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It was the middle of the night when Ace finally managed to drag himself out of the meeting and towards the bedroom he shared with her. He’d been up late with the other commanders going through the details of an upcoming operation, and trying to iron out the kinks. They must have gone through it some 50 times already, courtesy of Marco’s insistence (and Ace dozing off repeatedly, but he can’t really help it, can he?).
At long last, the day has ended, and the quiet of the night reigned once more, as Ace stumbled around the hallways and towards your door. The only sounds he could hear were small, cold waves crashing against the side of the boat, rocking it ever so gently, and making its creek.
A small flame flickered atop his finger, lighting his way, as he kept on walking - one foot in front of the other. There were two main thoughts going through his head at that moment, as he struggled to keep his eyes open just a little longer. One: how his head throbbed with exhaustion, and two: how he longed to hold her in his arms.
It was a rather chilly night. While not quite winter, Ace knew it was too cold for her liking. She must have been cold without him… He’d warm her up as soon as he got there. As soon as he got there… This must have been one of the longest journeys to his bed; the stairs and hallways connecting the decks and areas of the Moby Dick seemed positively endless that night.
A seeming eternity later, Ace’s heavy feet finally stopped in front of a door. He hoped it was the right one, given how tired he was. He wasn’t looking forward to climbing in bed with one of his men. He’d never hear the end of it. A shiver ran down his spine; the thought sobering him up ever so briefly.
But it must have been this one.
Ace traced his finger over a burn mark on the door - about shoulder height for him, and on his right side. He smiled wearily to himself as his fingers rubbed over the charred wood. It happened some years ago, around the summer festival. Everyone got drunk off their asses that night, and decided to play truth or dare. While she wasn’t eager to share much about her mystery crush, rumours had been going around about who it might be. Fueled up on liquid courage, Ace made a move on her that night. But oh, that look in her eyes. Her cheeks, so rosy from the booze and the proximity. The way her soft lips parted as she stammered to string words together. And finally, the sound of her voice when she admitted it’s been him all along; him - the one who stole her heart.
He tried to play it smooth - tried to put his charms to work - but he could not hide the way she made his heart skip a beat, and butterflies flutter in his stomach. The bottles of booze he’d downed - that same liquid courage that brought them to this moment - now seemed to work against him, as his hand, resting against the door, sparked up ever so slightly. But ‘ever so slightly’ was enough to singe the wood before either of them caught on to it.
Ace then hurriedly patted the wood, clumsily trying to put out the flames, while she laughed and got the hiccups. It was then that she rose up on her tiptoes and pecked him on the lips. Their first kiss - so soft, so sweet, so fleeting - before she told him goodnight and skipped down the hall to her room.
Her old room… Ace couldn’t remember how long it’s been since she’d slept in there. He didn’t think she could remember either.
Memories like these warmed his heart.
His hand grasped the doorknob and turned it gently, trying not to wake her.
And there she was, curled up in bed, wrapped up in blankets up to her chin. It was indeed a tad too chilly for her liking, and Ace couldn’t help but puff a small smile at that. How someone from a place so cold could be so averse to it was a mystery to him.
Seeing her in his bed, sleeping soundly, made him feel at ease. They were hardly ever apart, and yet, a part of him could not help but worry that one day she would no longer be there. That one day she would leave him, or be stolen from him.
But when he saw her form there, beneath the sheets, her chest slowly rising and falling as she breathed in the night air, all his worries melted away. She was safe, and she was there with him.
Ace softly put his hat down on his desk. He slipped off his boots, and peeled off his shorts, eager to crawl in bed with her and join her in her dreams.
What was she dreaming of, he wondered? Would she have been dreaming of him perhaps? The thought of it made his heart flutter.
She stirred, vaguely awake, and turned her head towards him.
A strand of hair slipped down her cheek and now clung to her lips as she looked at him with half-lidded eyes, beckoning him to join her in bed. His fingers reached out and gently touched her face, brushing the silky strands of hair behind her ear, his gaze and smile soft as he looked down upon her face. Her lips, so full, were more beautiful than the summer flowers in full bloom. The way her long hair would glisten in the warm sunlight reminded him of cascades mirror late sunsets. Her eyes, so bright with hope, could not compare to any glistening riches of this world. Her heart, so full of love, was deeper than any seas he may have sailed. To him, her beauty was more radiant than the sun, and her love… more captivating than the moon.
“Ace…” she whispered in the darkness.
“I’m here, babe.”
“I’m cold…”
“I’ll warm you right up, love,” he said, placing a chaste kiss on her cold forehead.
Ace climbed up in bed, quickly wrapping his arms around her smaller frame. His body moulded to hers, as his heat seeped into her skin.
To him, she was the calm that cooled his hothead. She was the cool breeze on a torrid summer day. The soothing ointment on a burning wound.
As her temperature rose, he could feel her relax in his embrace.
He could not quite understand how he got so lucky - why a girl like her would go for bad blood like him - but that did not change the fact that it did happen…
With a soft sigh, she snuggled closed against him, nuzzling her face into his arm.
…and all that mattered now was that he loved her and she loved him. To him, she would always be…
…the beauty to his beast.