Work Text:
"Hey, Thatch?"
Ah, this was that new side of Ace that had started to bloom recently — the angry young man, hissing and spitting like a cornered cat, was ebbing away, and in his place, a personality that was oddly sweet for a pirate captain, occasionally something bordering on shy. Thatch considered it a privilege to be the one Ace seemed to trust most; he got to have the front row seat to the transformation, to see the attempts at a carefully cultivated (if obviously foreign and effortful) courtesy and the tentative hand reaching out in friendship.
Ace had approached him as Thatch leaned against the Moby Dick's rail, taking in the grand sweep of the night sky. He turned toward his new brother and grinned.
"What can I do you for, Ace?"
Ace rubbed one hand against his opposite arm, over the tattoo, and said, "Well, if I'm gonna be a part of his crew now, I was wondering if you could, y'know… tell me a bit about folks? The commanders, especially?"
That kind of question made Thatch grin. It sounded like Ace really was looking to settle in properly — and that made his heart soar. The Whitebeard Pirates were family and pack, and Ace, he had already well suspected, was in desperate need of family. Now that he'd accepted them, he was doing it right.
"Sure, sure, I'd be happy to!" He waved Ace to come up and join him at the rail. "Now, I haven't been here the longest. You could probably go ask Izo or Jozu stuff after you talk to me. Or Marco maybe." Something flashed in Ace's dark eyes at the mention of Marco's name, there and gone in an instant, and in the starlight it was difficult to say what exactly that something was. Thatch tucked the thought aside and started in on a brief summary of the various crew members. Nothing exhaustive, not a lecture, but enough for Ace to start to understand the people who reported up to Whitebeard and saw to his sprawling family.
Ace listened avidly, soaking up every word, but Thatch could tell that there was something more he wanted, something that wasn't stories about how Izo would snatch up any smuggled goods out of Wano he could find, no matter how exorbitantly expensive; how Haruta played on that childlike, impish face to play the most ghastly tricks on any enemy foolish enough to trust in appearances; how Rakuyo once won free drinks for his entire division during shore leave when he bet the bartender he could open the most expensive bottle of liquor in the place using his flail — without spilling a drop or damaging the bottle.
No, there was something more that Ace wanted.
When Thatch found a good place to pause, the kid asked, "So… you and Izo are bonded, right? That kind of thing, that's okay here?"
Oh. Had someone caught Ace's eye already? Thatch grinned, making a mental note that Izo absolutely had to hear about this. "Yeah, we are. This is a family, after all, not just a crew — Pops is completely okay with his people pairing off, or making other arrangements if they wanna. The only rule really is, be good to your family. Don't hurt someone or double-time them or whatever."
"Seems easy enough," Ace agreed, and oh yes, there was definitely a light of hope in those eyes now.
"So you gonna tell me just who inspired that question?" Thatch asked with a grin. "If there's someone you've got your eye on, I'd be happy to give you tips. Just come to ol' Thatch for all your romantic-"
"Nah, nah!" Ace shook his head hurriedly. "Nothin' like that. Just… just wondered, right? It never really came up with the Spades, so I didn't have to decide on a policy as captain."
"Really?" Now that was a little surprising. "I could'a sworn that you and that cute omega first mate of yours were…"
"What? Nah, nothin' like that. Deuce is a great guy, but he and I don't work that way." Ace waved a hand. "He's… well, he's a little different, you know? Anyway. You were saying… are you guys the only ones who've paired off, of the current crew?"
"What, the whole crew? Nah. There're others. But of the commanders, yeah, we're the only ones who are currently in a long-term thing. The rest… well, there's a lot of casual messing around, getting each other through cycles, stuff like that. But there's not much time for romance, you know?"
"Wait, so…" Now there was some very badly hidden calculation on Ace's face! Thatch stifled a grin and made a mental note to take bets with Izo later. Ace had his eye on someone, and probably one of the commanders — he'd bet his best knife on it!
Izo was delighted with Thatch's gossip, and the two of them took to eyeing Ace whenever he was interacting with any of the other commanders. Could it be Haruta, maybe? The two of them were closest in age, and Haruta was a beta. The two of them watched Ace's interactions with the lean swordmaster, waiting…
"No," Izo said after a couple days. "It's not Haruta."
"You sure?" Thatch tilted his head. "They seem pretty friendly."
"Right, but that's just it. Friendly," Izo said, shaking his head. "Ace isn't putting on any kind of a display when they're hanging out. A young, strong alpha like that? His courtship isn't going to be subtle."
"Well, then who is it?"
"We've got to pay more attention."
Weeks passed, and Ace continued to integrate further with the crew. He was proving to have a natural talent for navigation — no small thing on the Grand Line — and a solidly intuitive understanding of mapmaking. Between that and his devil fruit abilities, Portgas D. Ace was a rising star among the crew, and bets were running wild as to how fast he'd wind up a division commander himself.
He was also coming out of his shell — befriending others, showing off, acting more and more like a strong, well-known young pirate than the scared, angry thing he'd been when they first brought him on board.
"Hey, hey, watch this!" he said one day as Thatch cursed at the seagulls circling overhead. For whatever reason, this flock had all settled on the Moby Dick as the source of good things, and went completely berserk whenever someone tried to head outside with any food. Which sent them right back in begging for more, of course.
So, Ace was fixing it — he leaped up off the deck and transformed his legs into a column of flame, soaring up into the sky to scatter the pests. Then, just because he could, he flew a couple loops of the mainmast, grinning and doing the occasional flip.
"Looks like he's having a good time, yoi."
"Oh, hey, Marco!" Thatch waved at the first division commander. "Got myself a helper, here."
"You did. I was just coming to see if you needed someone to take to the sky." Marco offered Thatch a crooked grin, but then his gaze returned upward to Ace, watching him soar. The seagulls had fully scattered by now, but Ace wasn't showing any signs of landing.
In fact, if anything, his flying got even more dramatic. "Showoff," Thatch sniffed, grinning despite his pretense at disdain.
But Marco only laughed. "Flying really is that much fun," he said. "I'm half-tempted to go up there with him. Show him what a real showoff looks like."
Thatch raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" he asked, a new thought popping into his head. It seemed a little crazy at first, but… Ace sure had started showing off even harder when Marco came by. Could he be…?
"Ah, maybe another time. I did promise I'd help Jozu with those new recruits of his," Marco said lazily. "Tell Ace I said hi, will you?"
"Yeah, sure thing."
And tell Izo a few things too. Thatch had some new bets to place.
Bets Thatch was pretty sure he had sewn up the next time Ace dropped by the kitchens for a chat (as opposed to sneaking in to steal food, the little wretch).
"Say, Thatch," the kid said, grabbing an apple and polishing it against the leg of his shorts. "Marco's birthday is coming up soon, right? What kinda stuff does he like?"
Thatch turned and blinked at him. "Marco's birthday? Nah, that's not for a few months yet. October 5th, that's the day. Why, thinking of getting him something?"
"Oh, huh. I must'a misheard." Ace was trying way too hard to seem casual about the whole thing. Way too hard, biting into the apple like he didn't have a care in the world, but with a line of tension in his shoulders that belied the casual tone. "Still, October's gonna be here eventually, right?"
"You don't have to get him anything if you aren't in his division," Thatch pointed out, wondering just how open Ace would be about his interest. If he was thinking birthday presents and shit, this wasn't just hoping to roll the guy once or twice, was it?
"Sure, maybe I don't, but I'm curious. Humor me?" Damn it, Ace really did have a cute face when he put his mind to it.
"Okay, well. Don't laugh, but he really likes pineapple-flavored things, to start with. So there's an idea for his not-for-like-three-months birthday." Thatch grinned as Ace flushed; yeah, okay, the kid had a crush all right. That's a bet I'm winning.
Still pink in the cheeks, Ace thought for a minute, then asked, "Birds like shiny stuff too, right? Should I…?"
The question was cut off by Thatch's laughter. "Ace, Ace, if you're gonna hand him a bunch of sparkly crap because birds are into that, I wanna make sure I'm there to see his face!"
"Shut up, it was just an idea!"
Thatch had some better ideas for Ace, and kept chatting with him about it all, but man… he was kind of disappointed he wasn't going to get to see whatever had originally drifted into the kid's head.
"Hey, Marco," Ace challenged one bright, sunny morning. "Tag?"
Marco cocked an eyebrow at him. "You think you can take me? Bold of you, yoi." But in a flourish of red and blue flames, the two of them leaped into the air.
Izo leaned against the rail beside Thatch and tilted his head up to watch the pair of them. "You were right," he said lightly. "It's cute to watch him."
"I think the words you're looking for," Thatch retorted, smug, "are something like, 'You win, Thatch.' Try that on for size."
"Hmph. I was enjoying the romance of the moment." But Izo passed Thatch a handful of beri all the same, and Thatch leaned against his tall mate's shoulder as he watched the fiery pair circle overhead. "Besides, it's time for a new bet. Is Ace going to be the one who finally bags our bird?"
"You know, with the age difference, my first thought would be no," Thatch said thoughtfully. "Marco's aware of it even if Ace isn't, I'd reckon. But on the other hand… well, look at him go. Haven't seen him smile quite like that in years."
"Lots of years," Izo agreed. "I'm thinking it's going to happen. If we're in agreement on that, then… hm." He paused, tapping his chin in thought. "... Fifty beri says Ace is going to be a romantic and won't take the easy road of offering to be a heat partner for Marco's next cycle."
That earned a laugh from Thatch. "I'm not taking that bet, Izo, I don't think it would even occur to the kid that he could take the easy road. No, he's gonna do this right, and that's why Marco's gonna go for him. That's my take on it."
Izo pouted briefly, entirely playful, then leaned down to nudge his cheek lightly against Thatch's, sharing an affectionate scent mark. "Then maybe we don't need to lay money on it. It's nice to agree sometimes."
"That it is."