Chapter Text
Ed was the first one to spot them. She immediately hit her sister's shoulder with the back of her hand and pointed when the girl turned to look. Alexia froze only for a second, before taking a step. And then another, and another. Until she was sprinting towards the ravenette and almost bowled into him if it weren't for both their reflexes.
“Show me.” the brunette breathed, eyes ablaze with an emotion no one was willing to name, for the moment at least.
Ace blinked and, before his brain-to-mouth filter could kick in, quipped “We've barely just met and you already wanna see me with my shirt off?” before realizing what he'd said, and then immediately trying to amend it “No, wait-”
Alexia cocked her head “Well, you're not wrong. So it is on your back then, your words?”
The Logia exhaled noisily, looking at her with a new kind of understanding “You... you knew... before you started singing.”
The words were heavy with a meaning no one could even begin to decipher... no one but the woman looking him straight in the eye, that is, who stood just a bit straighter “Yes. I knew,” she said, bringing her right hand up to her left arm, below her shoulder, where her Words must be “and I meant it. Every word. I meant it.”
Thatch shifted, looking uncomfortable when it became apparent that this wasn't about to be as funny as he expected. He, too, had thought Ace's Word's would be first, and not second, in the sequence. He'd been wrong. Spectacularly, it would seem. Marco, meanwhile, was grumpily making his way through the crowd, obviously miffed at being left behind without so much as a by-your-leave.
Marcus spotted him and, remembering exactly what was printed on their Captain, nonchalantly asked “Potter Puppet Pals or YGOTAS?”
Alexia immediately caught on and grabbed her soulmate's hand to drag him further to the back even while Jim laughed “Oh come on, you know Yugioh has the best one!”
Thatch latched on to the distraction like a champ “What the hell are you talking about?”
Lisa started to snicker, before she took a deep breath and started ranting “Yugi, you little beep! You son of a beeping beep beep beep! I'm going to tear off your beep and shove them right up your beep beep beep beep and then beep beep beep beep beep on your be-be-be-beep with beep beep beep in the beep beep and beep beep beep beep beep your beep beep beep so then you'll have to beep sideways! Beep! Hm? Hi there.” she ended with with a raised hand towards Marco, who'd finally made his way over.
The 1st Division Commander had an exasperated expression on his face, one usually only aimed at Thatch, or Ace when he was being particularly stupid “What's with the beeping, yoi?”
Ed almost lost her composure from her seat on top of a speaker, clapping her hand over her mouth as she tipped forwards, shaking with laughter, which caused Marcus to call “Oy, Cap'n! Don' choke in th' bar! We hav'n't ev'n got paid yit!”
The brunette finally took a deep breath through her nose before straightening up with a smile “Profanity censoring, pretty bird. Also, it's 'bleeping'.”
Marco was stupefied and almost didn't slap Thatch when he started cackling. Almost. “Where's Ace, yoi?” the Legendary Zoan asked, not being able to see him anywhere.
Jim pointed at the back door with his thumb “Probably out back canoodling with the Captain's sister.”
Said sister looked aghast at the ravenette “Don't say 'canoodling'! Jonas!”
The burly blonde sighed as he delivered a head-slap to the younger, and shorter, man.
Said man grumbled and rubbed the stinging area “Yeah, yeah, I deserved that.”
Marco immediately looked understanding and exasperated “One of those, huh?”
Ed sighed “Yup.”
“I know the feeling.” the blond said, eyeing Thatch.
Said man noticed, of course, and took offense “Hey!”
Meanwhile, out behind the bar, Al and Ace were, in fact, not “canoodling” but instead standing silently as Ace wiped his face. He was not crying, damnit. Alexia let him have his dignity, if nothing else, knowing she'd left him feeling vulnerable. It would take time before he'd feel comfortable feeling that way around her.
Now that he was actually looking, Ace could see the text through the see-trough fabric the sleeves of her tunic were made of, lines of blue making it so that the actual words were illegible to him, but he could see the colour they had taken. Red. A deep, rich red. He couldn't remember seeing anyone else with the same shade. It wouldn't surprise him if Luffy's words would take the same hue one day. The shade one's words took said much about the bond and the strength of the feelings involved.
Shades of red were romantic. Always romantic. There were entire lexicons with colours and their specific hues and meanings, but Ace knew the basics well enough. Red was romance, yellow was platonic, blue was intellectual and green was familial. Then there were all the different hues and better explanations that Ace wasn't interested in.
He'd always hoped for red.
And apparently, so had she.
He then realized he didn't know her name.
He lifted his hand, feeling just a little silly as he did it, but Makino had taught him better “Portgas D. Ace, it's great to finally meet you.”
The brunette looked at him with surprise, before grabbing the outstretched hand with a grin “Alexia. I'm the First Mate of the Ouroboros Pirates, otherwise disguised as the Bate Entertainment Company. The pleasure is all mine.”
And damn but didn't she look like she meant that.