Work Text:
The strobe lights flashing over the crowd to the heavy beat of the music were disorienting Ace. He was trying to get back to the table where he’d left Luffy with his friends (and his beer), but between the ever-shifting crowd and those lights, he was having a bit of a hard time getting there. Bobbing with the loud music, Ace snuck between two groups of people and smiled when he finally saw Zoro’s stupid green hair. His beer was so close!
That smile was knocked straight off his face when someone slammed into his side, their arms wrapping around his middle as they spun, rocking as they both tried to get stable without falling over. Ace had a second to register that it was a slightly taller man with a messy, blond undercut that bumped into him before the man was talking to him.
“Quick, propose to me!” Bright blue eyes met his and the man squinted. Confusion was pretty cute on him, Ace thought belatedly. “What’s your name?! You’re not one of my brothers.”
“Huh? It’s Ace and I—”
“Hullo Ace. Please propose or something, this bastard’s been following me half the night.” Red hot anger rushed through him at the handsome man's explanation and he nodded, hating how relieved the other man looked at his response. Ace would never say no to helping someone against a scumbag that was bothering them. Especially if they were as worried as the blond seemed to be.
Wasting no time, Ace grabbed the back of the man’s Hawaiian shirt in lieu of overstepping any physical boundaries right away and laughed loudly, trying to make their deceit heard over the music, just in case. “There you are, babe! Thought you got lost in the crowd, you’ve been gone so long.”
“Can’t lose me that easily,” the blond replied with a fake smile, slipping his arms around Ace’s shoulders. Swaying as if they were dancing to the music, the man moved closer while turning their bodies to whisper, “He should be right in front of you now, tall guy in a black and red shirt with a greasy beard.“
Ace held back a grimace at seeing the creep who leered at the blond in his arms while working his way through the crowd. What a nasty looking bastard. “I see him. Keep playing along.”
Watching the guy moving towards them, Ace used their angle to pretend to kiss the man he was helping. He made a loud noise while getting close to the blond’s tan cheek, but his lips didn’t touch anywhere before he pulled back.
“I’d never want to lose you, babe!” Ace shouted. Releasing his hold on the man’s shirt, Ace dug in his pant’s pocket, grinning when he found the ring he’d shoved there earlier after Sanji pushed him to add something to his drinking outfit (which he promptly took off when Sanji was distracted by Nami). “Got you this, just to prove it,” Ace said, holding up the ring where anyone could see it if they were watching. “Marry me?”
The blond laughed at seeing Ace with a ring, but kept in their characters as he put it on. “Ace, you sap! Of course I’ll marry you.”
Ace laughed and hugged him as if they were a happy couple, fielding a nasty stick eye from the bastard that had been following his faux fiancé when he looked up before he stomped away, shoving at people in his path. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ace let go of the blond. “He’s left now. I hope that was all okay.”
“Thank the fucking seas. You were great, thank you for doing all that. The ring was a good touch,” he chuckled, twisting it on his finger. It was a simple, heavy ring Ace got in his teens and it looked really good on this man’s hand, almost as if it’d been made for him.
Ace swallowed heavily, pushing down that rush of feelings. Fake proposing gave him too many emotions way too soon, but he would be interested in following them if the man agreed. All he could do was try.
“I’ll have to thank my friend who told me to wear it tonight. He’s over there somewhere with my brother, wanna meet him? We might find whoever you were looking for along the way,” Ace offered with an easy grin.
The man smiled back, his eyes crinkling cutely in a way they hadn’t before while he ran his hand through his hair. “Sure, lead the way, fiancé. I’m sure my brothers will show up later anyway, they always miss the fun.”
“Maybe they’ll tell me your name, so I know who I’m engaged to,” Ace joked as he grabbed the man’s left hand to start toward his brother again. “Though I don’t mind saying babe if that’s better.”
“Marco,” the blond stated as they wove through the crowd. “My name’s Marco.”
“Happy to have met you, Marco. Mind if I buy you a drink?”