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“This is going to end badly,” Deuce said blandly, watching as Ace tied off the final knot, made sure the lines were taut, and stepped back to admire his work.
“Are you doubting my knotting skills? After all the time we’ve been sailing together?” Ace asked, and he would have sounded wounded if he wasn’t so blatantly grinning at Deuce. “Is this a mutiny?”
Deuce rolled his eyes, but there was no stopping the smile spreading across his face. “You’re not the captain anymore…”
“I’m a Commander .”
“...and I’m not doubting your knot, I’m doubting the structural integrity of two grown men sharing a single hammock. There’s a reason we never used one on Spadille.”
“Well, yeah,” Ace said, like Deuce’s last point had been entirely silly, hoisting himself up into the hammock and balancing carefully, giving it a few testing swings to make sure the lines held. “The ship rocking would’ve made it completely unstable. But we aren’t on a ship now.”
True enough. Deuce dug his toes a little further into warm golden sand, his boots lying in a small pile with Ace’s, under the hammock. The stretch of tropical beach around them was abandoned, just the crash of teal waves and the sounds of birds overhead and in the trees leading further inland. The rest of the Whitebeards were on the other side of the island, recovering and resupplying, and they’d have the beach side to themselves for at least a few more hours.
“Come on,” Ace said, lying down to balance the hammock further, holding his hat in one hand and reaching out to Deuce with the other, fingers wiggling to beckon him over.
Nothing for it, Deuce thought fondly, pulling off his jacket that was frankly stifling on a summer island like this and dropping it under the hammock with their boots. He took Ace’s hand and sat on the edge of the hammock gingerly, holding onto the roped edge with his other hand, and then yelped when the hammock shifted under them, feeling entirely vindicated when he nearly upset the entire delicate balance and came close to sending them both face-first into the sand.
Ace simply laughed, slinging his arm around Deuce’s bared waist and moving easily with the swinging of the hammock, pulling him along, and he found himself largely draped over Ace a moment later, his hips settled between his partner’s parted legs, Ace’s arms around him, half-turned and with his cheek pressed to Ace’s chest.
“This okay?” he asked, as the heavy swinging gentled into a slower, soothing rocking, his hand warm and steady on Deuce’s waist, and he nodded after a moment’s consideration. The late afternoon sun was comfortably warm, dipping just low enough to not hit their eyes, and he could hear Ace’s heartbeat under his ear as his arms folded over Deuce and his legs safely bracketed him.
“Perfect,” he replied, leaning into Ace’s touch when a kiss was pressed to his hair before tilting his head up to catch a second with his lips, smiling contentedly when Ace’s fingers squeezed his hip for just a moment before relaxing against him again.
He could already feel himself drifting off, comfortable between the sun and Ace’s arms, eyes sliding shut almost against his will, sighing when Ace’s hand began to smooth up and down his back. He didn’t notice the way the air cooled as the sun dipped lower and lower, Ace’s body keeping him comfortably warm, and the last thing he was aware of before sleep claimed him was the way Ace’s breathing evened out in restful slumber under his cheek and palm.