Simple things had always worked for Marco and Luffy.
A picnic under the stars or just stargazing together were simple dates. But Marco treasured those more as the ones when some dragged them into a fancy restaurant and expected them to have a great time. He knew that Luffy felt the same way about their dates. (After all, Luffy always felt uncomfortable if it became fancy.)
So the decision to have a picnic in the evening and watched the firework and the stars together had been easy. It was the best choice for a date and for the thing Marco had planned.
The blonde sighed and looked around. The atmosphere of the place he had chosen was peaceful and the view of the lake close by was nice.
It seemed even better than on the island, they had their first real date after Fishman Island (even if they were still keeping their relationship a secret back then).
Marco bent down and controlled every item, he had taken with him to prepare everything.
The picnic basket, full of food courtesy by Thatch, stood in the middle of a light blue blanket. Another black blanket was folded next to the basket and on the top of the black one were two lamps.
Everything was there. Everything was in a good state. Good...
He then stopped his thoughts and took a small black box out of his pocket. Marco opened it and checked the content before closing it and letting the box disappear into his pocket again.
Good, these three hadn't messed with it. These three were Tess, Haruta and Izo. They had overheard his conversation with Vista and Jozu about this date. The trio shared the opinion that now he had to do something fancy as he was dating a royalty of the pirates.
They had done a good job to make him very suspicious of everything. It wasn't paranoia, yet, but close by.
He had worked with two men(well three, but Thatch only provided the food) who knew their handwork to help in making this date as perfect as possible for Luffy and him. Fancy stuff could be damned. He didn't want to impress someone... Just enjoy some private time with Luffy.
A small smile appeared when he thought about his lover. The boy (he should really stop saying that Luffy was already 23) should be here any second. It excited Marco to have Luffy for himself again. The last time they saw each other was a few months ago. Too long.
"Marco", a voice interrupted his thoughts. The smile grew wider and he turned around to see the speaker.
Monkey D Luffy, the pirate king, his lover.
Marco opened his arms lightly only to feel a familiar warmth crashing against him. He balanced his own weight plus the one of his boyfriend to swing him slightly to the air. A happy giggling reached his ear before the blonde let himself sink on the blanket.
"Missed you, yoi", Marco whispered against Luffy's lips, when he had the boy secured on his lap. "Missed you, too", was the soft replay, before they let actions speak.
Their kiss stayed soft but had a playful side. Marco caressed Luffy's right cheek while he let the other arm stay around his lover's waist. The pirate king had both of his arms around his neck and seemed happy to be able to cling to him again.
When their kiss ended, Marco felt how Luffy buried his head in the crook of his neck. The blonde was a bit surprised about this action but smiled and ruffled the black locks slightly.
"Congratulations, pirate king", Marco whispered and pressed a kiss on the top of Luffy's head. "No words about it. My crew is having too much fun with saying that I am a royalty now. So I should behave like one. But the pirate king should be free from this stupid behaviour", the boy grumbled. It made Marco laugh. "Then be lucky, I didn't follow some suggestions I got for this date. Some involved a fancy restaurant, yoi." Luffy snorted. Obviously displeased by the thought of going to some fancy restaurant like he expected it.
