Title: Quality Entertainment
Rating: PG-13, I guess, for language.
Topic: Masquerade
Word Count: 271
Pairing: Smoker/Ace
A/N: Sorry for the shitty ending. I didn't think I could continue without careening past the word limit. Also, thank you ffnet for fucking up my formatting. oO
Ace slipped lithely through the window into a dark hallway. He paused briefly to adjust his gaudy mask and the itchy button-down shirt that was the one concession he would make towards formality. Then he was off, sauntering to the great doors at the end of the hall, beyond which the Marine's annual Masquerade was taking place.
He had it on good authority that Smoker would be there, probably under a good deal of protest. He could not have engineered a more perfect opportunity for entertainment if he'd tried.
The great ballroom was decked in an atrocious number of ridiculous decorations and was packed with hundreds of anonymous people. Ace didn't bother to hide - after all, what reason would anyone have to suspect that a notorious pirate would attend such an event? Instead, he grinned cockily and waved at the people around him, and blew kisses to the women, all the while keeping an eye out for a familiar character.
Smoker wasn't difficult to find. He had a distinctive build, and besides that he obviously hadn't taken any great pains to conceal his identity beyond the silly feathered mask he was wearing. The Marine was slouched moodily against one wall, looking as though he'd been there all evening and intended to stay there.
Casually, Ace ambled over and slumped next to the captain. He could feel the tension radiating off the man and he couldn't suppress a massive grin.
"Ne, Taisa, wanna go someplace a little less crowded?" he proposed smugly. The tension gave way to surprise.
"Goddammit, Portgas, what the fuck are you doing here?"