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Your eyes slowly open and you sit up, looking down to check your bandaged hands. Right, you collapsed after a fight.
“(Y/N)!”
The last memory you have before passing out is your lover looking down at your injured body with tears in his eyes. One of your bandaged hands reaches up to rub your head injury, he must be blaming himself right now for you getting so hurt. Hurt, it’s supposed to hurt. Strangely but thankfully, your body doesn’t hurt; just heaviness. No one is at your bedside like you thought, though; but you hear sounds outside like a party. Are they celebrating the won battle? You had assumed their precious crewmate having been so injured would have stopped them.. but you suppose it’s better than them being miserable? You feel fine, anyway; so it must’ve not been serious.
You stand up and walk out onto the deck.
Everything stops.
It resumes but.. slower. More hesitant. You notice Thatch looking awkward like everyone else suddenly is.
“Hey! I’m feeling better!” You say proudly and he nods.
“Must not have been bad.” What a dismissive way to word that.
“Yeah.” You look around, but your boyfriend isn’t here. “Where’s Ace?” The cook falters. “...Where is he?”
“Well you see-” You turn and run back into the ship despite yelling behind you. You can’t believe them! They should know how Ace is and that he needs help, but they’re trying to stop you from comforting him!? You reach his room and are about to go in when you hear him moan. Is he crying? That.. doesn’t sound like him crying though.
“Ace~!” You hear another voice moan from inside and freeze.
Who is that..?
There’s long moans from inside, silence. Then you hear it.
“Are you sure this is okay?” The other voice.
“Hm? Yeah, I saw (Y/n) get hit, they’ll be out for a few days. In the meantime~” The sound of giggling, then sex, reaches your ears from the other side of the door. You open it.
Ace is on the bed with another person, naked and disheveled from fucking. His eyes widen when he sees you. “You w-weren’t supposed to..”
“What happened!?” The other person cries. “I thought you said you let them get hit!” Your world turns upside down. Your boyfriend. Your sweet, insecure, passionate, loving, goofy boyfriend. The boyfriend who looked at you like he was always enamoured and the one who said you were the only one for him—is in bed with someone else. Cheating on you.
You pass out.
__________________
Your eyes slowly open with a struggle and pain wracking your body. The focus is coming back to you and with it, the memories of what happened. Your gaze trails to see Ace sitting in a chair next to you.
Him.
He spots you awake and gasps.
“You’re up!” Tears drip down his cheeks and he hurriedly wipes them. “I’m not c-crying, hold on-”
“Why are you here?” You ask and he pulls his hands from his face.
“Huh?” His face goes pale. “Are you mad?”
“Am I mad!?”
“I’m sorry! You’re upset??” He asks it like he’s confused, shocked.
“Of course I’m upset!” Something in his eyes darkens and they look down in shame.
“O…Oh.” He grips onto his shorts. “I’m sorry, I know I messed up.” You sniffle and his eyes snap up to look at you. “(Y/n)!?”
“I can’t believe you did this to me.” You wipe your eyes. “I really thought.. I really thought it might be impossible. That this would never happen.”
“Are we still talking about-”
“Of course we’re still talking about the cheating!”
“HUH!?” His eyes bulge from his head.
“Did you think I wouldn’t remember!?” Your body resists how much you’re yelling and you clutch your injuries. “Dammit!” He starts to sweat, fumbling with his hands.
“Wait what are you talking about-”
“I’m done with this. Does Pops know you’re doing this? I don’t want to think he does but clearly I’m not a good judge of character so I wouldn’t know!” You’re so hurt, physically and emotionally. “I’m going to him.” You try to get out of bed despite the pain, despite Ace struggling to keep you into bed. “Get away from me! I’m breaking up with you!” Ace freezes and his expression shatters.
“Baby..?”
“Don’t you dare call me that when it’s your fault I got hit, I can’t believe I ever trusted you!” You spout with tears in your eyes. There’s silence and you look to see his sight completely unfocused. He’s dissociated. “What are you.. As if you..” Your injuries throb again. Did you hit these on your way down passing out? They felt healed earlier.
The door opens to Marco. He scans at what’s happening and frowns.
“What?” Is the word that comes from his mouth.
“Were you in on this?” You sniffle. “Him cheating on me?” Silence.
…
“You’ve been unconscious ever since you were hit during the fight. If you ever found out anything it wouldn’t be when you wake up for the first time in days.” Marco doesn’t really know what’s going on but the only thing he can guess is you had a nightmare of some sort. “Lay down, you’re still out of it.” You’re incredibly confused but lay down since your injuries are only getting more painful.
“Are you not in on it?” You’re getting insecure now.
“In on what?”
“Ace cheating on me, d-during the party.” It feels so clear in your mind, the sight of him looking the same he does when he’s with you; but with someone else. You didn’t get a clear look on what they looked like though. Their face feels blurry even when you remember looking right at them. Strange.
“There was no party. Even if there was, Ace was at your side. It took me and Izou to drag him to get some proper sleep, and even then he only obeyed once Pops convinced him.” The logic of what’s happening is entering your mind.
“I had a nightmare?” Reality sets in.
“You did.”
Thump
Ace fell to his knees, now whispering to himself.
“Ace?” It clicks. What you said! “Ace! Ace!” You slide out of bed and kneel beside him, pain forgotten. “Baby, I’m so sorry.”
“they hate me they hate me they hate me.” He mumbles over and over and you sob.
“I’m so sorry honey I had a nightmare.” Marco strategically slid a pillow under your knees before they hit the floor. He doesn’t think he can help with this but he can help with not worsening your injuries. You shake him lightly but nothing is working.
“Ace I still love you, I’m sorry. Please don’t be sad.” You hug him as tight as you can, then kiss him. The feeling of your lips on his, and the feeling of the lack of breath, slowly makes him come to.
“I-I..I’m so sorry. I let you get hit.” You have to explain! Quick!
“I had a dream that I woke up and everyone outside was partying and I found Thatch and asked him where you were and he was hesitant to tell me so I thought you were crying on your own and angrily left to comfort you but when I went to your room I heard moans of you and someone else and you saying not to worry because I would be knocked out and when I opened the door the both of you had just gotten done having sex and they said that it didn’t make sense because you told them that you let me get hit on purpose so you can cheat on me while I was unconscious!” You gasp for breath after your big explanation.
“You don’t hate me?” Ace’s eyes are watery.
“No! I’m stupid!” He hiccups and sweeps tears from his eyes.
“Urgh, don’t say stuff like that to me ever again.” What you said registers in his head. “Wait what kind of nightmare is that!? Is that why you were mad!?”
“Yes!” He hugs you.
“That’s the worst dream ever.” He grumbles. He could go on about that but.. “So you don’t blame me?” ..making sure is more important to him. “I thought it was out of character for you since you’ve comforted me before, but I understand if you’re mad.” You kiss him again.
“Nope. The only thing I’m mad at is myself for hurting you.” He sighs in relief. “If you blame yourself after I embarrassed myself like this I’m gonna feel even worse, so you better not.” Ace flinches, he was 100% planning to.
You have to be careful after that. You’re recovering but you also have to be managing Ace’s mental state after what happened. He keeps trying to hide it from you for your sake but what you said was what he hears in his nightmares; so it gave him a huge shock. Also, he keeps sticking close to you. The crew joked that he’s probably thinking of giving himself a collar to try and ease your insecurity. He was. You convince him that, even if a collar around his neck would be very cute, you want it to be from love rather than insecurity.
Overall, your nightmare fades and so does the fight. Strangely enough, the outburst ended up making you two closer. You helped with Ace’s insecurity of you faking your comfort, and he worked through your insecurity of him cheating on you. Happy end.