Happy birthday to Mai Kusakabe :D This story is set in the same universe as my fic Reborn in Fire, but you don't have to have read that one to understand this :)

Beta'ed by Vergina-spva and MyLadyDay

Song is I Belong to You by Caro Emerald

Ace was sitting on his hotel bed, staring at his phone. He should probably enjoy himself in his free time from the training with his co-workers, but the whole time he had been thinking about Marco.

They had had a fight. They never fought, but on the afternoon before Ace's departure for an entire weekend, Ace had had to be stubborn.

There was a training weekend for firefighters this weekend, in which they would learn about and try out new equipment. They would also learn new techniques and refresh their knowledge of old ones. In all, it was an intense weekend, but there was also time for fun stuff, such as the party going on in the lobby right now. Ace had attended it at first, but his thoughts kept being dragged back to Marco and when he left yesterday.

Making Marco mad wasn't a simple feat, and Ace would pat himself on the back if he didn't feel so bad about it. Marco was one of the most easy going guys Ace knew.

Yet, yesterday evening had supposed to be special. Ace had kind of forgotten about the training weekend, and he and Marco had made plans to have a romantic evening together. Ace was reminded at work about the weekend, but he had assumed Marco would understand and hadn't called ahead. They spent pretty much every night together, so what did it matter if he was gone for one weekend?

It turned out he couldn't have been more wrong. When he had come home from work late in the afternoon, Marco apparently had arranged for them to go on a trip, their first mini vacation together. Marco had not been pleased about the change of plans, but Ace hadn't understood what was the big deal about it. Marco should have told him if he was arranging things, especially for a whole weekend.

Things had gotten out of hand, and, finally, Ace had stormed out to go to his own house to pack. He had had to leave after dinner anyway.

But when he had cooled off on the bus to the hotel where the training weekend would be held close by, Ace had started to realise Marco had wanted to surprise him, and had booked a vacation for just the two of them. It would have been the first time they were on vacation alone. They had gone away with Marco's brothers and with Luffy, and they had had day trips together, but they had never gone away for a couple of days. It sounded really nice when he thought about it, actually.

Ace wanted to talk to Marco, to apologise, but he was never good with words. He would rather see Marco, but going home wasn't an option right now. Not only because it would take too long to drive back, but also because this training weekend was mandatory, so no way out of it.

Thank heavens for modern technology.

Ace picked up his phone and logged in on Skype. Marco wasn't online, something Ace had feared, so he wrote him a text. 'Skype?', it merely read, as apologising via text was even worse than over the phone. When he had sent it, Ace lied back on the bed and tried not to think how this could be the hotel Marco had booked for them together. He could only hope Marco wasn't as childish to ignore his request.

Nah, Marco wasn't like that – Ace was. He was a stubborn hothead, which was the main reason for the fight, and which was probably also the reason Marco hadn't contacted him yet, to let him cool off.

That, or Marco was still furious with him. Ace could only pray that he wasn't.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the Skype-tone called his attention. Ace shot upright and dove for his phone with such force that he almost dropped it. When he had the device secure, he took a deep breath and quickly fixed his hair before picking up.

"Hey," he said, trying to sound cool.

Marco's image slowly loaded and his voice sounded before he appeared. "Hi."

Ace waited until Marco was properly in view, before he continued. "I'm really sorry how we left things. I shouldn't have said all those things…"

Marco smiled, and Ace sighed in relief. "Yeah, me too." He stayed silent for a moment. "I'm glad you asked me to call."

"I'm glad you called." Ace placed his phone on the bed and lay down on his stomach so Marco could see him.

"How is your weekend? Are you having fun?"

"I wasn't, since I could only think about you. But it's very informative," Ace replied.

Marco smiled again. "That's good to hear. And hopefully, you'll have fun from now on, alright?"

Ace rolled onto his back, taking his phone into his hands. "I'll try. I miss you, though."

"I miss you too."

"Did you even sleep last night?" Ace asked with a frown. He himself had slept badly because of their fight, and he knew Marco already barely slept without someone lying next to him.

"I'm a big boy, Ace. I can be alone."

"You're not answering my question," Ace said accusingly. "Which I'll take to mean as a no."

"The attic doesn't clean itself," Marco answered dryly.

Ace let out a snort. "Obviously, but you really need to sleep. I need to know that I can leave you without worrying about your health."

"There's no need to worry about me," Marco said with a smile.

"I know that, and I know you managed perfectly well before you met me, but…" Ace let out a frustrated noise.

"It's okay," Marco said soothingly. "I'm sure I'll sleep tonight, okay?"

"You'd better," Ace muttered, but then changed the subject. "What are you up to now? Still cleaning out the attic?"

"I was catching up on work when I got your text. Nothing interesting."

"On a Saturday night?" Ace said, displeased.

Marco shrugged. "It has to be done sometime. What else should I do?"

"You could watch a movie, or… I don't know, you have the house to yourself, you can do whatever you want!"

Marco chuckled. "You mean like dancing in briefs and a shirt on Old Time Rock 'n' Roll?"

Ace snorted. "If that's what you like to do. Though, I really would like to see that. Or rather," a mischievous smile appeared on his face, "you dancing without anything on."

Marco smirked a little. "Maybe I will when you get back."

"Why wait?"

Marco cocked an eyebrow. "You want me to dance in front of the webcam?"

"Why not," Ace said, shrugging. "I have a private room, and you're home alone. Come on, I danced for you once."

A smirk tugged at the corner of Marco's mouth as he recalled his birthday. Yes, that had been a good day, and not just because Ace had stripped for him. "Alright."

"Really?" Excitedly, Ace sat up and made himself comfortable against the headboard. This would be interesting. Marco had never stripped for him before. Well, he did only ask for a dance, but what fun was that without some articles of clothing disappearing?

Marco rose from his chair, placing it out of the way, and put on some music.

Intrigued about what he would chose, Ace brought his phone closer to his face. Marco had his back turned to him, but as soon as the music began to play, he started to turn, slowly, while rolling his hips.

Under the stars there shines one light
That always glistens,
Always listens
To the whispers of the night

As soon as the female voice started to sing, Marco was facing the webcam again. He leaned in a bit to adjust the picture, so he was in full view – obviously, he was improvising, but Ace knew it would be worth his while.

Marco pulled back, dancing on the rhythm of the music, until the bridge started. Then, he started to unbutton his shirt.

That I belong to you
That endless nights so far away are gone, and you
Could never love another.

Marco threw open his shirt, revealing his abs. He waited until the last words of the chorus before letting it slide on the floor. He turned his back to the camera, swaying his hips, and stretching himself.

Ace groaned softly when he saw all those muscles ripple on Marco's back. This was definitely worth his while. He could see Marco's hands move in front of himself, and he knew Marco was opening his trousers. Ace couldn't repress a grin.

The chorus started for a second time, and Marco turned towards the camera again, fast this time. His pants were indeed open, and he shimmied them down a little, but only so far to reveal the waistband of his boxers. During the musical intermezzo, the trousers slid lower and lower, until they too were discarded.

Ace leaned in, now fully grinning.

The bridge started again, and Marco pulled his boxers down a little, turning as he did. When his back was turned to the webcam again, Ace could already see half of his ass. Finally, the boxers were dropped entirely, but Marco teasingly didn't turn back.

And I love you too
I see it up above and now I feel the truth
I belong to you

The song was over. Marco looked over his shoulder, standing stark naked in his living room, and shot Ace a smirk.

Ace huffed indignantly. "You're not gonna show me?"

"You know what I look like," Marco said teasingly, and moved in such a way that Ace didn't see his prize. Marco sat down again, still naked.

"You're so mean!"

"How am I mean? You only asked for a dance, and I gave you a striptease. I even went further than necessary." Marco continued, smirking.

Ace started to pout again, but then thought of something. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours?"

Marco hummed. "Interesting proposal. Let me first get more comfortable."

"You're already naked," Ace said, chuckling.

"I meant sitting down."

Ace could see he lifted up his laptop and moved to the couch, where he placed it next to him, but the camera was aimed too high for Ace to see anything good. Well, the goods he was looking for.

"Alright, what were you saying again?"

At that moment, Ace heard a knock on his door. "Hold on a sec."

"What's going on?" Marco asked, obviously not having heard the knock.

"There's just someone at my door. I'll be right back." Ace left his phone on the bed and opened the door to his room. He was glad he was wearing loose shorts, as he was still half hard from Marco's performance.

On his doorstep, three of his colleagues were standing, all obviously drunk.

"We were missing you," one of them, a red haired woman called Jones, said. "Why are you here by yourself?"

"I'm not. I'm calling my boyfriend," Ace said.

His colleagues made annoying whooping and kissing sounds, and Ace rolled his eyes.

"Are you coming down soon?" Smith asked.

"Maybe. But like I said, I'm calling with my boyfriend so…" Ace tried to hint that they should leave, not wanting to give Marco the chance to put on pants, but his colleagues were too drunk to get subtlety.

"I'll be down later!" Ace pushed them out of the door and closed it before they could object. Fortunately, he heard their footsteps leaving, and he sighed in relief.

"Ace?" Marco's voice sounded.

Ace launched himself back on the bed with a grin. "I'm here, don't worry. Keep your pants off."

"That's good, because I was getting cold."

"Then I should warm you up before anything shrinks."

Marco gave him an unamused glare.

Ace grinned again and let himself fall on his back on the bed. "How about…" He let the phone move down across his chest – he wasn't wearing a shirt anyway – and lifted the waistband of his shorts, before sliding the phone in there.

"You really think I can see anything now?" Marco said with a snort. "And why are you going commando?"

"I thought you couldn't see anything," Ace said teasingly as he brought his phone back up to his face.

"Your bright red boxers I can see even in the dark. Or rather, not see them, as you are not wearing them." Marco's voice sounded accusingly.

Ace chuckled. "Well, it proves to be convenient now, doesn't it?" He threw his phone before him on the bed and sat down on his knees before it as he started to undo his belt.

"I'll get seasick if you continue to move the camera like that," Marco said amusedly. He was still sitting on the couch, an arm draped over the armrest and his laptop in his lap, conveniently obscuring anything Ace might want to see.

Still, he didn't let himself be discouraged. He could be impatient, yes, and Marco loved to tease him with that, but it was also usually Marco who took the lead and drove Ace out of his mind. Time to return the favour.

Marco was looking on intrigued while Ace slowly removed his belt. A very long striptease it couldn't be, as Ace never wore much – today apparently even less - but the angle certainly was interesting. It was as if Ace was on top of him, a sight that wasn't unfamiliar to him, but pleasant nonetheless. It seemed like Ace was taking the lead today, and who was Marco to spoil his fun? Crossing his arms before his chest, Marco leaned back to enjoy the show.

Ace slowly lowered his shorts, first revealing curly black hair, until, finally, his cock was revealed.

Marco was pleased to see that Ace hadn't been unaffected by his performance earlier – he himself had enjoyed it as well. From the position of the camera, he could see everything very well.

"Like what you see?" Ace all but purred, as he roamed his chest with his own hands.

Marco swallowed, wishing he could do what Ace was doing himself. "Did you doubt that?"

"There's more where that came from." Leaving the phone where it was, Ace turned around, sitting down on his hands and knees, and wiggled his ass in front of the camera. "Tempted?"

He looked over his shoulder to see Marco's reaction. To the untrained eye, Marco appeared impassive, bored even, but Ace knew him long enough to know what was going on in Marco's head. Namely, the image of him fucking Ace on the hotel bed. Ace smirked.

Wiggling his ass had a nice effect on Marco, but it wasn't nearly enough to drive him mad. Time to pull out the big guns. Or rather, gun.

Ace turned around again, picking up the phone as he settled in his previous spot against the headboard. "Getting warmer yet?"

"I'm getting there."

Ace wasn't satisfied with the casual reply and decided to be more seductive. He held his phone a little further away from himself, so that not just his face, but his torso became visible as well. He used his free hand to slide it down his chest and to his stomach, looking with half lidded eyes into the camera.

Marco knew what Ace was doing, and while he didn't mind at all, he wasn't going to make it easy for him. That didn't mean he could help but licking his lips when seeing Ace's abs. Those never bored him.

Ace let himself slide down on the mattress again. He turned his phone a little, so that Marco could see his spread legs and his erection.

Marco smiled, but when the picture didn't change, he frowned. Not that he had much against the view, but he would like to see more. Had Ace had a narcoleptic attack? No, in that case his phone would probably have dropped.

"You like that?" Ace purred through the speakers. He definitely wasn't asleep.

"What… exactly are you doing now?" Marco asked carefully.

"Aren't you paying attention?" Ace's voice sounded indignant.

"I think the screen froze."

"What do you see?"

"Your dick."

Ace let out a laugh. "Well, at least you get to see the good stuff. Hold on."

Marco watched the screen, which moved slightly before it froze again. Still Ace's cock, just now from a slightly different angle.

"Marco, honey, I'm here to bring back your–" Izo stopped talking abruptly and froze in the doorframe, staring at his naked and aroused brother, and holding a hand blender in his hand.

Marco jolted, throwing his laptop off him and covering himself with the blanket that was lying in the armrest of the couch. Unfortunately, his computer tipped over, screen pointed at the still speechless Izo, Ace's cock in full view.

"Marco? Are you okay? Do you still see my dick?" Ace's voice sounded.

Marco's eyes widened, and he slammed his laptop shut. He then turned his attention to Izo, fearing what might come.

Izo's lips were stretched in a grin that almost split his face in half. "Marco, you dirty boy…"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Marco asked sharply in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. "That key is for emergencies!"

"I wouldn't use it on a normal day, keep your pants on. Well…" Izo placed a delicate hand over his lips to hide the still growing grin, and then coughed. "Anyway, with Ace out of town, I deemed it safe. Boy, was I wrong." There was the grin again. "I was just returning your property, though." He waved the hand blender back and forth to prove his point.

Marco sighed and massaged his temples. He loved all his brothers, he really did, but having one live in the same street as him was just as bad as sharing a house. "Can you just leave, please? I wasn't going to use that tonight anyway."

"Excuse me for not wanting to inconvenience my brother by leaving him blender-less," Izo snorted haughtily. He turned as if to go to the kitchen, but then turned back to Marco. "You weren't just looking at his dick, were you?"

"The screen froze, and how the hell is that any of your business?" Marco all but snapped.

Izo held up his hands in defence. "I'm just saying you can make it more interesting."

"We're making it plenty interesting, thank you very much," Marco muttered.

Izo's eyes started to shine with glee. "What, did he strip for you? No, wait, he doesn't wear anything to begin with." The grin returned. "You stripped for him, didn't you?"

"I did no such thing," Marco sputtered, but he had never been a very good liar. Especially not to Izo.

"Then why are your clothes scattered across the floor?" Izo moved over and sat down next to the mortified Marco on the couch.

"Will you please leave? Ace is probably worried." He had barely spoken the words when Ace texted him where he was.

"Don't worry, we'll call him back." Izo opened Marco's laptop before he could protest and had filled in his password – how the hell he knew, Marco didn't know, and when he asked, Izo just rolled his eyes at him. Izo then pressed the call button in Skype, but deliberately left the webcam off.

"Marco! You're back. There was a problem with the Wi-Fi, but it should be solved now. Do you still see my dick?" Ace asked, his camera already on.

With a smirk, Izo pressed the button to turn on the webcam. "Hello sailor."

Ace let out a shriek and almost tumbled off the bed. "I-Izo, what are you doing there?" he stuttered as he pulled the pillow in front of his crotch, even if that wasn't visible. One could never be sure with Izo.

"Catching you two red-handed," Izo replied with a smirk.

"Did you… see anything?" Ace asked carefully.

"I got a nice preview."

Marco leaned in so he was visible for Ace, the blanket still draped over his lap. "I'm so sorry."

Ace sighed. "It's not your fault… Wait, Izo, what did you mean by 'preview'? You're not going to see more, you know!"

Izo rolled his eyes. "I've drawn you naked. I know what you look like."

"Not like… this!"

Izo chuckled. "Don't worry. What kind of pervert do you think I am? Don't answer that," he added sharply when Ace opened his mouth to reply. "Though, I'm glad I didn't bring Thatch. He would have had a heart attack."

"Returning a blender is hardly a two man job," Marco said, rolling his eyes.

Izo scoffed and gave Marco his famous 'did you really just say that'-look. "No, genius. But cheering you up is. You two were having a fight, remember? Though, I am happy you made up," he added.

Ace smiled.

"So, what are you going to do about your trip?" Izo continued.

"We'll plan it some other time." Marco smiled back at Ace. "When we both have the weekend off."

In the end, it hadn't been so bad that Izo stopped by – although, he did need to work on his timing – because, even if their fight was over, they still needed to talk. They had discussed the type of vacations they could take, to where and what they would do. For this weekend, Marco hadn't had much time to plan and had just reserved a room in a hotel for which he had a discount coupon. Now, he and Ace had discussed things they could do together and what either of them wanted.

It was late when Izo left, and Marco stretched himself. He and Ace hadn't hung up yet.

"You look tired," Ace said.

"So do you. Wait, didn't you had a party to go to?"

Ace shrugged. "I bet we need to be sharp again tomorrow, so either the party is already over, or I'm the only person not hungover at the training. Besides, it's no fun without you."

Marco smiled, and they chatted for a while longer before Marco eyed the clock. "I think I'll be heading to bed. Goodnight, Ace." He was about to press the end call button when Ace stopped him.

"Wait. Take me with you."

Marco's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You want me to take my laptop to bed?"

"Why not?" Ace said with a shrug. "We can keep talking, and maybe it'll be easier for you to sleep."

A smile played about Marco's lips. Ace knew him so well. He rose, leaving the blanket on the floor and waking upstairs naked. He hadn't bothered putting on something when Izo was present, that would have only required him to stand up with a chance of revealing more.

Marco placed his laptop in the bathroom while he brushed his teeth while Ace did the same in his hotel room. Afterwards, he placed it on the bed while he lay down on his own side of the bed.

"Are you comfortable?" Ace asked. In the meantime, he had lain down on his bed as well and turned off the light.

Marco nodded, realising Ace could probably not see him in the dark, so he said, "Yeah."

"Good. Now take my pillow."

Marco looked at the pillow Ace usually slept on. "Why?"

"Just do it."

Sighing, he grabbed the pillow, careful not to throw over the laptop. "Now what?"

"Pull it close."

Surprised, Marco did as he was told. Then he realised what Ace had intended. The pillow smelled like Ace. It didn't radiate heat like Ace did, but that was why Ace had told him to take a hot-water bottle with him.

"See? Isn't that nice?" Ace whispered when Marco was curled up, hugging the pillow.

Marco nodded again, too tired to reply. He barely even heard Ace's last words before he drifted off.

"Goodnight, Marco."