I do not own One Piece or its characters, I only own this story.
EDITED Hopeless Romantics: Chapter 38
Ace had passed out with his head down at the bar while Sabo was talking to him. The blonde brother stared in disbelief, "Geez, he can fall asleep anywhere—especially when he's getting drunk…," he was shaking his head at the freckled man.
Sabo got up from the stool he was sitting at and walked back to the table with his friends, leaving Ace up at the bar to sleep. As he neared the table, his eye caught a head of orange hair, Koala is still here? A small smile formed on his lips and he decided to sit next to the girl he had been spending his night with before he found out about Luffy.
Noticing someone sitting down beside her, Koala turned and smiled when she saw Sabo, "Hey, is everything okay?" She wasn't sure what he had been doing until now, but when she last saw him he seemed upset about something.
He forced a smile, "Yeah, everything is fine, just had someone we were looking for, but they already left. We'll deal with it later."
Koala didn't know who Sabo was looking for, but she didn't bother asking since she didn't know very many people anyway. "I was worried you were upset because I kicked your ass at pool," her smile was teasing as she reminded him of their game earlier.
Sabo groaned as he rolled his eyes, "I'm not upset about that," he softly chuckled at her.
She caught his gaze, Koala could tell there was something upsetting him, however, she didn't know if he would tell her about it. "But you are upset about something," his blue eyes darted away, "You don't have to tell me about it, I understand we don't really know each other very well."
When Sabo looked back at the girl, she was smiling sweetly at him, is this really the same girl from earlier? He just shook his head, "It's not that…I just don't really want to talk about it with anyone right now."
"Okay, well how about we do something else? Get it off your mind," Koala smiled at him, as she tried to cheer the blonde up.
"I'm not playing pool with you again…," Sabo muttered bitterly.
She giggled, "We don't have to play pool. We could dance…," she began to suggest but quickly glanced away.
His eyebrow was raised at her as he watched a blush spread across her cheeks, "You want to dance?"
Her head spun to him and her mouth fell open, "N-no! I mean, never mind…," she turned away embarrassed, "I-it was just a suggestion." She closed her eyes and began to curse herself, Shit! Why did I say that? Now he is going to think I like him or something!
She felt something on her hand, "Koala," she opened her eyes and saw Sabo's hand wrapped around hers, "Would you like to dance?"
His blue eyes were peering into her darker blue ones, making her feel like she couldn't breathe. She simply nodded her head and felt her blush deepen. He didn't say anything, just smiled and gently led her to the dancefloor. The music changed to an Olly Murs song, Dance with Me Tonight, Sabo began to lead Koala in a swing dance to go along with the beat.
My name is Olly nice to meet you can I tell you baby
Look around there's a whole lot of pretty ladies
But not like you, you shine so bright, yeah
I was wondering if you and me could spend a minute
On the floor up and close getting lost in it
I won't give up without a fight
Sabo's eyes widened, and he began to stare as Koala shook her hips, smiling widely as she moved to the beat and danced along with him as he led her in a swing dance.
I just wanna, oh baby
I just want you to dance with me tonight
So come on, oh baby
I just want you to dance with me tonight
Koala was grinning, she couldn't remember the last time she felt so excited to dance and Sabo wasn't a bad partner. He knew all the right steps and didn't get messed up when she added her own flare to her moves, really getting into the music.
We're getting sweaty, hot and heavy in the crowd now
Loosen up and let your hands go down, down
Go with it girl, yeah just close your eyes, yeah
I feel the music moving through your body
Looking at you I can tell you want me
Don't stop keep moving till the morning light, yeah
When I saw you there, sitting all alone in the dark acting like you didn't have a care
I knew right then, you'd be mine, we'd be dancing the whole damn night, like
Oh baby, I just want you to dance with me tonight
So come on, oh baby
I just want you to dance with me tonight
She looked so happy and carefree, like she was in her element. Sabo couldn't hold back his own smile as he spun Koala around and watched her let loose.
Break it down now, shake it like that, now bring it all back
To dance with me tonight
One more time, one more time, come on now
Do your thing, everybody sing
I just wanna, oh baby
I just want you to dance with me tonight
So come on, oh baby
I just want you to dance with me tonight
When the song ended and changed to something a little slower, Sabo smiled, "Wow."
Koala met his gaze, blushing as she smiled back, "I used to be on a dance team…"
"I can see why," he was grinning ear to ear now, "You're really good!"
She blushed harder, "You aren't so bad yourself."
He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well you can thank my parents for that—they made me take dance lessons before I stopped living with them." Sabo had always hated going to those stupid dance classes, but now he was actually glad he knew what he was doing enough to dance with Koala.
Now giggling at the blonde, she wouldn't have believed he had taken dance lessons if he told her that before she had seen him dance. "Yeah, you don't really seem like the type of guy who would know how to dance, no offence."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Sabo asked, slightly offended despite her saying she meant none.
Her face turned red, "Umm, I just meant that you seem a little…uncoordinated."
Sabo was now the one with a red face, "Well, it did take me a long time to be able to get the hang of it…"
Koala let out another giggle, "You certainly know what you are doing now, though."
His eyes landed on her lips as she spoke, without thinking he leaned down to kiss her, but felt something else on his lips after he closed his eyes.
Oh my god, did he just try to kiss me?! Koala had placed her hand on his lips, when his eyes opened she removed her fingers, "I'm sorry, Sabo…"
Heart now pounding and his cheeks hot, Sabo straightened his back, "No! No, you don't have to apologize, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I don't know what I was thinking," he chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. Sighing, he asked, "Can we just pretend that didn't happen?"
She softly smiled, "Sure."
Sabo smiled shyly back and they both continued to dance along to the slower song, their bodies were slightly farther apart than they had been before. After the next song started, a more upbeat tune, they began to relax and feel more at ease. However, Sabo still couldn't keep himself from staring at her as she danced. She looks so happy, so graceful, so beautiful…oh shit! Ugh—this is all Sanji's fucking fault…why did he have to make me start thinking about her like that? I can't believe I tried to kiss her…I don't even know her for fuck's sake! The more they danced, though, the harder it became for Sabo to ignore the words the other blonde man had said, 'There are lots of beautiful women here…why don't you find one for yourself?... Looks like you just found one.'
Meanwhile, Marco was taking the empty seat next to Ace at the bar, "Yo, wake up, Ace!"
The freckled man stirred, then jerked upright and turned to the blonde man, "Marco? What is it?"
He rolled his eyes, "Dude, you are passed out at the bar—I figured I'd wake you up before you fell off your stool or something." When Ace did nothing but shrug and rest his head back on his arms against the counter, Marco placed his hand on Ace's shoulder, "Hey, are you alright?"
Ace turned his head to look at Marco, "It's Luffy."
Marco sighed, "Ace, she is with Law—you gotta get over it."
"It's not that," he grits his teeth as he spoke, "Kidd raped her."
The color drained from Marco's face, "When?!"
"Last year," Ace kept his eyes forward, not looking at his friend, not able to.
Marco had only just met Luffy, but he had heard all about her from the two brothers. He knew how Ace felt about her, how he wanted to protect her more than anything. "Ace, it's not your fault. You weren't—"
"I wasn't there! Yeah, I know that, Marco!" Ace had whipped his head around to look his friend in the eyes.
The blonde could see the anger, guilt, and self-loathing in Ace's pale eyes, "Then why are you blaming yourself?"
Ace's lips quivered, his eyes began to fill with tears, they began to fall down his freckled cheeks as he stared back at Marco. He drank too much tequila to care that he was now crying in front of someone, "I'm her big brother, I'm supposed to be there for her! I've looked out for her since she was just a little kid, making sure nothing bad ever happened to her. We told her she couldn't have a boyfriend, so she didn't tell us. I can't forgive myself for letting this happen to her…"
"Ace, listen to me. This isn't your fault. It is Kidd who did that to her—not you." Marco had placed his hands on Ace's shoulders and looked him in the eyes, "You can't blame yourself," he searched Ace's eyes for any sign of the fire they usually held, finding none. Suddenly, he stood from his stool and wrapped his arms around the man's body, pulling him close, "I can't stand to see you like this."
The feeling of Marco's arms around his body was like being cradled by a warm flame, Ace felt his body being wrapped in the other's heat. He closed his eyes and returned the hug, wrapping his own arms around Marco's waist and burying his face in his chest.
Marco felt himself blush, as Ace tightly held onto his body, but tightened his arms around the younger man. After standing like that for a few moments, they separated and Marco gave Ace a smile, "Let's sit someplace else, you don't look like you need anything more to drink."
Ace scoffed, "Whatever," but followed Marco as he led him to a booth away from the dancefloor and loud music. His eyes found Luffy sitting on Law's lap at the table his friends were sitting at, Ace began to scowl and stare in their direction.
His gaze followed Ace's, finding Luffy and Law, "Ace, you seriously gotta chill."
Eyes snapping to the blonde across from him, Ace asked, "How would you feel if the girl you were in love with was with someone else, and didn't even know how you felt about her?"
A scoff escaped Marco's lips, he felt as if Ace's eyes were burning into his own, but he didn't sympathize with him. "You have no idea what you're fucking talking about, man."
That only pissed off the freckled man even further, "What the fuck did you just say?"
"I said, 'you have no idea what you're fucking talking about.' I'm not in love with any girl, okay?" Marco glared back, feeling just as irritated.
Ace's expression changed to one of confusion, "Okay, what the hell are you talking about, Marco?"
The blonde shifted in his seat, "I'm gay."
He cocked an eyebrow, "Seriously?" Ace was a little surprised, after all, he has known Marco for over three years and he was one of his closest friends. "Why have you never told me?"
The two men stared at each other for a few moments, until Marco sighed, "How are you supposed to tell your best friend that you are in love with them when they are in love with someone else?"
Ace's eyes widened, his heart was pounding in his chest, "Marco? Are you saying that you're in love with me?"
Marco didn't know what to say, he just gave Ace a half-assed smile as if to apologize. God, I hope he is too drunk to remember this…
"Huh," Ace sat back in his seat, his mouth half-open in disbelief.
"Listen, Ace—" Marco was cut off by Ace holding up his hand.
"I never knew," he admitted. Ace raised his eyes to Marco's, "I'm actually bi."
AN: Hey everyone! Sorry for not giving you all another chapter for a couple days, my boyfriend was visiting me ;) Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! I will try to get another chapter out soon, but at the latest there will be another one out by Sunday the 8th. Please keep leaving me reviews! I love to read what you all think of the story and am always happy for the feedback (even if its bad I'd still love to know what you think).
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