopped as he looked down, grimacing slightly at the large beetle that was being shoved in his face as Rea yelled, “Look what I found! It's a rhinoceros beetle! It's one of the biggest beetles in the world!”

It certainly was large. And it certainly was close to Ace's face.

Thankfully Rea quickly moved to shove it in Marco's face instead as she grinned at them. “Isn't it so cool!”

“It, uh, it sure is, yoi.” Marco looked like he was biting his lip to keep from grimacing like Ace was. It wasn’t that he hated bugs or was afraid of them, but he also didn’t particularly like them in his face.

“They're so awesome.” Rea finally dropped her arms down as she shrugged her bag off her shoulder and dropped it onto the ground. Holding the beetle carefully in one hand, she used the other to open the top of the plastic container she'd brought with before gently setting the insect inside. She hurriedly closed the lid back up before it could attempt to escape as she stared gleefully at it, watching as it scuttled around the empty container. “I need to get some sticks for it. And some moss. Ooh, and some plants!”

Rea scooped her bag back up before she took off again, shouting over her shoulder something about trees. Which was incredibly unhelpful considering they were completely surrounded by trees.

A soft breath left Marco and he shook his head slightly. That was fair. At least she was interested in insects right now and not cats. Insects were much easier to house on a ship. A cat wouldn't be. Or at least, it wouldn't be as easy. It'd be easier than a dog, though.

“They're edible, you know,” Ace told him as they slowly picked their way after Rea, trying to keep from crushing too many plants. Which was sort of hard to do considering Marco still had an arm around Ace's shoulder which meant they were walking side-by-side. “They don't taste too bad either.”

Marco just looked at him. “I'm not eating a beetle.”

Ace shrugged. “Just saying. Technically you can. You can also eat caterpillars, spiders, crickets, silkworms, scorpions, and a bunch of other bugs. Fried caterpillars sort of taste like sunflower seeds.”

Marco's face scrunched up slightly like he wanted to ask Ace why he knew all this before he seemed to decide that he actually didn't want to know as he shook his head instead. “So what I'm hearing is that you don't want to join us for the delicious barbecue we're having tonight and would instead rather eat some bugs that you've scavenged.”

“I didn't say that!” Ace pouted at him. “I'm just saying that you can eat them. And that they aren't that bad. I still want to join the feast.”

“I don't know,” Marco teased. “It really sounds like you'd rather catch your own dinner. I mean, you keep going on about how delicious caterpillars are so you must not want any of the barbecue that the chefs have spent all day working on.”

Ace rolled his eyes as he tried to elbow Marco in the ribs again. His arm was caught and so he tried to use his other one to jab at him but that one was caught too and before he could blink Ace found himself spun around so that he was in front of Marco now and backed against a tree. He wasn't being pressed into it but it was a near thing with how close Marco was to him and the fact that his wrists were still being easily held.

“How'd that work out for you?” Marco asked in a low and amused voice, smirking at the red that was spreading across Ace's cheeks.

“Shut up,” Ace grumbled, halfheartedly trying to pull his wrists free.

Marco just raised an eyebrow at him as he tightened his grip slightly before lifting his arms up. Before Ace could pout even more he bent down and kissed him, nipping softly at Ace's bottom lip when he straightened back up and out of his reach.

A twig cracked behind them and in one smooth motion Marco dropped Ace's wrists and stepped away from him, turning casually to face the direction the sound came from as if absolutely nothing had happened. Ace was still red-faced and now his heart was starting to beat a little faster and Marco was such an asshole.

Rea reappeared as she ducked beneath a fallen tree, a grin on her face as she held up a different container for them to see. A giant tarantula was skittering around in it as it tried to keep its balance, several twigs and dried leaves lining the bottom.

“Look what else I found!” she exclaimed happily, holding it higher so that they could both see it better. As if the damn thing wasn't big enough Ace could have spotted it from yards away. “Isn't she so cool! I found her hiding near the roots of this big tree. She tried to run but I was faster. Though, spider bites do really hurt.”

She....okay.

Marco sighed quietly. He stepped closer to Rea and bent down, expectantly holding out his hand. Rea set the container down in it and Ace rolled his eyes because even he knew that wasn't what Marco had meant.

“Rea.” Rea looked at him. “Hand.”

Rea held out her hand and Ace could see the two small puncture wounds on it, the skin already beginning to turn red around the bite. She shrugged at the exasperated look Marco gave her. Ace wasn't sure why he expected a different response.

Rubbing at his brow, Marco released Rea's hand as he straightened back up. “Tarantulas aren't poisonous, but that bite does need cleaned. And that means we're heading back to the ship.”

“But Marco,” Rea whined. “We just got out here! It's only been like ten minutes!”

“Try half an hour.”

“It's only been half an hour!”

Marco leveled her with a look. “You should have thought of that before you grabbed a spider with your bare hand. Besides, we should be heading back anyway so Ace doesn't overexert himself.”

Ace rolled his eyes. He gave Rea a small shrug when she looked at him with a pout before mouthing 'later' at her. She instantly brightened up and carefully set the container with the spider in her bag. A suspiciously full bag now that Ace was looking at it. He had thought she only had the two containers but maybe not since the one the spider was in he hadn’t seen earlier. Maybe there were more containers in her bag and if so that was honestly even more suspicious because just how many tanks had Curiel made for her?

They backtracked through the forest before reemerging on the beach a bit further down from the ship. The delicious scent of cooking meats filled the air along with the faint scent of a campfire and even from here Ace could hear the music being played and the voices that were laughing. Seemed the party had already begun.

“Infirmary,” Marco ordered Rea when they got back on the ship and she tried to head to her room instead. She grumbled and pouted and dragged her feet but when Marco leveled her with a look she huffed and followed after him. Twelve-years-old and she already had the attitude of a teenager. The next few years were sure to be interesting.

The infirmary was quiet and Marco was able to quickly wash the bite before wrapping a bandage around it. He had barely taped it down before Rea was taking off again, shouting over her shoulder that she was going to get the tanks set up for her new pets.

“She needs a safer hobby,” Marco muttered quietly as they headed back to the deck so that they could rejoin the crew on the beach. “I mean, I thought insects would be safe but apparently not.”

“Her other hobby is botany. Which we all thought was safe until she fell into a patch of poison ivy,” Ace reminded him dryly. “And before that it was medicine where she stabbed herself with a needle. And before that was sewing where she also stabbed herself with a needle. And there was cooking where she cut herself. And woodworking where you had to pull about twenty splinters out of her fingers. Cooking again where she gave herself food poisoning. Meteorology where she almost got struck by lightning. Navigation where she somehow fell overboard on a calm day. And then there was—”

“Do you have a point to all this?” Marco asked as he interrupted, looking over at Ace with raised brows. “Because if you do, I'm not hearing it. I'll I'm hearing is that we should put her in one of those bubbles from Sabaody and lock her in a room with mattresses on the walls and floors.”

Ace just looked at him. “Knowing her, she'd still find a way to get hurt.”

Marco snorted quietly. “Fair.”

“And that was my point, by the way. The fact that she will somehow still find a way to accidentally hurt herself no matter how benign the hobby. Remember when she accidentally stabbed herself with a pencil while drawing?”

A long sigh left Marco that said yes, he did remember that. “Is this why parents go gray? Their kids make them worry so much that their body physically cannot handle the stress?”

Ace laughed so hard he started to cough. “Probably,” he choked out between coughs. A hand rubbed over his back and even without being able to see it Ace knew it was covered in flames, able to feel the faint tickle they made against his skin through his shirt. Which while it felt nice, was also pointless since there wasn't anything they could do.

Waving the hand off as he got his breathing under control, Ace added, “I'm fine.” Even though he wasn't looking he knew there was a frown on Marco's face and so Ace repeated more insistently, “I'm fine.”

“Are you sure, firefly? Do you want to sit—?”

“I'm. Fine.”

Coughing one final time, Ace headed down the gangplank, Marco's steps almost right behind him and even though he still wasn't looking at him, he knew the frown was still there and he could almost feel the fingers that were flexing as he tried to keep from grabbing Ace. You'd think after six months he'd realize Ace wasn't going to keel over on him but apparently they hadn't gotten there yet. Then again....Ace supposed he did have an excuse. He did technically die on him, after all. Several times.

Once they reached the beach Ace reached behind him and caught one of Marco's hands. He still didn't look at him as he dragged him down the shore and towards where the crew had set up, the smell of food getting stronger.

Tables were already laid out and full of food and most of the crew had already begun eating. Ace waved to a few people as he weaved through the crowd, making a beeline for the nearest table. He a bit reluctantly let go of Marco's hand so that he could grab a plate as he loaded it high with food, hardly looking at what he was grabbing before adding it. He knew that no matter what it was the chefs served he would like it. Doubly so since he knew Thatch had finally been allowed to actually help make it and there really was no better food than the food Thatch made.

They moved a bit further down the beach before finally sitting just past the edge of the waves. Ace set his plate down in the sand so that he could take his boots off and stretch his legs out so that when the waves rolled in the water would run over his toes. He could hear Marco laugh quietly behind him but since it felt good all he did was throw him a smile before he picked his plate back up and began to eat.

Once their plates were empty Marco stacked them off to the side before moving so that he could settle behind Ace, his legs on either side of his own and his arms around his waist. Ace hummed contentedly as he leaned back a little, resting his back against Marco's chest as he loosely wrapped his arms around the arms that were holding him.

The sun slowly sank towards the horizon off to their side as the sky in front of them began to darken, the oranges and pinks fading into dark purples and blues that slowly turned to black. A few faint stars began to appear above their heads, more and more emerging as the sun disappeared from view.

“We need to do this more often,” Ace commented around a yawn as he leaned back a little more, shifting slightly to try and get more comfortable. “As much as I love being at sea, if I have to stay on the ship for another six months straight I'm going to cry.”

Marco snorted quietly from where he was resting his chin on the top of Ace's head, one of his hands having slipped beneath his shirt to rub a thumb softly against his skin. “I'm sure we will, yoi,” he promised him. “After all, we can't have our resident pyro getting upset, can we?”

Ace rolled his eyes. “I'll light you on fire.”

It was an empty threat since one, he wouldn't actually do it, and two, it wouldn't actually do anything anyway. Though since it made Marco laugh he also didn't really care. He'd been frowning a lot lately and Ace wanted him to smile more.

“We'll work it into our schedules. I mean, you are our lead navigator. I'm sure it won't be hard for you to do.”

“I don't know. It depends on how much shit the crew breaks and how often we have to restock.”

“And how many snacks you steal from the kitchens.”

Hey, he'd been given a free pass. Thatch had told him to help himself. Sure that had been years ago and before he had actually joined and before they realized how much he ate, but still. That invitation had never been rescinded so Ace was going to maintain that he still had a free pass to the food in the kitchen.

The sky turned black as the sun fully set. Faint firelight flickered behind them as the fires danced and further down the beach the music had gotten louder and so too had the voices. Ace would bet they'd broken into the alcohol by now. He kind of wanted a drink. Though he was also really comfortable and didn't want to get up nor did he want to make Marco get up. Eh, maybe he'd save drinking for another night.

Marco shifted behind Ace and when he turned his head slightly to look at him Marco buried his face in his neck. It made Ace smile a little as he brought one hand up to gently run his fingers through Marco's hair, tilting his own head a little so that he could rest it against Marco's.

“We're staying here all day tomorrow too,” Marco said quietly from his neck, his words slightly muffled. “Did you want to have a picnic? I'm sure we could find some sort of clearing in the forest for one.”

“That would be nice. Though, can we find one within a half hour walking radius?”

An exasperated yet fond scoff sounded, the rush of air that left Marco's mouth with the sound washing against Ace's skin. “I think it'll be okay if it's a little further out than that.”

“A thirty-one minute walk?”

“Brat.”

“Thirty-two?”

Marco scoffed again and he pressed his face a little more into Ace's neck, teeth grazing his skin and making him shiver. “As long as you're feeling up to it, I think we can go a little further. I just don't want you to strain yourself.”

“Hard to strain yourself when you can barely walk around,” Ace countered a bit petulantly.

“Ace—”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ace interrupted. “I know. I'm just saying, I'm fine. I don't need to be so....coddled.”

Air washed softly against Ace's neck as Marco sighed. “I just don't want you to strain yourself, yoi,” he repeated quietly. “You've been doing good and I don't want you to accidentally overexert yourself and make your progress regress.”

So he'd said. Many, many, many times. And while Ace understood why he worried, he couldn't deny that he was also a little annoyed. Because he knew his body which meant he knew his limits and sure they had changed after....everything, but he still knew where they were and he was able to feel when he was getting close to them. He didn't need someone else to try and tell him what they were. Especially not someone who he knew would prefer for him to basically sit around all day just to ‘be safe’.

“It's been like six months, Marco,” Ace reminded him. “I think I can go for a walk.”

The minute tightening of the arms around his waist seemed to disagree. However, Ace disagreed with that disagreement. He could go for a walk. And he could handle carrying his own shit. And he could start to do some light training exercises. He didn't need to sit around all day anymore.

“I know,” Marco finally said quietly and after a long few minutes had passed, long enough that Ace thought he just wasn't going to say anything. That was usually how these kinds of....talks went. Either they would go around in circles until Ace got mad, or Marco would say doctor's orders and leave it at that. “I just....I want you to be careful.”

“I am careful.”

A sound of disbelief left Marco which was rude because Ace was careful. Very careful. Well, as careful as he could be. “Ace....I literally watched you try and pick up a huge box of maps like a week after your release from the infirmary.”

“So?”

“You had a weight restriction at the time.”

“So? It was maps. Paper. They aren't heavy.”

“A bunch of them are. And I know for a fact that was over your restriction.”

Well....okay, it had been. But it was paper! It shouldn't have been that heavy.

“Just....” Marco blew out another breath. “Humor me, please?”

Ace exhaled slowly. “I have been, Marco. For six months. I-I....I get that you're worried or anxious or whatever, but I am basically fine. Even Bay said so. She gave me the go ahead to start doing more.” Sure he still had to be careful, but she had told him he could start doing light exercises and start going on longer walks. He still wasn't allowed to do any fight training and he still wasn't allowed to lift anything super heavy, but he'd been told he could carry light things and start doing little bits of cardio. Which, okay, most of his cardio did come from Marco since apparently he seemed to think that counted as cardio, but he'd been doing that just fine for a few months now. He was sure a little run every few days wouldn't hurt.

The arms around him tightened a little more. “I just don't want you to accidentally hurt yourself.”

So he had said. Repeatedly. And every time Ace talked about doing more.

“I haven't yet,” Ace pointed out. “And like I keep telling you, I know my limits and I know my body. It'll be fine. Besides, with the way you hover over me even if something did happen, you'd be there to fix it in like two seconds.”

Marco made a noise that was half scoff and have snort. “I just worry about you.”

“Trust me, I know.” Marco tensed up and so Ace hurriedly added, “That wasn't—that isn't a bad thing. I know you worry and trust me I know why you do. I just....I want you to worry less. Or to-to trust me more. Or something. Something that doesn't involve you spending the rest of your life hovering over me like you expect me to shatter.”

“That's easier said than done,” Marco muttered under his breath. “I-I know it doesn't....I know it doesn't look like it but I am trying. I'm just....not very good at it.”

So Ace had noticed. Well, he wasn't sure if he'd noticed that he was trying, but he had noticed that he wasn't very good at things that weren't basically coddling him. Or hovering over him.

“Then do it with me.”

“Huh?”

“Do it with me,” Ace repeated. “Like....join me when I do the things that make you nervous. Like today. You came on my walk with me and nothing happened. And tomorrow we can go on another one and nothing will happen there either. Join me for a short run on the deck. Or when I do those awful stretches you make me do. Just do the things with me. I mean, half the time you're already there anyway so just....join me.”

Marco's head tilted slightly. “How....how is that supposed to help?”

“Cause then you can see that nothing happens when I do those things. And on the very tiny off-chance that something does happen, you'll be right there to do whatever about it. And,” Ace added a bit cheekily, “you get to spend more time with me. Which I know you obviously love to do.”

A faint sound almost like a chuckle left Marco so Ace was going to count that as a win. It wasn't like it was a secret he liked to spend time with him. They wouldn't have been together for as long as they had if he didn't.

Another soft sigh left Marco but he did nod his head a tiny bit. “I-I guess....I guess we could try that. I still don't quite see how it's supposed to help....but I'm willing to give it a try.”

That was all Ace needed. Because he knew that after a few times Marco would see that Ace really was fine and that he didn't need to worry about him. Or at least, he didn't need to worry as much about him. He knew he was always going to worry about him.

“Good. I'm glad that's settled. Though, I will give you permission tonight to coddle me.”

“You will?” Marco asked in amusement, finally pulling his face away from Ace's neck.

Ace nodded. “Yes. And you can do so by carrying me back to our room because I don't want to walk that far.”

A sigh way too fond to be called exasperated left Marco. “Didn't you just tell me to stop doing stuff like that yesterday?”

“I did. But now I'm telling you that you can. Unless, of course, you don't want to in which case—”

“I didn't say that,” Marco hurriedly interrupted. “I'll do it. If you do something for me.”

Mild suspicion filled Ace. He couldn't see Marco's face so he didn't have any clues and so he hesitantly asked, “And what is that?”

“Kiss me?”

Ace rolled his eyes. As if he ever had to ask him that.

Turning his head, Ace grabbed onto Marco's jaw and tugged his face a little to the side before leaning forward and kissing him. He got a happy sound in return as Marco eagerly kissed him back and while Ace still didn't mind one last night of being coddled, he also figured Marco deserved a reward for at least agreeing to try a little harder. A reward that involved a very comfortable bed and a reminder that a little cardio never hurt Ace.