And with this, it is done. Excuse me while I go ponder what even to do with my life anymore. Words cannot express my gratitude to imperialmint. I couldn't have done this without her, despite her protests. Thank you to all of you for bearing with me and reviewing and sharing this story with me!

It was Marco's turn to wait concernedly in the infirmary, and he supposed that really it was only fair. It was still unacceptable though, and he laughed at how mad that would make Ace when he woke. He wasn't in an danger of not waking either, and guilt swirled in his stomach heavily.

It had only been a couple of hours since the battle, though it felt longer, and people were still being treated in a buzz of activity around them. Chopper had patched Ace up, as soon as he'd fallen, and had pronounced none of his wounds were life threatening. He'd just fallen asleep like usual. He was quite stressed from his injuries just about everywhere, however, so he requested that Ace not be woken.

Luffy and Sabo sat nearby, both patched up as well, but Chopper had just sighed at their mulish expressions and let them claim the small sofa. Luffy had dropped off to sleep almost at once, tipping over into Sabo's lap. Sabo absently combed through his hair with his hand as he scribbled in a notebook he'd propped on Luffy's back

"So you'll be staying?" Marco asked, and Sabo looked up and smiled. He glanced back down at Luffy clutching at him in his sleep, and his smile softened.

"Yeah. I've been gone too long." Sabo gestured to his scrawled notes. "Dragon did say I could start a new headquarters here." Marco nodded then froze.

"Did you say Dragon?"

Sabo made an absent noise of agreement. "Yeah, he's Luffy's dad. He took me under his wing when I had to flee the city." Marco blinked, looking between them and Ace. They must have had it so rough growing up. He was glad they'd had each other at least and had gotten strong enough to carve out their own place in the world.

"They'll be ecstatic," he said finally. "I've never seen Ace so happy."

Sabo laughed at him, Luffy muttering crossly in his sleep and burrowing into his side at the noise. "I think you've had quite a bit to do with that as well."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here," Ace muttered from the bed and groaned. There was a flurry of activity in the hall, but Marco paid it no heed. They really ought to keep clean up down right outside the infirmary.

"I've always known you're not all there, so it doesn't really matter does it?" Sabo asked absently, and Marco snorted, earning him a glare from Ace.

"Traitor." Before Marco could respond, the door slammed open. People were yelling and screaming for Whitebeard in the halls, and Marco was on his feet at once.

"Where are my grandsons?" Ace and Sabo both blanched, and Luffy bolted upright, panic in his eyes.

"Is there a backdoor?" Sabo asked Ace, already getting Luffy to his feet. Marco moved to set himself between the door and them.

Ace had gone from panicked to resigned, looking like a man about to face a hanging. "Yeah, but we won't make it in time. And he'll find us sooner or later."

"Later is always better," Luffy said. The man- their grandfather?- moved into the light of the infirmary, and Marco's eyes widened. He nodded his head in respect, never taking his eyes of the police commissioner, who'd once been the biggest thorn in their side apart from Ace's father.

"Garp, how unexpected." Marco turned to glare at Ace.

"Any other family members I should know about? First Shanks, then Garp?" Sabo snickered despite himself, and Ace rolled his eyes.

"You should take him to meet Dadan and the others, Ace!" Luffy piped up, and Marco sighed, turning back to Garp.

"They're all fine, Garp, or they will b-"

Garp cocked his head and peered behind him. "All?" His eyes widened when he caught sight of Sabo, and then Marco lost track of what was happening. It took a lot of restraint for him to stay back, when Garp appeared to be doling out punches, but he'd seen the affection in his face, and he'd seen the same affection mirrored in Ace and his brothers' eyes (mingled no doubt with terror, but then they had all been misbehaving lately). He also was well aware how hard Garp could hit, and this was nothing.

Ace glared at him when Garp'd finally stopped chasing the three of them around, giving them an impressive lecture about how they should have become police officers and not disappointed him, intermixed with critique given with the proudest smile Marco had ever seen about their actions the past few weeks. Everyone in the open infirmary watch in a combination of horror and amusement throughout.

Finally Garp nodded to himself, scooped all three up into a massive hug, hit Sabo again for never calling, and took himself off. He left, casually fixing the door he'd broken, muttering about finding Whitebeard for a drink.

"Well, that could have gone worse," Ace said, and Sabo and Luffy nodded in relief.

They turned identical scowls to Marco when he couldn't hold back his laugh.

"So who's Dadan?"


It was maybe a week later when Ace dragged Marco home to stay at his apartment because they had something to do the next day. Honestly, Marco had thought he just wanted an excuse to leave the fussy doctors behind, but he was all for that. But when Luffy jumped on them and dragged them out of bed obscenely early, Marco realized there might have been a real reason. He wondered blearily if he should be concerned. He'd remembered to set his dressing gown in easy reach last night, so he could be at least somewhat dressed, but Luffy had them out the door before Marco had woken up enough to remember it.

He followed Luffy and Ace down the hall (today was not a wrestling day, apparently) and sat in his usual spot next to Ace. The only ones missing were Franky, Zoro, and Brook, but Koala was sitting next to Nami.

"They stayed behind to open the Sunny tonight," Robin said as she handed him a cup of coffee which he threw back. The clock chimed eight, and Ace moaned sinking down to rest his head on the table. Sanji kicked him in the head, and Marco mused that he was almost getting used to this.

He shook his head, not quite sure what to make of that. "So, where are we going?" Everyone looked at him in surprise, and he snorted. "Ace just kind of dragged me off."

"We're taking Erold to his new home, of course," Nami said, and Koala reached over to stroke his ears. Marco decided to blame the fact that he'd not even really noticed the donkey standing at the table (with his own place setting) on tiredness. He refused to get used to this.

"Nami's sister has a farm an hour out of town." Ace looked up, checking to see if there would be bacon anytime soon, then smiled sleepily at Marco. "We're all driving down." He read Marco's look correctly and laughed. "In more than one car."

When Sanji started serving, Marco was in no way surprised to the artfully arranged hay and oats. He knew he probably wasn't the only one to slip him apple, but he deserved it.

Plus it was his going away party of sorts, though know Marco understood the feast last night. What he didn't understand was how everyone was so chipper after staying up so late. Maybe he was getting old. At least he wasn't hungover: that would just be embarrassing.

"No more coffee for you," Ace said, smacking Luffy's hand from the pot. "You're going to be in a car with other people for an hour. No one needs you to be that hyper." Marco bit back a smile at how horrified everyone suddenly looked, and didn't say a word when his coffee suddenly began vanishing without him drinking any. He refilled it and was touched to find a piece of bacon on his plate. Robin smiled knowingly at him from across the table.

Ace leaned into him as they all devoured Sanji's ridiculous breakfast, until it devolved into the usual squabble, and Marco took himself off to do the dishes with Sanji and Chopper, while most people adjourned to the living room.

"Can I help?" Koala asked, but Sanji firmly rejected that, instead giving her a plate with a cream puff and getting her some more tea.

"We would appreciate your company of course, though, my lady," Sanji said, and Koala smiled and hopped up on the counter. She told them stories of her and Sabo's missions while they washed up, and it turned into a contest for who could tell the most ridiculous escapade of one of the brothers. Sanji and Chopper won by a landslide, of course, but they were all almost in tears from laughter.

"It's a little scary when you picture the three of them together as kids running around and fighting," Koala said, and Ace and Sabo walked in just then, grinning when they heard.

"You're not ready for stories of us growing up on the streets," Ace said, and Sabo nodded seriously, his eyes glinting.

"I still say you should bring Marco to meet Dadan," Sabo said to Ace, who rolled his eyes. "She raised us kinda, you know, because Garp blackmailed her into it." Marco's brows flew up.

"Marco's not ready for that either. Can you imagine?"

"She's a lovely lady," Sanji said gallantly, and Ace and Sabo both snorted, though Marco could see the easy affection in the softening of Ace's smile.

"You're probably right. And she'd tell stories."

"Well, regardless, I'm not going back until after all the hubbub has died down. Garp was bad enough," Ace said, crossing his arms, and Sabo hummed.

"Very good point."

Ace smiled and leaned in to snake his arms around Marco's waist as he rinsed the last few dishes. He pressed a kiss to the back of his neck and Marco let a sappy smile escape, since he was away from the room.

"Are you done yet?"

"Almost."

"Good because Erold's all loaded up in a truck and he's getting impatient."

"I wouldn't dream of keeping Erold waiting," Marco said and wondered what was wrong with him that that was sincere.


Ace smiled, curling further into Marco, who was asleep pressed into the door. They had the backseat to themselves, and Marco had dropped off almost as soon as they got back in the cars to head back. Erold had been absolutely ecstatic when they'd arrived, his eyes widening at the acres of grass. Nojiko had put him in a pasture with a few horses, and strangely a camel, but Ace was wise enough not to ask about Eyelashes.

They had no idea where Erold had come from, but he'd been in pretty rough shape when the dames had found him, and it was unlikely he'd ever been out of the city. Cars were almost exclusively on the road now, and Erold might have never seen grass outside of a park in his life. He'd fallen on the field voraciously, before going to investigate his new friends.

He'd run and run through the clover, and they'd all melted and fed him far too many treats. Nojiko finally dragged them all inside for tea before putting them to work as effortlessly as Nami ever did. They were frankly scary, Ace decided.

They'd worked on the farm most of the day, helping Nojiko out with the various tasks that were hard for one woman alone, and Marco must have gotten pretty worn out. Ace snickered to think that Marco could fight all day, but fixing the barn knocked him right out.

They left with tearful goodbyes to Erold, and even Marco had given him a pat and whispered something to him. Ace had thanked him graciously for saving his life once again, and then they all piled into the cars for the drive back. Sabo and Koala argued over the radio and Sabo's lead foot in the front seat, and Ace yawned. He decided he could do with a nap too, and he tucked his head against Marco's shoulder. Marco shifted in his sleep to wrap his arms around him better, and Ace smiled as he let sleep take him. It had been a long day, after all.


Ace made his way through the crowd over to the bar where Marco stood. His eyes were locked on Ace from the moment Ace stepped into the room, and Ace felt a rush of love crash through him just from his lazy half-smile. He tried to make his smolder the way Marco's did whenever he watched him when he thought no one was looking and stalked over.

It had been two weeks since the last battle with Teach, and his wounds were completely healed. Things had finally been getting back to normal, though with Big Mam and Kaido still recovering (and distracted... Luffy was a terror, and he was going to kill Ace and Sabo too most likely from worry at this rate), it had been unusually quiet.

Marco followed his progress through the crowd, and his gaze was heavy in that magical way he had, making Ace have to repress a shudder from across the room. He stepped right inside Marco's personal space before stopping, their thighs and chests a hairsbreadth apart.

"Hello, Ace," Marco said, smile widening.

"Hello." Ace bit his bottom lip to keep from smiling too much, and Marco focused on it instantly. He made Ace feel so powerful, that he was able to undo his control with just a just a simple, unconscious gesture. It made him want to utterly wreck him, strip away his control and reason until there was nothing left but heat. He'd always liked playing with fire. "I wanted to collect my reward."

"Oh?" Marco said, raising a brow and Ace squashed down the urge to kiss the slight wrinkles it made on his forehead.

"You know, because I was good and shared with you."

"Ah, right," Marco said, and somehow the bar was pressing into Ace's back, there wasn't even a suggestion of space between them. Ace licked his lips and dragged in some much needed air. "And what did you want?" he whispered into Ace's ear the words hot and dangerous, and Ace almost changed his mind. But no, he would get what he came for.

"Dance with me."

Marco blinked.

"Dance? Like..." His eyes flicked to the dance floor where people were doing the Charleston with a serious lack of coordination (no one had properly been sober since the battle to win back their home unless they'd been stuck in the infirmary, Ace was pretty sure). Ace could see the no on his lips and he leaned in closer, mimicking Luffy's puppy dog eyes.

"Please?" Marco sighed, and Ace knew he'd won. A thrill ran through him. He'd never seen Marco dance, not in the all the years he'd known him.

"Izo made you into quite the floorflusher* didn't he?" Marco shook his head like he couldn't believe he was about to agree. "I'm no Oliver Twist* Ace, but okay. If you want to get your feet stepped on by a heeler* like me, I'm happy to oblige."

Ace grinned up at him, and Marco's eyes softened as he brushed aside Ace's hair.

"You're a menace, you know," Marco said, and Ace's laughter was loud enough to garner curious looks from around the bar.

"I know."

"That's more than half the problem." Marco sighed exaggeratedly, shaking his head, and Ace snickered

"Almost certainly."

"I love you." Marco pressed a kiss to Ace's forehead, his lips burning a mark that Ace could feel long after he pulled away.

"Love you too." Ace brushed his lips across Marco's cheek, breathing in, soaking up his presence and warmth.

He bounced back, grabbing Marco's hand. "Now stop stalling and come dance with me!"

Marco let him drag him off to the dance floor without any other stalling tactics. When they got to the floor, he said, "Seriously, you'd better lead. Your feet have a better shot that way."

Ace chuckled and pulled him into position just as the band struck up a new tune. "Aw, c'mon Marco, it's not any different from fighting really. Just gotta move to the beat." He started up the basic step in half time, giving Marco time to find his feet. He was staring down at their feet in intense concentration, and Ace bit back a smile. It was unfairly sweet to see Marco at sixes and sevens* at something as simple as dancing.

Marco's brow was wrinkled, and Ace was well aware that every eye in the joint was on them. He sincerely hoped Marco wasn't. It didn't take long for Marco to pick up the basic step, and Ace sped them up to the tempo of the music. Marco's grip on him tightened, and Ace began moving them around the floor, sticking to the easy step.

"I'm going to swing you out, okay?" Ace said, when Marco was looking a bit more confident.

"Yeah," Marco said, and Ace twirled him away, their hands catching at the last moment, and Marco spun back into him, their thighs brushing as Marco didn't even miss a step. He grinned triumphantly at Ace.

"See? A natural. You were just having me on, weren't you?" Ace teased, and Marco straightened, taking that as the challenge it was. "A bit of a smudger* though, I must say," he said, and his answering smile was positively filthy.

"I don't hear any complaints."

"Never."

They danced in silence for a few moments, Marco's footwork shaping up enough that Ace felt comfortable swinging them both about. Just like in training, Marco read him easily, and they didn't miss a beat.

"Could we..." Marco shook his head, and Ace pressed his hand on Marco's waist more firmly in encouragement.

"You want to dance properly?" he said, and Marco looked up in surprise. Ace was delighted to see a hint of red in his cheeks.

"If you think..."

"You'll do splendidly." Ace pecked him on the check. "I think you'd better take the lead though. It's easier to fling than to be flung." Marco snorted.

"I'll take your word for it." They swung into the dance properly, and Ace marveled at how easily they read each other. Sensations and feeling jangled in him, vying for attention. Caught between growing lust and awe at the trust Marco had in him, hell, the trust he put into Marco, letting him swing him over his shoulders, his chest burning as he slid down Marco's back, letting his momentum take him between Marco's legs before hopping up and resuming the steps.

It was different than with Izo, of course, tension snapping between them deliciously, and Ace felt almost like they were being too obscene to be on a public dance floor, never mind that they were chaster than Izo ever was. But there was also a connection, Marco reading him and vice versa in a way that had taken Izo and him months to even get a merest shadow of.

They were garnering lots of attention, Marco dancing being a sign of the apocalypse as far as most people were concerned. That he danced well was beyond comprehension. The floor cleared slowly as they got more and more into it, the other dancers and patron, gathering around.

"Get hot!*" Someone yelled in the crowd, and soon the whole audience was taking up the cheer. "Get hot! Get hot! Get hot!*" Ace laughed into Marco's shoulder, and the conductor started to up the tempo on them. Marco bit his lip in concentration at first, but he was soon spinning Ace out and catching his when Ace's hand went to his shoulders to fling him up in the air.

They were a bit limited because Marco hadn't paid close enough attention to the dance floor to know what to do for fancy work. The crowd was easily pleased though, and Marco probably made up half a dozen moves which were good enough Ace would be shocked if they weren't all over the city by tomorrow. He might not be a floorflusher*, but he could move.

Ace noticed Izo beaming at them proudly on the sidelines and had to add a little bit more flair. The crowd went wild when Ace dropped into splits and let Marco swing him back up and into the dance. Marco looked just a little bit stunned at the splits, and Ace tried to think back to if Marco knew he could do that.

He decided probably night and smiled up at Marco full of promise as they spun through the steps, the tempo going faster and faster until their feet were a blur. He decided that the slightly stunned expression was one of his favorites.

They were breathing heavily now, and Ace didn't think it was all from exertion. Fire flickered over his skin wherever they brushed, and the look in Marco's eyes stole whatever was left of his sanity. The song was winding down, though not the pace, and Ace tightened his hand on Marco's. Marco nodded in understanding.

"Three," Ace breathed along Marco's collarbone, and he reveled in the shiver he pulled from Marco. "Two, one.' Marco tipped him down, their lips a mere inch apart and they froze exactly on the last beat of the song.

The crowd went wild, shrieking and whistling with their applause, but Ace paid them no heed. His lips curved up slightly as their breath mingled.

"Cash or check?*" he asked, and then they were necking* out on the dance floor. The crowd roared in approval, catcalls and obscene suggestions thick in the air. They pulled apart and Marco ginned, lips swollen.

"Alright you love birds," Izo called. "Come sit with us."

They made their way to Whitebeard's table, snagging drinks on the way, and Ace sighed when he sat down. It was just so perfect to be home, and contentment welled up in him as he listened to the chatter about the ward elections. Law had gotten kicked out thanks to Luffy, but he was probably better off, Ace decided. He didn't seem like much of a people person.

They droned on and on, and Ace was going to fall asleep if this kept up. He snuck a glance at Marco, sitting next to him. He was mostly listening too, Vista and Jozu spearheading the election this year, but he was actually paying attention, and Ace sighed. He'd been hoping to sneak upstairs soon after the dance. This was just boring.

Ace turned to Izo, who looked positively smug even for him. "What has you looking like a cat in the cream?"

"I decided you were right, and I should just be direct with him," he whispered, his eyes flicking to where Thatch was walking into the joint. "So I tried your tactic of just walking up and kissing him."

"I hardly think that is a tactic." Izo's smile just deepened. "I take it it was effective then?"

"Hmm, yes." Izo said absently, his eyes locked on Thatch. He stood up. "Excuse me."

Ace sighed. So much for distracting himself that way. He looked to Marco, but he was engrossed in the mostly drunken, nonsensical conversation still. Well, maybe he could do something about that, he thought, eyeing the tablecloth with speculation. He eased off his shoe, looking around surreptitiously, but no one was paying him the least mind. He shifted his chair a bit to get a better angle, then lightly brushed his foot against Marco's calf.

He smiled at Ace briefly but made no other sign he noticed, and Ace huffed. Fine then. He felt his way back to Marco's leg, tracing small circles lightly with his toes as he followed the line of Marco's leg up to his inner thigh. Marco's brows flew up, and he turned to Ace, but Ace pretended to follow along with the conversation Vista and Jozu were having on the other side of the table.

Marco shifted in his chair when Ace's foot brushed against his crotch, and Ace was pleased to note he was already starting to get aroused. Marco made as if to stand up, presumably to take him to bed properly, but Ace decided he wanted to see this through, and he curled his toes against Marco's cock. Marco almost jerked, and he settled back down in his seat, eyes wide.

Ace started up a rhythm of long slow strokes with the ball of his foot, and Marco bit his lip. Ace could feel the tension in his legs from not being able to react, but even he couldn't prevent a small flush from rising to his cheeks. Marco's hips jerked ever so slightly before he ruthlessly quashed the motion, and arousal spun through Ace at cracking his rigid control. Marco's lip was white where he was biting it, and sweat formed on his brow. Vista and Jozu chatted on blindly. At any moment they could notice, they could see what Ace was doing to Marco right there at their table, and while that should have made him stop, should have made him get up, knowing Marco would follow, he found that was the very last thing he wanted.

Ace needed to do something with his hands though or he was going to go crazy. He snagged a rib from a platter of snacks on the table, which was rather inspired he thought. He ground down on Marco with his heel, providing much need friction, he decided from the way Marco spasmed beneath him. Ace smothered the moan that wanted to escape him by licking the sauce of the rib in his hands.

The pressure of Marco's gaze was intense, but Ace didn't let himself look into his eyes yet as nibbled delicately at the rib, freeing the meat from the bone with a sucking motion he figured would look pretty obscene. He set the bone on the platter with the others as he turned to look at Marco from under his lashes as he licked his hands clean. The sheer heat in Marco's gaze flooded over him, and Ace swallowed hard. He twisted his toes just so, and Marco hissed in a breath.

He grabbed Ace's hand and pulled it to him, pressing a kiss to the center of his palm. It said a lot about how drunk literally everyone was that all Vista did was roll his eyes, Jozu shaking his head. Marco released his hand, and Ace smiled at him wickedly and lowered his still damp hand. Marco's eyes widened as Ace picked up the pace, stroking him hard and fast with the ball of his foot, his eyes locked where Ace's hand had disappeared under the table cloth.

Ace was already fully hard, straining against his pants, and he couldn't help jerking when he wrapped a hand around himself through the layers of cloth. Marco's eyes blazed, and somehow knowing he knew the exact moment he'd touched himself drove Ace mad.

"Marco?" Ace had to bite his own lip when Marco's hand slid down to his foot, guiding him, and Marco turned to Jozu like nothing was happening. "What do you think?"

"Oh, surely we'll get Jinbe elected. I don't think he's in any danger of being usurped by Hody. He's using fear tactics though, so we'll have to make the public feel safe from him."

Ace gritted his teeth. How had Marco said that so smoothly? He was a bit breathy, but there was no other sign, not even when he rocked up into Ace's foot. Ace knew Luffy was gunning for Hody, but there was no way he could say that now, not with any degree of coherence. Thankfully, they turned back to their amazingly circular argument about the best way to stuff the ballot boxes.

Marco was close, Ace could tell, despite his calm answer, and he dug in his toes as he sped up his own hand as surreptitiously as he could. Marco inhaled sharply, biting down on his lip and clenching the table with hands gone white under strain. He was trembling with the effort of keeping silent, and Ace drew his foot away. He was so hard he ached, but he stopped his hand. He couldn't keep quiet like Marco had, he knew it.

Marco was having none of that though, and his foot was on Ace almost at once, grinding down on him, sending waves of heat and pleasure spiraling through him. Ace lowered his head and bit down on his hand, trying to ground himself. He arched up, pretending to stretch for anyone looking, trying to ease his restlessness as inconspicuously as possible.

He met Marco's eyes, swirling with lust for him, and he whispered softly so that no one but Ace could hear it over the band. "Come for me, Ace." Ace bit down on his hand again as he came, there at the table."That's it, softly now," Marco murmured. Ace breathed out slowly, sighing in relief when he saw that Vista and Jozu were in no state to notice anything now, having seemingly decided on a drinking contest while he and Marco were otherwise occupied.

Ace tipped over his glass artfully, managing to get it to spill on both of them at once. Marco scowled at him, which Ace though was remarkably unfair. It was a brilliant excuse and no one would pay any attention to the wet spots on their pants.

"I don't suppose I could borrow your bath?" Ace said, and Marco's scowl melted away as he laughed and shook his head.

"You wouldn't know subtle if it hit you over the head, would you?"

"Nope," Ace agreed, and he let Marco pull him upstairs with a grin on his face.


Marco woke early with the sounds of the delivery trucks trundling up and down their street. Ace was wrapped tightly around him, and it took some doing to slip out from underneath him, slide into his slippers and dressing gown and tiptoe his way to the bathroom. He paused to look back at the lump in the bed where Ace had burrowed down in wonder. It was amazing in a way, how quickly he'd adjusted to Ace being here and yet every morning he was still a bit stunned by his luck, he thought as he relieved himself.

Ace's clothes were scattered around in his normally spotless room and had been for weeks. The sight always made Marco smile, and he gathered them up as well as his own soiled clothes from last night. His nose wrinkled at the scents of semen and rum, but he couldn't help a smile at the recollection.

He was going to have to give up on ever not being surprised he decided as he went back out to the bedroom to nestle into the window seat and watch the sunset. The sky was brilliant with purples and oranges, but he wasn't gone long before Ace whimpered in his sleep. A hand came up searching for Marco, and Marco was on his feet before he popped out of the covers, brow wrinkled as he called his name sleepily.

"Marco?" He scanned the room before his eyes rested on Marco and he smiled, sleep still heavy in his voice. Warmth settled in his stomach, and he felt unbelievably loved. It took Luffy trampling him and the promise of bacon to wake up most mornings, but if Marco left their bed for more than a few minutes, he'd be chased down and dragged back more often than not. "Come back to bed. It's too early." He yawned, and Marco took off his dressing gown and slipped back into bed naked. Ace latched onto him immediately, warming him up from the chill in the air.

"That's better," Ace said and sighed in contentment, slipping off back to sleep at once. Marco smiled and stroked his hair, letting himself soak in Ace's presence, thinking back to when he'd have gotten up, gone to his freezing office to do accounts while he waited for everyone else to show up. For Ace to show up, so he could moon and mope and worry.

"It really is, isn't it? All thanks to you," he whispered softly. Ace hummed, still sound asleep, and Marco chuckled. He pulled Ace closer, drifting back to sleep with a smile.

*Floorflusher- an insatiable dancer

*Oliver Twist- a good dancer

*Heeler- bad dancer

*At sixes and sevens- confused, flustered, out of his element, not from the twenties but really old and it's not common so I included it anyway

*Smudger- someone who dances too close for propriety

*Get hot!- something people used to yell to encourage good dancers

*Cash or check?- kiss me now or later?

*Necking- kissing heavily (with tongue usually)