It was too damn early to be up. Dawn was a good ways away and if he didn't have to be up he didn't want to be. However; the older man was awoken in the darkness of the early morning by the movement on the bed next to him. In the faint black of the room Smoker could make out the form of the dark haired male as he stretched and looked around the room. Normally if the brat woke up before sunrise he simply left and Smoker simply let him. That was the agreement. But this region of the Grand Line was particularly cold, and the older man was not willing to sacrifice the boy's warmth just yet.
As Ace made to stand the Marine quickly threw an arm around his shoulder, pulling him back and pinning him to the bed, a kiss the method used to keep the sound of surprise silent.
"Where are you going?" he asked, making sure the other couldn't move.
"'Be gone by dawn or I'll throw you in the brig'. Weren't those your exact words, taisa?"
He only scoffed. Yes, those were the rules, but liked everything, there were loopholes. "Moron, there's at least three more hours til dawn."
Smoker pretended not to notice the smile on Ace's face or the way the brat willing curled against him and promptly drifted back to sleep. While he didn't want to give the other any false hopes, or believe, that this … whatever this was had any chance of becoming more than what it was, he also didn't want to let the boy go. This was a necessary loss, a calculated defeat. The older man didn't want to have to put any more thought that necessary into the matter, so he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
The brat had better enjoy it now, because when sunrise did finally come he was getting promptly booted off the ship.