Business Technology

*yawn*

The sun was bright in the sky, and he wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. Today was another boring day in college, and Ace was totally ready to retreat back into his cavern of a dorm room.

Ace was on his way to class, Technology, Business, and The Future, a capstone class for his major in Business Technology. As exciting as graduation was supposed to be, Ace was not looking forward to it at all.

Ace's grandpa, Monkey D. Garp was one of the leading figures for Justice Inc., a technology firm that specialized in protecting devices against pirating viruses. Garp expected Ace to begin working at his company as soon as he graduated. It just wasn't Ace's thing, but Garp raised him and was paying for all of his college expenses, so he couldn't just disappear and disappoint one of his few family members.

That being said, when he thought about his little brother, Luffy, he felt a pang of jealousy. Ace was a free spirit, sure, but when compared to Luffy, Ace looked rather tame. Luffy was not the kind of kid to bend to anyone's will, even their scary grandpa. Luffy left the house the moment he became an adult at 18 and completely denied Garp's decision to enroll him into the same program Ace was attending.

Ace gave a sigh. If only he could have rebelled back then. What would his life look like right now?

"Ace!" came a voice shouting towards Ace.

Ace looked over to see a blonde haired man standing right outside of the building Ace was going to enter. "Sup, Sabo."

Sabo and Ace exchanged their signature handshake and entered the building for their class.

"Ace, I was thinking, and… don't get me wrong. Justice Incorporated is a great company. I just… don't think I want to work for them."

Ace looked at Sabo with wide eyes. Woah! It's like Sabo and Ace were sharing the same brain. "Sabo, literally I was just thinking the same thing."

Sabo gave a laugh, and then breathed out a sigh. "I'm glad I'm not the only one."

Ace shook his head as he took a seat in the lecture hall. "I was just regretting not being a rebel spirit like Luffy."

Sabo followed Ace and laughed hard. "I feel that. Luffy had the right idea. So, have you thought about where else you'd want to work at?"

Ace gave a sigh and put his arms behind his head, looking up at the ceiling. "See… that's the problem. I haven't a clue about any other companies besides Justice. It's like Garp has been hovering around my life this entire time and blocking out all the competitors so that Justice would be the only place I go to."

"Well, to be honest, he kinda has been. You haven't been allowed to go to job fairs," Sabo replied, pulling out his materials for class, "and you always sleep in class when there are other companies presenting, so that's on you."

Ace gave a face. "..."

Sabo put up his pointer finger at Ace, "I know of a company I am looking to apply to in the next few days. I met the CEO personally a couple of weeks ago, and have been looking into it since. It sounds like a pretty cool place to work at."

Ace gave a side look to Sabo, not moving his face from looking at the ceiling, "Hmm… what's it called?"

"Revolutionary Technologies. In all honesty, I don't know much about the CEO even though I met him, but their website is really handy and they deal with all sorts of things, but also with what I am interested in - international digital affairs."

Ace gave a chuckle, "Sounds like you alright." He sat up in his chair as the professor began to start class, "Maybe I'll look into it, too."

~...~

Ace lay in his bed in his dorm room, exhausted from the few classes. Suddenly he remembered his talk with Sabo from earlier and pulled out his laptop. He searched up Revolutionary Technologies and gave a hum. This was definitely up Sabo's alley, but… probably not his own. What even was Ace interested in?

After searching on the internet for about an hour or so, Ace felt even more exhausted than before. Even though he was laying on his bed the whole time, he didn't feel rested at all.

"That's it, I'm going out for a drink," he said to himself and put his jacket on. Living in a college town had some good benefits, especially if you were old enough to drink and gamble. There were lots of bars around, which meant lots of ways to spend all of your money if you weren't careful.

Besides, it was a Friday afterall, so going out for a drink or two was normal for college students nowadays.

Although he wanted to head to his normal bar, Ace felt like going somewhere farther for a change of pace. He took a deep breath of the chilly night air. It was late March, and the nights still got pretty chilly. Grabbing his jacket was the right choice.

Ace entered a pub he had never tried before and sat at the front bar to order a drink. Ace wasn't one to get drunk easily, but he did find himself asleep quite often, especially at bars. His brothers would tell him not to go alone, in case any creepy people were aiming for him, but sometimes it was necessary to just relax and forget about things like that.

Ace gulped down a couple drinks while watching the live band from afar in silence. The music was loud but fit the 'bar scene' really well.

A large blonde haired man entered the bar and sat beside the raven-haired college student. He ordered the same drink Ace did and downed it quickly. He set the glass back on the table and ordered another one, "Thatch, another, yoi!"

The orange haired bartender, named Thatch, gave a nod and began preparing the drink.

The blonde gave a sigh and rested his head on his arm. "Shit." He pulled out his phone and checked the time. "Fuck my life."

Ace peeked at the man who sat next to him, wondering who the pitiful man was. Oh. A nice jawline and a fancy suit. Ace took in a breath and looked away.

The blonde noticed the look and turned to Ace, and was about to say something when Thatch set the drink down, "Here ya go, Marco. Treat it well this time, yeah?"

Marco gave a smirk and downed the drink in one gulp again, "Another?"

Thatch glared and didn't go to prepare another drink, "What happened this time?"

Marco frowned, "Ugh, get me another drink will ya? I'll tell you after that, yoi."

Thatch gave a sigh and shook his head, readying the next drink.

Ace didn't have another drink, so he ordered another one from Thatch. Changing his attitude completely, Thatch gave a warm smile toward Ace and agreed without complaint. Ace had more drinks than this Marco person, but the bartender was hesitant to give Marco more? Was Marco perhaps a light drinker? Well, whatever he was, it wasn't really of Ace's concern.

Thatch came back with the two drinks and looked at Marco knowingly.

Marco gave a sigh. "Fine, fine, alright, alright. I'll tell you, yoi." He took a small sip of the drink sarcastically and looked at Thatch, "My damn job is killing me."

"So the normal?"

"No, it's gotten even worse, yoi. That fucking Teach bastard decided to no-show for a whole fucking week, and as captain, all of his unfinished work came on to me. And yet the old man won't fire him or hire anyone new. He won't even let us do college recruitment even though its the end of fucking March. All these college students are going to graduate and get picked up by rival companies like Justice Fucking Incorporated, and we're going to end up short handed due to the natural movement of employment. Which means all this extra work will be MY duty. It fucking sucks, yoi."

Thatch gave a laugh, "Sorry bro."

Marco gave a sigh, "I don't need that. Just get me another drink, yoi."

"You haven't finished the one in your hand." Thatch responded, pointing to the barely touched drink that Marco was holding.

"Is that a challenge, yoi?"

"No. Take your time, and maybe try to taste it for once?" the bartender replied.

Ace pulled out his phone and began researching. He ended up listening to Marco's rant and then a really familiar name came up! If Justice Inc is this guy's rival, then who does he work for? He typed in Justice Inc rival companies and was shocked. How could Ace not have known about all of these companies? Shouldn't Garp have supported Ace knowing about rival companies so he could be a better worker? Whatever.

But… according to this Marco, their company isn't recruiting. That sucks. Ace would have loved to work with someone handsome like this Marco next to him.

Ace glanced over at Marco one more time, only to find that Marco was staring right at him. Ace looked away quickly and gulped. He took the last sip of his drink and prepared to leave. He wasn't too obvious, was he? I mean, he only looked at Marco a couple of times.

"Hey."

Came the voice.

Ace looked over at the blonde, "Yeah?"

"You look pretty young. Are you in college?"

Ace's cheeks blushed a little, "Yeah. I'm graduating in a few months."

Marco turned his body towards Ace a little, "Oh? What's your major?"

"Business Technology."

"What's your goal company? Justice fuc- uh, Justice Inc or something?"

Ace took a breath, feeling less nervous than a few moments previously. "Actually, that's the one place I don't want to go, ya know?"

Marco gave a laugh, "I do know, yoi!"

"Marco, stop trying to pick up handsome men in my bar." Thatch deadpanned.

Marco gave a cough and glared at Thatch, "I'm recruiting for my company." Marco gave Ace a once-over, and smirked, "Though the former might not be such a bad idea, yoi."

Ace's face flushed, and he pulled out his wallet to pay.

Marco saw the anxious movement and put his hand on his face, "Sorry, I didn't mean it to come out weird like that."

Ace gave a nervous laughter, "Haha… no problem."

The raven dashed out of the bar and went straight home.

"Shit." Marco gave a sigh and checked the time again. He glared at Thatch, "What was that for?"

The orange haired man shrugged while cleaning some beer glasses, "You were staring at him."

"And?"

"And I know you wouldn't make a move without a push. I helped the push."

"He's a college student. Too young for me." Marco said, giving a sigh.

"And yet you pursued anyway." Thatch said, knowingly.

Marco gave a blush and sighed once again. "Fuck."

"You aren't that much older anyway." Thatch said finally, and walked away.

~...~

Ace ran straight home. When he got home he took off his jacket and slumped into his chair. A blush crept from his cheeks down to his neck. It wasn't because he was uncomfortable that he ran away. It was that he found someone attractive, and apparently, it was mutual. And the guy had no chill in making a move!

It surprised Ace, that's all.

If Ace had stayed…

… what would have happened?

He felt chills go through his back and down to his hips.

Shit.

~...~

It was now the middle of April. Final exams were only a couple of weeks away, and Ace wasn't ready. Academically, he was fine. Ace was actually pretty intelligent. What he wasn't ready for… was the persistence of his grandfather.

Garp was hassling Ace any chance he could. He would take Ace out to dinner just to talk about the positions open for Ace in his company. Ace was tired of it. And he couldn't even deny any of the offers because he didn't actually have an acceptable reason why, like a different job offer.

Speaking of other jobs, Ace hadn't looked into the other companies at all since that day he went to the bar. He had meant to, truly, but school was weighing down on him. He had to work on papers, presentations, group projects, and finish up all the details of the thesis he had been working on for almost the whole past year.

Maybe he should take another break today. It was Friday, just like last time. Should he go to the same bar as last time? The real question was, did he want to meet Marco again?

Fuck yeah.

Ace got ready and left his dorm room. As he was walking out, he bumped into a familiar body. "Huh? What are you doing here, Sabo?"

Sabo took a step back and grinned, "It's Friday night, and I was thinking that maybe you needed a break. Were you on your way to go somewhere already?"

Ace took a moment to ponder. Should he tell Sabo about the man that had been on his mind? Or pretend like nothing happened and lie?

"I know that face." Sabo said, crossing his arms. "You are thinking about whether you should tell me the truth or lie to me, right?"

Ace looked away, "Why do you know me this well?"

Sabo smacked Ace's back, "Cuz we grew up together. Come on, where're you headed?"

Ace gave a sigh, "I met this guy at a bar a few weeks back."

Sabo raised a brow, "You go to bars?"

Ace waved a hand, "Only occasionally. I haven't been to one since then. Anyway, he's been on my mind since, and I was thinking of going back to that bar again today to see if I can meet him again."

Sabo gave a sigh, "I should have known."

Ace raised a brow.

"Well, can I join?" Sabo asked, knowing that Ace may not feel comfortable if Sabo was there.

Ace took a breath, "If you don't judge?"

Sabo laughed, "Ace, I judge you every day. It won't be any different than normal."

Ace smiled and shook his head, "Alright."

~...~

The two entered the bar together and took a seat at the front, where the bartenders make the drinks. Ace glanced around the room for the familiar blonde hair, but to no avail. He ordered the same drink he had last time, while Sabo ordered something less alcoholic.

The bartender looked at the two with slightly narrowed eyes.

The bartender was definitely the orange haired Thatch from last time, but his attitude was very different. Before he was really friendly, but today he had huge bags under his eyes and seemed incredibly displeased the moment he saw the two of them walk in.

Ace and Sabo continued their conversation from outside. It was incredibly easy for the two of them to find things to talk about, because they talked almost every day and had so many things in common.

The bell on the door to the bar gave a ring. Ace glanced over and his eyes met with Marco, the blonde from a few weeks ago. The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Marco glanced at Sabo, and then turned to sit somewhere away from the two.

Ace returned to his drink and looked at Sabo, "Now that I think about it, you might look like my boyfriend."

Sabo glanced at the man Ace was just staring at, "Hmm… it doesn't help we are both blondes. He might think I'm your type."

Ace playfully kicked Sabo's leg, "Why don't you sound apologetic?"

Sabo rested his chin on his hand and side-eyed Ace, "Should I?"

Ace sighed and took another sip. He glanced at Marco again, who hadn't looked at the two since the first time, "Well?"

Sabo gave a glance at him too. "Well, what? He's handsome, and is definitely your type. But I haven't talked to him so I can't give you the evaluation you are looking for. If your heart desires it, then go. I'll be here whether it works out or not."

Ace smiled. He knew that.

Ace grabbed his glass and walked over to Marco. "Can I sit here?"

Marco looked up at the raven and smirked, "Well, if it isn't that college boy, yoi. Not scared from last time?" He motioned the seat in front of him.

Ace took the seat. "Haha," He took a sip. "I was just taken by surprise, that's all."

Marco crossed his legs, "And why's that?"

Ace glanced back at Sabo for a second, who was fiddling on his phone, and not watching to two. Should Ace feel relieved or upset that Sabo wasn't watching? He couldn't tell.

"A handsome man looks at you like that, of course you'd be surprised."

"Hmm…" Marco brought his cup to his lips and looked at Ace with hungry eyes. "So, who's the blonde you brought with you today?"

Ace gave a smirk. He decided to tease. "Jealous?"

"..."

Ace gave a laugh, "That's Sabo. He's my brother."

"You two look nothing alike, yoi. A different parent?"

Ace took a sip. "Technically we aren't related at all. We grew up as brothers cuz both of our parents were out of the picture for various reasons. My (adopted) grandfather raised us, along with a third, younger, brother, who is his blood-related grandson."

Marco tried to picture all the connecting lines, "So, it's complicated, yoi."

Ace snapped his fingers at Marco, "Exactly."

Marco gave a sigh, "This might be rude after all this time, but, how shall I refer to you? Unless you like 'college boy'."

"Ace."

The two chatted amongst the loud band playing in the background while Sabo sat at the counter, occasionally starting conversations with the bartender or fiddling with his phone, while making sure to visually check up on Ace every so often.

Marco gave a glance to his phone clock. It was nearing 10 pm. "So, Ace," he purred out, "Any plans for the rest of the night?"

Ace's heart skipped a beat. The way Marco said his name was like he was pulling Ace into a spell of some sorts. Ace gulped. "No. You got any plans?"

There was a certain tension growing in the air between the two. "I can think of a few things that I could be doing."

Ace hummed, "I can too…"

Marco stood up and reached out to Ace, "Would you like to come to my place tonight?"

Ace's heart was racing. This handsome man in front of him was inviting him to his place. Shit. That's fucking hot. He smirked and took the hand, "If you'll have me."

Ace walked over to the bar where Sabo had fallen asleep. Ace gently shook Sabo, "Hey, Sabo."

Sabo groggily sat up, "Are you done?"

"Sorry Sabo. Are you going to be able to get home alone?"

Sabo glanced over at the tall blonde next to Ace, who was passing money over to the bartender. "Heh…" He pulled his own wallet out and smirked at Ace, "I'm not ruining this."

He paid and turned to Ace one last time, "... yeah, nevermind. You know the drill. I don't need to tell you each time. See you later!" And he was off, leaving Ace and Marco alone together.

~...~

The two left the bar and walked to the nearby train station. The city had various modes of public transportation, all of which were cheap and easy to use. They took the underground railway to a semi-close station, and walked the rest of the way to end up at Marco's apartment.

"I'll get you some water." Marco said as he entered his apartment room.

Ace walked in and took off his shoes, "Pardon the intrusion."

Ace followed Marco into the kitchen and received the glass of water.

In all honesty, Ace had had a couple of encounters with handsome men in bars before, but he had never actually followed any of them to their house. He knew what he was expecting, and based on how Marco phrased it in the bar, he assumed Marco was expecting the same. However, Ace was still inexperienced at the whole one-night stand thing. He didn't know what he should do in the morning when he woke up. But, tomorrow was Saturday, so it wasn't like he had plans, whatever was going to happen then.

Marco returned from his room in a simple t-shirt and pants, which was different from the suit and tie from earlier. He walked straight up to Ace and put his hand of Ace's cheek. "Am I still handsome in casual clothes?"

Ace gave a blush, "Y… yeah."

Marco gave a laugh. The two looked at each other with desire in their eyes. Marco placed his other hand on Ace's other cheek and the two melted into a soft kiss. Their tongues intertwined with each other as they both heated up.

Marco broke the kiss, "Let's head to the bedroom."

Marco took one of Ace's hands and led him to the bedroom like he said.

He pat the bed for Ace to sit, and the raven silently followed.

The two engaged in another slow kiss. Marco immediately reached for Ace's shirt, tugging it up and caressing his sides. They disconnected so Marco could remove Ace's shirt. He slid the shirt off and tossed it onto the ground. He took a step back to take a good look at the prize in front of him. "You like working out, yoi?"

Ace smirked, proud of his toned body. He reached over to Marco and removed his shirt, "I see I'm not the only one."

Marco took another step closer and gently pushed Ace back onto the bed. He hovered his lips over Ace's, only to slide down to his neck instead and leave a trail of dainty kisses down to the middle of Ace's belly. He moved his hands to caress Ace's chest, slowly sliding down to the rim of his pants. He moved back up to Ace's face once again and gave him another kiss.

He then moved his arms down to undo the button on Ace's pants. He quickly removed the fabric from Ace and sat up on top of the shorter raven. He undid his own pants button and slid them off.

The two were left with only their underwear. Ace reached his hands out to grab onto Marco's shoulders, pulling him down into another kiss. Marco's hands ventured back down to Ace's hips, and he rubbed up and down a few times before latching onto the underwear and stripping it down to Ace's knees, revealing his cock, wet with precum.

Still the two continued to kiss, feeling each other's passion seep through the air. One of Marco's hands came up to stroke the side of Ace's head while the other circled around Ace's genitals. Ace let out a soft hum at the motion. His eyes were shut as he absorbed all the attention and felt the pleasure from it.

Marco internally smirked. He grabbed onto Ace's member gently and began to stroke it. The sudden touch made Ace jerk. He placed his hands on Marco's shoulders to assure him that it was alright to continue. Marco continued to rub Ace, slowly going faster and faster. Ace began to feel his innards tighten, which distracted him from the kiss. Marco moved back a little and smirked, "Feeling it?"

Ace blushed as he made eye contact with Marco, who was currently jerking him off. Instead of going back in for a kiss, Marco remained at a short distance, staring and smirking at Ace as he worked his hand harder. Ace felt himself get close. His insides tightened and he couldn't help but clench his toes and fingers. He gripped onto Marco's shoulders tightly as he began to let out pleasured moans.

"Ahh!" He let out one final moan as cum shot out of his cock, onto Marco's chest and hand. Heavy breaths could be heard from the bedroom as Ace attempted to regain himself.

This was the first time Ace had come with someone else's help. It was a foreign feeling, but it felt so good.

Marco leaned down and gave Ace a kiss on the neck. "How was it?" he murmured into Ace's neck.

"Shit" was all that Ace could reply with.

"Haha, that good, yoi?"

Ace shot up and looked at Marco with determination in his eyes, "Me too."

Marco watched as Ace reached down and removed his underwear. Ace gulped at the size. Marco relaxed his body on the bed as the raven leaned over to take the whole thing into his mouth.

Marco was experienced in the realm of sex with other men, but none of that mattered right now. In front of him was an earnest man who was taking his entire cock into his mouth. That was all that mattered. It was an unskillful move, yet full of attention and desire to be done right.

Ace attempted a couple of different actions, occasionally checking Marco's reactions for what was good. He used his free fingers to play with the balls that hung just below the large cock. After a little while, and some getting into rhythm, Marco began to feel himself getting close. He gently set a hand on Ace's head, and put the other on Ace's shoulder.

"Unngh…" Marco came with a strong thrust, just after pulling Ace's head off, so none of his cum went into Ace's mouth. "Thanks, Ace."

Ace took a few breaths, regaining himself. He just…!

Marco opened his arms wide for Ace to enter. Ace crawled over to Marco's naked body and rest his own on Marco's chest. The two sat on the bed cuddling for a few moments. Both were a bit out of breath and tired from a long day.

"Ace, did you want to go further, or stop here for tonight?" Marco asked gently.

Ace took a moment to think. Eventually he said, "I think just here is enough. Will I get to see you again?"

Marco smiled and placed a kiss onto Ace's forehead. "If you want to, I'd love to see you again, yoi."

Ace smiled and the two kissed.

~...~

In the morning, Ace woke up to the sounds of food being made in the kitchen. He got out of bed, slipped on his t-shirt, and walked over to the kitchen to find Marco making a nice breakfast for the two.

"Go ahead and wash up before we have breakfast, yoi!" Marco sweetly hollered at Ace, who did just as he was told. He slipped on his pants from yesterday and returned to the kitchen. By this time, Marco was done making breakfast and had set the table for the two of them.

"Thanks for the food." Ace said as the two began to eat.

"By the way, a couple of weeks ago, you said that Justice Inc is the one place you don't want to work at, right? Why's that?" Marco asked, sparking a conversation.

Ace took a few bites and responded, "Gramps is one of the leaders of the company, so he raised the three of us brothers to work there for our future. Anti pirating-virus software isn't really my thing though. But I essentially already have my degree in Business Technology, so I might as well go into that field. I just… don't want to follow Gramps' footsteps."

Marco gave a hum. "I can't guarantee anything, but I also work at a business technology firm. Would you be interested?"

Ace's face lit up. "Really? Yes, I'd like to learn more!"

Marco began to explain what his company, Whitebeard Corporation, does. Ace followed every word he said, and felt like this was the exact opportunity he had been searching for. Not only would he be able to choose his own footsteps, away from his grandpa, but also have the opportunity to work with a handsome man he just had a great night with. It was almost too good to be true.

But, in fact, it wasn't too good to be true. Marco stayed true to his word and talked to his boss about Ace, who was happy to welcome the fresh graduate onboard.

Garp, however, wasn't too happy. Not only had Luffy revolted a year prior, but Ace and Sabo both chose different companies to work with.

As for Marco, well, he found happiness in a certain freckled black-haired coworker, who was a couple of years his junior.

~The End~

Please stick around! I am trying at a lousy attempt to make a commitment to publish something once every week, so if you liked this and want similar stories (may not be the same pairing), then feel free to stick around~

Best, Yaoi NekoMurr