As always thanks to my dear beta, imperialmint for betaing and putting up with excessive amounts of whining and procrastinating. You're too good to me.
Ace scowled at Marco's perfect, unblemished skin while Marco looked on in amusement, gently stroking Ace's hair out of his eyes. "You don't need to check every time, Ace. It's not going to work, no matter how enthusiastic you were. Not that I mind you trying- on the contrary- but I can't make it not heal even to leave your mark on me."
"It's not fair." Ace huffed, rolling over so he was fully on top of Marco, tangling the sheets even further. He didn't miss Marco already hardening again against his thigh but pushed that aside for now. "You always leave me covered."
"Was Thatch giving you shit about it again?" Something dangerous slunk into Marco's tone, and Ace grinned, giving him a peck on the lips.
"I already handled it." Marco snorted but relaxed as Ace stroked his hands over his chest, lingering where there ought to be signs of Ace's teeth if the world were in anyway fair.
"Not as well as I would have." Ace nodded in acknowledgement of that.
"Izo overheard though." Marco winced in sympathy, and Ace was inclined to agree. "Dragged him off somewhere."
Ace pressed open mouthed kisses along Marco's shoulder, pleasure and pride flooding him when Marco's eyes glazed over as his hand stroked along Marco's hard cock. "I think I'll try again," Ace mused. "What do you think? Third time's the charm?"
Marco smiled lazily up at him, hands running down Ace's back to settle on his ass. "Worth a try, I suppose. You never know."
When Ace woke up, Marco was already gone for the day, which had started some time ago, judging by the sun slanting through the porthole in Marco's room. Ace allowed himself to pout slightly since he was the only one in the room, rolling out of bed to find his clothes. Marco normally woke him up, so they could have breakfast together, but it seemed like today he'd left him to sleep. Well, they had stayed up most of the night, and Ace felt his lips curve up involuntarily at the memories.
He stretched luxuriously, pulling on his shorts and belt, and grabbing his hat and other accessories, putting them on as he left Marco's room. Breakfast first, he decided as his stomach growled loudly in the hallway, and then he would go find out where Marco had take himself off to without him.
Thatch greeted him quietly, and Ace politely didn't comment on the hickeys visible anywhere Thatch had bare skin showing, or the lipstick smear along his jaw. Instead, he accepted his usual twenty plates of food and expertly balanced them as he went over to sit next to the rest of the former Spade pirates.
Breakfast was a merry affair, and it was longer than Ace meant to be before he slipped away to find Marco before beginning his duties for the day. He looked in all of the usual places, turning up empty handed after a thorough search. Ace frowned and headed to the top deck, hoping Whitebeard would know where he could find Marco. Surely, he wouldn't have left on a mission without saying goodbye?
Whitebeard's eyes danced when Ace approached his chair, and Ace felt like he was missing something. He glanced around the deck, but there was no sign of Marco. Whitebeard laughed, the booming sound filling Ace with warmth. Before Ace could form the words to ask Whitebeard where Marco was, he spoke.
"You'll find him in the infirmary, son." He held up a hand forestalling Ace's panicked next question. "And no, he's not injured." Whitebeard laughed again, and Ace grinned, his mood infectious.
"Thanks, Pops."
Whitebeard winked. "I think you'll like what you find, son."
Ace made his way to the infirmary quickly, curiosity bubbling up in him. What on earth could Marco be doing there to make Whitebeard so amused? He reached the doors to the infirmary shortly and opened the doors slowly. He didn't think anyone was sick or injured, but on the off chance that there were any patients, the nurses would have his head for disturbing them.
The only occupants were Marco and a nurse, and he walked in on the middle of a lecture it seemed. Marco had turned to him, smiling brilliantly and washing away Ace's train of thought.
"-know you won't have problems, but you could at least pretend you're listening to the aftercare instructions." Marco looked at the nurse and smiled apologetically, murmuring something. The nurse looked up and saw Ace, rolling her eyes. "There's no point then, I guess. You'll not be listening to me anyway." She reached down and unlocked the seastone handcuffs on Marco's wrists, muttering under her breath.
Blue fire flickered from Marco's collarbone, and the nurse took the cuffs away, sternly admonishing them not to defile the infirmary again and to take themselves elsewhere. Ace's eyebrows raised. It had only been the one time, but the nurses would never let them forget it. Honestly, what did they expect when they kept Ace here for days when there had clearly been nothing the matter with him.
Marco swung his legs off the infirmary bed and stood up, holding his shirt unnaturally. "She's probably right." Marco laughed, catching Ace's hand with his free one and tugging him gently out of the infirmary, and down the hall towards Marco's- their, really- room.
"Marco, what-"
Marco shushed him, eyes gleaming wickedly when he looked over his shoulder at Ace, pulling him down the hall fast enough to get eyerolls from their brothers in the hall. Ace swallowed hard and just followed meekly. When Marco was in this mood, there was nothing to do but sit back and enjoy.
When they made it to their room, Marco slammed the door and pressed Ace up against it, kissing him furiously, like he hadn't tasted Ace in weeks, months even. It reminded Ace of their first time, when the dam of tension finally broke, when they'd all but torn each other's clothes off, fucking each other senseless, a torrent of desire flooding them until they were blind to all but each other.
When Marco finally released him, letting Ace breath in air he was no longer sure he needed, he rested his forehead on Ace's shoulder, his hair tickling along Ace's jaw, making him shiver as sensations cascaded through him. "Wha..." Marco laughed, breath puffing against Ace's skin, and stood up, drawing back his shirt collar, to show Ace what he'd been hiding on the way here.
Ace's eyes widened, and he leaned forward tracing a finger lightly along his old Jolly Roger, now proudly borne on Marco's skin, just under his collarbone, where Ace had attempted to leave marks so often. The spade was blue to match his other tattoo, the flames flickering in orange and yellow above the faces that matched his hat. "Marco..." he whispered
"Sorry, but I was thinking about you the whole time, that it was you I was getting imprinted on my skin, and well," Marco laughed, eyes looking deep into Ace's own. "I think you passed along your kink about marking me. Even the slight pain reminded me of you, and I thought I was going to explode when you walked in the room, looking all sleep-tousled still, with my shoulder still aching from getting your mark."
Ace swallowed hard and tackled Marco onto the bed, their mouths meeting as they tried to rid themselves of any distance between each other. They crashed together like waves dashing against the shore in a summer storm, their clothes flying as they focused solely on each other. Ace lavished attention on Marco's already healed tattoo, each nip and kiss driving Marco closer and closer to the edge of reason.
They sank into each other, desire and emotions cresting higher and higher, until they spiraled down together in a messy heap. Ace couldn't begin to tell where he ended and Marco began as they lay there, drifting along together as the caught their breath and wits.
Ace traced a finger along Marco's new tattoo, smiling smugly.
"So I take it you like it." Marco drawled, and Ace looked up into his eyes, hoping he could convey the churning mass of emotions he had no words for. Marco leaned in to kiss him, slowly this time, overflowing with tenderness and stealing Ace's breath after their tumulous kisses. "Good," Marco said when he pulled back, rearranging them so Ace was more comfortably against his side. "I like it too."
"Maybe I should get one too." Ace said musingly, knowing Marco saw through his innocent tone at once by his wary gaze.
"Oh?" Marco said, suspicion underlying his tone.
"Yeah, I think a pineapple, don't you? Same place." Ace was completely unsurprised to find himself pinned to the bed, Marco's eyes glinting dangerously in way that made him shiver in anticipation. As their lips met again, Ace couldn't help but sigh contentedly, wrapped in love pouring from Marco. For loving and being loved, if nothing else, he was glad to have been born, and Marco reminded him of that every day.
"I hope you're prepared, brat."
Ace grinned wickedly, eyes caressing Marco's new tattoo. "Bring it on, old man."