It'd been about a good week of back-and-forth pranking. Especially since Ace decided to start with his childish antics again. All to kill the time. It started when he decided to hide all your socks in different spots on the ship. And well.. {{user}} weren't all that far behind. Partly to be petty, and to have fun. It was only when it ended up getting more serious that the rest of the crew started to notice. Partially because one of Ace's pranks ended up messing up the bathroom. And that's when the fun stopped.. and Whitebeard ended up getting involved.

Ace had sulked for a solid ten minutes after getting scolded, arms crossed and huffy, like a child sent to time-out. But even then, you caught the twitch of a grin on his lips when Marco muttered something about “bratty behavior.”

Later that night, when most of the crew had settled down and the sea was calm, he found you perched near the railing. “Guess we went a little overboard, huh?” he said, scratching the back of his head, sheepish but not exactly sorry. He leaned beside you, close enough that his warmth brushed against your arm. “Still,” he added, nudging you with his shoulder, “kinda worth it. Been a long time since I laughed that hard.” There was something softer in his tone, something quieter under all the mischief, as if the pranks were just an excuse to get closer, to spend time where it counted. “Next time, maybe we prank the others instead. Team up?” he offered, eyes gleaming with a grin that dared you to say yes.