Chapter Text
Marco was smart.
He took great pride in being known as ‘smart’. He studied hard, worked almost incessantly, and he’d struggled through his first year of a teaching degree while in his last year of high school.
However, for his TA placement, he did something that one would consider not so smart.
He applied to be a TA at his boyfriends’ school.
Now, that in itself wasn’t awfully unintelligent. They’d kept their relationship on the down low due to Sabo’s parents [1], and so only a few select friends (and Marco’s family) knew about them dating. It wasn’t illegal (though it may have just skirted the line) and in half a year, both Ace and Sabo would have graduated and it wouldn’t matter anyway.
The ‘not so smart’ bit came when Marco managed to gain a reputation as the only teacher in the entire school who could get Ace and Sabo to behave and not play pranks.
Marco was going to tell absolutely no-one that he did that by threatening to withhold their cuddling/kissing privileges. He still had some dignity left (and besides, the threat wouldn’t really work coming from anyone but him.)
The even less smart bit came when Marco volunteered to help Tashigi - the other TA who’d been placed at Ace and Sabo’s school - take the track and field team to the neighbouring city for a competition. They were accompanied by Smoker (the long-suffering PE teacher, who often complained about Ace and Sabo flirting while they competed.)
He’d thought everything would be fine.
Until he realised that everyone got to pick their own room, and Ace and Sabo had somehow managed to weasel their way into staying together. Tashigi had cornered him when she realised, dragging along Smoker and a grinning Ace and Sabo.
“Please!” she was currently begging, hands clasped, “If you don’t stay in their room, they’ll probably plot and set the hotel on fire! You’re a responsible adult, they have to listen to you!”
“Why can’t Smoker do it?” he asked, trying to ignore how Ace and Sabo were grinning behind Tashigi and seemed ridiculously amused by the insinuation that he was responsible.
“You’re the only one who can control them, Marco.” Tashigi said, casting hopeful eyes up at him, and behind her Marco could see Ace and Sabo cast a glance between each other.
Ace sniggered quietly, elbowing Sabo, but Sabo had already caught the unintentional innuendo and was grinning like an idiot. Smoker glared at them both, but Marco caught the hint of confusion in his foul look.
“There’re only two beds though,” he tried to defend again, knowing that if he ended up in the same room as Ace and Sabo none of them were going to be sleeping[2].
"Trust me, they won’t complain about sharing,” Smoker grumbled in a resigned way that had Marco recalling just how many times Ace and Sabo had complained about being caught making out in the locker rooms by him[3], “though you might.”
His excuses defeated, Marco’s shoulders dropped in a sigh, and Tashigi lit up. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she cried happily, and Marco tried not to feel like he’d screwed up somewhere along the way.
When Marco came out of the shower and found Ace and Sabo drawing up battle plans for a prank, he conceded that Tashigi may have been right.
He cleared his throat pointedly, unamused that they’d been using his bed to put their plans into motion, and Ace quickly gave him an innocent grin. “Nice shower?” he asked casually, and Marco reminded himself that if they even dreamed about playing a prank, Smoker would have them hauled into detention for weeks.
Not that they’d go unless Marco forced them, but still.
“Smoker’ll have your heads if you do anything,” he warned, as was his civil duty to the people (and as their boyfriend) but they only grinned.
“I think we’ll survive,” Sabo said, and Marco proceeded to abandon Tashigi’s cause, instead rooting through his bag to try and find his pajamas. They’d gone missing while the team had been out for dinner, and though he’d found his boxers before jumping in the shower, he couldn’t seem to find his pants anywhere. It was almost like they’d been stolen-
On a hunch, Marco looked over his shoulder, catching Ace smirking at him. He turned back to his bag, and, still looking at the wall, asked, “I don’t suppose you know where my pants are?”
Ace’s quiet snigger told him all he needed to know, but his answer just confirmed Marco’s suspicions. “I think you look better without them.”
“But I need them,” Marco said shortly, turning around with his hands on his hips. “It’s cold, yoi.”
Ace’s smirk grew even wider, morphing into a grin, and he let his eyes flick pointedly up Marco’s body. “We could help with that.”
“So can my blankets,” Marco said, giving Ace a fake smile, and he watched as both Ace and Sabo pouted. It gave him a small sense of victory to cherish as he turned off the lights got into bed, but he had little time to relish it. A creak was the only warning he got before Ace’s body impacted with his and he had two wrigglers attempting to squirm under his blankets. “These beds are not big enough for two, let alone three!” he protested, clutching his blanket even tighter around his shoulder and doing his best to ignore Sabo and Ace laughing.
“You just have to get creative,” Sabo said, having managed to get under the blankets and trying to wriggle his feet between Marco’s shins so he could get more space.
Ace rolled over him again as he got beneath the blankets, pressing Marco to the bed and into Sabo’s elbow, and Marco pulled the blanket even closer to his ears to try and stop the both of them. Ace laughed even more at his behaviour, and Marco huffed. “For god’s sake can you get off?” he finally snapped, and Ace’s grin grew even bigger.
“I think I’d like some help with that.”
“You are the only one who can-” Sabo’s face was twisted as he tried to fight back a smile, but his grin escaped from his control and he began to laugh, “control us.”
Marco groaned in frustration, burying his face in his pillow. “You guys have a competition tomorrow, and we’re all getting up early. Go to sleep.”
Ace made a sound that could have been a whine of complaint, but Marco felt Sabo shift over him, whispering something that Marco presumed was soothing, as Ace’s arm was soon slung over both of them.
For a moment everything was quiet, and Marco believed that they’d actually be able to get to sleep.
Then Sabo shifted and whispered something to Ace, and Ace burst into uncontrollable giggles.
“Oh for god’s sake!” he said, and rolled over, simultaneously pulling Sabo - the instigator - into his previous spot. Sabo yelped when he was crushed under Marco’s body, and then laughed, his hands wrapping around Marco’s biceps.
“I’m glad you’ve decided to forego sleep,” Sabo said, grinning mischievously in the dark, and had opened his mouth to make another teasing remark when Marco bent down to kiss him, cutting off his words. Sabo gasped in surprise, thumbs pressed into Marco’s bicep.
Marco slowly pulled away, their breaths still intermingling, and replied evenly (well, as evenly as he could get, slightly breathless from his kiss), “Probably won’t be so glad in a minute.”
“I can live with that,” Sabo panted, his tongue flicking out to trace his lips. Ace decided he’d had enough of being cut out from their conversation, and wriggled until he could rest against Marco’s side, mouth against Marco’s shoulder and slowly working his way up.
Meanwhile Marco put his attentions to undoing Sabo’s shirt, keeping Sabo pinned so that he couldn’t put to use his stupidly talented hands (Marco felt rather disadvantaged, honestly, seeing as he was only in his boxers but Sabo had managed to keep his pajamas. It was completely unfair.)
When Ace suddenly fastened teeth to his throat, leaving a hickey that would be hard to explain away in the morning[4], Marco realised he maybe should have been paying more attention to what Ace had been doing. Ace was the troublemaker, after all.
He jolted, and Ace got rammed in the throat by Marco’s shoulder, making him reel back.
For a moment he hung suspended by the side of the bed, but Marco watched in the dim light as Ace’s expression morphed from pain to horror and he began to slip. “Shit!” Ace yelped as he tried to sit up, but his efforts were futile and he landed with a loud thump on the floor.
Ace’s muffled groan assured Marco that he was alright, but he still couldn’t help but worriedly peer over the side of the bed, greeted with the sight of Ace rubbing at his head.
“You alright?” Marco asked, trying to keep the laughter from his voice, but at Ace’s unimpressed pout he realised he may have failed that.
“Want us to kiss it better?” Sabo offered, pulling himself from the pillows to Marco’s side.
Ace gave a sulky nod that made Marco bite back another laugh, and then clambered back on the bed, this time squirming into the middle so that no other accidents could occur.
Sabo curled around him, and Marco pulled up their discarded blankets, trying to maneuver his body in a way that wouldn’t leave his butt hanging over the edge of the bed all night.
Finally, they’d all managed to settle comfortably, and Marco felt a small smile flicker over his face. Looks like he’d gotten away with not blackmailing them after all[5].
“Goodnight,” he whispered, and heard Ace’s answering mumble, and then Sabo’s hand patting at his face before slipping down to Marco's side and latching onto his hand. “I love you,” he added for good measure, and as he reached up to turn off the lamp he saw Sabo bury his face into Ace’s chest, and Ace’s lips pull into a happy smile.