For imperialminton tumblr: Hair/Makeup Stylist and Actor/Model!AU Beta'd by phoenix0725 (thank her for this having any closure XD)
Ace stared in morbid fascination at the obviously pineapple-inspired hairstyle the blond in front of him was sporting. He wondered what the man - was is Marco?- had done to deserve that. And how he'd managed to leave the house without knowing someone had pranked him.
"... So can you manage to get Ace's hair to have more of a business feel?" Ace had been ignoring the conversation in favor of examining the bizarre hairstyle of the man his brother was talking to, but jerked his attention back to what Sabo was saying at that.
"You can't mean to have him do my hair! He hasn't even noticed the atrocity that happened to his." He gestured to the hair stylist, glaring at Sabo. He might nominally be his boss- he was the photographer after all- but he was still his brother. He had no qualms about refusing such a ridiculous request.
Sabo smacked him across the head. "Marco happens to be the most respected hair stylist in the city. If he says his hair is trendy that way then it by no means resembles tropical fruit. We're lucky to have him agree to this, since we're independent," he hissed at Ace, but not so quietly that Marco couldn't hear. He looked a bit pained.
"Wait, he did it like that on purpose? And you want him to do my hair. We'll lose what little support we've gained!"
"Yes, it's on purpose! And it is an honor to have him do your hair for this shoot. He only accepts for talented people.
"You obviously think it's weird too! I never said out loud that it looked like a pineapple, but you clearly said it looked like a tropical fruit." Ace tried to keep his tone low, but he was still sure the man heard him, though his expression did not change
"Can we just get started, yoi?" Marco said with an even tone. Ace snickered silently, mouthing "yoi" at Sabo behind Marco's back, earning him another smack.
"Of course! Don't mind him, he has no eye for these sort of things. We're still working on his professional attitude." Sabo tried to make up for their blunder, though Marco didn't seem too mad about it.
"He sounds exactly like my brothers." Marco grimaced to himself, the only show of emotion Ace had seen from him so far. "They never let me live this hairstyle down. Don't worry about it."
He guided Ace to sit down in a nearby chair and started unpacking his tools. He looked at Ace critically. "A business feel, you said?" He asked Sabo, once more leaving Ace out of the conversation.
"Yeah, if you can manage that with this idiot. We have suit shots to do today." He left to go set up the studio for the shoot, ignoring the pleading glances Ace sent his way.
Marco met Ace's eyes for the first time as he picked up his scissors and a comb. There was something in his gaze that made it suddenly hard to breathe. He turned Ace towards the mirror and leaned down to whisper in his ear.
"You're lucky I like you, brat." Ace shuddered at the feeling of Marco's breath in his ear, their gazes still locked in the mirror. "Otherwise, this would go much worse for you." Ace gulped as Marco smirked at him and began to cut.
And that was how Ace became famous for his cutting edge hairstyle that in no way resembled a tomato. The suits sold out within the hour after the photos went viral. Sabo still hadn't stopped laughing.