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It was only one month since Marineford. He knew, not because he remembered the dreaded date, but because the Whitebeards who did put together a reunion for the 1 month anniversary of Ace and Pop's death.
He couldn't go, as much as he wanted. It was all still too fresh in his mind. He just couldn't go there yet.
And he was glad he didn't go.
He found someone he wasn't expecting as he walked around aimlessly.
A woman was sitting on a bench, hands on her lap as she looked at them. She was entranced in thought, just like he had, and still kept the bob he knew her to have, but she was no longer wearing her marine coat.
Probably on vacations, he thought to himself before approaching her.
"Isuka?"
She looked up with wide eyes "Deuce?"
He sat next to her and looked at the sky. It was mostly cloudy, but still enough of a clearing for him to relax for a little bit.
"I see you're not wearing your marine coat. Are you on vacations?" he raised an eyebrow with a smirk.
"No…" she looked back at her hands "I left the Marines years ago."
That took Deuce by surprise "What, really? When?"
"Back at Sabaody. I… found out I had been blinded and brainwashed into thinking I was saved by Marines but… in reality, they're the ones who hurt me in the first place. I became a bounty hunter instead. But even if that hadn't happened, I would've quit around now"
He tensed his lips at the reference to Marineford and stayed quiet for a few seconds.
"We never told you how we met, did we?"
She shook her head
"I was stranded on a deserted island by a few days with no food or water when I found him there, trying and failing to make a boat to escape. He was oddly polite and that stood out to me. I didn't give him my name but told him I liked his name, so he… named me Deuce."
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "He named you?"
"Yeah" he smiled
"Huh, I guess it makes sense. I always wondered how you two had matching names but never asked.
He continued "After a while I… discovered the Gol thing…"
Her smile was replaced by pursed lips.
"and left him. When I saw he had a fruit another day I…" he started laughing "I picked up a stick and approached with the intent of killing him. But then, he turned around, complimented my stick, and… offered me his fruit."
She laughed "Typical Ace"
"I, of course, couldn't accept it, so he… parted it in the middle and gave me one half. He bit first, and then I did. It tasted horrible. Terrible. But it felt so good. At that moment, I'd never eaten something which tasted as good as that. Looking at the sunset, everything felt warmer, and I thought that it might be because I was with Ace. And guess what?"
"What?"
"I turned around and he was on fire"
She bursted out laughing. "I take it he panicked?"
He smiled "You have no idea. Until he realized it didn't hurt"
"So that fruit you two ate. It was a Devil Fruit, right? The Mera Mera"
"It was"
After a few seconds, "Huh"
"What is it?"
"You said he got the powers because he took the first bite, right?"
"Yeah?"
"That could've been you"
He stood silent, trying to process her words.
"You could've been the one who ate the fruit first and got the fire powers."
He didn't respond at first "You know, I've thought about that before. About how different everything would be if I was the one who had eaten it. I never really wanted those powers, and I'm glad he was the one to bite first instead of me. I wouldn't have used it to its full potential like he did. But it's still fun to speculate about"
Now it was her turn to grow quiet. Deuce recognized that face as she mulled over her next words in her head. Finally, she gave in. "Are we friends?"
He chuckled "Well, yeah. You kinda did after trying to catch us every other day. It was like… that one annoying friend who tries to hang out with the group but is lawful stupid but everyone's still attached to them"
"Oi!" She hit him, but her smile never left her face "Who are you calling annoying and stupid!"
He shrugged, nonchalant "It's the truth"
"Uh-huh." she looked at the book in his bag "Then you're a nerd"
"Hey! I'll have you know this is the journal of my adventures" he pulled it out and showed her.
"Huh! So not only a nerd but a diarist, too, huh? Doesn't surprise me."
His cheeks grew warm, "It's novelist, to you!"
She laughed "Whatever lets you sleep at night"
He couldn't hold it back any longer and laughed alongside her.
He didn't notice when the sky had cleared.