Morning Surprise
Summary: Marco gets a little surprise in the morning. MarcoAce.
Warning: AU.
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters.
Quick note: This idea was inspired by the ending of Chapter Eight of shockandlock's story Still Need A Date? If you haven't read it yet, you should do it. Now. (This is not an option.)
The sun's soft rays fell through the curtains and onto's Marco's eyes. The blond stirred for a moment, a serene smile overcoming his face. He liked waking up to peaceful mornings, it was a sign that hopefully his day wouldn't be full of chaos and insanity. He lightly stretched his legs and felt a warm mass asleep next to him. He furrowed his brows. He was pretty sure his bed was empty when he went to sleep last night.
Last night…
The events of yesterday began to spill into his mind and he gave a fond smile.
It was his third date with Ace and already he knew.
He was in love with the male.
Everything about him was perfect, even his flaws were lovable.
Who could have guessed Narcolepsy could be so…cute?
Marco gave another quiet, soft laugh as Ace finished telling him a story of adventure from his childhood. Honestly, how could someone end up punching themselves in the face when they were trying to attack someone else? Apparently Ace's little brother had a talent for it when he was younger.
He snuck a glance at the male as they continued to walk side by side down the city's sidewalk; his eyes locking onto Ace's beautiful hazel-gray eyes that sparkled with curiosity and an unrelenting desire for knowledge. Ace was unlike anyone Marco had ever met before. Sure, he had his idiotic moments – childish moments is what Ace preferred to call them – and, yeah, a lot of times he caused a hellish amount of trouble from time to time, but other than that he was an amazing person in almost every way.
Ace couldn't help but feel happy as Marco snuck yet another glance at him. He never thought he'd find love, let alone with someone so amazing and intelligent as Marco. He loved absolutely everything about the blond. His speech quirk – yoi? Too. fucking. cute. – and his hair – pfft, pineapple – were just a few distinct characters of the older male. His toned skin and muscles, his soft smile, his occasional playful glances… Yeah, there no doubt about it.
Ace definitely loved Marco.
And because Ace was young – not too mention daring – he decided to take a step forward in their relationship. Marco had asked if they could go slow, not for his sake, but for Ace's. It was very thoughtful and considerate of Marco, and Ace was very grateful for that. It was first serious relationship and he didn't want to delve right into it. And for these past two dates, they mostly just hung out swapping information with each other while either eating a restaurant or going to the annual fair.
Now Ace was up for a small step forward.
He felt himself grow a little nervous, biting his lip lightly as he cast his eyes to the ground. He could do this. I'm sure Marco won't mind…right? Well, he would never find out if he didn't take a chance. He reached his hand out and felt his fingers brush oh so lightly against the blond's hand. But at the last moment, he brought his hand away. His shoulders slumped. Good going, Ace. You big chicken–
A warm hand encased his.
Surprised, he looked down to see a tan hand covering his own. He looked up at the blond and saw Marco smiling softly. Ace returned the smile and entwined their fingers. "Thank you."
"For what, yoi?"
"Helping me take the first step," Ace answered honestly.
"You're welcome."
Ace felt something akin to fluttering in his stomach. Marco was almost too perfect. He stared into those azure eyes – the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen in his life – before dropping his eyes to the man's lips. He bit his bottom lip as he thought about taking one more step in their relationship. Marco was a little surprised as Ace stared at his lips and saw him bit his own lip. It was a sure sign he was thinking about kissing the blond. But Marco could see the hesitation in Ace's eyes, could see the male was debating with himself over what to do. So Marco helped him out.
Marco leaned in and planted a very soft kiss on the top of Ace's head. He pulled away to see Ace slightly confused. "Maybe some other time, when you're sure you're ready, yoi," Marco smiled. Ace felt his cheeks redden a little and he gave a small nod.
"Thank you. Again. I-I'm sorry Marco, I–"
"You have no reason to be sorry," the blond interjected. "Okay?"
"Okay." And Ace almost said those three words. He almost said I love you. As much as he loved Marco, he wasn't quite sure he was ready to say those words just yet. So instead, he changed the subject. "Hey, how about we go to the thea–" A drop of water stopped Ace mid-sentence. He looked up at the sky as more drops began to fall on him. Well, this wasn't good. He was nowhere near his house. The fingers that were laced with his gave a slight pull and it took a moment to realize that Marco was leading him somewhere. They ran down the street as the rain began to lightly fall, and Ace was glad at that moment he wore what he did: black scarf, black cargo/carpenter pants, black long sleeved shirt. It kept him warm in the cold Autumn weather. They continued to run in silence, not an awkward one but a comfortable one. Finally he was dragged to the front door of a rather large house. When Marco pulled out his keys it dawned on Ace that this was where Marco lived.
When they entered the building, Ace couldn't help run his eyes over little detail of what he saw. It was pretty much a normal looking two-story house. It wasn't overly decorated but it wasn't bare either. Paintings by Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent Van Goh were scattered on the walls in the different rooms. Two in the living room, one in the kitchen, two in the guest bedroom. Marco's voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"You can stay until the rain lets up if you want, yoi. If it doesn't let up though, you're more than welcome to stay the night here."
"I think I'll–" Outside, the rain began to pour in sheets. "…stay the night." Good choice, Ace. It was very logical.
"You can sleep in the guest bedroom or on the couch if you want, yoi."
"This guest bedroom?" Ace thumbed to over his shoulder. As soon as you walked through the front door you turned left and there was the guest bedroom. Marco shook his head. "No, that's usually for if a family member has to come over and spend the night real fast." Ace nodded, understanding. So that was why there were three beds in that guest bedroom… "The one you'll be staying in is upstairs, yoi." Ace followed the blond up the stairs to the second floor and was lead to the third second door on the left. "This one is the bathroom,"Marco pointed to the door they passed. "If this room isn't to your liking, there's one more over here, yoi." But when Ace entered the guest room, he couldn't help but fall in love with it.
It was simple; a bed, nightstand, dresser, mirror, closet. But the color scheme for the bed was red and orange. "This is perfect," Ace found himself saying with a smile. The blond also gave a smile. "But where are you sleeping?"
"Right there," he pointed. Leaning his head back into the hall, he saw Marco point to the third and last door on the left; the room right next to Ace's.
"Are you still hungry? If you are, I can make you something to eat,yoi," Marco offered. Ace shook his head. They had gone to a restaurant earlier and he was still full from there.
"No thank you, but thank you for the offer." Marco gave a nod.
"I guess I'll leave you to sleep then. If you need anything, let me know, okay, yoi?"
"I will." Marco began to head for his room when Ace called his name. Looking back, Marco found himself standing face to face with the freckled male. "Thank you. For everything tonight." Ace tiptoed – though he probably didn't have to do that – and kissed Marco's cheek before slipping into the guest room, closing the door quietly. Marco stared in shock for a moment before giving a gentle smile. Yes, he was definitely in love with Ace.
Softly touching the spot where he was kissed, he turned to go into his own bedroom to get a little sleep. He silently bid Ace a goodnight. In the other room, Ace did the exact same thing.
Goodnight, Marco.
Now it was morning and there was someone sleeping next to him. He gave a smile. Was this why Ace had asked where he would be sleeping? So he could surprise him in the morning? The thought made Marco happy, he wasn't quite sure why, but it did. Just like Marco was considerate of how Ace felt, Ace was considerate of how Marco felt. Was this Ace's 'special' little way of saying thank you, by having Marco wake up to his cute freckled face? Or was it for a much more simpler reason?
"Get lonely in the middle of the night, Ace?" He smiled once more and, finally, opened his eyes.
He came face to face with a grinning Thatch.
His smile instantly turned into a scowl.
"Good morning to you too~! So, who's this Ace fella?"
"Thatch!"
"What, no morning kiss?"
"Get. Out."
Thatch chuckled happily as he ran for his life for the bedroom door, narrowly missing the pillow-turned-missile Marco threw at him.
-In the guest bedroom where Ace slept-
There, on the pillow, was a small note.
Marco,
Sorry I'm not here, but I had to leave to take Lu to school. I didn't wake you because you looked like you needed your sleep. Message me later, okay? Once again, thank you for letting me sleep here for the night. Guess I'll have to make it up to you now, huh? Anyway, take care!
-Ace
And at the very bottom of the note, scrawled in obvious nervous handwriting, were the words:
I love you.
A/N: Did ya guys see that coming? And by 'that' I mean 'Thatch'. XD ERMAHGERDS GUYS. I didn't know there was a MarcoAce week in June. I missed my OTP's week. I am a horrible fangirl. Q_Q Anyway, thought I'd throw this out there. Life is a little hectic so update will be slow. Hotel jumping ain't as fun as I originally thought it would be, especially since we keep getting rooms that are on the second and third story and there are no elevators. XD
Anyway, please leave a review! Please? They make me so happy. C: And please take my poll~ Thank you~
Your ice elemental,
~»roo the psycho«