Chapter Text
Darkness fell across the Merry as the moon hung high, the only source of light out in this vast sea was the tiny stars, the glaring moon and the small flame trapped in your lantern. The lantern sat up on the railing as your eyes drowned in the black ocean below, the calming sounds of the waves were all that filled your ears, and the cradling rocking of the ship lulled you to relax. It was your turn for look-out tonight.
The night wind was harsh without the sun warming it up, even with a jacket, it still made your skin crawl with goosebumps. You didnt particular mind having the night shift, it was the only time the Merry was truly quiet, and the sound of nothing but the waves crashing against her was soothing enough for you to stay awake.
With the only thing to pass the time being to glare up at the moon and count the endless stars in the sky, you kept your head up, ignorant of the footsteps approaching behind you. For a lookout, you didn't really do a good job of ‘looking out.’
A contrasted warm hand against your cold jacket gently caressed your back, the hand's warmth travelling straight beneath your shirt and melting into your skin. It felt familiar and heartfelt, almost like the warmth was touching you lovingly itself. Your eyes went from the soft light of the moon to the soft brown eyes you find yourself looking into more often than you should.
“Ace…?” you question as his hand peels away from your back, his warmth still lingering in your skin. “What are you doing up? Can't sleep with all the snooring boys in the cabin?”
He makes his way over to your side, just a mere foot away from you, as he relaxes against the railing. You feel the heat radiating off him, and in that moment, you feel strangely tempted to melt yourself into that warmth.
He chuckles under his breath and turns his attention to your figure. You look cold but not uncomfortable, he thinks of so many ways that he could warm you up–his body was literally made out of fire, and for godsake he was shirtless out in this cold with not a care for the cold. All you had to do was touch him–embrace him, and in a heartbeat he would gladly let you. Beg you almost.
“I slept with Luffy all the time when I was younger, I can sleep next to a sea king and still get some sleep”, he chirped back at you, grinning that oh so dearing smile he only shows to you. You flash back a smile just as endearing, and Ace feels his flames roar just a little hotter inside his heart. Things stay quiet for a little bit, like they always do between you two, only this time the crashing waves and the slight rocking were the sounds to replace talking.
Ace studied you further, he looked at your freshly winded face, the tip of your nose turning pink from the cold. His eyes followed down to the collar of your jacket and traced down to the fur at the end of its sleeves. He saw how your fingers just trembled slightly against the wood railing they were resting on. He thought of something bold but wasn't sure how to execute it, so he went with what he knew best, sweet-talking you till he gets to touch you– just like before.
Smitten, he knows, but hes to cowardly to do it outright. Especially because he knows how irreplaceable Luffy is in that big heart of yours. Just let him squeeze himself in there, just a little bit…a heart is big enough for two, they say–well Ace says.
“You know, I never thought my kid brother would ever find a crew actually.” He admits and shifts his posture to relax with his hands now resting on the railing, just close enough to yours so when the time's right, he can crawl them over to yours. You also naturally relax a little more into the railing and softly turn your gaze back to those doll brown eyes lit faintly by the dying lantern flame.
“Although he always wanted to be king of the pirates, that has never changed, and I suppose you need a crew for that,” he continues, so far his hand remains in its place.
“Actually im curious…why did you not join Luffy’s crew?” you suddenly question, cutting him off maybe. “He would always welcome you?”
Ace looked down at his hands for a moment as he picked at the splinters in the wood, not sure whether to bring it up or not. But ultimately, his trust in you is odd but unfathomable. Maybe it's because Luffy is tied to both of you that he finds it easy to spill his guts about every secret he's ever had.
“I set out to sea three years before Luffy, I did it all…for freedom and no regrets.” He continues to glare at the splinters he's picked from the wood before continuing. “My father was…a man with so many stories, stories that I felt I had to live up to. I didn't want to be shadowed, so I up and left, becoming a pirate on my own terms. I never wanted to leave Luffy, but after Sabo I…” he stopped there, his words no longer flowed out of his mouth like they used to so naturally to you.
The air was quiet again, it was the ocean's turn to speak. Ace was a little more slouched against the railing, and for the first time, he hid his face away from you. Your heart stung a little at the response. Was that the right thing to question? All you knew was that no matter what, Ace and Luffy were strong– the past is just a reminder of how strong you are today.
Surprisingly, it wasn't Ace’s hand that itched closer to yours. It was yours.
Your cold hand cradled the top of Ace’s, his warmth instantly melting into your palm. His eyes quickly flickered back to yours, not processing that it was you who made the first move and not him as he intended.
“Freedom is a beautiful thing to chase and fight for, Luffy knows that better than anyone. No matter what happened, Luffy knew it was right for you.” You reassure him the best you could, squeezing your palm a little more softly around his hand, rubbing those small soothing circles against his dry skin with your thumb.
Ace’s eyes drop from yours to the connection of your joint hands.
A small smile tugs his lips a little before turning his hand to lace itself within yours. His fingers finally find themselves tangled within yours as he holds your palm longingly. He even heats his hand a little more so that the nasty cold wind would leave you alone. He leans into his other palm that he's placed on his chin and looks back up to you with that smile once again.
“You know, i dont mind if you use me as a personal heater out here,” he jokes, but he is all the more serious. You chuckle a little at it, but you're also serious about it.
“I'll take you up on that then.” You playfully wink at him and shift your body right next to him. You lean yourself into him more as he tenses up, already feeling his warmth traverse into your system. You sigh in relief, as you melt yourself into his body comfortably–like you were always meant to be within his reach, your head then gently falls and rests on top of his shoulder, adjusting yourself into a more comfortable position within his embrace.
Ace, on the other hand, is frozen, stuck in place, omg he's freaking out. He can't think–are you actually giving him a chance to wrap his arms around you? A chance to tug you closer by the hip. Cause he's gonna do that, and he already has. He has no self-control, not when you're like this. He's cautious at first, slowly slithering his hand down your waist and across your back. When you don't flinch or move away, he gives himself the okay to continue and tugs you closer to him.
Now you're fully against him, completely dependent on him. He finally finds it within himself to relax in your embrace and suck up every moment of this before it ends. He could only hope–pray for a moment like this to happen. Just earlier, he only had the balls to hold your hand, now your snuggling into him, embracing those fierce flames that dance with joy within him.
He can't help but let a big, stupid smile form on his lips as his own head finds its way to lay ontop of yours. He takes in your scent–your everything. The softness of your hair against his cheek, the aroma of your natural musk, he can't help but deliberately take deep breaths for. Honestly its enough for him to be cradled to sleep.
The waves again come back to fill the silence that always dawns. Ace is wide awake, but he isn't sure about you. The gentle rise and fall of your chest however, tells him that you've been asleep for a long time. Not wanting to let you sleep standing, Ace slowly peels his head away from yours and places a firm yet gentle hand on your back as it slides to your shoulder. His other hand untangles itself from your hand and snakes its way to the back of your knees.
His arms scoop you in one motion, holding you princess style as your head now falls against his chest. You groan a little from the cold wind, but later find yourself back in that warmth when your head hits his broad chest. Ace doesn't move for a bit, he only admires you in his arms as he holds you as close to him as he can. He rests his head on top of yours lovingly for a bit, getting one last whiff of your scent before he pulls away and turns back to the cabins of the Merry.
He opens the door to your shared cabin with Nami and Vivi, and he tries not to make too much noise as Nami and Vivi are still asleep together on the one bed in the corner. He spots your bed in the other corner and quietly walks over to it. But before he can put you down, he spots a lump within your sheet covers. Puzzled, he pokes the lump around cautiously with his boot until a familiar groan is heard from the lump.
“Errrgh stoppp that..” Luffy groans, and he tries to nudge Ace away before falling back into his blissfully unaware sleep. Ace’s hand squeeze your arm a little. What the hell is Luffy doing in your bed?! Defeated, Ace’s head drops in amusement, and he can only sigh with a smile. It seems like Luffy’s clinginess has its sights set on you, as it did for him.
He gently lowers you down into your bed and takes all the blanket off Luffy and tucks you in with it, to which Luffy moans again before snoring once more. Ace then endearingly strokes your hair, following it to the skin of your cheek and down to your chin before slowly, very slowly trailing off your face. He takes one last look at you and turns on his heel. If he doesn't leave now, he’ll never leave.
So Ace turns his back and leaves the room, his heart pounding, and longs to go back to you. To embrace you that one more time. But he doesn't, after all, you were supposed to be on lookout tonight, and cause of him you fell right asleep. So now it's his shift.