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Vale walked out of the last period yawning from exhaustion. She carried her books and laptop, heading towards the library. She stopped at a corner of the hallway and pulled out her phone, opening up her messages.
VALE
Are you at the library?
I’ll be going there soon.
ACE
nah. our prof isn’t done yet with the lecture so our last period is gonna be extended by a bit. I’ll be there asap tho when it ends.
VALE
Promise that you’ll be there by 5pm?
ACE
promise :)
Vale smiled at the texts and kept walking through the college’s seemingly endless corridors, her bag and laptop in her hands. When she arrived at the double-door entrance of the library, she pushed them open and made her way inside. The library was fairly big. It had shelves lined up on every wall, and a space full of tables and chairs where students could sit and read all they wanted.
Unfortunately, students rarely come here out of free will, and only come here to spend time with friends, or to simply find a good place to study for upcoming finals. Vale is an exception, though. As a history major, she usually came to the library to read and borrow books about things like the French Revolution or World War II. Basically, she read about all the important events in history, and she came to know the most important events like the back of her hand.
She sat at a nearby empty table. A few tables were hidden in between bookshelves in the library, so she decided to sit there. She set down her bag and placed her laptop on the table, opening it and going to the website where she studied her flashcards. She pulled out her flashcard set for World History, and the flashcard set for Humanities, which she would definitely be studying with Ace later.
As if invading her mind, she remembered how she first met him. Given that she’s been friends with Isuka since early high school, they met up after class in the library. There, they both caught up on what they’ve been doing. That time, Vale made only one new acquaintance; Sabo, who shared a course in Historiography. As if by coincidence, Isuka’s new acquaintances whom she met during her Emergency Medical Services (EMS) course, Ace and his brother, Luffy, mentioned Sabo in one conversation they had, and that all three of them had been close since childhood. Isuka thought it was a grand idea to have all of them hang out together the day after.
All three brothers’ energy was quite… overwhelming? At least in Vale’s perspective that is. Even so, she thought of it as a genuinely sweet bond between the three. And she loved all the memories and conversations she had with the three of them (along with Isuka) from that day forward. She especially became close with Ace. When she saw him for the first time, the last thing she expected was to become one of his best friends. They’ve technically become “study buddies” now, helping each other out on their majors. Now is an especially important time, considering finals are quickly approaching like a train. Vale wished time wouldn’t go that fast, but if not now, when?
While studying, she received a text from Ace, a few minutes before 5pm.
ACE
just arrived at the library. where r u?
Vale smiled in excitement as she typed out her response without thinking, giving him all the directions he needed to take to get to their table with no issues.
It hadn’t been even a minute and Ace had finally arrived at their table, setting down his bag and sitting beside Vale with that grin on his face. “Hey, Aqua.”
“That’s Vale for you, Flames.”
He gazed at Vale whilst she went to the tab on her laptop with her Humanities flashcards. “Humanities exam is coming soon, and we need to ace it.” Vale said, smiling cleverly at Ace, who looked amused by her very bad pun for his name. “You just did that to amuse me, did you?” He rested an elbow on the table.
“No I didn’t. It just came naturally.” Vale replied. Something inside of her knew exactly what kind of game Ace was teasing on, but she tried her best to seem like she didn’t care at all. “Sure you did.” Ace put out sarcastically.
“Nope, totally unintentional.” Vale quickly replied. “Now, you ask me questions first.”
Ace laughed, “Okay, sure. But you better be getting good grades out of this or my interrogating skills won’t be worth the time.” Ace always used to ask practice questions like he was interrogating a highly wanted criminal, and Vale loved the serious tone that he made, even at questions as simple as ‘Who painted the Mona Lisa?’ It was painfully ridiculous.
Vale chuckled, “You know I always get good grades. Now tell me, are you getting good grades, Flames?”
“I thought I was the one supposed to be asking the questions.” Ace raised an eyebrow.
Vale rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t count.”
“It’s a question. That counts. So I think you’re supposed to be the one asking the questions first, not me.” He said, gazing into Vale’s eyes like he had something to settle. Vale grinned as she was on the verge of laughter. “Ace! The flashcards! You need to ask from the flashcards!” She covered her mouth, not wanting to make any loud disturbances in the library. Ace laughed, “Okay! Okay! The flashcards it is, Madam Aqua.” For some reason, his laugh made Vale feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, but she got used to the feeling. “Tsk. Madam? How fancy.” Vale teased.
“Only a title fitting for a lady such as yourself.”
Vale paused—her face turning red. It felt like Ace just lit her heart on fire, but she tried extinguishing the feeling and moving on to studying. Study first, feelings later. Just then, Ace broke the unexpected silence. “So… you stopped talking back. Something on your mind?” He asked. Vale stumbled upon her words before giving a concrete answer. “I- Wha- No… not really. Just our lectures… I think.”
“You think? Mhm..” Ace replied. They both sat in silence before Ace started asking questions from the flashcards. It hadn’t even been an hour before they both decided to take a break. When Vale was setting up the fifteen-minute timer for their break, Ace suddenly grabbed his bag. “Guess what I have?” He buried his hands into the inside, trying to find what he wanted to pull out. “What is it?” Vale replied. Ace pulled out a few granola bars. Vale’s mouth gaped open in surprise. “Wha- Ace! You know food isn’t allowed in the-”
Before she could finish her sentence, Ace covered her mouth in a panic. “Woah! Aqua! You can’t blow my cover like this.” He said. However, Vale couldn’t focus due to the hand that suddenly covered her mouth. Her eyebrows furrowed as she stared up, shooting a glare into Ace’s eyes. “Hah, you sneaky little-” She stopped her sentence, prying his hand away from her mouth. She dragged his hand back onto the table, but she noticed how he didn't let go at all, and neither did she.
“So? They aren’t really strongly scented anyway. The library’s safe. Don't worry.” He offered his other hand, full of granola bars. “Let's share?”
Vale chuckled, grabbing one of the granola bars and unwrapping it. “You might fall asleep again, you know that?” Ace sighed, “Yeah, I know. You’ll just have to be the one to make sure I’m doing okay during the whole thing.”
Vale smiled, thinking about watching this doofus sleep all over again. She remembered getting jumpscared the first time she saw him fall asleep like that. That time, she was sure he got a wild case of food poisoning. But, he woke up after a few minutes or so. It was fine, really.
“I’ll make sure you’ll be fine.” Vale said.
Ace smiled, “I know.” Without much thinking, Ace held Vale's hand on the table. His grip wasn't too tight, but not too loose, either. It was gentle, like sunlight enveloping the earth during golden hour. Vale couldn't resist holding his hand as well.
The library became quiet. Too quiet for this moment, in fact. In normal circumstances, you could’ve heard distant footsteps from the other people in the library, or the nearby campfire crackling to help the students stay warm, or other students’ laptop keyboards clattering loudly from their study sessions. But this? The world went quiet. Only for Vale, at least.
For the first time, she couldn't hold back the feeling anymore. The feeling she’d felt every time she was around Ace. She couldn't push it away any longer. The feeling that made her heart flutter. The feeling that made her face flush. The feeling that made her feel vulnerable…
Weak.
The last thing she wanted to be.
They sat there for a while, chewing awkwardly on their granola bars, watching their surroundings for the librarian or any student that might snitch on them. Just then, Vale thought of something that could break the silence. “So, what are you gonna do after this?”
Ace thought about it, staring up at the ceiling. “Hmm, probably nothing. I’m down to hang out with someone, though. I might be bored as hell.” He went back to look at Vale. “Hmph. Is this your excuse so that you could spend time at my place?” She asked. The question was quite inferential, but she wanted to know if he wanted to lead her on. For some reason, the thought of it probably being the case made Vale smile. Ace’s face turned red, and he looked away, hiding a very wide smile on his face.
“Bingo. You want to spend more time with me. Is that so?”
“Tch. Stop it.” He said, chuckling heartily.
His laugh made Vale melt. “Aw, am I getting through to you?”
Ace didn't reply, he only yawned, taking another bite out of his granola bar. “No… just sleepy.” He muttered. “Ah, I see.” Vale replied. Being a narcoleptic, he was bound to sleep during their study session at some point, but Vale didn't mind. What she didn't expect though was Ace sleeping on her shoulder. Before she knew it, he leaned over and started quietly snoring on her shoulder. Vale's body started feeling warm and fuzzy. She smiled as she stared at his face. He looked as peaceful as an angel. She could count all the freckles scattered across his cheeks like stars and would never get bored. The only thing she would miss would be staring into his eyes. She couldn't look into them if they were being covered by his eyelids.
His hair felt soft on her shoulder. She couldn't resist burying her face in it, taking in the scent of his conditioner. She wondered what hair products he could’ve possibly used to achieve such a scent. But she didn't care. It smelled good, and she liked it. She rubbed circles on his hand that she was holding, hoping it would make him comfortable. He sighed in response, burying his face into her neck, making her feel warmer than she did before. Vale treasured every quiet snore and breathless sigh that came from him. She didn’t dare let go of this moment, just like how she never wanted to let go of his hand, and the way his hair ruffled against her face. They both stayed like that for a while. The timer for their break continued to count down, but this moment felt timeless. It’s like the world stopped moving for both of them.
A few minutes had passed before Vale fully finished her granola bar and Ace’s eyelids started fluttering open. “Ah, I’m awake… heh.” He said with a raspy voice. He tried coughing the raspiness of his voice away, slowly getting up from Vale’s shoulder, and letting go of her hand. She started longing for the contact again immediately after, but she knew that it was likely she’d never have a moment like that again. “Good evening, Flames. You were out for a few minutes.” Vale greeted, smiling contently.
As if his nap didn’t happen, he was completely back to normal—like nothing ever happened. No grogginess, no yawning, just your casual ball of sunshine right in front of you. “How many minutes ‘till we go back to studying?”
“Just four more minutes.”
“Alright then. Let me just finish my granola bar. Trust me, I’ll be fast.” He winked at Vale, in which she only rolled her eyes in amusement. Just as he said, he was fast, and he finished the granola bar in only a minute. Once he finished it, Ace stared at Vale and raised an eyebrow. “Vale, there’s something on your cheek.” He said, pointing at an area on his face, referring to that part. “Wait, really?” She responded, grazing her fingers onto where it might be on her face. “It’s probably a smudge or something from your granola bar.”
“Oh, that’s fine I’ll just-”
“Nah, don’t worry, I’ll just help you wipe it off myself.” Ace said, grabbing a few wet tissues from his bag. He started slowly but gently wiping that area on Vale’s cheek, making the smudge go away almost immediately. “Ace…” Vale smiled at him. She felt like she wanted to explode. From joy? No. Sadness? No. Anger? Definitely not. She couldn’t help but want to confront everything about this—the way they act around each other, how both of their friends tease them constantly on how they act around the other, and… just… everything.
She held Ace’s hand, stopping him from moving it away from her face. “Vale, wha-”
“Can we just confront this for once?” Vale asked. “You’ve always been so kind to me, so polite, and I love that about you. But you just-” She stopped herself, taking a deep breath and sighing. She thought about what to say next, refusing to gaze into Ace’s widened eyes. “You treat me differently. You’re always close to me, you want to spend time with me a lot, and sometimes you text me back constantly like an addict. Your hugs with me last longer than others, and because of all that, our friends keep thinking that we’re dating and teasing us 24/7 about it.”
A few seconds of uninterrupted silence went by. No one said anything, and the break timer only continued to tick down. “And… Gosh this may be embarrassing to say but.. I love that part of you. The one with great and pure intentions. The one who values and cherishes everyone he knows and loves and would do absolutely anything and everything to protect them. That’s the side of you who I want to confront. You treat me with more importance than anyone else in the room. That’s what confuses me. Just tell me. What do you actually think of me? Hm?” Vale continued to stare down, refusing to look straight at Ace.
Silence took over the conversation. The space between Ace and Vale only closed in farther when Ace dropped the wet tissues and gently cupped Vale’s cheek, drawing her closer to his face. “Vale, look at me.”
Vale didn’t respond.
“Look at me. Please.” Ace insisted. Vale finally looked at him with a frown. “Ask me your question again.” He told her. His face was still—unwavering.
Vale sighed and asked her question again. “What do you actually think of me?”
Ace’s face softened at Vale's words, contemplating on what to do next. Sitting so close to each other—faces only inches apart. Slowly, he guided her face closer to his, and before Vale knew it, he pressed his lips onto hers, pulling her into an unexpected, slow and soft kiss. Vale’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly gave in, returning it wholeheartedly. It took a few seconds before Vale was fully giving in, running her hands through Ace's hair. He sighed, only pulling her in closer.
It was only a matter of time before they parted, breathless from the sudden predicament they both had gotten themselves in. The air had changed between the two of them. This wasn't something friends do anymore, that's for sure.
This was something so much more.
“I… Sorry.” Ace apologized. His face looked a little red, and he looked away, covering his mouth. Vale felt the kiss linger on her lips, and she started feeling the butterflies in her stomach. “I just… I can't put what I think about you into words, so…” Ace continued. He was still looking away from Vale, and she could catch the slight pink tint of his flushed cheeks from the side.
“Does that mean..” Vale muttered. She hesitantly reached out her hand for a few seconds, but eventually went to gently caress Ace’s face, slowly turning him towards her. “We both like each other, don't we?”
“I guess you could say that.” Ace replied.
Vale stared at his lips—the lips that had just landed on hers only some seconds ago. She thought about what had just happened. The way both of them melted into it, his hand cupping her face whilst her hand ran through his soft hair.
She wanted to feel it again.
She wanted to feel it forever.
She slowly placed her lips on his again, and he immediately followed suit, as he started gently holding her hand that was caressing his cheek, rubbing circles on her palm. This one lasted longer. Maybe a bit too long. But that didn't matter, at least for the both of them. For a moment, Vale could feel Ace smile against her lips, and it made her heart melt even more.
Suddenly, the alarm that signaled the end of their break invaded their ears, and they immediately parted. Vale scrambled to turn off the alarm, and set the phone down in silence.
They both sat quietly, unable to speak to each other after what happened. “...That felt nice.” Vale said. She cringed at herself a bit after. “Do you wanna keep studying or…?” Ace asked, raising an eyebrow. Vale flushed at the thought of what he could've said after the latter of his statement. “Uhm.. Let's just keep focusing on studying.” She answered. “But if you want, we could talk about it more later.” She continued, a slight smile forming on her face.
“Yeah, I think we both need that.” Ace chuckled.
Vale and Ace walked out of the library that day ready for their Humanities exam, and completely flustered, as they discovered something about each other that they didn't expect would find.