Chapter 1: Prologue
Notes:
Ace's boat, the Striker, is a 25-foot sailboat that can be manned by one person. If you want to see what it looks like, here's a 1-minute video to give you an idea!
Chapter Text
The ocean was calm tonight.
Ace drew a deep breath through his nose, then let it out in a long sigh. It was a nice night, with a big fat yellow moon lighting up the surface of the waves. Those gentle waves stretched out all around him: an endless expanse of water that ebbed out in every direction, and flowed back in to lick against the Striker’s sides.
For a long moment, he just stood there on the bow of the Striker, his breathing calm and even. His eyes drifted lazily from the hazy glow of the ocean up to the almost-surreal brightness of the wispy clouds that tried — and failed — to mask the brightness of the moon.
He closed his eyes and stretched his arms out wide. On a night like this, with the sea and sky laid wide all around him, it felt like anything could happen. He could feel everything in the world on a night like this: the cool fiberglass of his beloved sailboat under his bare feet, the warm kiss of a humid breeze on his skin — hell, on a night like this, he could practically feel the starlight sparkling on the hairs of his arms and legs.
On a night like this, there were no limits. Anything could happen, or nothing.
He smiled to himself. He took one last careful, measured breath, and he dove in.
His body sliced through the ocean like a knife. The water was smooth and light as silk on his skin, but the deeper he swam, the heavier it became. He undulated deeper into the water, deep enough that it was too dark to see a damn thing — and then he stopped.
In the depths of the ocean, Ace stopped. The water cradled him, rendering him weightless and heavy at once, neither floating nor sinking. And for a long minute, he just… hovered there in the ocean’s darkness. On a night like this, it was so easy to imagine the world converging around him, condensing around his insignificant body and drawing him deeper into its welcoming embrace.
He didn’t count the time as he hovered there. But it was at least three minutes before he started feeling the beat of his pulse in his ears. The pulse spread gradually to his throat, then to the backs of his eyes, a silent but growing reminder of the passage of time; but he stayed in place, held by the water, feeling the slight downward pull as his weight won out against the buoyancy of the water’s salt.
More time passed. His diaphragm was starting to twitch for the exhale now, and his heart was getting louder in his ears. But still, he didn’t move. He stayed in place, drifting in the endless expanse of the ocean, holding his breath until the urge to exhale was squeezing his ribs, until he couldn’t tell if the darkness behind his eyes was coming from outside or within.
He hovered there in the ocean, suspended between the choices to sink or swim, wondering vaguely which way the urge would take him today. Then, when the burning in his lungs almost made the decision for him, he righted himself in the water, and he shot up toward the surface like an arrow.
He breached the surface with a mighty sigh, and the gasp that filled his lungs was like fire and ice at the same time. He shoved his sopping hair back from his face and coughed — shoot, he’d breathed in a little saltwater this time.
He coughed more forcefully to clear his airway, then hauled himself up the ladder onto the Striker and collapsed onto his back. As he waited for his muscles to stop burning, he gazed vacantly up at the glow of the full moon.
Damn, it was a nice night. On a night like this, anything could happen, or nothing.
“Ace!”
Marco was calling to him from the Polar Tang, which was anchored about a cable’s length away. He pushed himself to his feet and peered across the water toward the Tang. “Oi, Marco,” he bellowed. “What’s up?”
“Sanji made a midnight snack-yoi,” Marco shouted. “Come back quick if you want any.”
“Of course I want some. Save some for me, will you? Pretty please?”
He could hear the smile in Marco’s voice as he called back. “All right. But only because you asked nicely-yoi.”
Ace chuckled. Then, with a sigh, he sat on the bench and gazed out at the horizon.
All around him, the ocean gently ebbed and flowed. Moonlight flickered across the peaky little waves, sparkling and flickering as though the water was trying to imitate the stars, and Ace let it all soak into him: the darkness and the sprinkles of light, the goosebump-sparking cool of the water and the comforting heat of the air.
On a night like this, in a life like this, anything could happen, or nothing at all.
Chapter 2: Fortune
Chapter Text
“Wow,” you say softly.
“Yes,” Robin agrees. “It’s spectacular, isn’t it?”
You nod, unable to tear your eyes away from the painting in front of you. It’s a huge mural spanning the entire length of the museum wall, and it shows the downfall of the tyrannical Donquixote family: the most important event in recent Dressrosa history. The art museum’s whole collection is stunning, really, but this mural is the most stunning piece you’ve seen in the city so far — and that’s saying a lot, considering that you and Robin have been to three museums in the three days that you’ve been in Dressrosa.
It’s a lot of museums, you’ll admit, and even your nerdy brain is starting to get saturated with all the art and history you’ve seen. But you’re determined to cram in as much Dressrosa culture as you can before you and Robin set out to sea this afternoon.
Your tummy squiggles with excitement. In just a few hours, you’re setting out to sea on the adventure of a lifetime, and you can’t wait.
A short while later, you and Robin leave the museum to get some lunch. As you’re traipsing down the steps, she lets out a happy sigh. “They have such wonderful museums here. I’m almost sorry that we’re leaving today.”
“Same,” you say. “Almost sorry.”
She smiles at you, and you know you’re thinking the same thing: that despite how vibrant and fascinating Dressrosa is, you’re way more excited about your research expedition to Wano.
You and Robin have been dreaming about this trip for years. Ever since you started collaborating with her at the start of your linguistics PhD, the two of you have been following the negotiations of the Wano Accords, waiting to see if the Wano government would open their borders to the outside world after nearly twenty years of self-isolation in response to the Akainu administration gaining power. Last year, they announced that visitors with special permissions would be welcomed — and as great fortune would have it, you and Robin happen to meet the stringent criteria for receiving that special permission, thanks to your academic specializations.
Travelling to Wano is a tricky thing, though, because the country doesn’t have an airport. The only way to get there is by sea: a journey that is notoriously dangerous for an inexperienced crew, from what you understand. After months of searching, Robin finally found a small private-charter company that’s a perfect fit for your needs: a company called the Corazon Crew who specialize in navigating lesser-known and dangerous waters, and even more importantly, who are known for their expertise in recovering and documenting underwater artifacts. Even more fortunately, the charter company’s captain happens to have a special interest in poneglyphs, which makes it feel even more like this trip to Wano was meant to be.
Honestly, everything about this trip feels like a confluence of good fortune and best-case scenarios, so you’re feeling wiggly with excitement as you and Robin head to a restaurant for one last Dressrosan meal. After an incredible lunch of dress shrimp paella, fairy pumpkin gazpacho, and rose squid-ink pasta, you head back to the hotel to grab your luggage, and you make your way to the marina to meet your liaison from the charter company.
You follow Robin to the pier. There’s a huge ship docked there — at least, it looks huge to you — and it’s unique not only because of its colour, an eye-wateringly cheerful banana-yellow hue, but because it looks like a combination of a submarine and a regular ship. Even your amateur eye can tell that this ship is special compared to all the other ones in the marina.
“This is it?” you say excitedly to Robin. “The Polar Tang?”
She nods. “The first mate will be meeting us here. His name is—”
“Ahoyyyy!”
You look up. A Mink polar-bear gentleman is waving madly to you from the upper deck, and as you watch, he hurries down the gangplank toward you and Robin. “You must be our guests! Garchu!” He pulls you and Robin into a hug and nuzzles your cheeks with his furry one.
You laugh, delighted by the traditional Mink greeting, and Robin chuckles too. “Hello. You must be Bepo.”
“That’s me! I’m the first mate of the Corazon Crew,” he says, with a proud salute. “Which of you is Professor Nico Robin?”
Robin raises her hand, and Bepo gasps. “The world expert in Void Century history! You’re going to have such wonderful discussions with the captain!” He turns to you with shining eyes. “And you must be Ella, the linguist?”
“Not quite a linguist yet,” you say. “Not until I finish my PhD. But yes, I’ll be working on the poneglyph translation, especially with the more complex morphosyntactic — er, with the more difficult grammar.”
“Fantastic!” Bepo enthuses. “Well, there’s no time to waste, so let’s get you on the ship so you can meet everyone and get settled! We’ve all been looking forward to this journey so much. It might be the most exciting charter we’ve ever taken on!” He grabs your suitcase and Robin’s and starts pulling them to the ship.
You give him a curious look as you follow him. “Have you — your crew, I mean, have you been to Wano before?”
“Nope! But we know all about the special conditions around the region. And our captain is the best,” he says proudly. “Nobody can navigate crazy conditions like the captain. And the Polar Tang is the hardiest ship in all four seas. She’ll keep us safe against all weather and water conditions, you’ll see!”
His confidence and enthusiasm are infectious, and you exchange another excited smile with Robin. You step onto the upper deck, where jumpsuit-clad sailors are checking the ropes and various other things while chatting and laughing together.
Bepo sets down your suitcases. “Oi, everyone! Dr. Nico and Ella have arrived! Come and say welcome!”
The crew immediately gather around with a clamour of cheering and shouts of welcome and introductions. You laugh as you try to remember everyone’s names, thrilled but a little overwhelmed by the friendly attention, and Robin laughs too as she shakes the crew’s hands.
“I’ll go and fetch the captain!” Bepo runs off toward a set of downwards-leading stairs — presumably down into the ship proper. Or should you be calling this vessel a submarine?
You turn to the nearest crewmembers: a pair of grinning men in cute animal hats who introduced themselves, aptly, as Shachi and Penguin. “I’ve never seen a ship like this one before. Do you call it a ship or a submarine?”
“Hey hey,” calls a loud friendly voice. “Did I just hear a question about the Tang?”
A tall blue-haired man in shades and a speedo is approaching. He grins and tips his sunglasses up on his forehead, then sticks out an enormous hand to you. “I’m Franky, the shipwright. It’s super to meet you.”
You shake his hand and introduce yourself and Robin. “That was me asking about the ship, yes. Is it—? Would you call it a sub or a ship?”
“She’s both, so you can call her whatever you want,” Franky says, and he fondly pats the ship’s railing — the taffrail, you mean, if your crash course on ship terminology serves you. “She’s one of a kind, you know. No other ship on all four seas can fully function as both a ship and a proper deep-sea submarine, rather than a mere semi-submersible. But our fine lady here is a true hentai.”
You blink at him. Did he just call the ship a pervert? “A…?”
Penguin rolls his eyes. “Franky, we told you to stop saying the Polar Tang is hentai.”
“Hey, I designed and built her, so I can call her whatever I want,” Franky laughs. “Besides, she transforms from a ship to a sub like a dream. Nothing is more hentai than a shapeshifter like our Tang.”
Shachi wilts. “Sure, but still…”
“Oi, Franky!” A young guy with a long nose and curly black hair comes dashing over. “Final checks are done. The Polar Tang is ready to go!”
“Super job, bro,” Franky says, and he claps the young man on the back. “Don’t be rude, introduce yourself to the ladies.”
“Oh yeah, sorry! I’m Usopp, Franky’s apprentice,” he says brightly. “I wonder where Sanji is? I would’ve thought his lady radar would’ve gone off by now—”
“Did I hear the crystal-sweet sound of ladies’ voices?” A blond man in a sharp black suit slides through the crowd, and he’s holding a tray overhead. He gasps when he sees you and Robin. “Such beautiful ladies to boot! What an incredible gift! I’m Sanji, the cook. It’s my total pleasure to serve you.” He bows to you and Robin with a flourish while offering the tray.
The tray has three beautifully-garnished cocktails on it. You smile at him as you take one of the lovely drinks. “Thank you so much. Who’s the third drink for?”
“Ikkaku-chan, of course. Ikkaku-chwaaan, my sweet!” he sing-songs. “Where are you? I made virgin strawberry daiquiris to quench your thirst and renew your energy!”
“I’m up here,” a woman’s voice calls from the crow’s nest. “Can you bring it up to me, Sanji?”
“Of course I can! I’ll be there in the shake of a dolphin’s tail.”
Usopp longingly eyes the cocktail. “Man, I’m thirsty. Sanji, can’t we have some drinks too?”
“Yeah yeah, they’re in the galley,” Sanji says dismissively. “There’s enough for everyone. Go get them yourselves.”
Penguin punches the air. “Yeah, Sanji made drinks! Let’s go get ‘em!”
The entire jumpsuited crew cheers and dashes off toward the stairs, leaving only Franky, Usopp, and two other men behind — Sanji now being halfway up the crow’s nest while balancing the tray and the one remaining drink.
Robin chuckles. “What a lively crew.”
“They sure are-yoi,” says one of the remaining men in a droll tone. He tips his red-rimmed glasses in greeting. “The name’s Marco. I’m the ship doctor. And this is Izo, your cultural liaison from Wano.”
You brighten at this. Izo is one of the people you were looking forward to meeting the most, since he’ll be assisting you with some of the more nuanced comparative translations between ancient and modern Wanokunese.
You bow your head politely, and he nods casually in return. “It’s nice to meet you both. The captain told us about your goals. I have no doubt that the end results of your research will benefit my country as well.”
Robin nods. “I’m hoping everyone will benefit from the discoveries we make during this expedition. But your country in particular, since the crafting of poneglyphs originated there. I’m a great admirer of Prime Minister Oden’s goal to reclaim the lost art.”
“Me too,” you say eagerly. “We’ll do anything we can to help the Wano scholars with translating the ancient glyphs! It will never be insane to me that the World Government just stole all the records of ancient Wanokunese glyphs from your country during the Void Century.”
A faint smile lights Izo’s lips — raspberry-red lips that are so immaculately painted that it makes you envious. “I think we will get along well. If you need anything in the course of your research, don’t hesitate to let me know.”
Marco smiles and rests his elbow on Izo’s shoulder. “Nice, nice. It’s good to see everyone making friends-yoi. Let’s just hope that the captain can be friendly, too.”
Izo, Franky and Usopp all chuckle, and you give them an uncertain look. “Why do you say that? Isn’t he friendly?”
“He can be,” Marco says.
“No way, he’s scary,” Usopp says at the same time.
Izo tilts his head thoughtfully. “He is not unfriendly. He’s just reserved.”
Franky laughs. “Ha, that’s a good way of saying he’s a grouch.”
“Who’s a grouch?” a cool voice says from behind them.
They turn around, revealing a tall lean man with dark hair and a frown: the captain himself, you presume, with Bepo just behind him.
Usopp laughs nervously and waves his hands. “Nobody, nothing! I mean, we were just talking about… a-about Marco when he doesn’t get his morning bowl of pineapple!”
Marco chuckles and adjusts his glasses. “Don’t keelhaul me like that. That’s just mean-yoi.”
The frowning man purses his lips, then steps past the other four and approaches you and Robin. “I’m Trafalgar Law. I’m the captain of this ship.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Robin says. “This is Ella, and I’m Robin.”
Law nods, and his gaze lingers on her face. “It’ll be good to talk history with you when we have some time. And listen: this crew is the best in the world, but they don’t know the meaning of boundaries. If anyone annoys either of you, let me or Bepo know and we’ll set them straight.”
“Aieee, Law!” Usopp exclaims. “You can’t threaten us first-thing when new people join the ship! You’re going to scare them!”
Franky pats him on the shoulder. “I hate to tell you this, buddy, but you’re the only one who’s scared.”
Izo and Marco chuckle, but Law ignores them and folds his arms. “I know you completed the ship safety modules online, which is good. Once we get underway, Bepo will give you a safety refresher in the strategy room, and Marco-ya will do the CPR training. You both wanted to get advanced certificates in scuba diving so you could join the crew while they’re inspecting the poneglyph, right?”
You and Robin both nod. The focus of this expedition is a newly-discovered poneglyph in the Wano Sea. It was found during the restoration of Old Wano, which sank underwater during the Void Century. You and Robin were given the option to remain on the ship while Law’s artifact-handling experts do their work, or to join the experts in the water — once you pass a course in scuba-diving, of course.
Naturally, you and Robin both jumped at the chance to scuba-dive. You won’t be able to go as deep as the experts, of course, but you’ll be able to see the poneglyph in the flesh and to guide the crew as they take photos and measurements — and honestly, you’ve always wanted to try scuba diving, so you’re very excited about this.
Robin replies for both of you. “We’ve completed the online portion of the beginner course already.”
“Good,” Law says. “Then tomorrow, Ace-ya will start the in-person teaching.”
Your heart stops. Ace? He — no way. Did you mishear that? “Ace?” you say.
Law nods, and his frown deepens. “Haven’t you met him yet?”
You shake your head, but your heart is starting to race. When Law said Ace, does he mean…? No, that would be too much of a coincidence. It can’t be the same Ace you knew. Could it?
Law clicks his tongue, then turns to Marco. “Where is he?”
Marco makes an apologetic face. “Eating in town, probably. I told him to be back by 1300 hours, but…”
“Why didn’t you go with him to make sure he came back on time?” Law scolds.
“I did-yoi,” says Marco. “But he wanted a second lunch. And a third lunch. I had to tap out after the second, so I came back here for a nap.”
Izo chuckles, and Law sighs loudly and pulls out his phone. “That fucking guy. If he holds up our departure again, I’m going to fire him.”
“What?” Usopp squawks.
Marco and Bepo exchange a smile — apparently this is a frequent routine on the ship — and Franky laughs. “C’mon, Law, you can’t fire our Ace-in-the-hole.”
“Watch me,” Law says darkly, and he brings his phone to his ear.
A second later, you hear a jaunty ringtone from the bottom of the gangplank, followed by a voice. “Afternoon, cap. Am I fired?”
Your belly squirms with heat. That voice, that warm and laughter-laced voice: you remember that voice — holy shit, do you ever remember it.
You stare at the gangplank with bated breath, waiting for the owner of that voice to appear. And when he does, your heart leaps against your rib cage. Tall, tanned and bare-chested, with a mop of wavy black hair and a smattering of the cutest freckles across his delicately pointed nose: there’s no mistaking this gorgeous man.
“Ace!” Bepo exclaims. “There you are!”
Law clicks his tongue and slides his phone back into his pocket. “You’re late. Again.”
“Sorry, everyone, that’s my bad,” Ace says, though his mischievous grin cancels out his apology. He takes off his hat and bows his head politely to you and Robin. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m—” He double-takes at you, and his jaw drops with surprise.
Your cheeks go hot, and you can feel your face stretching into a goofy smile. “Hi, Ace.”
A broad grin lights his face. “Hot damn! Fancy meeting you here! Isn’t this a stroke of good luck?”
A giddy little laugh escapes you. It really does feel like a stroke of good luck, on top of an already-fortunate set of circumstances. Not only are you and Robin on the trip of a lifetime with an enthusiastic and confidence-inspiring crew, but the scuba instructor is Ace of all people, and you had no idea!
“Hang on a second,” Usopp says, and he points between you and Ace. “You guys know each other?”
“Wait, you do?” says Sanji, who descended from the crow’s nest a moment ago and is scowling at Ace now. “How do you know this beautiful lady?”
“She’s a friend from a while back,” Ace says, and he squeezes your shoulder before turning to Robin. “We met too, didn’t we? Good to see you again.”
She smiles, and Franky sniffles. “Aw, isn’t this sweet? An unexpected reunion!”
Usopp grimaces and pats his arm. “Oi, Franky, there’s no need to get emotional.”
“There really isn’t,” Law says flatly. “I don’t like these lame tear-jerking scenes. Hey, Ikkaku!” he calls. “Go tell the rest of the crew we’re setting sail in ten minutes.”
“Roger that!” She slides gracefully down the ladder from the crow’s nest to the deck, then disappears down the stairs.
Law turns to you and Robin once more. “The first couple weeks of the journey will be surface-sailing. We’ll only submerge if we hit bad weather. I’ll debrief you more on the details of the journey as we progress.”
Robin lifts one hand. “I’m curious about the unique deep-sea currents and how you plan to navigate them. Would you have some time to discuss it more with me?”
His eyebrows rise slightly. “I can find the time, if you really want to know.”
“I do. I’m very interested.”
“Right,” Law says, and he rubs the back of his neck. “Right. We’ll find some time to discuss it, then. And the, uh, history. Poneglyph history. Bepo, show Ella-ya and Dr. Nico to their cabin.”
Bepo salutes him. “Aye, Captain!”
Law nods, then glances at Robin once more before turning away and heading for the stairs. “Everyone else, get to your stations.”
“Will do-yoi,” says Marco.
Franky claps Usopp on the shoulder. “Come on, Usopp, let’s get to the engine room.”
They follow Law down the stairs. Once Law is gone, Ace grins at Marco. “‘Will do’,” he says, in a mocking tone.
Marco chuckles. “It doesn’t hurt to show him respect once in a while, you know.”
“What do you mean? I show him respect all the time.”
“To show him respect and mean it,” Izo says dryly.
Ace laughs and rubs a hand through his hair. “Oi-oi, you can’t tell me off like this in front of our guests. They’ll think I’ve got bad manners.”
You bite back a smile. You fondly remember Ace’s unique brand of irreverence and politeness, and you’re thrilled to be faced with it again.
Sanji straightens his tie. “Speaking of manners: my lovely ladies, may I escort you to your cabin?”
“Wait, that’s my job!” Bepo protests. “The captain left that to me!”
“Don’t worry about it, Bepo,” Sanji says warmly. “It would be my honour to take this duty off your hands.”
“But I didn’t ask you to take my duty! Captain told me to take Dr. Nico and Ella to their room!”
They continue to bicker, and Izo quirks a brow at Marco. “Fancy a game of go?”
“I’d love one. Ace, you coming?”
“Nah, I’ve got stuff to do. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Marco and Izo nod to you before heading off toward the bow of the ship, leaving you with Ace and a still-bickering Bepo and Sanji. Ace plops his hat back on his head and smiles at you and Robin. “So. Can I show you to your cabin?”
Sanji and Bepo spin on him. “No!”
He laughs and holds up his hands. “Relax, I’m just teasin’. I have to go check on the Striker anyway.”
“What’s the Striker?” you ask.
“She’s my sailboat. She’s stored in the hold.”
You perk up at this. “You got a sailboat after all!”
“I sure did,” he says warmly. “I told you I would, didn’t I? I’ll show her to you sometime if you like.”
Your tummy fills with butterflies. “I’d — yes, sure, I’d love that.”
“Oi, Ace,” Sanji says sternly. “The ladies need their rest now. Stop stalling them.”
“Whatever you say, chef,” he says, in that lovely laughter-laced tone. “See you guys later.” He squeezes your shoulder again, then saunters off toward the stairs, and you force yourself not to stare at the shifting muscles in his bare bronzed back.
Sanji sighs and gives you and Robin a mournful look. “Forgive me, ladies, but I have to check on the roasts. If either of you are ever hungry or thirsty, if you’re even a tiny bit peckish, you let me know right away, yeah? Nobody goes hungry on this ship. It’s my morality.”
“Thank you, Sanji,” Robin says. “That’s very kind of you.”
His cheeks go pink, and he laughs: a punch-drunk-sounding laugh. “You’re kind to say so, Robin-chan. I can’t wait to see you both later!” He beams at you, then glides away to the stairs.
Bepo harrumphs. “Trying to steal my duties. Anyway, let’s get below and get you settled!” He picks up your suitcases and marches toward the stairs.
You and Robin follow him down the stairs. And finally, you set foot inside of the Polar Tang.
It’s surprisingly spacious-looking on the inside. There’s a main corridor with many sliding doors leading to different rooms, and Bepo enthusiastically explains where the common spaces are, including the galley, the conference room, the bathing room, and a rec room complete with a big-screen TV and a PS5 (apparently Law is an avid gamer). Last of all, he leads you to a door on the left, which leads into a narrower corridor with even more doors.
“These are the guest cabins,” Bepo says brightly. “Izo is in that one, and this one is for you two.” He orients you to the room’s features, including two fold-down desks and a compact bathroom with a toilet and sink, then clasps his paws together and widens his eyes. “Do you need anything else? Any questions?”
“Nothing for now for me,” you say.
“Me neither,” Robin says. “Thank you, Bepo.”
He nods happily, then points at an orange button near the door. “These buttons are in every room in the Tang. They’ll alert me if you push them, so give me a buzz if you need anything! I’ll see you in the conference room at 1345 for the safety briefing!” He waves to you both, then slides the door shut.
You and Robin look at each other. “Holy shit,” you say.
“We’re on a ship,” she says.
“We’re going to Wano,” you say.
She smiles, and the two of you burst into giddy laughter.
It takes a long minute for you to settle. Once you can both breathe without laughing, she delicately wipes the corner of her eye. “Remind me now. How do we know Ace? I recognized him right away, of course, but I’m afraid I can’t quite place him.”
You huff a little laugh. “Do you remember that otaku rave we went to a couple years back?”
Her eyes brighten with interest, and you know she knows what you’re talking about. “Oh my. Of course I remember.”
You smile, feeling bashful and fluttery. This trip really feels like the pinnacle of good fortune now. Not only are you on the research expedition of your dreams, but the scuba instructor just happens to be the same irresistible guy you fell in love with three years ago — and the one who got away.
Chapter 3: Coward
Chapter Text
Three years ago…
“Want a drink after this song?” you yell.
“I can’t hear you!” Nami yells back.
You smile and wave her off, still while jumping and twisting in time to the music. There’s no point even bothering to talk; the crowd around you is screaming with enthusiasm, and the bass is so powerful that you can feel it in your chest. You would never have thought that an EDM version of the Tetris A theme could go so hard, but you’re thrilled by the pleasant surprise.
A couple songs later, you and Nami finally manage to communicate that you want a break and another drink. You push your way through the writhing crowd toward Robin, who’s standing at the bar looking very content — and very serene, despite the joyful chaos all around her. You can’t blame her for looking so happy; you’re having an incredible time, too. You’ve been looking forward to this otaku rave for months, and it’s honestly a thrill to see so many cosplayers from so many fandoms gathered together at this one crazy party.
“Robin!” Nami hugs her, then releases her with a breathless laugh. “Sorry, I’m so sweaty! How’s my hair?” She pats the big orange bow at the back of her long blonde Sailor Venus wig.
“All good,” you assure her. “How’s mine?”
“Yours is fine, silly. It’s not long enough for the weight to jostle it.” She pats your short black-blue cosplay wig, then gives Robin an admiring look. “I still can’t believe you just went for it and tinted your hair green. You look amazing.”
“You’re sweet,” Robin says warmly, and she pushes back a lock of her long dark hair. And Nami is right; with her height, her hair tinted dark green and her natural tan, Robin is a dead ringer for Sailor Pluto.
Nami waves to the bartender, then turns to you. “I’m going to run to the ladies’. Can you get me a tangerine spritz with double vodka? Thanks!” She grabs Robin’s hand and drags her away without waiting for an answer.
You scoff. She clearly left you to order the drinks so you would pay for her. But you know your roommate’s tricks, and you’ll make her get you a drink by the end of the night. And sure, she might end up manipulating someone into buying you a drink instead of buying you one herself, but hey, a free drink is a free drink.
You rest your elbows on the bar, waiting to make eye contact with the bartender. Just as you get her attention, a guy in a straw hat blasts past you and knocks your shoulder in the process. “Meaaat! I want some of that!”
You stumble and yelp in alarm — fuck, you’re tripping over your own feet—!
“Woah!” A pair of strong hands wrap around your upper arms, and the owner of the hands yells over your head. “Luffy, you dumbass, be careful!”
“Sorry sorry, hahaha!”
“I’ll grab him,” says another amused voice, and you glance up to see a blond guy in a top hat squeezing through the crowd. “Luffy, come back! That’s just a cosplay, it’s not real meat!”
“Thanks, Sabo,” calls the owner of the hands on your arms. He looks down at you, then tips back his orange cowboy hat with a smile, and your heart skips a beat. Dark hooded eyes, adorable freckles across his nose, and a mischievous smile: wow, this guy is really cute.
“Pardon us for the commotion,” he says politely. “My little brother’s a barnyard animal when he’s hungry.”
“I don’t know about that,” you quip. “Your brother sounds like quite the carnivore. Aren’t most barnyard animals herbivores?”
His smile widens. “True enough. You’re really fitting into your role as the smart Sailor Scout, hey?”
Oh, does he recognize your cosplay? That’s a mark in his favour! “Are you a Sailor Moon fan?”
“Enough of a fan to know this.” He leans across the bar and waves to the bartender. “Can I get a pint of Alabasta pale ale and a glass of sparkling wine?”
She nods and brings over a beer and a flute of sparkling wine. “That’ll be twenty, hon.”
He hands over the cash. “Thanks,” he says, and he slides the sparkling wine toward you. “Some Mercury bubbles for you. Sorry about the collision.”
You beam at him, pleased with this proof that he knows which Sailor Scout you are. “Thanks. This is sweet of you.”
“My pleasure,” he says warmly. “I’m afraid that’s the only drink I can get you, though. We’re on a budget, especially with my brother being a bottomless pit.” He picks up the beer and taps it to your glass. “Cheers.”
You bite back a giddy smile as you sip your wine. You’ve only been talking to this guy for about a minute, but already your limbs and cheeks are feeling warm from his closeness.
He gulps down half of his beer and lowers the glass with a satisfied ah, then smacks his forehead. “Damn, I’m an idiot. I didn’t even introduce myself.” He takes off his hat and bows his head to you. “How do you do? The name’s Portgas D. Ace, but please, call me Ace.” He plops his hat back on, then sticks out his hand.
You try hard not to laugh as you shake his hand — wow, his hand is warm. “I’m Ella.”
“Ella. Nice to meetcha,” he says. “Are you here on your own?”
You smile. It would sound like a sleazy line if not for his warm and guileless expression. “No, actually. I — shoot, I forgot to order drinks for my friends. I wonder where they are?” You pop up on your toes to scan the crowd.
When you finally spot Nami and Robin, a laugh of surprise escapes you: Nami and Robin are with Ace’s companions. The blond guy and Robin are chatting animatedly, and Nami appears to be telling off Ace’s broadly-grinning younger brother.
“What’s funny?” Ace says.
You point through the crowd. “Those are my friends that your brother and your friend are talking to.”
“Well, would you look at that,” Ace says cheerfully. “But Sabo’s not just a friend. The three of us are brothers.”
“Oh,” you say in surprise. You had assumed with Sabo’s blond hair that he wasn’t related to Ace or the younger guy, but you should know better than to make assumptions. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem,” Ace says easily. “Sabo and I are almost the same age, so it’s an easy mistake. Luffy’s the youngest and dumbest of us all.”
You laugh at this. “That’s such an older-brother thing to say.”
His smile widens into a grin, and you can feel your own smile growing in response. Damn, he’s so attractive. And it’s not just that he’s handsome, which he obviously is. There’s something about him, some ineffable aura about him that’s… compelling, for lack of a better word. The warmth of his smile, maybe, or maybe it’s his loose-and-easy body language? In any case, you feel yourself being drawn to him like a moth to a flame, even though all he’s doing is smiling at you.
Fuck, your cheeks are hot. You force your gaze to your wineglass in an attempt to stop staring at him. “So you’re, um… Who are you dressed as? I don’t recognize your cosplay.”
His eyebrows rise. “Who, me? I’m not in cosplay.”
“You’re not?” you say in surprise. “I thought you and your brothers were doing a group cosplay, with the hats and stuff.”
He smiles at you and tips his hat. “Hey, what are you saying? You think our hats are some kind of goofy costume?”
You giggle. “I never said your hats are goofy. And what are you saying about cosplays, that they’re just goofy costumes?”
He chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. “Ah, it feels like I’m trapping myself with this convo. Of course they’re not goofy. They’re awesome. Especially when you’ve really got a group cosplay going on, like you and your friends.”
You give him a mock-chiding look. “Trying to save yourself by complimenting us?”
“Hey, don’t knock it if it works. Especially if the compliment is true.”
He’s grinning at you again, and it’s making your heart race. His smile is just so infectious, warm as a bonfire and full of mischief, and you can feel yourself shifting closer to him, as though you’re being reeled in by his irresistible allure.
You give him a playful look. “So if you’re not in cosplay, this is how you really dress?” You gesture at his eclectic outfit, which includes not just the unique orange cowboy hat, but a necklace of red beads, an eye-watering lime-green button-up that’s fully open down the front, black shorts and black combat boots, and a belt buckle with an ‘A’.
He laughs: a bright, warm sound that sparks even more warmth in your belly. “Wow. So I give you a compliment, and you drag me for my clothes?”
“I’m not dragging you!” you laugh. “It’s just an honest question! I have the same question about your brothers’ clothes too, especially… Sabo, right? Your brother who’s the same age?”
“Hey, don’t put me and Sabo in the same category when it comes to clothes,” Ace says drolly. “He’s got his own reasons for doing all that.”
“Reasons besides wanting to look like a steampunk nobleman, you mean?”
Ace quirks a brow and sips his drink, and you tut playfully at him. “Oh please. Are you trying to tell me that his outfit has some special meaning aside from looking fancy and cool?”
Ace’s eyes widen comically. “So you think Sabo looks fancy and cool, but not me? That hurts my feelings.”
You laugh and poke his arm. “I’m not saying that. You look — um.” You were about to tell him that he looks great, which is the truth; regardless of his clothing choices, Ace is the most good-looking guy you’ve ever laid eyes on. But you just met him, and you’re not quite tipsy enough to say something that forward.
“I look what?” he says. “Goofy?”
His eyes are twinkling, the shithead. He’s obviously teasing you now, which just makes you feel even more warm and tingly.
You bite the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from giggling like an idiot, and you give him a kindly look. “You look very nice. Like you just stepped off of a kangaroo ranch.”
He bursts out laughing. “Oi. I don’t know if that’s the greatest compliment ever, or if you’re trying to insult kangaroo ranchers.”
You’re laughing like a fool now, too. “Honestly, I don’t even know. Maybe we should change the subject.”
“Sure, sure, let yourself off the hook,” he says drolly. “Then I’ll ask you this. You’re Sailor Mercury by moonlight. So are you a straight-A student by daylight, too?”
“Is this your way of asking if I’m a student?”
“Yup. If I’m going to let a pretty girl make fun of my clothes, I should at least know what her occupation is.”
Pretty girl! He just called you a pretty girl! As if you weren’t already blushing like a schoolgirl with a crush — which is literally what you are, to be honest. “I’m — yeah, I am a student. I’m in the first year of my linguistics PhD.”
“Hey, cool,” he says. “A cunning linguist, huh?”
You snort a laugh. “If only I had a berry for every time someone made that lame old joke.”
He’s laughing again, too. “I had a feeling it was a little on the unoriginal side. But that really is cool. I’ve never met anyone who’s studying linguistics before.”
“Are you a student, too?”
He shakes his head. “I work down at the marina.”
“Really?” you say with interest. “Are you — what do you do? Do you own a boat?”
“Not yet,” he says. “Someday, though. When Sabo’s done his Master’s degree and I’ve saved up enough berries, I’ll sail around the world and make a name for myself.”
“A name for yourself doing what?”
“I dunno yet. But I’ll figure it out along the way.” He lifts his beer to his mouth and starts gulping it down, and you have to force yourself not to stare at him again. He’s so interesting, with his carefree-and-confident attitude, and you can’t help but feel a little envious of his freedom. Not that you don’t love what you’re doing — only a masochist would lock themselves into a post-secondary degree without really loving what they do, after all — but you’ve always really wanted to travel around the world, too. You’re hoping you’ll have the opportunity to travel after your degree, or even during your degree, if you’re super lucky and can spare the berries and the time. But for now, you have to live vicariously through your friends and the travel influencers you follow on Instagram.
You take another sip of your wine before asking him another question. “Are you going to sail the world with Sabo and Luffy? Is that why you’re waiting for Sabo to finish his degree?”
“Probably not,” Ace says. “We’ll go our separate ways when he’s done, I think. But there’s enough to keep me busy around here until he’s done.”
“Enough to do at the marina while you save up, you mean?”
He nods and adjusts his hat. “And keeping an eye on Luffy. Not that he needs supervision anymore — heh, it’s easy to forget he’s a legal adult now. But he bumbles into some stupid shit sometimes, y’know.”
You give him a fond look. “You really are a big brother, huh?”
“Of course,” he says proudly. “And I mean, sure, Luffy can get himself out of his own trouble. But there’s always that part of your brain that’s gonna be on alert to make sure your kid brother doesn’t get himself eaten by sea kings.”
Your stomach lurches at the mention of sea kings, but you smile at the joke. “Your parents left it to you and Sabo to chase him around, did they?”
“No parents,” he says. “But yeah, we did spend a hell of a lot of time chasing him around. But he chased us right back, so it’s an even balance.”
No parents? you think. Wait, does he mean…? He and his brothers are orphans? But he said that so casually, like it’s no big deal. Would it be rude to ask him more about it, even though you just met? Damn, everything about Ace makes you so curious, but you don’t want to be intrusive.
He sets his empty beer glass down with another satisfied ah. His gaze returns to you, and he smiles.
Oh god, there’s a hot tingle setting up between your legs, and all he’s done is smile at you? What the hell is it about Ace that’s calling to you in such a visceral way?
Feeling flustered now by your own reaction to him, you drop your gaze to your glass. “What?” you say, and you take a gulp of your drink — the last gulp, in fact.
“Perfect timing,” he says. “I was wondering when you’d finish that.”
You tut playfully at him. “Don’t rush me. I was enjoying it.”
“That’s good,” he says. “But now that you’re finished enjoying it, I can ask if you want to dance.”
Your heart flips with pleasure. “Really? You — you can dance?”
“I guess you’ll find out,” he says cheerfully. “If you want to, of course. No pressure.”
“No,” you blurt. “I mean — yes, I mean! I — I’d love to dance.”
He smiles again: a broad, boyish smile that makes your racing heart skip. “C’mon,” he says, and he takes your hand and leads you away from the bar.
Fuck, your heart is pounding with excitement now. But you should check to see how the girls are doing. You glance over at them, and you see that Nami is still scowling at Luffy, who’s gesticulating in an incomprehensible way as he talks to her. But she’s holding a drink now, which probably explains why she looks a little appeased. Robin, on the other hand, looks like she’s having a lovely conversation with a laughing Sabo.
She meets your eye, and she gives you a tiny wink. Reassured that she and Nami are okay, you give yourself into Ace’s care as he leads you into the throng of dancing cosplayers.
The dance floor is even more crowded and energetic than before; you’re jostled from all sides as Ace leads you toward the center of the floor. When you finally stop, someone immediately collides with your back and forces you to stumble into Ace’s chest.
“Woah,” he says, and his hands circle your waist. “You okay?”
You gulp in a breath. His hands are so warm through your thin bodysuit, and the heat of them is sending shivers of excitement racing down your spine. “I’m fine,” you say weakly.
He dips his head down and brushes his lips to your ear. “What was that? I can’t hear you.”
For a second, you’re paralyzed. His words are warm against your ear, and he’s so close to you now that you can smell him. He smells like sweet warm skin and salt, like sleep and a hint of sweat and the sea, and you want to lick him…
Oh god, are you ovulating or something? You can’t remember ever reacting to a man this viscerally in your life. You take a bracing breath, and you tilt your chin up so your lips are close to his ear. “I’m great,” you say. “Let’s dance.”
He lifts his head a little, and his heated smile is so delicious that you have to fight the urge to kiss his smiling lips. Then he takes your hands in both of his, and he starts to jump.
You burst out a laugh. He’s jumping in perfect time to the music, jumping along with the rest of the leaping and cheering crowd, and his rhythm is pulling you in until you’re jumping right along with him. The music is a joyful driving beat, so loud that you can barely even hear yourself laughing as you and Ace jump around with the rest of the screaming crowd. You don’t know that you would call this dancing, really, since neither you nor Ace are moving with any particular finesse. But he’s jumping in perfect rhythm with the beat, and you’re laughing breathlessly and clutching his arms as you jump with him.
He pushes his hat off so it hangs around his neck by its leather string, and he runs his fingers through his wavy black hair. “Sorry, I’m sweating,” he yells.
“I would be shocked if you weren’t!” you yell back.
He leans in close and turns his ear to you. “What?”
There’s a glistening trail of sweat running from the back of his ear along the tendon in his neck. He smells even saltier than before, and it’s so… Fuck, he smells so good that you want to bite him. You don’t know if it’s your hormones going crazy or the draw of his personality, or just some incomprehensible force of magnetism between you and Ace that’s making you react to him this way. But in this moment right now, on this crowded dance floor full of ecstatically-moving bodies, you’ve never wanted a man so badly in your life.
You place your palms on his bare chest — wow, he really is sweating — and you glide your hands up his damp chest until your arms are around his neck. “Nothing,” you say into his ear. “It’s nothing.”
He straightens up a little, and you have just enough time to see his broad and beautiful smile before his arms slide around you. He’s pulling you close, close enough that your chest is flush to his, and all the while, you’re both still moving to the music. It’s loud and bass-heavy still, but the song is more smooth-sexy than energetic now, and you can feel the shift in mood translating into the way you’re moving with Ace. You’re both still jumping a little bit, but your movements are more sinuous now, with Ace shifting his shoulders and hips while you move in time with him, shamelessly wanting to press yourself as close to his body as you can get.
His hands are moving, too, gliding from your shoulder blades to the small of your back to your hips, then drifting down a little as though he wants to palm your butt, but is too polite to make the move. And honestly, you wish he would. You want his hands on your body so badly. You want his hands on your bare skin, you want to know the taste of his tongue, you want him so much that you can feel the desire thumping between your legs in time with the driving beat of the music.
Then his arms tighten around you, and his knee edges between your thighs.
You pull in a gasp and tilt your head back. “Ah—”
Ace kisses you.
A visceral surge of lust explodes in the depths of your body. You grip his shirt and part your lips, and he instantly deepens the kiss — oh fuck, you are totally done for. The way he’s kissing you, the hunger in his kiss, it’s like… Oh god, this is like nothing you’ve ever felt before. The firm seal of his lips over yours, the hot and careful sweep of his tongue into your mouth, the way he’s holding you close and bending you backward a little in his eagerness to devour your mouth: you are on fire with want. You’re lit from within with your desire for this man, and as you fist your hands in his shirt and suckle his tongue, you’re seized by the delirious feeling that this kiss marks the start and end of your life as you knew it. An insane thought, you know, and probably one that you’ll make fun of yourself for when you’re sober and away from the mind-melting rhythm of the music that’s vibrating through your chest and the soles of your feet. But right now, with Ace’s arms around you and the scent of his sweat taking over your senses like a drug, you can’t help but feel like this single kiss from this guy you barely know is changing your life completely.
A minute later — or maybe it was ten seconds, maybe it was a thousand years, you don’t fucking know — Ace peels away from the kiss and presses his forehead to yours.
You gasp for breath, your eyelids fluttering with bliss as you cling to him and ride his thigh… Oh fuck, you’re actually grinding on his thigh, you didn’t even realize what you were doing. “Sorry,” you whimper, and you (very reluctantly) start to back away. “I’m so sorry—”
He clutches you suddenly, pulling you tight against him in a sudden embrace, and your breath catches with surprise. Then, just as quickly, he releases you and cradles your neck in his palms. “Sorry,” he says — words that you can read on his lips rather than hear. “You okay?”
His eyes are wide, and his freckled cheeks are flushed and dappled with sweat. You stare up at him, stunned into silence by his beauty and by the thundering pulse in your throat and between your legs, wanting more, more: god, you want more, you want him so bad. You want him, you want to get to know him, you want to be with him, and the degree of want you feel is like nothing you’ve ever felt for anyone else in your whole fucking life.
You gulp in a breath and wrap your fingers around his wrist. “Ace, I really… W-would you think I was crazy if—”
A blur of a person slams into him in a full-body hug. “Aaaaaace! There you are!”
You flinch back in alarm, and it takes a second before you recognize the dark-haired tangle of limbs as Ace’s brother Luffy. Ace, meanwhile, is laughing while he tries to wrestle Luffy off. “Luffy, you idiot! What’s — hey, where’s Sabo?”
Luffy unwinds himself from Ace’s body. “He’s coming! He told me to find you. He says we have to split because someone saw him vandalizing the washroom!”
“What? Hang on, let’s go over here.” Ace grabs your hand and Luffy’s collar, and he guides both of you through the still-jumping crowd and back toward the bar.
Nami and Robin are there, and the catlike smile on Nami’s face is an immediate giveaway that she saw you and Ace kissing on the dance floor. Once you’re face-to-face with them, Ace releases your hand and politely tips his hat to Nami and Robin. “You’re Ella’s friends, hey? I’m Ace. And I know you’ve met Luff—”
“There he is!” Luffy exclaims. “Sabo’s right there!” He starts madly waving both arms. “Oi, Saaaaabo—”
Ace covers his mouth. “Quiet, dumbass! Don’t draw attention to him, remember?”
You give them a funny look. The way they’re talking is almost as though vandalism is a frequent activity of Sabo’s, and the fact that Robin is chuckling adds to your sense that you’re missing some context.
“Am I missing something here?” you say to Ace. “Why did Sabo vandalize something?”
Ace grins and puts his hat back on. “So here’s the thing. Sabo is a… an activist, let’s call him. A really active activist, and he—”
Sabo suddenly appears between Nami and Robin. “Hey there,” he says to you. “Ella, I presume. Wish we could stay and chat, but we’ve got to run. Literally.” He gives Ace a knowing smirk.
Ace laughs. “You don’t even take a single night off, huh?”
“Real justice doesn’t take a break,” Sabo says with a wicked grin. “Robin, thanks for the chat, it was incredibly informative. Nami, thanks for putting up with our bungling little bro.”
Nami scoffs, though she’s smirking too. Then Luffy leaps onto Sabo’s shoulders. “See you guys later! Let’s get some meat next time! Sabo, let’s go!”
“You don’t have to tell me twice. Come on, Ace, let’s get the fuck outta here.” He beelines into the crowd with Luffy on his shoulders.
Ace squeezes your shoulder. “Let’s hang out sometime. Sabo knows this great ramen place, we can all go together.” He nods politely to Nami and Robin.
“I’d — yes please, that — I’d like that,” you say eagerly.
“Nice,” Ace says warmly. “Can I give you my number? Sabo’s got my phone.”
You unlock your phone and hand it to him, still feeling starstruck and unbalanced by the way he kissed you, and you watch him moonily as he taps around in your texts. Then he hands the phone back to you. “Sent myself a text. We’ll see you around,” he says. And with one final tip of his hat, he slips away into the crowd.
“Well well,” Nami says creamily. “Looks like somebody was having a nice time.”
You turn to face her and Robin, who’s smiling at you in a beatific way. “Guys,” you say seriously, “if I told you I just fell in love at first sight, would you think I was insane?”
Robin chuckles, and Nami tsks and rolls her eyes. “Please. That wasn’t love at first sight. It was love at first makeout-in-public-at-a-club, which is totally different, and probably not love either, since, you know, we’re at a club…?”
“This is different,” you say plaintively. “He’s different. I know I sound like I’m full of shit, but… god, I swear, that guy is something else.” You fan your still-hot cheeks. You can’t stop thinking about the heat of his tongue licking into your mouth, the steady strength of his arms around you as he bent you backwards with his passion, and the wide-eyed look on his face as he cradled your neck in his palms… God, your heart feels like it’s vibrating in your chest.
Nami’s skeptical expression softens into a frown. “Ella, are you serious about this guy?”
“I seriously want to see him again, yes,” you say. You give her a playful look. “Would you come for ramen with us? Hang out with your new best friend Luffy?”
“Ugh, do not talk about him!” she exclaims. “I’ve never met someone so obnoxiously happy. If I run into him again, I might strangle him.”
“I’ll come,” Robin says. “I had a very good conversation with Sabo about how he would dismantle the Akainu administration.”
You look at her in surprise. “The — what, really?”
She nods. “He’s studying political science. He’s very well-suited to it in some ways. And in other ways…” She chuckles again, then leans in closer to you and Nami. “He told me that he was going to spray-paint the men’s washroom with the slogan Suck balls, Akainu.”
“What?” Nami exclaims.
You burst out laughing. “Oh my god! That’s so childish but sooo funny.”
“It will get people talking, certainly,” Robin says. “And hopefully checking out his website.”
“Wait, his website?” says Nami, and she wrinkles her nose. “Who has a website nowadays and not an IG?”
“A website is more anonymous,” Robin explains. “Anyway, he told me he was going to leave his QR code on the bathroom wall along with the graffiti.”
Nami laughs. “What a weird guy. He dresses like that at a club, then spray-paints a bathroom wall with an anti-Akainu slogan and his QR code?”
“I think it’s great,” you giggle. “And I can’t wait to hear more about his political activities when we see them again.”
“Right,” Nami says sweetly. “Sabo’s political activities are totally what you care about. It’s not at all about smooching the freckly cowboy again.”
You burst into laughter and smack her arm. “Freckly cowboy? What a way to describe him!”
She and Robin are laughing now, too, and you relish in the warmth of their laughter — and in the scorching-hot memory of Ace’s kiss: a kiss that you really hope won’t be the last.
**************
To your great pleasure, Ace texts you two days later inviting you, Nami and Robin to meet him and his brothers for ramen. Robin is tied up working on a funding grant, unfortunately, so she’s not able to come after all, but Nami begrudgingly joins you — or at least, she’s pretending to be a grudging participant, though she ends up having a pretty intense-sounding conversation with Luffy about the logistics of sailing around the world without a GPS.
This group gathering becomes one of several over the next couple weeks: gatherings that are joined by Luffy’s best friend Zoro, a stern-faced and green-haired kendo champion who, amusingly, seems to be fully on board with Luffy’s pie-in-the-sky sailing-around-the-world plans. During these group gatherings, you get to learn more about Ace and his brothers. You learn that none of them are related by blood, and that their bond as brothers is one that they chose for themselves when they were kids: a fact that you find so endearing, especially since your relationship with your own actual-genetic brothers is… lacking, in a nutshell, especially compared to how close Ace is with Luffy and Sabo. You also discover that Ace is a scuba instructor, and that he’s the main breadwinner for the three of them, since Luffy is gleefully unemployed and Sabo only earns a modest post-grad stipend from the university. You don’t find out what exactly Ace meant by ‘no parents’, or even whose parents he was referring to, since Sabo mentions his own Akainu-loving parents in passing. But from the way the boys talk, you get the sense that there wasn’t much of an adult presence in their upbringing: a fact that makes you sad for them, but which they’ve clearly risen above thanks to their bond.
As much as you enjoy these group gatherings, though, you wish that you and Ace could have some time together alone — and you privately wonder why all of his invitations are for group get-togethers, and not one-on-one. As the weeks go by, you start to wonder whether you had imagined the crazy chemistry between you and Ace, or if Nami was right about your connection being born from the unique (and stupid) mental state that comes with meeting someone sexy while half-drunk at the club. But… no, the connection couldn’t just have been club-beer goggles, because Ace is casually affectionate with you even when all of you are together. He sits beside you during all your group meals, and he frequently puts his arm around you. And one time, during a group outing to an amusement park, Ace held your hand while you were waiting in line for a roller coaster — and the feeling of his warm fingers twined with yours was more exhilarating than any of the rides in the entire park.
But he doesn’t kiss you again. When you part ways at the end of your group hangouts, he smiles at you or squeezes your shoulder in a way that makes your heart jump against your ribs, but he doesn’t kiss you again, and you don’t understand why. Does he have feelings for you or not? Is he just being friendly? But he’s not ‘being friendly’ this way to Nami, so he must have special feelings for you — or at least more-than-platonic feelings. But if that’s the case, why doesn’t he invite you on a proper date so the two of you can spend some time alone?
You could just ask him, of course. And frankly, if any other guy in the past was acting in this confusing way, you would have cut your losses and not bothered with them anymore. But Ace is so… Ugh, it feels cringe to admit this, since you haven’t known him long, but he’s special. He’s fun and charismatic and gorgeous, polite but cheeky in a hilarious way, and the way he cares about his brothers is so heartwarming. And the more you get to know him, the more you suspect that he’s got an introspective side that you haven’t yet gotten the chance to tap into. You like him so much, and when you’re with him, you really feel like he likes you, too — except for the fact that he hasn’t asked to spend time with you alone. And the more time goes by, the more time you spend with Ace and the rest of the group, the more… afraid you feel, almost, to know why he’s not inviting you to spend time alone. What if you’re wrong about your attraction being mutual? What if you really are the only one who’s feeling such an intense way? What if you admit to him how much you like him, and he tells you he’s only looking for something casual?
The answers to these questions are too painful to contemplate. So instead of asking Ace directly like a mature adult, you act like a passive coward, and you go along with whatever group activities you and Nami are invited to. You tell yourself that you can always ask him eventually, once you’ve garnered a bit more courage — and you’re sure you’ll become more courageous with just a little more time.
Then, early one morning, while you’re sleepily waiting for your morning toast to pop, Nami comes rushing into the kitchen with her curlers still in her bangs. “Omigod Ella omigod you have to see this thing on Insta.”
You groan and shirk away from her. “Nami, nooo. It’s too early for Insta.”
“Trust me,” she says. “You want to see this.”
Her tone is dead-serious, and it’s enough to alarm you into being more awake. You peer at her phone, which is playing a short news reel about — wait a second. Is that Sabo?
“What?” you exclaim, and you take her phone. Sure enough, the reel is a news item about domestic terrorism, and the photo of the ‘terrorist’ in question is Sabo.
You gape open-mouthed at the ninety-second news reel. When it ends, you immediately play it again so you can get the full context, and by the time it’s done, your heart is thrumming with horror. According to the reel, Sabo has been branded as a dangerous criminal by CP9 — also known as President Akainu’s sycophantic international surveillance organization — and there’s even a bounty out for his capture, of all the fucking barbaric things.
Your hands are trembling as you give Nami back her phone. “Holy fuck,” you say shakily. “But—”
She interrupts you. “We should text them. Find out if they’re safe.”
You nod and scramble for your own phone, and you send Ace a terse text asking if he and his brothers are okay. A second later, your phone rings.
You jump and yelp in alarm, and Nami yelps too and grabs your arm. “Yeek! What? Who is it?”
“It’s Ace,” you say blankly, and you answer the phone. “Hello? Hey, are you okay?”
“Hey!” he says brightly. “Guess you saw the news, huh?”
He sounds awfully chipper, all things considered, and you can hear a faint rushing noise in the background that kind of sounds like wind. “We did, yeah,” you say. “Are you guys okay? Did you skip town? Where are—? Shit, should I even be asking where you are?”
“You can ask,” he says. “But I can’t tell you.”
You wilt a little. “Ace…”
He laughs. “Sorry sorry, it’s not funny, I know. But don’t worry, we left town safely. We’re together and we’re okay. Together for now, at least.”
“What — you’re not staying together?” you say worriedly.
“Sabo doesn’t want us to,” says Ace dryly. “He thinks he’ll be putting us in danger, which is bullshit—”
Luffy’s loud voice interrupts from the background, as though he’s yelling from the backseat of a car. “We’re brothers! We can fight together!”
Sabo’s quieter voice comes through. “I know, Loof. But I started this fight, and I don’t want you guys getting involved. But don’t worry, you know me, I’ve got friends in weird places—”
Ace speaks again, cutting him off. “Anyway, we’ll be heading to, uhhh, somewhere. Then we’ll split up and set off on our own adventures.”
“Fuck,” you breathe. “Ace, I’m so sorry. I — god, I hate hearing that you guys will be separated.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Ace says kindly. “We were always meant to go our separate ways, chase our separate fortunes. It’s just happening a little sooner than we thought, that’s all. But listen,” he says in a more serious tone, “I’m going to have to ditch my phone. When I hang up, you should block and delete my number, just in case.”
Your heart sinks. “O-okay, if… if that’s what you think is best. But…” You trail off. You were going to ask how you’ll get in touch with him, but if he’s a refugee from the law along with Luffy and Sabo, then it’s probably not a good idea to be in touch with him at all anymore.
Your eyes sting with tears. Then he speaks in a gentle tone. “Listen, Ella, it’s been — I mean…” He huffs a little laugh.
“It’s okay,” you say thickly — fuck, you hope he can’t hear the tears in your voice. “Just be careful, okay? Get that sailboat you always wanted. Have an amazing time sailing the world.”
“I definitely will, don’t you worry,” he says. “Make sure you get everything you want, too.”
Your throat thickens even more. It’s impossible for you to have everything you want, now that you’re losing touch with Ace for good.
You swallow hard, then speak in the steadiest voice you can manage. “Take care of yourself, Ace. I…” You press your lips together hard before you can say something really stupid.
“I will,” he says softly. “Bye, pretty girl.” Then he’s gone.
You lower your phone and hide your face in your hand. Then Nami speaks in a tentative tone. “They’ve skipped town?”
You nod and swallow hard. “He… He said to delete his n-number…”
Nami’s arms encircle you in a hug.
A sob bursts from your throat, which is fucking embarrassing. “S-sorry. Being so s-stupid,” you choke out — oh god, you’re really crying now, what the fuck.
“Aw, Ella…” She hugs you more tightly, which prompts you to cry even harder. And as you stand there in the kitchen, sobbing into her shoulder, you realize just how much your own cowardice has fucked you over. You fell fast and hard for Ace, but you never told him how you felt, and you never gathered the guts to ask if he felt the same way. And now that he’s on the run from the law, you’ll never know what could have been.
The boy you’re in love with is gone, and any chance you had of being with him for real is gone, too.
Present day…
Robin’s turquoise eyes are enormous. “Goodness, Ella. I remember when that ridiculous manhunt happened with Sabo, but I never knew you felt so strongly about Ace.”
“I was too embarrassed to tell you,” you say sheepishly. “Especially since you only met them the one time. But… Anyway, now you know. And…” You let out a little laugh, feeling more giddy by the second. “God, I still can’t believe it. I literally never thought I would see him again.”
She smiles at you. “What are you going to do, now that you two are in the same place again?”
“I can tell you what I’m not going to do,” you say wryly. “I’m not going to be a fucking coward this time.”
Her smile widens, and she squeezes her hand. “That sounds like an excellent plan.”
You smile at her in turn. God, you sure do hope you can live up to your own brave words.
Chapter Text
Hot fucking damn, Ella was here? This was fucking surreal.
Ace’s heart was hammering as he traipsed down the stairs into the Polar Tang. He was of half a mind to go back up onto the deck and talk to her again — to study her face and reassure himself that she really was here, and he wasn’t having some kind of awesome hallucination. But his feet kept carrying him down the stairs and into the belly of the Tang.
He made his way through the main corridor, tipping his hat politely to the Corazon crewmembers as they bustled around getting ready to set sail. He opened the hatch that led down to the cargo hold and climbed down the ladder, and when he was finally in the echoing quiet of the cargo hold, he paused and leaned against the wall.
He rested his head back against the wall with a sigh. Then, alone in the cargo hold, he started to laugh.
He couldn’t believe Ella was here. It would’ve been enough of a coincidence for the Corazon Crew’s new clients to be someone he knew. But for the new client to be her? Not only someone he knew, but someone that he actually still thought about after leaving her behind?
Ace was long accustomed to leaving people behind. It was something of a necessity when you were sailing around the world on your own, after all. In the three years since he, Sabo, and Luffy had set out on their own paths, Ace had made countless friends across the world, and his record-breaking wins in freediving competitions across the Grand Line had garnered him a fair amount of fame in the freediving world — and something of a renegade reputation, too, since he hadn’t bothered to foster close ties with any coaches or other competitors within the community.
Actually, now that he was thinking about it, the six months or so that he’d been working for Trafalgar Law was the longest amount of time that he’d spent ‘in one place’, so to speak. It was off-brand for him to stay in anyone’s company for this long — anyone who wasn’t Sabo or Luffy, obviously — but the Corazon Crew were a fun group to hang out with, and the pay was great. And it wasn’t like his arrangement with Law was permanent or anything. He wasn’t an actual member of the Corazon Crew; he was a contractor, which meant he could leave as soon as his contract was done, if he wanted to. And leaving the Polar Tang was what he planned to do, as soon as his year-long ban from freediving was up and he was allowed to compete again.
Anyway, the point was that Ella was here. And of all the countless friends that Ace had made over the years, of all the people he’d had casual hookups with during his travels, she was the only person whose memory plucked at something tender in his chest.
Of all the friends and lovers Ace had met and spent time with and said goodbye to, Ella was the only one that he’d ever felt any regret about leaving behind.
But she was here now, on the Polar Tang. She would be here on the Tang for a couple months, and Ace would be working closely with her for the entire time that she was here, which was… good.
He sank down into a crouch and pushed his hands through his hair. This was a good thing. It was great, actually, that Ella was here, that he could hang out with her again. So if it was a good thing, why did he feel… anxious? Was he anxious?
Naw, that was stupid. There was nothing to be anxious about. Besides, he was Portgas D. Ace. He’d dived in the most dangerous places in the world and come out (mostly) unscathed. He was the best fucking freediver in the entire Grand Line, even if the World Freediving Association had forbidden him from competing for a year. He wasn’t afraid of anything, and he definitely wasn’t afraid of spending time with a beautiful girl.
He smiled to himself. She really was just as beautiful as he remembered, and his memories of her were… Damn, they were really something. She was really something. Her brilliant smile, the humorous curl to her voice when she was teasing him, the way she joked around so easily with Sabo and Luffy, how perfectly she fit against his body on the dance floor…
A warm feeling spread through his abdomen, even as the memories made his chest feel tight. Damn, his body was going weird on him. Maybe he would ask Marco to check him out.
He chuckled, then stood up and finally went to check that the Striker was secure. And later tonight, he would find out what Ella had been up to for the past few years — and whether his memories of her were as sweet as the reality of hanging out with her again.
**********
The Polar Tang’s departure from Dressrosa went off without a hitch. It was smooth sailing as they headed northeast toward Wano: a very pleasant introduction to the maritime life for newcomers like Ella and Robin, who hadn’t spent any real time on a ship. They made steady progress thanks to the good weather, and when they dropped anchor for the night, the crew threw a party on the upper deck to celebrate the start of their new venture.
As always when there was a party with Sanji involved, the food was an insane and incredible spread. Ace ate so much that he fell asleep in the middle of his fourth bowl of ghost pepper spaghetti, and he was grateful to Marco for waking him up so he could finish it off.
“Marco, are you sure Ace is okay?” Bepo said worriedly. “He does that a lot…”
“I’m fine, buddy,” Ace said through a full mouth. “Been doin’ that since I was a kid. Don’t even worry about it.”
“You’re going to choke someday,” Law said flatly.
Ace swallowed his last mouthful of pasta and shot him a grin. “Good thing everyone on this ship knows first aid and CPR then, hey?”
Law clicked his tongue, and Sanji sighed and held out a napkin. “Wipe your face. You look like a slob in front of the ladies.”
Ella chuckled, and Ace’s heart lifted at the familiar sound. He quickly wiped his face clean, and Sanji poured more wine for Robin and Ella. “Are you ladies enjoying the journey so far?” he said solicitously. “You’re not feeling at all seasick, are you? If you are, tell me right away — I can give you some mint to chew on, and I’ve got a handful of recipes to help with nausea.”
“They shouldn’t get seasick,” said Franky, who was strumming a guitar. “Our Polar Tang’s too big for that.”
“I dunno about that,” said Penguin, and he elbowed Shachi. “You remember that contract we took just south of Weatheria?”
Shachi burst out laughing. “What, with that crazy monsoon that the Captain took us straight into? And how Bepo threw up all over the rec room floor?”
Bepo hung his head. “I said I was sorry…”
“Leave him alone,” Law said. “That was a rough ride.”
Penguin grinned at him. “It wouldn’t have been so rough if you hadn’t been trying to beat Eustass Kid to get there.”
“I wasn’t trying to beat that metalhead,” Law said. “I did beat him.”
The rest of the crew cheered and stamped their feet, and Robin thoughtfully tilted her head. “Riding right into a monsoon sounds very exciting. I wonder how many pieces the Polar Tang would have broken into if things had gone badly?”
“Robin!” Usopp exclaimed. “Don’t say things like that so casually!”
Shachi, Penguin, Bepo and Franky laughed, and Law gave her a wry look. “That was an exceptional circumstance. We’ll be more careful while you two are on board.”
“Sure you will,” Penguin taunted. “Unless Ace dares you to do something crazy.”
Ace comically widened his eyes. “Crazy dares? Me? Damn, guys, what makes you think I’d do such a thing?”
Ella laughed, and Ace’s heart lifted. She’d been laughing a lot tonight, and it was awesome to hear that her laughter was as sparkly-sounding as he remembered.
Marco smiled wryly at Ace. “Do we need to tell Ella and Robin the story of how Law hired you-yoi?”
Shachi and Penguin started laughing again, and Ace grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. “Aw, you don’t have to do all that…”
Law clicked his tongue. “I don’t know why you idiots keep telling that story.”
“I thought it was an amusing story,” said Izo. “Marco, tell it again.”
“Gladly, since I’m the one who introduced Ace to the Corazon Crew-yoi.”
Law grunted and folded his arms, and Marco smiled and adjusted his glasses. “First off,” he said to Ella and Robin, “did you two know that Ace and Law are freedivers?”
“I was a freediver,” Law said. “Not anymore.”
“Wait, really?” said Ella. “Both of you?”
She was looking right at Ace with wide eyes. He smiled at her, but Marco replied before he could speak. “They sure are-yoi. Captain Law hasn’t competed in years, but Ace was active until — well. Until recently,” he said, with a quick glance at Ace. “In any case, Ace was on a break from the competition circuit and looking for work, and Captain Law was looking for a scuba instructor who could also freedive. I used to work as an on-site emergency physician at the freediving competitions, which is how Ace and I know each other. So I brought Ace to meet the captain, thinking he might be a good fit-yoi.”
“Crazy idea,” Penguin said.
“So crazy,” snickered Shachi.
“Hey,” Ace protested. “Are you guys saying I don’t fit in?”
Bepo chipped in. “You were so cheeky that the Captain almost fought you the first time you met.”
The crew burst into laughter, and Ace grinned and picked up his beer. “Oi, you guys make me sound like I was raised by wolves.” He kind of had been, in a manner of speaking, but it wasn’t like any of the Corazon Crew knew anything about that.
Law pursed his lips, and Marco waved his hands. “Anyway. Ace and Law butted heads that first time they met, but Law also hired him on the spot at that very meeting, for a very specific reason-yoi.”
“Why?” Ella said avidly. “What was the reason?”
“Ace goaded Law into a freediving match-yoi,” Marco said. “He said that if he could dive deeper than Law, Law had to hire him. And—”
“ —and he won,” Law interrupted. “Big deal. It’s time you all moved on.”
“It was a big deal, Captain!” Bepo insisted. “You’re an incredibly high standard to reach. You still hold the title as the highest-ranking freediver in the North Blue!”
“But not in the Grand Line,” Ace said slyly.
Law curled his lip, and Marco chuckled. “Anyway, that’s the tale of how Ace came on board. He dared Law into a competition, and — well, it was as good an interview as any, since it showed his freediving skills and the proof that he knew how to maneuver safely in dangerous waters-yoi.”
“Yeah yeah,” Sanji said dismissively, and he placed a big platter of fresh tempura on the table. “Enough talking about you guys. I want to hear more about our beautiful guests.” He beamed at Ella and Robin. “What are you ladies’ favourite foods, for example? Is there anything that your hearts are craving? Make a list for me, any dishes at all that you want, and I’ll cook them for you right away.”
Ace snapped his fingers. “Great point, Sanji. Ella, you’re in luck: this guy makes the best pigtail and stewed peas that I’ve ever had in my life.”
Her face lit up. “You remembered my favourite food?”
“Sure I do. With rice and fried plantain on the side, right?”
Her smile widened even more, which made him feel ridiculously proud of himself. Sanji, meanwhile, was studying them with narrowed eyes. “Remind us how exactly you know these lovely ladies, Ace?”
“We met at a party in Ohara a few years back,” he said. “I bought Ella a drink, and she said my clothes were goofy.”
She burst out a laugh. “That is not what I said! You’re the one who said cosplay is goofy!”
Usopp gasped. “Ace, you didn’t!”
“Of course I didn’t,” he protested. “How could I say something like that when she was dressed as the cutest Sailor Mercury I’ve ever seen?”
She grinned at him — ha, success! — and Sanji perked up. “Sailor Mercury?” he said eagerly. “I love the Sailor Scouts! There should be more anime with strong and powerful women with magical powers and the power of friendship and—”
“And little miniskirts?” said Franky dryly.
“Yeah — no! Oi, don’t be a pervert,” Sanji scolded. “It doesn’t matter what a lady wears when she’s kicking ass and taking names. Although,” he said adoringly to Ella, “I can only imagine how lovely you were in a Sailor Scout skirt.”
“Thanks,” Ella said drolly. “But you should’ve seen Robin as Sailor Pluto. She was the real knockout.”
Sanji’s jaw dropped. “Robin-chan, you went as Sailor Pluto?”
“I did,” she said warmly. “It was fun.”
Sanji’s eyes were popping now. “We should have a costume party so you ladies can dress like Sailor Scouts again! Law, how about—”
“That’s not happening,” Law said flatly.
Usopp, Shachi, Penguin and Marco laughed, and Ace grinned at Sanji. “Tough luck, chef.”
Sanji tsked. “Some people can’t recognize a great idea when they hear it. But listen, Ella-chan, don’t let Ace’s goofy sense of style bother you. I can promise you that I’ll never offend you with a goofy outfit.”
The entire Corazon Crew burst into laughter.
Sanji’s face creased into a scowl. “Oi, what are you hyenas laughing about?”
Izo replied. “They may be questioning the truth of your ‘goofy outfit’ statement, given that pink floral shirt you wore the other day.”
“Not just the shirt,” Penguin chimed in. “It was the shirt-and-short-pants combo that got me.”
“They’re called ‘capri pants’, idiot’, not short pants,” Sanji said scathingly. “And they’re the height of style in Skypeia.”
“It’s okay, cook,” Franky said kindly. “I thought that shirt was suuuper. Let me borrow it sometime.”
“Wha— are you crazy? You can’t borrow my shirt! You’ll stretch it!”
Usopp raised a hand. “What about that beige shirt and vest-thing you were wearing last week, then? You looked like a medieval peasant. In a burlap bag.”
The crew started laughing again, and Sanji flushed. “That’s not — that was different! I was behind on my laundry because I was busy cooking for you jerks!” He spun on Shachi, Penguin and Bepo. “And what the hell do you guys know about fashion? All you wear is jumpsuits!”
Bepo pointed at Law. “The Captain can talk about fashion! He’s always well-dressed.”
“Thanks,” said Law, who was smirking.
“It’s not fashion if all he’s doing is showing off his tattoos,” Sanji said disdainfully. “Besides, why aren’t you making fun of Usopp? He’s always wearing overalls that look like inflated balloons.”
“Hey, my overalls are amazing! Have you seen all my pockets? I can fit so many things in there!”
They kept arguing and making fun of each other’s sense of style (or lack thereof). Ace, meanwhile, was watching Ella from the corner of his eye. She was laughing at the others’ antics, but when she noticed him looking at her, her smile widened in a way that warmed the depths of his belly.
The evening darkened into night, and the party got rowdier as everyone loosened up with the free-flowing booze — everyone except Law and Robin, who looked like they were having a serious discussion in a quieter corner of the deck. Half the crew were singing sea shanties to the accompaniment of Franky’s guitar, and Ace got swept up playing a drinking game with the rest of the crew: a game called chō-han, which involved rolling dice and betting on evens or odds. But even as he played and drank, he kept finding his attention drawn to Ella, who was chatting on the couch with Usopp and an amusingly moon-eyed Sanji.
As the crew got drunker, they started playfully booing Izo for winning almost ten rounds of chō-han in a row. “It’s Marco’s fault,” Penguin said. “He’s cheating ‘cause he and Izo are besties.”
“Penguin!” Bepo gasped. “Marco would never cheat! He’s the most honest man on the ship!”
“Thanks, Bepo,” said Marco, who was handling the dice. “But if you guys want to be sure I’m not cheating, someone else can take over rolling the dice-yoi.”
“Like — hic — like who?” slurred Shachi. “Everyone’s too drunk.”
Ikkaku gave him a skeptical look. “So drunk that they can’t handle rolling dice? You’re the only one who’s that wasted.”
“You’re wasted,” Shachi retorted.
She wrinkled her nose. “You’re wasted!”
“No, you’re—”
Ace quickly jumped in. “I know who should take Marco’s place. Hey, Ella!”
She looked up from her conversation with Usopp and Sanji, and Ace gestured to her. “C’mere. Come roll the dice for us.”
“Hang on,” Penguin said. “Why her?”
“Because she’s perfect for it,” Ace said. “She’s unbiased since she just joined the ship, so no worries about cheating. And she’s not drunk as a skunk, unlike some,” he said with a grin at Shachi, who was slumped half-asleep on Ikkaku’s shoulder. He looked up at Ella, who was coming over to join the chō-han group on the floor. “You’re not drunk, are you?”
“Tipsy, sure. But drunk, nope!” She settled on her knees beside him.
A whiff of her hair hit him, and something clenched low in his gut. She smelled so damn good, and her scent sparked a memory in his mind: a very visceral memory of holding her close on a dark and crowded dance floor while she straddled his leg. Fuck, the memory of that night and of her, of what could’ve happened — what hadn’t happened, what he’d held back from jumping into, because… Because why, exactly? Why hadn’t he gone farther with her? Even now, years after he and Ella had parted ways, he couldn’t exactly pinpoint the reasons that he hadn’t taken things farther with her. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to; if anything, he was drawn to her more than anyone else he’d ever met before. But maybe that was the problem? But that was stupid. It didn’t make sense.
Anyway, who cared about all that? It was all in the past. And now, in the present, Ella was sitting next to him and looking so pretty and smelling so good, and he was going to enjoy being around her without any of that stupid hesitation from years ago.
He held out his hand to Marco. “Dice?”
Marco handed him the dice and the cup, and he smiled at Ella. “Know how to play chō-han?”
“Of course I do,” she said. “It’s an old Wanokunese game, remember? And I specialize in ancient Wanokunese. I mean, as much as I can be a specialist without being a fluent speaker of the modern language,” she said, with an apologetic look at Izo. “Not to say that I’m an expert or anything in Wano culture—”
“Relax,” Izo said drolly. “I have no doubt that you know more about the old Wanokunese language than I do. And it’s good that you’re already familiar with this game. It means Ace can’t cheat by explaining the rules to you in a biased way.”
Penguin, Bepo, and the other crew members laughed and jeered, and Ace chuckled and adjusted his hat. “Damn, you guys are suspicious. Did Sanji mix some kind of paranoia herbs into the punch tonight or something?”
“What was that?” Sanji bustled over. “Does someone need more snacks?”
“Yeah!” Penguin said. “Can you bring us another tray of tempura?”
“Ugh, fine. But only because my sweet Ikkaku-chan and Ella-chan are sitting with you.” He sauntered off to the galley.
Ace shook his head in amusement, then turned back to Ella. “Anyway. Our fate’s in your hands now, so here you go.” He plopped the dice into the cup, then handed it to her.
“All right. Before we get started…” She took off her sweatshirt. Then, to Ace’s delight, she pulled off her top, revealing a tight-fitting and lacy cropped tank-top thing.
“Woah!” blurted Usopp, who had wandered over to join them. “What’s going on? Are you guys playing strip chō-han now?”
“No!” Ella laughed. “It’s tradition for the dice-roller to bare their chest so you know they’re not cheating. Isn’t that right, Izo?”
“It is indeed,” Izo said.
“See?” Ella said. “That’s why Marco’s shirt is hanging open too, since he was the dice roller before.”
Izo, Bepo, and Penguin laughed, and Usopp gave her a knowing look. “That’s not why his shirt is open. Half the guys on this ship don’t know how to button their shirts.”
“Or wear shirts at all,” said Izo, with a wry look at Ace.
“Exactly,” Ace said cheerfully. “And look, Ella’s getting into the no-shirt spirit like a champ. Go on, then,” he said to her. “Let’s see Izo lose now since Marco can’t cheat anymore.”
The others laughed, and Ella giggled. “Okay, no pressure. Here we go.” She playfully blew into the cup, then covered it with her hand and shook the dice before upending the cup on the deck. “All right, Corazon Crew! Who’s going for odds?”
Half the crew raised their hands, including Ace, and Ella nodded in a pretend-serious way. “Okay. Let’s see here…” She lifted the cup.
Together, the dice added up to seven. “Odds it is!” Ella proclaimed. “Evens, drink up!”
The odds-betting crew cheered. The rest of the crew pretend-groaned and picked up their drinks, and Ella smiled at Ace. “Too bad for you if you were hoping to drink.”
“Eh, I’m easy,” he said. “I’ll drink more if that’s where my fate lies.” Honestly, though, he was thinking that it might be best if he didn’t drink anymore tonight. Keeping his wits about him might be a good idea, just in case he and Ella wanted to… what? Talk some more? Do more than talk? Hell yeah, if he was lucky… But was he getting ahead of himself by assuming he could get lucky with her? Man, he was thinking too hard about this.
She smiled at him — that belly-swooping smile — then gathered the dice back into the cup and blew on them before shaking the cup and turning it over on the deck. “Okay, friends, let’s go again! Who’s betting on odds this time?”
Half the crew raised their hands while shouting and pounding the deck — not including Ace this time — and Ella laughed as she lifted the cup. “Okay, settle down, let’s see… Oop, we’ve got snake eyes: evens this time! Sorry, odds, drink up!”
There was another round of cheering and playful complaints as the odds-betting crew took a drink. The game continued in this vein for a few more rounds, and by pure chance, Ace made a winning bet every time, meaning he was getting his private wish of not drinking anymore.
He laced his hands behind his head with a happy sigh, and Ella smiled at him. “You’re looking pleased with yourself for someone who hasn’t had a drink in seven rounds. People usually want to drink while they’re playing a drinking game.”
“It’s like I said: I’m happy to go wherever fate takes me,” he said. “And you’re the one in charge of our fate tonight, so you have only yourself to blame, pretty girl.” Oops, that last bit just slipped out.
Ella’s eyes went huge, and Penguin whistled. “Damn, Ace! Makin’ moves as soon as we’ve got a new guest on the ship!”
The other Corazon Crew members laughed and jeered playfully at him, but he didn’t care; he was too preoccupied by the way Ella was beaming at him.
Then Usopp gasped and pointed accusingly at him and Ella. “Woah-woah, hang on! They’re cheating!”
“Eh?” said Ace. “How?”
“You said she was unbiased, but you’re flirting with her so she’ll roll in your favour!”
“Usopp’s right,” Sanji complained. “Oi, Ace, don’t distract her when she’s trying to run the game!”
Ace grinned, and Ella laughed and waved her hands. “No! That’s — you guys! Don’t be silly! How can I roll in his favour if I don’t know whether he’s going to go for evens or odds?”
Aw, her cheeks were deep red now. On impulse, Ace leaned toward her and chucked her chin. “Sorry, Ella. The gig is up. Let’s give up now while we’re ahead.”
Penguin leapt to his feet. “Cheaters! I knew it!” he howled.
“Shut up, you’re so loud!” Ikkaku snapped, and she punched the back of his knee.
He yelped and fell forward onto the deck, scattering dice and drinks with a clatter. The other crew members laughed and scolded him and started wrestling with each other, while Marco and Izo sat there calmly drinking their beer as though nothing was happening.
Ella huddled closer to Ace with a laugh. “Oh my god. Are they always like this when they drink?”
“Yup,” Ace said dryly. “At least from what I’ve seen since I’ve been with them.”
“How long have you been with them?”
“Ehh… Six months or so?”
Her eyebrows rose. “You’ve only been with the Corazon Crew for six months? What were you doing before — wait, is that when you were doing freediving competitions?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Hey, let’s go somewhere quieter to catch up.”
She treated him to one of her incredible smiles. “Sure. I — that’d be great, I’d love that.”
He stood up and helped her to her feet, and they made their way to the couch where she’d been sitting before with Usopp and Sanji. He plopped down, and she sat cross-legged on the couch facing him. “So when did you become a freediver? You weren’t—? Were you a freediver back when we met? Did I forget you telling me about that?”
“Nah, you didn’t forget anything,” he assured her. “I wasn’t competing at the time. Competitive freediving wasn’t something I even knew about ‘til I started travelling.”
“Really? So how did you get into it?”
He shrugged and took off his hat. “I mean, I’ve had a knack for diving since I was a kid. And me and Sabo, we…” He huffed a laugh. “When we were kids, Luffy was a terrible swimmer. Just fucking terrible, no matter how much we tried to teach him. So we used to go diving for him — get shells and sand dollars for him, stuff like that. ‘Treasure hunting’, he called it.”
Ella smiled, and he smiled back at her as he went on. “I was always able to hold my breath for, like, twice as long as Sabo, even after we grew up. I never really thought much of it until my buddies at the marina started asking how long I’d been training as a freediver.”
Her eyes widened. “Really? They — you were that good without any training?”
“Guess so,” he says. “I didn’t even know there was a word for what I was doing until they started asking about it.” He quirked a brow at her. “Fast-forward to now, and I’m one of the best freedivers in the Grand Line. Soon to be the best, when I get back to it.”
She smiled. “Don’t be shy about it, now.”
”Never,” he said with a grin. “Go in blazing or go home. There’s nothing in between.”
She laughed. “Aw, you haven’t changed a bit.”
“Thanks! As long as that’s a compliment.”
“It sure is,” she said warmly. “So when will you be getting back to it? The freediving, I mean? Marco mentioned that you were looking for something else to do — is that why you joined the Corazon Crew?”
“I didn’t really join them,” he said. “I’m just on contract. Taking a little break from competitions for now, y’know.” He decided not to tell her that his break was a forced one. He saw no need to get into all that on their first night of hanging out.
He tweaked her earlobe. “What about you, then? What’ve you been up to all this time?”
“Wait, I want to know more about what you’ve been doing!” she said. “How much travelling did you do, then? You mentioned the Striker — have you had it for long? Did you do a lot of sailing with it?”
“So many questions,” he teased. “What if I want to know what you’ve been doing?”
She gave him a chiding look. “Ace, I’m in a PhD program. I’ve been doing PhD things. Research, reading, classes, teaching, the usual. I want to hear about your travels! Please?” She batted her eyelashes.
He laughed and rubbed a hand through his hair. “All right, all right, I’ll spin you some stories. But you’re tellin’ me more about what you’ve been up to later.”
“Deal!” she said happily, and she straightened up as though she was in class.
Fuck, she was so cute. What was he about to tell her…? Oh, some kind of travel stories. “Man, where do I start? I mean, I haven’t been everywhere in the world, but I’ve been around quite a bit…”
He told her about some of his earlier adventures, including the time he and the Striker were almost swallowed by an enormous whale, and the time he was chased out of the Sabaody Archipelago for setting some billionaire asshole’s car on fire.
She gasped. “You set someone’s car on fire on purpose?”
“Yeah. But trust me, if you saw the way this guy was treating these little homeless brats who were just playing in the street, you would’ve done the same. Well, maybe you wouldn’t,” he said with a grin, “but I don’t regret it. If there’s anything I regret, it’s that I didn’t set the car on fire more quietly. If I hadn’t been chased out, I could’ve stuck around and eaten more. The food in the Sabaody Archipelago is insane.”
“I’ve heard that,” she said wistfully. “I’d love to go there for the food alone. But — so all of those travels, all those crazy adventures, were you on your own? Like, even once you started doing the freediving competitions, you were on your own?”
“Pretty much. I mean, I went to the parties after the competitions, those were always a good time. And I met people while I was travelling. Made friends, hung around with them doing some fun stuff. Not the car-arson, that was all me,” he said cheekily, “but yeah, I made friends along the way.”
“But you didn’t have a travelling companion who went from place to place with you? You sailed the Striker on your own?”
“Yup. But she’s made to be maneuverable by a single person,” Ace explained. “You’ll understand when I show her to you. She’s small but mighty.”
Ella smiled, but for some reason, she looked a little sad now. “That’s so brave of you. Doing all of that on your own? That’s… really brave.”
“Hey, it’s not as dangerous to travel on your own as people say,” he said kindly. “Not if you keep your wits about you.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Spoken like a man. But the danger’s not really what I was thinking about. I was thinking that… I don’t know. If it was me… Like, don’t get me wrong, I would love to travel someday like you’ve done. But I just know I would get lonely without someone to share all of those adventures with.”
His heart clenched: just briefly, just for a second, but enough to make him catch his breath. Then he smiled at her. “It’s not so bad. And that’s one of the fun things about travelling: you get to meet all kinds of people along the way.”
“That’s true,” she said. But she was studying him now in a thoughtful way that made his chest feel a little tight.
He smiled at her, then plopped his hat back on his head. “What’s up, pretty girl? What are you thinking about?”
Her smile widened, but her reply was serious. “How are Sabo and Luffy doing? Do you see them often?”
That clenching-painful feeling gripped his chest again. Fuck, maybe he really should ask Marco to check him out. “Nah, we haven’t seen each other since we split up back in the day.”
Her eyes went huge. “Wha—! Are you serious?”
He nodded. “We’ve all been doing our own thing. Sabo’s with this freedom-fighter organization that does, like, undercover ops and stuff. He emails every now and again — usually from some dummy account, since he’s still on the CP9 bounty list.”
“What the fuck, still?” she exclaimed. “Do those guys have nothing better to do?”
Ace snorted a laugh. “Honestly, he deserves to still be on their list. The shit he gets up to? That he hints at getting up to, I should say. I’m proud of him.”
She smiled, though her eyes were still wide. “And what about Luffy? Do you hear from him?”
“Once in a blue moon, maybe. There was a minute there where he was texting me like fifty times a day, the crazy jerk. But he must’ve lost his phone, ‘cause I haven’t heard from him in… Shoot, a year now? Maybe more?”
Her jaw dropped. “A year?”
“Something like that,” Ace said casually. “But I’m sure he’s fine. He’s just like that. You remember how erratic he is.”
“Yeah, but—” She gasped and grabbed his arm. “Oh my god! I can’t believe I didn’t mention this earlier! You want to hear something crazy? You remember my friend Nami?”
“Yeah?”
“She joined up with Luffy like a year ago! She’s travelling around with him and Zoro now!”
Ace crowed with laughter. “What the hell? Are you for real?”
“Yes!” said Ella, who was laughing now too. “I thought she’d lost it when she told me she was heading out with him! But she’s always wanted to travel using only, like, old-school navigation tools — though she’s going to document it all for her socials, obviously, but still. She’s an influencer, by the way, it’s kind of insane how she’s blown up. Anyway, when Luffy and Zoro wound up back in Ohara thinking they’d made it around the whole Grand Line, she said she was going to be their navigator or they’d never make it beyond the Sabaody Archipelago.”
Ace couldn’t reply. He was laughing so hard that he couldn’t talk.
Ella giggled and patted his back. “Okay, I know it’s funny, but please breathe. I don’t know CPR yet, so I can’t help if you pass out.”
He finally wiped a tear of laughter from his eye. “You don’t use CPR for people who are passed out, dummy.”
She smacked his arm. “You’re the dummy! You can’t blame me for not doing my CPR training yet!”
“Fair, fair.” He took his hat off again and ran a hand through his hair, then smiled at her. “Thanks for telling me about Luffy. That made my day. Well, that and seeing you again.”
She perked up. “Really? Me too! I — when Law said you were the scuba instructor, I almost had a heart attack in the best way. I couldn’t believe it when you stepped onto the ship! It was like…” She trailed off with a breathy laugh and coyly dropped his gaze. “It was good. It’s — it’s great, I mean. Seeing you again.”
She was blushing again, just a little bit, and a warm feeling loosened his limbs. “It sure is,” he said, and he gently chucked her chin. “Your turn now. Tell me what you’ve been up to. You and Robin, since you’ve been workin’ together on the poneglyph translation stuff. The one in Wano’ll be the second one you’ve worked on together, right?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Yes, that’s right! You remember that?”
He clicked his tongue. “Sure I do. I’m more than just a pretty face, you know.”
Her smile curled with mischief. “Is that so? What area of linguistics do I focus on, then?”
Uh-oh. “Words and, uhh… grammar?”
She burst into giggles. “You know what, I’m going to give you credit for that since that’s pretty much accurate. The intersection of words and grammar is called morphosyntax, by the way.”
“Morphosyntax. Got it.” He tapped his temple. “Stored away in my brain now.”
“It better be. There’ll be a pop quiz in the morning.”
Mm, her mischief-curled lips were so pretty. He wanted to kiss her… Nope, hold off, be polite, they were having a nice catch-up chat. He ought to think of something else to ask her, something about her research—
Her voice interrupted his thoughts. “Ace, can I—? Mm.” She dropped his gaze again and ducked her head as though she was shy.
“What?” he said. “What’s up?”
She nibbled her lip (such pretty lips!), then gave him a sideways look. “I was just thinking that, um…” She let out a breathless little laugh. “This might sound dumb. But I always felt like… Like, back when you and the guys had to leave Ohara so suddenly, it felt like… unfinished business or something. Between you and me, I mean. I know we only knew each other for like a month, but still, I — I always felt… I don’t know, it didn’t feel like just a month to me, you know? It felt like… unfinished business.”
His heart stalled. That was really how she felt? He felt the same way! He and Ella had always had this crazy, uncanny connection: a connection that sparked during that cosplay party at that club, but that had never really grown into a proper flame, even during the time they’d spent hanging out together. Hell, what he and Ella had could’ve grown into a full-out inferno, but it never had. And now, years later, Ace still wasn’t sure why he hadn’t… encouraged it, or taken things in a more heated direction.
But he had the chance now. From what she was saying, from the way she was looking up at him through her eyelashes, it was clear that he had the chance if he wanted it. If Ace wanted this, he could dive straight into this thing between him and her, just as easily as plunging into the dark and welcoming depths of the sea.
But freediving was one thing. Holding his breath for minutes at a time was like second nature to him. Diving into the depths of what he could have with Ella, though?
Something inside of him tightened at the thought: the same part of him that had turned down Law’s offer to become a permanent member of the Corazon Crew. The same part of him that stuck to casual flings and one-night-stands rather than anything more serious. If anything happened between him and Ella, though, it couldn’t be a one-night-stand that he could walk away from, because they were on the Polar Tang now for at least two months. There was no saying farewell or leaving her behind. There was no hiding — not that he wanted to hide from her, obviously, since she was great. And only cowards hid from things.
Anyway, the point was that Ella was gazing up at him with those big beautiful eyes, and… Damn it, he wanted to kiss her so badly. But they were going to be together on the ship for months, and… And if they did this, if they took this any farther, there would be no going back.
But why would he want to go back? For fuck’s sake, why was he even hesitating about this? He liked Ella. And he was pretty damn sure the sex would be great, if that one incredible kiss they’d shared was anything to go by. So why wouldn’t he want more with her?
You don’t know what it’s like having more, a voice said in his head. And it was true; he had always moved along before any of his fuck buddies had the chance to become more. Was that why he felt nervous about this? Because he’d never done ‘more’ before? But that was a stupid thing to be nervous about. And besides, Ace didn’t get nervous. He was the boldest fucking freediver in the world. When had he ever stood on deck worrying and being nervous rather than jumping right in with both feet?
Besides, who said this thing with Ella had to be more? They could always just sleep together and see where things went, like how he’d done with Sanji when he first joined the Polar Tang. If it didn’t end up being anything more than a few awesome nights together, then that was fine.
Reassured by his own mental pep talk, he gave her a sly look. “Unfinished business, huh? Are you telling me you want to finish?”
Her jaw dropped, and she burst out a little laugh. “Ace!”
“Sorry, sorry,” he chuckled. “That was crass. I apologize, seriously. But to answer your question…” He gently ran his thumb along the curve of her ear. “I’m with you. ‘Unfinished’ is right.”
The joy in her face nearly made him laugh out loud. “Really? That’s great! I was really—”
He tipped up her chin.
Her eyes widened, her lips parting on a little catch of breath, and Ace’s pulse kicked up. She was so fucking lovely, and her lips were a whisper away from his…
Damn, this was surreal. He was about to kiss Ella. Three years after their first kiss, that first impulsive and incredible kiss, he was about to kiss her again, and… Hot damn, his heart was racing.
She wet her lips and gave him a pleading look. “Ace…”
Slowly, heart thumping, he dipped his head down and brushed his nose to hers.
She made the softest, sweetest little whimpering sound, and it was like she’d flicked a lit match onto a pile of tinder. He eagerly slanted his lips over hers, his hand curving around the side of her neck as he nipped her lush lower lip, and she was shifting closer to him and gripping his wrist — woah, fuck yes, her other hand was on his thigh! He hungrily licked her tongue, and she shifted closer still and squeezed his thigh, and—
A racket of stamping and cheering and hollering rose up from the other side of the deck, and Ella squeaked in surprise and covered her mouth. Then Franky’s loud voice cut across the noise. “Suuuper job reuniting, you two! We’re rooting for you!”
Ella was laughing now and hiding her face in her hands. Ace grinned at the crew, then stood up from the couch and held out his hand. “Come on, pretty girl. Let’s go somewhere else to deal with this unfinished business.”
She beamed at him as she took his hand, and he led her to the stairs with a light heart. He didn’t know where this was going after tonight, but right now, he didn’t care. He and Ella were going to have an awesome night, and for now, that was all that mattered.
Notes:
I love Sanji to the All-Blue and back, but BOY does he need some fashion help sometimes. That one fit from the Baron Omatsuri movie? 😭😭😭Nami save him from himself I BEG.
Chapter 5: Dream
Notes:
Non-canon lore behind Ace’s arm tattoo, since Sabo’s non-death doesn’t happen in this AU.
Chapter Text
You’re trembling as Ace leads you to the stairs, and it’s not because you’re only wearing shorts and your bralette. You can’t count the number of times you’ve imagined this — Ace taking you somewhere private so you can follow up on all the scorching-hot promise of the kisses he gives you? And now it’s actually happening! Holy shit, you’re so excited.
You follow him into the Polar Tang. “Where are we going?”
“To my cabin. If that’s okay with you?”
Yessss! “That’s great. I — yeah, that’s great.”
He shoots you a smile over his shoulder, and you have to bite back a giddy little laugh. Then he slides open the door to the corridor leading to the guest cabins, which surprises you a little. But you suppose it makes sense that he’s staying in the guest cabins, since he’s a contractor and not a member of the crew.
He opens the door to the room beside Izo’s. Then he takes off his hat and sweeps into a playful bow. “Ladies first. Make yourself at home.”
You chuckle at his manners as you step into his room. Like yours and Robin’s, it’s compact without feeling cramped, and it’s intended for two guests, with two twin-sized captain’s beds and two fold-down desks.
One of the beds is tidily made. The other one, with rumpled sheets and the pillows in disarray, is clearly Ace’s. “My bad,” he says, and he hangs his hat on the wall before sidling around you to make the bed. “I wasn’t expecting company. Get comfortable, have a seat there on the other bed.”
You sit cross-legged on the made-up bed. “How come you and Izo get your own guest rooms? Me and Robin are sharing.”
Ace chuckles. “Heh, funny you should say that. Izo and I were sharing at first. But he kicked me out for talking in my sleep. And for coming and going at so-called ‘ungodly’ hours of the night.” He shoots you a wry look over his shoulder. “I don’t really keep a sleep schedule.”
“I remember you telling me that,” you say warmly. “You’re a sleep-when-you’re-tired, get-up-when-you’re-rested kind of guy, right?”
“That’s me,” he says. “Unless I have something going on, like teaching you guys to scuba.” He smooths out the pillows, then turns to you and presses a hand to his chest. “I’ll be on time to all our lessons together, I promise.”
“I should hope so, or Captain Law might fire you,” you tease.
He scoffs. “That guy and his threats. The only way he’s firing me in the middle of the ocean is if he chucks me off the ship.” He sits on his freshly-made bed, then tilts his head.
Ooh, the warmth in his eyes, the sly curl of his lips… Fuck, he’s making your heart race, and he hasn’t even done anything.
He pats his thigh. “C’mon over here.”
You rise from the bed to sit next to him, and his smile widens. “What’s this? Are you getting shy on me?”
“What do you mean?”
He chuckles: a warm, sensual sound that reminds you of crackling embers. “C’mere,” he says, and he slides his arm around your waist.
You follow his lead, allowing him to pull you close… Oh, okay, yes, he’s pulling you onto his lap so you’re straddling him!
Your heart jumps against your rib cage. You settle your hands on his shoulders — fuck, your hands are trembling.
He smooths his palms over your hips. “You okay? Am I moving too fast for you?”
You shake your head, then give him a sheepish look. “Sorry. I’m just… Ha, I don’t know why I’m nervous. I think…” You let out a little laugh. “I don’t know. I never thought… I genuinely never thought I’d see you again. So this is — I mean, being on a ship with you for a whole expedition? And that you actually remember me from back in the day?”
He huffs and squeezes your waist. “You thought I would forget you?”
“Maybe! We — I mean, we hung out for a while, but it wasn’t really for that long, you know? So this is — I mean, this right now,” you gesture vaguely at him, “this is kind of like…” Oh god, your face is getting hot. Should you keep going? Are you saying too much? But no, you told Robin you weren’t going to be a coward, so you have to speak your mind. “It’s kind of like a dream come true. Getting to, um, hang out with you again.”
His face goes blank for a second — just for a second, though, and then he’s smiling again in that playful way. “‘Hang out’, right. So how come you’re nervous, then? You worried I’m not going to live up to your dreams?”
You laugh. “Ace, no! It’s not that.”
“I’m just teasing, I’m teasing,” he chuckles. “But listen, don’t be nervous. We can slow down, we can jump right in — it’s whatever you want. We’ll just go with whatever you want to do.”
“Whatever I want? What about you?”
He arches a brow. “Well, I already know what I want.”
Oh god, the way he’s smiling at you, he makes you feel so giddy! “Oh yeah? What’s that?”
He smiles: a wicked, mischief-laced little smile. Then he lifts one hand and cradles your neck in his palm.
Your heart jumps with anticipation. His fingers are gliding around to the nape of your neck, and then his fingertips are tracing up along your scalp and sending warm little shivers of pleasure down your spine.
He suddenly tugs your hair. You crane your head back with a little gasp, and he presses his lips to the notch at the base of your throat — ah, yes, he’s trailing his mouth up along the line of your neck! His lips braising your skin, the delicate heat of his tongue, you’re loving this…
He nuzzles the angle of your jaw. “Did I ever tell you how good you smell?” he purrs. “‘Cause you smell fucking amazing.”
Oh god, you’re getting wet already. What kind of power does this man have over you? “U-um…”
He kisses the tender spot just below your ear. His other arm tightens around your waist, pulling you closer so your chest is brushing against his — ooh, that’s the bulge of his cock under your groin, he’s hard!
You gulp in a breath. Your hips are tilting down to meet him, your body driven by instinct to be closer to him, to rub against him and feel him as much as you can… Please, the ridge of his cock sliding against you, he’s making your pussy tingle through your clothes.
He makes a low humming sound and nips the side of your neck. “Mm, that’s nice. Does it feel good for you, pretty girl?”
Pretty girl. It’s what he used to call you back in the day, even when his brothers and Nami were around, and it makes your heart flutter just as much as it did back then. And who knows, maybe it’s an endearment that he uses with all the girls he flirts with, but it still feels special to hear him saying those words — especially when he’s holding you close like this, his hands warm and confident on your neck and the small of your back… Ooh, okay okay, his hand is moving down your back now, okay…!
He curves his palm over your butt. “How’re you feeling, Ella?” he murmurs, and he curls his hips toward you.
The ridge of his cock glides against your groin, pressing the fabric of your panties against your slick-hot sex, and you gasp in a breath. “Good,” you whimper. “I’m — f-feels good.” Honestly, he’s making you hornier with every teasing press of his cock against your groin, and you’re torn between savouring the slow build of this sweet grinding friction, and wanting more.
“Good,” he says. “That’s good. It feels good to me, too. You feel so… Damn, your skin is so soft.” He kisses and nips his way down your neck, his tongue flicking out to trace your collarbone, and then — oh god, he’s slipping the strap of your bralette off of your shoulder, he’s tugging down the cup—!
He nuzzles your breast, his nose and lips caressing your nipple, and a red-hot rush of pleasure surges through your body. “Ace,” you beg, and you run your palms over his shoulders: bare, sun-kissed shoulders that are sprinkled with an array of freckles that match the ones on his cheeks. “Ace, please…”
He rubs his cheek against your breast. “So fucking soft,” he breathes, and he takes your nipple into his mouth.
A streak of pleasure zips through your body. He’s suckling your nipple slowly but deeply, pressing his teeth gently into the peak as he suckles you, and it’s fucking exquisite. He makes a happy little humming sound, his eyes closed as though he’s really savouring the feel of your nipple in his mouth, and you can feel your own desire rising even more at how much he seems to be enjoying this.
He licks your nipple: a slow and careful drag of his tongue over the hardened little peak. He takes your nipple in his lips and slowly tugs your breast with his mouth, then abruptly releases your nipple.
Your breast bounces back with a little jiggle. A boyish grin lights his face, and you tsk and give his shoulder a little smack. “Ace!”
“Sorry,” he chuckles. “Couldn’t help it. You look great.” He eases off the other strap of your bralette so both of your breasts are exposed, then rubs his hands together as though to warm them up, and he carefully places his palms over your breasts.
God, his hands are so warm: warmer than average, you think, or maybe they just feel warmer to you because your blood is rushing with excitement. He sweeps his thumbs over your nipples — fuck, he’s plucking at your nipples now, twisting them gently while staring openly at your breasts with that boyish smile, and you’re seized by a crazy urge to laugh at how mischievous he looks, even while the work of his hands is making your pussy throb for more.
He sighs happily. “Damn, do you ever feel nice. Talk about a dream come true.” He dips his head down and suckles your other nipple, and it’s so… Fuck, it feels so good, and you want more.
You grind your hips down to meet his cock — yes, the hard ridge of his cock riding against you, yes. He lifts his head with a groan, then clasps the nape of your neck and presses his forehead to yours. “Ngh, you’re so good, Ella. You’re so fucking soft. You feeling good?”
“Mhm,” you whimper, and you grip his shoulders so you can leverage yourself better as you flex your hips. The way his cock is pressing against you, this sweet-torturous friction along the length of your cleft: it’s way too easy to imagine the feeling of his cock sliding against your pussy… Fuck, you want more, you want more.
He strokes the back of your neck as you grind against him. His other hand glides up along the length of your back, then back down to curve over your ass, and — ah, he’s flexing his hips, pumping his hips in time with the rolling grind of your body, and it’s… It’s good, it’s so good, but it’s not enough, you really need more!
“Ace, please,” you beg. “Please, can we do more?”
“More like what?” he says.
He’s clearly teasing you, but you can’t find the wits to banter back, not when you’re this horny. “Just… m-more,” you gasp, and you thrust your hips more insistently. “I want more, I want to do more!”
He chuckles. “Okay, okay. Don’t worry, we’ll do more.” He grips you under your thighs and stands up.
You hastily grab his shoulders for balance, but he’s already laying you down on his bed. He kneels on the mattress between your legs, and his hands glide over your breasts again, plumping and plucking your nipples as he leans over you and kisses your sternum… Ah, his mouth is tracing down your sternum, his lips pressing between your breasts and then lower, lower still, please—!
He pops the top button of your shorts.
You gasp in a breath and lift your hips, and he lets out a soft little laugh. “Helping me out, are you? That’s my girl.” He keeps opening the fly of your shorts, and his mouth is making its way down your belly, down toward your navel while he works at your fly, and every feather-light kiss is making your breath come shorter and sharper with excitement.
Then his fingers curl into the waistband of your shorts, and he starts pulling your shorts and panties down.
Your belly flip-flops with excitement and nerves in equal measure. You want this so badly, and it’s a want that you never thought would be fulfilled, which makes this even more thrilling. But it’s your first time with him, and first times are always nerve-wracking, even if it’s someone you feel really comfy with. And it’s impossible to not feel comfy with Ace, thanks to how easy-going and jokey he is. But still, it’s… Fuck, the fact that you’ve wanted this for so long? Somehow, for some reason, the fact that you want this so much is making you more nervous.
He pulls your shorts and panties off, then sits back on his heels with a sigh. “Holy shit, Ella,” he breathes, and he curves his palms around your calves.
His cheeks are a little flushed, and he’s staring right at your pussy: your dripping-wet pussy, if the slick-and-tingly feeling between your legs is any indication. Feeling stupidly shy, you gulp in a breath and tuck your arms up over your chest. “Wh-what?”
His eyes move from your pussy up to your face, and his expression softens. “You okay? You want to slow down?”
“No,” you blurt. “I’m not — I mean, I don’t… I don’t want to slow down.”
“You sure? ‘Cause I might want to slow down.”
You blink in surprise. “You—? Really? Why?”
“So I can have a nice, long look at how wet you are,” Ace says. “Will you let me do that?”
You gulp in a breath. His tone is gentle, but his words are perfectly blunt, and the intensity in his eyes makes you think of embers again: hungry embers, though, like the kind that will roar into a full-out inferno if they’re fed just a little bit of tinder. And honestly, you want to give him just the tinder he needs to ignite.
Be bold, you coach yourself. You raise your arms, folding them above your head so he can see your breasts, and you spread your knees wide.
His eyes flare wide with heat. “Oh-ho, fuck yes,” he says, and smooths his hands from your calves up to your knees. He presses your knees even wider, his eyes roaming shamelessly over your body, and when his gaze settles on your pussy once more, he licks his lips.
Your pussy pulses with want. You gasp in a breath and twist your hips. “Ace—”
“I wanna eat you out,” he blurts. “I — fuck…” He exhales hard, then starts unbuckling his belt, and your excitement jumps even higher. His expression is hardening with lust, his eyes blazing hotter as he stares at your body and undoes his belt, and you find yourself holding your breath as you watch his bronzed and vein-laced hands.
He opens his shorts, revealing a thatch of midnight-dark pubic hair, and you sit up on one elbow. “Ace, can I—”
“Lie back,” he commands. “Let me look at you. Let me…” He pulls out his cock — fuck, he’s rock-hard, and he’s already leaking precum!
He strokes himself, and your body clenches. Damn it, you need him, this isn’t fair! “Ace, please—”
He interrupts you again. “I’m gonna eat you out. I’m gonna — fuck, you’re so pretty, you smell so fucking good…” He strokes himself again, still while staring at your pussy, and then he’s lowering himself to his elbows and pressing your thighs wide with his warmer-than-average hands — yes, he’s rubbing his cheek against your inner thigh and making this gorgeous groaning-purring sound that’s raising your pulse even more, please please Ace please—!
He presses a hot, open-mouthed kiss right over your clit.
A wave of pleasure-heat-relief rushes through your limbs. Ace moans into your sex, then lifts his head. “Holy fucking hell, you taste so good,” he pants, and then he kisses you again: a deep and careful kiss with his tongue caressing your folds, his lips tugging gently at your clit before he traces the sensitive little nub with his tongue… Holy shit, how is he so good at this?
His hand smooths over your belly and up over your ribs. His fingers slip under the band of your bralette — mm, he’s plumping your breast and twisting your nipple!
You shiver and arch your spine with bliss. He’s still kissing and licking your pussy, making these happy little moaning-humming sounds while he does it, and he’s so enthusiastic that he might as well be devouring a favourite meal. His hands are perfect, too, one of them holding your thigh wide while the other one caresses your breast, and it’s not long before you find yourself staring vacantly up at the ceiling, your wits dulled by the bliss of Ace’s mouth and hands.
He groans and nuzzles your clit. “Fuck, you’re so wet. You’re gonna feel amazing when I’m up inside you.”
“Please,” you mewl, and you roll your hips — fuck, his tongue, the way he’s tracing around your clit, he’s making you feel crazy with pleasure! “Ace, p-please, you’re so good…”
“You are,” he says breathlessly. “Such a good girl, getting so nice and wet for my cock.”
Oh fuck, fuck, he called you a good girl, that’s so — fuck, that’s so hot! “Ace, please—”
He slides two fingers inside of you.
“Yes!” you burst out. Fuck please yes the pressure, the fullness, god—!
He laughs: a low and heated laugh. “You really are something, you know that? You pretty little fox.” He curls his fingers inside of you — fuck that’s good — oh, his mouth, he’s kissing your clit, he’s suckling your clit so so gently and it feels so good! He — his lips, his fingers, everything, it feels so fucking perfect. You can feel the pressure building in the depths of your abdomen, the telltale tension-pressure-heat of your own rising ecstasy, and Ace is bringing you closer to that ecstasy with every gentle tug of his lips on your pulsing little clit… Fuck, you’re so close, you can’t breathe, you’re going to come!
Please. You can’t speak, you can’t breathe, but you glide your trembling hand into his hair, and he makes this groaning-purring sound as he suckles you: his lips, his tongue — fuck, he’s incredible, he feels incredible, he’s making you feel incredible, and you’re so close to going over the edge, you’re… oh god, oh god oh god, it’s peaking, you’re bursting, your body is vibrating with heat and pressure and bliss—!
Your spine arches with ecstasy. Then you’re shuddering beneath him, you’re making all kinds of shameless noises, and he’s moaning too as he slurps at your clit and laps at your folds and squeezes your breast so firmly that it almost hurts. He’s shifting restlessly between your legs, too, his hips flexing into the bed as though he can’t stop himself from thrusting, and the sight of his desperation sharpens your pleasure even more.
You curl your fingers in his hair. “Ace, please,” you whine. “Please, can you fuck me now, please?”
He abruptly sits back on his knees. “Get onto your belly for me,” he pants. “I want to fuck you from behind.”
You nod eagerly and sit upright. Ace is on his feet now and pulling off his left boot, and as you roll onto your front, something occurs to you: something important that you probably should’ve thought about before you started having sex.
Shit. “Ace, do you — you have condoms, right?” you say. “I’m on birth control, but I don’t — I didn’t, um…”
He shoots you a grin as he pulls off his other boot. “You didn’t plan on having sex while on a research trip for your PhD?”
You laugh sheepishly. “Not exactly.”
He chuckles. “Don’t worry. I’ve got that covered.” He saunters to the bathroom, then comes back a few seconds later with a condom in hand.
He stops beside the bed, and his expression softens. “Pretty girl,” he says, and he runs his palm along the length of your back, from your neck all the way down to your butt. “Will you lift your ass for me?”
You shift onto your knees, curving your spine while pressing your cheek and your chest into the bed, and Ace’s face tightens with longing. “Hot fucking damn, Ella. Just look at you.” He caresses the length of your back again, but this time, his hand continues its journey down over butt, and his fingers dip between your legs.
You shiver and arch your spine, spreading your legs wider to welcome his touch. “Ace, please…” Fuck, he’s petting your folds, spreading the slickness that he put there with his fingers and his tongue, but you want more than his fingers and his tongue now, you want his cock!
You mewl and wriggle your hips, and he groans. “Fuck, you look… so amazing. I’m gonna…” He sweeps his fingers along your cleft once more, then finally shoves his shorts down and kicks them aside.
Yay, he’s naked! He’s naked, and he is just… a fucking work of art. He’s got a classic swimmer’s body, with his shoulders and chest packed with muscle and a tapered waist, and the most insane abs. And his skin is drastically pale from his waist to his knees.
You smile at him, and he smiles back at you as he climbs onto the bed behind you. “What?”
You giggle. “Your shorts tan. You really don’t wear shirts, do you?”
“Eh, I do sometimes. If it’s raining. Or if it’s cold.” You hear the faint crackle of the condom wrapper opening. A moment later, he places his hands on your hips, then caresses your pussy again.
You pull in a sharp breath and jerk your hips — oh fuck yes, he’s petting your clit!
You grip the blankets with a moan, and he speaks in a roughened tone. “You want me to fuck you, Ella?”
“Yes!” you yelp. “I want you, I want you to fuck me hard!”
“Yeah? That’s good,” he says. “‘Cause that’s what I want, too. I mean, if you wanted it gentle, I could try to go easy on you, but I… Heh, fuck.” He lets out a husky little laugh. “I’m not gonna lie, I want to rail you so bad.”
You nod tightly and hold your breath. His fingers are moving between your legs and petting your clit with just the right amount of pressure, his fingers sliding up and down over the sensitive little bud… Fuck, your thighs are trembling. Your body is tightening and bearing down around nothing, nothing since he’s not inside of you, you’re so fucking empty and you need him, but — fuck, he’s so… The way he’s touching you, he’s so good, it feels so good!
He laughs softly, wickedly. “Aw, you horny little fox. Are you gonna come again for me?”
You nod — you can’t speak, you can’t make a sound, your breath is trapped in your chest and all of your attention is honed in on the feeling of his fingers slip-sliding between your legs.
“That’s good,” he croons. “I want you feeling good. I want you to be soaking-wet for me, and you’re gonna be so wet and tight if you come again. So come for me, okay? Be a good girl and come for me.”
Good girl, good girl… Fuck, you want to be good for him, you want to be so good, and the way he’s touching you feels so good, it’s so… Fuck, fuck fuck, here it comes, you’re going to come—
The climax shatters through your body in a scintillating white-hot rush, and a strained guttural sound leaves you. “Ngh ah! Please—”
Ace grabs your hips and drives his cock deep inside of you.
“Yes!” you cry — fuck, his cock, he’s so hard, your inner muscles are clenching around him and making the press of his cock feel even more incredible!
He folds over your back, trapping you between his chest and his arms, and he presses his face against the side of your neck. “Holy fuck, Ella,” he groans. “You feel fucking amazing.” He wraps his fingers around your wrists, and he starts pumping his hips.
A shudder of ecstasy wracks your body. Your hips are angled so his cock drives extra-deep, making every thrust feel like it’s coaxing your orgasm to linger, and from the broken sounds of pleasure he’s making against your neck, you suspect that he’s feeling the lingering pulse of your climax around his cock. He’s pumping into you hard and fast, his breath sharp and erratic against your ear, and with his body surrounding you from all sides, you’re helpless: deliciously helpless to do anything but take the blissful pounding of his hips driving into you from behind.
He groans again and shudders. “Fu-uck, you feel so fucking good.”
You hiccup with pleasure. “I want — please, I w-want to be your good girl…”
He lets out a breathless laugh. “You are a good girl. You’re such a good girl — mm, you’re the best. So fucking wet and tight for me, letting me fuck you hard? Ngh, you’re so fucking good…” He shudders again and presses his forehead to your neck, then starts thrusting into you faster than before.
Your eyes roll back with bliss. The sweet-slick friction of his cock stroking you from the inside, the driving rhythm of his hips snapping into your ass, it feels incredible!
“Fu-uck me,” he moans, and his fingers tighten around your wrists. “Mm, fuck, I’m gonna — Ella, you feel too good, I’m gonna come…”
“Mhm,” you whimper, and you wriggle your hips to encourage him. “I want you to come, I want it so much—”
He groans again and presses his teeth into the juncture of your shoulder and your neck. His hips drive into you hard, harder, faster, his teeth pressing more firmly into your skin, and you’re gasping with bliss at the hard stroke of his cock and the bite of his teeth. You want this, you want more, you want him to feel as good as he’s making you feel, you want him to come, you want him to feel so good—
He bursts out a visceral animal-like sound. “Fuck, ah—” He bites your shoulder hard and slams his hips into your ass, and then he stays like that with his cock buried inside of you, his entire body curled around you as he shudders and groans with pleasure.
You drag in a deep breath, then let it out in a sigh. Your entire body feels boneless, melted and limp from the power of Ace’s passion, and you’re more than happy to not move until you have to.
Eventually, his shuddering slows, and his breathing evens out until it’s a warm breeze against your neck. He sighs, then releases your wrists. “Okay, goodnight,” he says, and his weight presses into your back as though he’s trying to lie on top of you.
You burst out a laugh. “Ace! You’ll squish me!”
He chuckles, then kisses your shoulder and the back of your neck before rising off of you and pulling out. “How’re you doing? You okay?”
“I feel amazing, honestly.” You flop onto your side, and you admire the hollow dips at the sides of his butt as he saunters to the bathroom. He drops the condom in the trash, then lifts the toilet seat and starts to pee without closing the door, and you bite your lips to stop yourself from laughing. Honestly, you wouldn’t expect anything else from someone as casual and confident as Ace.
He washes his hands, then comes back to the bed. “Is there room enough for two?”
“I guess I can be persuaded to share,” you say sweetly, and you shift over to make space for him.
“Ha, mighty kind of you.” He stretches out on his back and folds his arms behind his head, then gives you a wry little smile. “This was great. But you know what I regret? I didn’t get to see you totally naked.”
“What do you…?” Oh, your bralette is still on, even though your boobs are out. You rearrange your bralette so it won’t get stretched out of shape. “Well, that’s okay. You can see me totally naked next time.”
His smile curls. “Next time, huh? I like your appetite.”
Your cheeks go hot, and you poke him. “Don’t make fun of me!”
He laughs. “What do you mean? I’m serious. I think it’s great. Makes me glad I have a whole big box of condoms.”
You smile at him, but his words make you wonder. He must’ve had those condoms when he joined the ship; does that mean he slept around a lot during his travels? He probably did, since he met so many people while traveling. And you can’t imagine it was hard for him to score, given his looks and his charm. But does that mean…? If he’s used to casual hook-ups, does that mean that’s all you are to him, too?
Okay, calm down. You literally just got reacquainted with him today. Even if you feel like you’re hitting it off just like you did before, it’s premature to ask what his thoughts are on your relationship. Honestly, it’s amazing enough that you were able to pick up so seamlessly from where you left off three years ago.
Time to change the subject, if only to get your own dumb brain into a different gear. You lift your hand and run your palm over his bicep. “Can I ask about that tattoo on your left arm?”
“What, this?” He lowers his arm and pats the tattoo on the outside of his upper arm: a tattoo that reads ASCE, with the S crossed through with an X.
“Yeah. You didn’t have that when I knew you before. Is it…? What’s, um, the meaning behind it?”
“There isn’t any.”
You give him a funny look. “There isn’t? But then why…?”
He grins and folds his arms behind his head again. “The tattoo artist was a buddy I made while I was travelling. I asked him to ink me with my name, but he started spelling my name wrong, so I told him just to cross out the ‘S’ and keep going.”
What? Wait. What? “So wait. Your tattoo is — wait, did your friend think your name was spelled as ‘ass’?”
“Seems like it. We were kind of drunk and ripping on each other, so I can see how it would happen. But no harm done.”
“No harm done?” you exclaim. “But — but he fucked up your tattoo! And now you have a permanent almost-ass on your arm!”
He bursts out laughing. “‘Almost-ass’? Oi, I’m going to start introducing myself that way.”
You wince. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Now I’m being an ass. But seriously, you’re not mad about it?”
“Nah. It was an honest mistake. And now it’s a funny memory, so it’s kind of great.”
You huff a little laugh. “You’re so forgiving. Getting a mistake during a tattoo is like a nightmare for me. It’s the main reason I could never get one. I don’t think I could stand it if I was stuck with a bad tattoo for the rest of my life.”
“It’s a way more fixable problem than you think,” he says kindly. “There’s no bad tattoo that a good artist can’t cover up or fix. If you want a tattoo, I think you should go for it.”
You shake your head and settle your cheek on your folded arm. “I’m okay, really. And besides, I can’t think of any pattern or… or art, or whatever, that I like so much that I’d want to look at it on my body every day.”
“Well, if you change your mind, I can recommend a guy.”
He’s smirking. You poke his bicep again. “I am not getting a tattoo from the guy who spelled your name as ‘almost-ass’.”
He snickers. “Almost-ass. I’m gonna remember that one.”
You giggle, and you tuck your knees up so your shins are pressed against his thigh: his very warm thigh. Wow, his skin really is warmer than the average person’s. It’s almost like he has a fever.
He runs his palm over your leg. “You cold? You want to get under the blankets?”
You shake your head and press your hand to the side of his chest. “You’re really warm. Have people told you that before?”
“Heh, yeah. Marco says my baseline body temperature is warmer than average. I think it helps with the freediving. I don’t get cold as easily in the water.” He huffs a little laugh. “Luffy used to wriggle up under my armpit to sleep when we were kids, the little brat. He said it was like sleeping next to a fire.”
He’s smiling faintly, but there’s a faraway look in his eye now that puts a pang in your chest. He’s always very casual when he talks about his brothers, but it’s hard for you to imagine him being apart from Sabo and Luffy for years. When you used to hang out with them back in the day, they were so close that the sheer number of their inside jokes was like hearing them talk in a different language.
You lie there quietly for a moment, admiring Ace’s handsome face and enjoying the warmth that emanates from his body. His warmth and his scent, too, like sleep and a little bit of sweat: a sweet, organic smell that fills your chest with a tender feeling that’s… way too close to the way you used to feel about him, when you fell hard and fast for him after just a month of knowing him.
Ugh, are you being stupid for feeling infatuated with him again already? You literally just met him again today. He seems the same as the Ace you knew, but maybe he has changed, and you just don’t know it yet.
But he really doesn’t feel like he’s changed. If anything has changed, it’s the fact that he actually made a move on you and brought you back to his room, and that’s a good change. A really good change that you hope will happen again and again during this expedition…? Oh god, you really are weak for this man.
His dark eyes finally drift back to your face. His gaze refocuses on you, and he smiles. “What’s up?”
I really, really like you, you think. But you can’t tell him that just yet. And it’s not that you’re being a coward, really you’re not. It’s just… polite, or whatever, not to spring your feelings on him the second he steps back into your life.
You gently pinch his chin. “This was really fun.”
His eyes crinkle with amusement. “Was it everything you dreamed of?”
“Yeah, it was,” you say softly. Yikes, you hope that’s not being too sappy, especially since his tone is kind of jokey. But still, he asked, and you’re just being honest.
He doesn’t reply. He’s still smiling at you, and you’re smiling back at him like a fool. But he doesn’t talk, and you don’t talk either. And the longer you lie there, just looking at each other and not talking, the more fluttery-nervous you feel in your chest, especially when his smile starts to fade into an uncharacteristically serious look.
You swallow nervously. You should say something, right? Something to break the mood, or to clarify what the mood even is—
“You hungry?” he says, and he sits upright and swings his legs off of the bed. “I’m starving. I’ll go grab us a snack.”
“Oh! Um, okay…” You sit up on one elbow, feeling a little thrown off as you watch him pulling on his shorts. “I can come with you?”
“Nah, stay here. Relax.” He puts on his boots, then turns to you with a smile and chucks your chin. “I’ll be back in a flash.”
You relax at his warm manner. Maybe you were just imagining the weird mood.
He ambles to the door, then slides it open and slips out. Alone in his bed now, you realize that you are a little cold without his powerful body heat.
You slip out of bed to grab your panties, and you shimmy under his blankets and settle into his pillows. Aw, the bedding smells like him, and you really like it. Feeling very content now, you snuggle your cheek into his pillow and take a deep inhale, and you close your eyes. You’re not actually tired, but you might as well get cozy while you wait for him to come back.
**************
Ace slid the door of his cabin shut, then paused. That was weird for a second there. Why did Ella look at him like that? It reminded him of the night they met, the way she looked after that first insane incredible kiss: her eyes wide with wonder, and the way he felt stunned and buzzy with wonder too — followed by the heart-pounding paralysis of not knowing what to do next: of not knowing how to react when someone looked at him as though he was something special.
He pushed the memory aside. That was years ago, and this was now. Ella was just blissed out from the sex, that was all. That was why she looked at him that way. There was nothing more to read into it.
He ran a hand through his hair, then headed for the main corridor. As he neared the stairs, he ran into Bepo, who was eating a muffin: a really big muffin, like the kind that you could get at specialty cafés.
Or that you can get on the Polar Tang when Sanji is the chef, Ace thought in amusement. “That looks great,” he said to Bepo. “Are there more in the galley?”
“Up on the deck, since almost everyone’s still out there,” Bepo said through a full mouth. “Sanji made four kinds — oh, and he’s making omelettes to order right now! He said he’ll stop around 1 a.m., so you can probably get one if you hurry.”
Shit, was it that late? Ace hadn’t realized. “Thanks, buddy. Have a good night.”
“You too! Garchu!”
Ace bounded up the stairs and onto the deck. Sure enough, Sanji had set up a cooking station on the upper deck, and he was simultaneously handling three rectangular omelette pans while prepping the filling ingredients for the omelettes.
Ace’s stomach growled. He beelined straight to the cooking station. “Damn, Sanji. This looks fantastic,” he said. He wasn’t exaggerating, either; the table next to the cooking station was laid out with a huge spread of food including the muffins Bepo had mentioned, slices of sunny-yellow rolled omelettes with various fillings, individual bowls of fruit salad and congee, platters of sashimi, and bowls of yogurt sprinkled with chopped nuts.
Sanji smiled faintly as he poured some egg into an omelette pan. “Eh, it’s no big deal — oi, where’s Ella-chan?”
“She’s resting. I’m gonna take her some food.”
Sanji’s eyes popped. “She’s resting in your cabin?”
“Yup.”
He wilted. “How did you sweep that lovely lady off her feet already? It’s so unfair.” He heaved a sigh, then transferred the freshly-cooked omelette onto a plate and started slicing it. “Take her some of everything. It’s all rich in protein, even the muffins. They’ll restore her energy and give her pleasant dreams.” He gave Ace a severe look while arranging some sashimi and muffins on a tray. “You better have treated her with all the courtesy and care that such an exquisite lady deserves.”
Ace pressed a hand to his chest. “Hey, come on, are you questioning my honour? You know me better than that.”
Sanji tsked, then picked up the snack-loaded tray and handed it to Ace. “Get going. Take this to her while it’s still hot.”
“Sure thing. Thanks, chef.” He clapped Sanji on the shoulder, then headed back toward the stairs. When he slid open the door to the stairs, though, he almost collided with Marco.
He hastily swerved to save the tray. “Woah! Sorry, doc.”
“No harm done-yoi.” Marco stepped onto the deck and eyed Ace’s tray with a smile. “Four muffins? Are you sure you have enough? Heh, who am I talking to. You could probably eat twice as many-yoi.”
“Yeah yeah, laugh it up,” Ace said drolly. “But it’s for me and Ella.”
Marco nodded and adjusted his glasses. “It’s nice that you two reconnected. Is it going to be serious, you think?”
Ace snorted a laugh. “Oi, what are you, her dad? Asking my intentions for the young lady?”
Marco chuckled. “Fair enough. I’m just curious, I guess. Though I suppose it’s none of my business-yoi.” He glanced over at the cooking station, where Sanji was making omelettes for Franky and Usopp, then turned back to Ace and lowered his voice. “Does Sanji know?”
“Of course he does,” Ace said with a grin. “Why else do you think he gave me so much food? It’s not for my benefit.”
Marco nodded slowly and leaned against the taffrail, and Ace gave him an exasperated look. “You clearly want to say something. Just go ahead and say it.”
Marco lifted a shoulder. “Like I said, it’s none of my business. But I was just thinking. Since Ella’s with us for a while, it might be awkward if you ‘slip your moorings’ again, so to speak, if things with her start getting serious-yoi.”
Ace wrinkled his nose. “Again? What do you mean, ‘again’? When did I ever get serious with anyone?”
Marco tilted his head subtly in Sanji’s direction.
Ace scoffed. “You’re kidding, right? It was never serious with Sanji. He was just experimenting. Dipping his toes in, testing the waters. It was just for fun.”
Marco eyed him for a moment. He had this piercing look that he gave Ace sometimes, as though he knew something that Ace wasn’t saying. And as always when Marco looked at him like this, it made the back of his neck feel itchy, especially since there was nothing to say.
“I’m going in now,” Ace said abruptly. “Go get yourself an omelette before Sanji shuts down for the night.” He opened the door to the stairs and went inside the Tang without waiting for Marco’s reply.
Damn Marco, he thought irritably. Always going around looking like he’s analyzing everyone. Just because Marco was a doctor didn’t mean he always knew what was going on, especially when it came to Ace and Sanji. Ace couldn’t imagine where Marco got the idea that he and Sanji ever got close to being serious. Ace had always known that things with Sanji were going to be casual at most, since Sanji obviously preferred women. Besides, it wasn’t like Ace was someone that people stuck around with for long. Aside from Luffy and Sabo, but even they were gone now, too.
He slid open the door to his cabin. “Hiya. I brought—” He stopped short. Ella was curled up in his bed, and she was fast asleep.
His heart flip-flopped. He slid the door shut and tip-toed into the room, then placed the tray of snacks on the other bed. And after a second’s hesitation, he sat on the unused bed, too.
He studied Ella’s sleeping face. She had the prettiest face, both when she was laughing and awake, and when she was asleep. It was funny too how she was bundled up in his bed, with the blankets totally balled up around her curled-up body, like she belonged there.
Ace smiled faintly. She really was adorable. She was funny and clever and fun to be around, and the sex was awesome, just like he imagined it would be.
And she would leave sooner than later, just like everyone did.
Obviously she would leave; she was only on the Tang for this expedition, and she’d go back to Ohara when she and Robin had done what they needed to do with the Wano poneglyph. But even if it wasn’t for her research, there was no reason for Ella to stick around with Ace. He just wasn’t someone that people stuck with.
He couldn’t help but remember what she’d said earlier tonight, though: that being with him again was like a dream come true. Even as he remembered her words, his belly twisted in a weird uncomfy way. She only felt that way because she didn’t know him that well. She was still riding on the memories of how it was when they used to hang out. The more time she spent with Ace, the more she got to know him… There was no way she’d still feel like he was a dream come true.
That was an easy problem to fix, though. He’d just make sure to keep things fun and breezy with her. Casual and fun: that was the way to go. And that was the way Ace liked it best, anyway. It wasn’t like he was meant for anything more.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, and he arranged his face into a smile. He stood up and sat at the edge of his bed, then gently scratched behind Ella’s ear. “Wakey-wakey.”
She pulled in a little breath, and her eyelids fluttered open. “What…?” Her bleary gaze drifted to Ace, and her eyes widened.
“Had a nice nap?” he teased.
She clapped her hands over her mouth, then covered her face with her hands. “Oh my god. Oh my god, I fell asleep in your bed? I’m so sorry!”
He chuckled and patted her head. “Don’t be sorry, it’s fine. Actually, I’ll take it as a compliment that you fell asleep. I broke you in good, hey?” He winked roguishly.
She gasped and smacked his arm. “Broke me in? I’m not a horse!”
He laughed and stood up. “I brought us a feast. Well, it’s really Sanji you should thank. Let’s dig into this while it’s still warm, or he’ll scold me for giving cold food to a beautiful lady.” He brought the tray over to his bed.
She sat upright and crossed her legs. “Oh my god, this really is a feast. Is this—? He just went all-out like this because it’s a special occasion, right? Starting a new expedition?”
“Nah. He cooks like this every day,” Ace said, and he handed her a pair of chopsticks. “Honestly, I’ve eaten better while working on this ship than I ever have in my life.”
“I can believe it!” she said, and she selected a slice of omelette. “I think I’m going to put on like thirty pounds by the time me and Robin are heading home.”
Ace’s gut sank a little at the thought of her going home, but he smiled. “That’s a good thing. Putting on a little tummy is the best compliment to a chef. Who knows, though, you might end up burning more calories with cardio than you think.”
She looked up from the omelette. “With the scuba diving, you mean?”
“Not the scuba diving.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
Her face lit up with a beautiful grin. She ducked her head in an adorable way, then gave him a cheeky look. “Now who’s the one with the big appetite?”
“Me, obviously. Did I mention I’m starving?” He picked up the plate of sashimi and started scarfing it down at a comical pace.
“Hey, don’t hog it!” she giggled, and she poked his abs. “I want some!”
He smirked as he handed over the sashimi plate, then swallowed his food before speaking again. “All right, pretty girl, it’s your turn to talk. Tell me what you’ve been up to these past couple years. And don’t give me the ‘I’ve just been doing PhD stuff’ version. I want to hear all the dirty details.”
She chuckled and selected a slice of tuna. “I honestly don’t have that much to tell. No exciting stories, not like you.”
“Tell me the not-exciting stories, then. I love that mundane shit.”
She laughed, and the sound of it lifted his heart. “Okay, mundane shit I can do. Well, one of the more mundane things I do is teaching undergrad classes, right? So I was teaching a phonetics class last year, and a big part of phonetics is learning this special alphabet called the International Phonetic Alphabet that can be used to write the sounds of every language. And at the end of the year, one of my students slips me a love note that he wrote entirely in the IPA. I honestly didn’t know whether to be proud or horrified…”
She told him funny little stories about her PhD and her everyday life back in Ohara, and Ace savoured the sound of her voice while they ate their midnight snack. This thing he had with Ella wouldn’t last for long, he knew; nothing ever did. But he would treat their time together like a happy dream, and he’d enjoy it for as long as he had the chance.