Bed Buddies
Title: Bed Buddies
Fandom: One Piece
Characters/Pairings: MarcoxAce
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 2888
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters.
Warnings/Notes: Written for the anon-meme over here. Light yaoi, more Marco->Ace with hints.
--
“How come I have to share with you anyway?”
“Because,” started Marco, the exasperation in his voice now very apparent thanks to a considerable delay in his usual bedtime, “now we have new recruits, there is a shortage on bunks. And it is too cold to expect people to sleep on the floor.”
“Still don't see why I have to share with a stinky poofball-head. When I was told to sleep here, I didn't expect you to get in with me,” Ace complained, glaring at the wall and pulling an unfair share of the blanket over himself. “That old man gets his own bed.”
Just rolling his eyes at the back of Ace's head, Marco turned from his back onto his side so his back faced him. He wasn't going to answer, but Ace's heel giving him a deliberate nudge on the calf changed his mind.
“If he rolled over on someone, they'd die. Consider yourself lucky you get to share my room.”
The following silence indicated that Ace lacked a decent argument against that. However, it didn't stop him fidgeting, the constant movement an obvious attempt - in Marco's eyes at least - to drive his unwanted sleeping partner out of the bunk. At first, Marco refused to lower himself to the level of the childish tactics, even enduring a couple more kicks in the leg. He felt unpleasant rush of cool air when Ace finally managed to pull the entirety of the blanket over to his side several annoying minutes later. That was the point when it became too much for him, and he spun around to snatch it back.
“Just go to sleep kid! I'm not in the mood for this shit!”
On the other hand, it appeared that Ace most certainly was. Yanking back the blanket from Marco, he then edged right up to the wall and curled up, only to extend his leg a few seconds later and give him another kick, harder than any before it. As he glared at the figure balled up in a large blanket that would easily cover two people, Marco was sure he could sense a forcefield of smugness emanating from him.
Time to put the brat in his place.
“I'm sure that blanket is big enough for the two of us, Ace,” Marco started in a relaxed tone, reaching out to grab his ankle before the next kick connected with him. “so why don't you just let go and share lie a good boy? You should be nicer to your elders.”
Huddled up in Marco's blanket, Ace receded further into it and tried to pull his leg back from the tight grip around his ankle. He vaguely wondered just how old the man whose bed he was attempting to commandeer was. His face was oddly ageless, and Ace struggled to guess anything more specific than a few years to a couple of decades other than himself, maybe more if time was good to him. However old he was, all Ace knew the bastard had a strong grip. Grunting, he jerked his leg in the strong grip.
“If you don't let go, I'll melt your hand off.” Came his muffled threat from within the blankets.
It didn't surprise him much that Marco still didn't let go. After all, even he, as a newcomer, knew that he carried some kind of hefty rank. Which was probably accompanied by a suitable degree of fighting power, be it physical or something of the fruit variety. Either way, Ace wasn't intending to stop squabbling and give in, too stubborn to consider the consequences.
Flames sprouted up around Marco's hand and illuminated the room. Their presence drew up a faint smile on his face, and he countered with his own ability, the mere presence of the blue fire making Ace's own visibly hesitate. At first, he tried to yank back his leg out of desperation, finding the match to his own ability a little too warm for comfort. A muffled yelp coming from within the blankets made Marco's smile widen.
Soon it became apparent that the heat wasn't exactly like his own fire; Ace couldn't feel flames eating away at his skin or melting his flesh. Completely bemused by the apparently impotent ability, he dared to turn his head around and peek out of the covers, eyes immediately transfixing on the hand wrapped around his ankle in a wreath of red and blue flames.
For a few seconds, he could only stare at the hypnotising flicker of fire, but an amused chuckle soon dragged him back to reality.
“I'd put that out if I were you. I might have control, but you are going to set the sheets on fire if you aren't careful, kid.”
Ace, rather reluctantly it must be said and with some grumbling about the 'kid' comment, extinguished himself. When he took a better look, the blue flames ran straight up the length of Marco's arms, spreading out and extending like formless feathers.
Taking advantage of Ace's distraction, Marco reached over and pulled the blanket off him. The room fell into darkness once more as blue flames turned back to flesh. Wrapping one side of the blanket around himself more securely this time, he turned his back on Ace and hoped the the little surprise might shut him up long enough to let him get to sleep.
No such luck. Shortly after he'd been divested of the blanket, Ace kicked out again, this time taking special care to aim his heel at Marco's rear.
“Oi, what was that?”
“Go to sleep. I left you some blanket.”
“Not until you tell me,” replied Ace in a sly tone.
“... You're not going to go to sleep either way, are you?”
“Well, I might if your explanation is boring.”
Knowing better than to ignore the irritant sitting behind him, Marco rolled onto his back and peer over though the darkness, just able to make the outline of Ace's head looming over him.
“You need to learn personal space.”
“It's two to a bed. Personal space went out the window when we snuggled up in here.”
“I'd hardly call you sulking and trying to boot me out 'snuggling', Ace.” With a weary sigh, Marco lifted his hand from under the covers, letting a few flames flicker into life along his arm and illuminate their face in an eerie light. “It is the flame of a phoenix. Happy?” At Ace's blank look, he clarified further: “Zoan.”
Inching closer along the mattress, Ace stared at the flames before reaching up to poke his finger through them inquisitively. “Why didn't you burn me?”
“Because pops would probably be pissed off with me. I would if I was allowed to.”
“You know you could've just said something like 'Then neither of us would have a bed.',” Ace countered, putting on a sulky scowl and sticking out his tongue. “That's mean.”
“And kicking me in the rear isn't?” Reaching up, Marco pushed Ace's tongue back into his mouth with one finger. “Put that away. Bad enough sharing a bed with what I can see of you.”
“Oh weal-y?” Ace asked around his finger, leaning forward was Marco tried to pull it away.
Cringing as a drip of saliva ran down his finger, Marco pulled it back, inadvertently leading Ace to lean over even further before he snatched it away. There was an unamused expression on his face as he peered down at the damp digit.
“You're disgusting,” Marco said as he wiped his finger off on the sheets.
“Really?” By now, Ace had advanced even closer, easily breaching the personal space Marco had mentioned earlier. The insult caused him to pout a little, though the only effect that had was to make him seem more the spoilt child than before. His gaze often flicked down to the blue fire, and this was not missed.
Grunting in annoyance, Marco reached up and planted his palm on Ace's forehead, shoving him away and head-first into the mattress. The room went dark as his flames extinguished with a rustle of sheets, and Ace felt the mattress dip as Marco rolled to face away from him once more.
“Sleep. Now.”
For a couple of minutes, Marco thought it might have worked. Ace pulled the other half of the blanket over himself and fell silent. It even got so far that he began to drift off to sleep. But this was Ace, and nothing was so easy.
Marco's eyes snapped open when he felt Ace wriggle across the mattress behind him, causing it to creak and dip as he got closer. Wondering what he was up to this this time, Marco opened his mouth to shout at him again, only to be interrupted by his own splutter of surprise when he felt bare skin press to his back. Automatically, he flinched away from Ace's chest and found himself teetering on the edge of the bed.
“What are you doing now?” Hissed Marco; Ace's arm looped around his waist whilst he spoke, and Marco found himself squirming in quite an undignified manner as he was pulled back across the bed.
“'m cold. Stop squirming.”
“Why would YOU be cold of all people? You're made of fire for crying out loud,” Marco snapped, tangling his own arms in the covers in his efforts to pry Ace's arm from around his waist. He could feel the warmth of Ace's skin pressing up against his back now, and he was pretty sure that was the hot brush of his breath on the back of his neck. Even in his state of discomfort, Marco still regarded it as an attempt to try and drive him out of the bed, and was mostly likely right in that assessment. “Let go you weird brat, I'm not leaving my bed just because of you.”
“That's good, because I need someone to keep warm with,” Ace cooed in his ear. Not only was he accosting Marco on the direct front of clinging around him, but little things like rubbing his nose against the bed of his neck and petting his stomach with the pads of his fingers were put to great effect in trying to make the older man as uncomfortable as possible.
“There is a difference between keeping warm and outright molestation, you brat.”
Ace only offered a distracted hum in response to Marco's complaint. The darkness hid the amused smirk on his face, which only intensified as he curled his legs up behind Marco's and moulded against his back, spooning the unfortunate, struggling man. He was pretty confident now that it wouldn't be long before this would drive Marco away and he'd be left with an entire bed to himself. As well as a man who'd be too uncomfortable to so much as look at him the next morning, which might make weaselling his way off this ship easier. Hell, this sort of behaviour might even get him thrown off.
“Really? I feel a lot cosier like this,” Ace murmured, squashing his cheek to Marco's neck with a dramatic sigh. “Much better.”
He waited for the torrent of complaints, but got none. It appeared that Marco had settled for the sleeping arrangement, refusing to rise to the fight Ace was trying to pick. Still refusing to give up, he started to stroke his hand over Marco's stomach, the flat of his palm sneaking down until his fingertips met the waistband of his underwear. He pushed the boundary further by pressing his lips to the back of Marco's neck, laying firm kisses on his bare skin.
“Oi brat. If you were in the mood you should have said.” Reaching out behind himself, Marco fumbled to grab at Ace's hip, feeling his way down his thigh. It was more to orientate himself in the darkness than anything, but the sensation of fingers tracing over his skin still caused Ace to hesitate.
Yelping in surprise as Marco flipped them over, Ace gaped up through the gloom, feeling hands pinning down his shoulders and a knee pushing his thighs apart. He squirmed uncomfortably as Marco rubbed his knee against his groin, biting back a low whine as he tried to steel himself against the sensation.
“Hey, I didn't-” Ace started, but his panicked excuse was cut short when Marco forced their lips together in a demanding kiss. The hands on his shoulders had already left them to start pawing at his chest, occasionally pausing in their exploration to shove him back down into the mattress whenever his struggles became too much. He soon realised that they were sneaking downwards fast, grazing over his ribs with ease and starting to stroke along his waist.
Marco, on the other hand, was completely at ease despite his aggressive approach; beyond that, it was clear that his own body was relaxed, and his expression was as uncaring as ever. To him this was just beating an inexperienced kid at his own game with years of experience. Admittedly it was a gamble - Ace might have been willing and that would lead to the inevitable. Although Marco decided that he probably wouldn't complain about that result either. Ace's current attitude might have been objectionable, but his body certainly wasn't.
Twisting his head away from the unwanted kiss, Ace yelled out in shock at the tugging on the elastic of his underwear. Completely overwhelmed by the advances, he shoved at Marco's shoulders and pushed him to the side, not even thinking about how it was relatively easy to deter his aggressor in his efforts to escape. He was more concerned with getting his legs to work well enough to get him off the bed and propel him out the door, which he eventually achieved with a good deal of stumbling and knocking over a couple of pieces of unidentified furniture.
Hearing his door slam shut, Marco flopped back on the bed with a relieved sigh and pulled the blankets over himself. He began to settle down, and ran his tongue over his lips in thought, noticing Ace's pleasant taste still lingering on them. In retrospect, his sudden vacating of the room was a bit of a disappointment.
--
“You going to eat some breakfast?”
When he heard Marco's voice, a fierce blush rose to Ace's cheeks. Continuing to stare resolutely at the floor, he only grunted in response.
Marco put a plate of food down in front of Ace and stepped back to sit opposite him, watching quietly.
“You can go away now,” Ace mumbled after a few minutes, refusing to look up at him. His voice sounded thick and clogged, and the loud sniff that followed only enforced Marco's suspicions.
“Did you sleep out here all night?” He asked, a faint hint of amusement in his voice.
“I w-wasn't going to sleep in there with you!”
“Your ears are red,” Marco commented dryly. “And pops is worried that something might be wrong.”
“Why's that?”
“You haven't tried to assassinate him yet today,” Marco replied, resting his chin in his palm, “so he is a little bit worried.”
Throughout their conversation, Ace he refused to look at him, but that mention got enough of a rise out of him to attempt to shoot Marco a dirty look. He failed miserably. The moment their eyes met - and he was pretty sure Marco had moved closer at some point - he spluttered out something incoherent and straightened up, trying to move as far away he could in the confined space he had. It wasn't beyond Ace that his scheme had backfired on him, but it was only made worse by Marco's own lack of concern. If anything, he seemed friendlier than before.
“For such a brash little brat, you sure embarrass easy.” This time, Marco didn't even try to hide his amusement, going so far as to reach out and ruffle Ace's hair before his hand was batted away. “As childish as it sounds, you did start it, you know.”
“You weren't meant to go along with it!” Ace snapped back. “Idiot.”
“Why not?”
Mortified by the answer, Ace looked up at Marco, gulping when he noticed that his expression was serious again. He had no answer at hand for this sort of situation. On top of that, he was sure that he was being played with at this point; it was hard to read this guy, but one thing Ace was certain of was that he was capable of something beyond simple answers. Interested or not, Marco was just digging at him to get a bit of revenge now.
“Well, whatever. Just eat your food before it gets cold.” Getting to his feet, Marco stretched with a lazy yawn and turned way. He took several steps before stopping again, and glanced over his shoulder at Ace. “If you do decide to follow through, you're always welcome to come back.”
He only narrowly dodged the plate of food that flew past his head.
Fandom: One Piece
Characters/Pairings: MarcoxAce
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 2888
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters.
Warnings/Notes: Written for the anon-meme over here. Light yaoi, more Marco->Ace with hints.
--
“How come I have to share with you anyway?”
“Because,” started Marco, the exasperation in his voice now very apparent thanks to a considerable delay in his usual bedtime, “now we have new recruits, there is a shortage on bunks. And it is too cold to expect people to sleep on the floor.”
“Still don't see why I have to share with a stinky poofball-head. When I was told to sleep here, I didn't expect you to get in with me,” Ace complained, glaring at the wall and pulling an unfair share of the blanket over himself. “That old man gets his own bed.”
Just rolling his eyes at the back of Ace's head, Marco turned from his back onto his side so his back faced him. He wasn't going to answer, but Ace's heel giving him a deliberate nudge on the calf changed his mind.
“If he rolled over on someone, they'd die. Consider yourself lucky you get to share my room.”
The following silence indicated that Ace lacked a decent argument against that. However, it didn't stop him fidgeting, the constant movement an obvious attempt - in Marco's eyes at least - to drive his unwanted sleeping partner out of the bunk. At first, Marco refused to lower himself to the level of the childish tactics, even enduring a couple more kicks in the leg. He felt unpleasant rush of cool air when Ace finally managed to pull the entirety of the blanket over to his side several annoying minutes later. That was the point when it became too much for him, and he spun around to snatch it back.
“Just go to sleep kid! I'm not in the mood for this shit!”
On the other hand, it appeared that Ace most certainly was. Yanking back the blanket from Marco, he then edged right up to the wall and curled up, only to extend his leg a few seconds later and give him another kick, harder than any before it. As he glared at the figure balled up in a large blanket that would easily cover two people, Marco was sure he could sense a forcefield of smugness emanating from him.
Time to put the brat in his place.
“I'm sure that blanket is big enough for the two of us, Ace,” Marco started in a relaxed tone, reaching out to grab his ankle before the next kick connected with him. “so why don't you just let go and share lie a good boy? You should be nicer to your elders.”
Huddled up in Marco's blanket, Ace receded further into it and tried to pull his leg back from the tight grip around his ankle. He vaguely wondered just how old the man whose bed he was attempting to commandeer was. His face was oddly ageless, and Ace struggled to guess anything more specific than a few years to a couple of decades other than himself, maybe more if time was good to him. However old he was, all Ace knew the bastard had a strong grip. Grunting, he jerked his leg in the strong grip.
“If you don't let go, I'll melt your hand off.” Came his muffled threat from within the blankets.
It didn't surprise him much that Marco still didn't let go. After all, even he, as a newcomer, knew that he carried some kind of hefty rank. Which was probably accompanied by a suitable degree of fighting power, be it physical or something of the fruit variety. Either way, Ace wasn't intending to stop squabbling and give in, too stubborn to consider the consequences.
Flames sprouted up around Marco's hand and illuminated the room. Their presence drew up a faint smile on his face, and he countered with his own ability, the mere presence of the blue fire making Ace's own visibly hesitate. At first, he tried to yank back his leg out of desperation, finding the match to his own ability a little too warm for comfort. A muffled yelp coming from within the blankets made Marco's smile widen.
Soon it became apparent that the heat wasn't exactly like his own fire; Ace couldn't feel flames eating away at his skin or melting his flesh. Completely bemused by the apparently impotent ability, he dared to turn his head around and peek out of the covers, eyes immediately transfixing on the hand wrapped around his ankle in a wreath of red and blue flames.
For a few seconds, he could only stare at the hypnotising flicker of fire, but an amused chuckle soon dragged him back to reality.
“I'd put that out if I were you. I might have control, but you are going to set the sheets on fire if you aren't careful, kid.”
Ace, rather reluctantly it must be said and with some grumbling about the 'kid' comment, extinguished himself. When he took a better look, the blue flames ran straight up the length of Marco's arms, spreading out and extending like formless feathers.
Taking advantage of Ace's distraction, Marco reached over and pulled the blanket off him. The room fell into darkness once more as blue flames turned back to flesh. Wrapping one side of the blanket around himself more securely this time, he turned his back on Ace and hoped the the little surprise might shut him up long enough to let him get to sleep.
No such luck. Shortly after he'd been divested of the blanket, Ace kicked out again, this time taking special care to aim his heel at Marco's rear.
“Oi, what was that?”
“Go to sleep. I left you some blanket.”
“Not until you tell me,” replied Ace in a sly tone.
“... You're not going to go to sleep either way, are you?”
“Well, I might if your explanation is boring.”
Knowing better than to ignore the irritant sitting behind him, Marco rolled onto his back and peer over though the darkness, just able to make the outline of Ace's head looming over him.
“You need to learn personal space.”
“It's two to a bed. Personal space went out the window when we snuggled up in here.”
“I'd hardly call you sulking and trying to boot me out 'snuggling', Ace.” With a weary sigh, Marco lifted his hand from under the covers, letting a few flames flicker into life along his arm and illuminate their face in an eerie light. “It is the flame of a phoenix. Happy?” At Ace's blank look, he clarified further: “Zoan.”
Inching closer along the mattress, Ace stared at the flames before reaching up to poke his finger through them inquisitively. “Why didn't you burn me?”
“Because pops would probably be pissed off with me. I would if I was allowed to.”
“You know you could've just said something like 'Then neither of us would have a bed.',” Ace countered, putting on a sulky scowl and sticking out his tongue. “That's mean.”
“And kicking me in the rear isn't?” Reaching up, Marco pushed Ace's tongue back into his mouth with one finger. “Put that away. Bad enough sharing a bed with what I can see of you.”
“Oh weal-y?” Ace asked around his finger, leaning forward was Marco tried to pull it away.
Cringing as a drip of saliva ran down his finger, Marco pulled it back, inadvertently leading Ace to lean over even further before he snatched it away. There was an unamused expression on his face as he peered down at the damp digit.
“You're disgusting,” Marco said as he wiped his finger off on the sheets.
“Really?” By now, Ace had advanced even closer, easily breaching the personal space Marco had mentioned earlier. The insult caused him to pout a little, though the only effect that had was to make him seem more the spoilt child than before. His gaze often flicked down to the blue fire, and this was not missed.
Grunting in annoyance, Marco reached up and planted his palm on Ace's forehead, shoving him away and head-first into the mattress. The room went dark as his flames extinguished with a rustle of sheets, and Ace felt the mattress dip as Marco rolled to face away from him once more.
“Sleep. Now.”
For a couple of minutes, Marco thought it might have worked. Ace pulled the other half of the blanket over himself and fell silent. It even got so far that he began to drift off to sleep. But this was Ace, and nothing was so easy.
Marco's eyes snapped open when he felt Ace wriggle across the mattress behind him, causing it to creak and dip as he got closer. Wondering what he was up to this this time, Marco opened his mouth to shout at him again, only to be interrupted by his own splutter of surprise when he felt bare skin press to his back. Automatically, he flinched away from Ace's chest and found himself teetering on the edge of the bed.
“What are you doing now?” Hissed Marco; Ace's arm looped around his waist whilst he spoke, and Marco found himself squirming in quite an undignified manner as he was pulled back across the bed.
“'m cold. Stop squirming.”
“Why would YOU be cold of all people? You're made of fire for crying out loud,” Marco snapped, tangling his own arms in the covers in his efforts to pry Ace's arm from around his waist. He could feel the warmth of Ace's skin pressing up against his back now, and he was pretty sure that was the hot brush of his breath on the back of his neck. Even in his state of discomfort, Marco still regarded it as an attempt to try and drive him out of the bed, and was mostly likely right in that assessment. “Let go you weird brat, I'm not leaving my bed just because of you.”
“That's good, because I need someone to keep warm with,” Ace cooed in his ear. Not only was he accosting Marco on the direct front of clinging around him, but little things like rubbing his nose against the bed of his neck and petting his stomach with the pads of his fingers were put to great effect in trying to make the older man as uncomfortable as possible.
“There is a difference between keeping warm and outright molestation, you brat.”
Ace only offered a distracted hum in response to Marco's complaint. The darkness hid the amused smirk on his face, which only intensified as he curled his legs up behind Marco's and moulded against his back, spooning the unfortunate, struggling man. He was pretty confident now that it wouldn't be long before this would drive Marco away and he'd be left with an entire bed to himself. As well as a man who'd be too uncomfortable to so much as look at him the next morning, which might make weaselling his way off this ship easier. Hell, this sort of behaviour might even get him thrown off.
“Really? I feel a lot cosier like this,” Ace murmured, squashing his cheek to Marco's neck with a dramatic sigh. “Much better.”
He waited for the torrent of complaints, but got none. It appeared that Marco had settled for the sleeping arrangement, refusing to rise to the fight Ace was trying to pick. Still refusing to give up, he started to stroke his hand over Marco's stomach, the flat of his palm sneaking down until his fingertips met the waistband of his underwear. He pushed the boundary further by pressing his lips to the back of Marco's neck, laying firm kisses on his bare skin.
“Oi brat. If you were in the mood you should have said.” Reaching out behind himself, Marco fumbled to grab at Ace's hip, feeling his way down his thigh. It was more to orientate himself in the darkness than anything, but the sensation of fingers tracing over his skin still caused Ace to hesitate.
Yelping in surprise as Marco flipped them over, Ace gaped up through the gloom, feeling hands pinning down his shoulders and a knee pushing his thighs apart. He squirmed uncomfortably as Marco rubbed his knee against his groin, biting back a low whine as he tried to steel himself against the sensation.
“Hey, I didn't-” Ace started, but his panicked excuse was cut short when Marco forced their lips together in a demanding kiss. The hands on his shoulders had already left them to start pawing at his chest, occasionally pausing in their exploration to shove him back down into the mattress whenever his struggles became too much. He soon realised that they were sneaking downwards fast, grazing over his ribs with ease and starting to stroke along his waist.
Marco, on the other hand, was completely at ease despite his aggressive approach; beyond that, it was clear that his own body was relaxed, and his expression was as uncaring as ever. To him this was just beating an inexperienced kid at his own game with years of experience. Admittedly it was a gamble - Ace might have been willing and that would lead to the inevitable. Although Marco decided that he probably wouldn't complain about that result either. Ace's current attitude might have been objectionable, but his body certainly wasn't.
Twisting his head away from the unwanted kiss, Ace yelled out in shock at the tugging on the elastic of his underwear. Completely overwhelmed by the advances, he shoved at Marco's shoulders and pushed him to the side, not even thinking about how it was relatively easy to deter his aggressor in his efforts to escape. He was more concerned with getting his legs to work well enough to get him off the bed and propel him out the door, which he eventually achieved with a good deal of stumbling and knocking over a couple of pieces of unidentified furniture.
Hearing his door slam shut, Marco flopped back on the bed with a relieved sigh and pulled the blankets over himself. He began to settle down, and ran his tongue over his lips in thought, noticing Ace's pleasant taste still lingering on them. In retrospect, his sudden vacating of the room was a bit of a disappointment.
--
“You going to eat some breakfast?”
When he heard Marco's voice, a fierce blush rose to Ace's cheeks. Continuing to stare resolutely at the floor, he only grunted in response.
Marco put a plate of food down in front of Ace and stepped back to sit opposite him, watching quietly.
“You can go away now,” Ace mumbled after a few minutes, refusing to look up at him. His voice sounded thick and clogged, and the loud sniff that followed only enforced Marco's suspicions.
“Did you sleep out here all night?” He asked, a faint hint of amusement in his voice.
“I w-wasn't going to sleep in there with you!”
“Your ears are red,” Marco commented dryly. “And pops is worried that something might be wrong.”
“Why's that?”
“You haven't tried to assassinate him yet today,” Marco replied, resting his chin in his palm, “so he is a little bit worried.”
Throughout their conversation, Ace he refused to look at him, but that mention got enough of a rise out of him to attempt to shoot Marco a dirty look. He failed miserably. The moment their eyes met - and he was pretty sure Marco had moved closer at some point - he spluttered out something incoherent and straightened up, trying to move as far away he could in the confined space he had. It wasn't beyond Ace that his scheme had backfired on him, but it was only made worse by Marco's own lack of concern. If anything, he seemed friendlier than before.
“For such a brash little brat, you sure embarrass easy.” This time, Marco didn't even try to hide his amusement, going so far as to reach out and ruffle Ace's hair before his hand was batted away. “As childish as it sounds, you did start it, you know.”
“You weren't meant to go along with it!” Ace snapped back. “Idiot.”
“Why not?”
Mortified by the answer, Ace looked up at Marco, gulping when he noticed that his expression was serious again. He had no answer at hand for this sort of situation. On top of that, he was sure that he was being played with at this point; it was hard to read this guy, but one thing Ace was certain of was that he was capable of something beyond simple answers. Interested or not, Marco was just digging at him to get a bit of revenge now.
“Well, whatever. Just eat your food before it gets cold.” Getting to his feet, Marco stretched with a lazy yawn and turned way. He took several steps before stopping again, and glanced over his shoulder at Ace. “If you do decide to follow through, you're always welcome to come back.”
He only narrowly dodged the plate of food that flew past his head.