"I'm dying."

"You've been saying that for the last two days. Either stop complaining or die faster." Ace responded jokingly, pulling the brim of the hat he had leant me down over my eyes.

"I choose the latter. I can't deal with this heat, Ace. It's not in my biological make-up." I groaned, unblinding myself and trudging after him through the dusty street.

Alabasta was hot. Obviously, considering it was a giant desert, but that didn't make it any less horrific. The fact that I had to cover myself in so much fabric to avoid getting burnt was getting to me. I longed for nothing more than to strip to the bone and lay myself down to be reabsorbed into the earth.

"You can deal with my heat just fine." Ace pointed out, slowing his pace so I could catch up.
"Your heat isn't dry heat. It's completely different. Let me vent, man." I grabbed hold of his poncho so I wouldn't drop behind again, but he quickly pulled my hand off so he could twine our fingers together.

"I love you, but that doesn't mean I'm about to put up with you complaining every five minutes." Ace scanned the street for a few moments before approaching an older couple, bowing his head and offering them a kindly smile. "Sorry to be a bother, but you wouldn't happen to know where I can find a man named Scorpion, would you?"

"No, sorry, young man." The elder woman apologised, bowing her head in return. I was honestly blown away by the fact that nobody had recognised Ace yet, considering his reputation as a highly wanted man. It was convenient, but shocking.

I pushed myself to keep up with my husband's pace, swallowing back any whines or complaints so I wouldn't piss him off. The last thing we needed was an argument. Married or not, we still butted heads.

"So, do you really think the rumours are true? That Luffy might be here in Alabasta?" I questioned, resisting a little as he began leading me towards a restaurant.
"I hope so. If he is, he definitely hasn't been in this town yet, at least. It's too calm."

Yep. You've got a point.

Once I realised that Ace was without a doubt intending on a dine and dash, because we had absolutely no money, I dug my heels into the dirt, refusing to go any further.
"Nope. Count me out. You can stuff your face and get hunted down all you like, but I don't want to get into any trouble here."

Keeping hold of my hand, Ace stopped and turned to face me fully, a pout puckering his chapped lips.
"We haven't eaten since yesterday. I know you don't want to draw attention, but food is kind of majorly important."

He was right, but I couldn't help but pity the Alabastan people around us. Poverty was apparent, and the thought of cheating them out of anything didn't sit right with me.

"If you're so worried, then bring back a doggy bag. I'm gonna go ask around to see if anybody knows about that Scorpion guy." I went to release his hand, but he dragged me straight back, flush into his chest before pressing a quick kiss to my lips.

There was that smile I adored, close and all mine.
"I love you. Don't stray too far." With a wink, he let me go, almost jogging towards the entrance to the restaurant.
"Love you too, you dork!" I called after him, rolling my eyes as I headed over to the nearest shop. I had never seen such a collection of rugs in my life, but they all seemed rather dusty and frayed. Antique, if I were to be polite about it. Still pretty, though. 

Out from a cluster of carpets waddled a leathery man, teeth snaggled past his lips, smiling kindly. 
"Welcome, welcome!" He greeted cheerfully, wheezing past a half-cough that rattled his frail body. "How can I be of assistance today, young lady?! Got a brand new shipment in just yesterday!" Waving off his sales pitch as politely as I could, I clasped my hands together at my front. 

"As lovely as your merchandise is, Sir, I'm actually trying to find somebody, and was hoping that you may have seen them around?" I wasn't holding out much hope, but at least the man seemed willing to lend me an ear. 
"Well, let's hear it then, Miss. I just about remember everyone who passes through these parts." 

Making myself a little more comfortable, I reached out to brush my fingers along some of the golden trim of the closest rug, keeping my eyes on him as to not seem rude. 
"Now, I don't exactly know what he looks like, but he goes by the name Scorpion. He might now the location of somebody we really need to get ahold of, but nobody seems to know who on earth we're talking about." 

The merchant snapped his fingers and beamed, wagging his finger towards me in a positive manner. 
"You stumbled into the right place, Miss. Think I know precisely who you're talking about. You're after that bounty hunter, right? He was around these parts not too long ago, actually. Headed North-West, last I saw of him, with that creepy bird of his." 

I could kiss you, Mr. Leathery Rug Man..! 

I felt a prickle of excitement as he spoke, confirming not only that Scorpion was a real person, but that we also seemed to be on the right track. We were one step closer to tracking down Teach, and the thought of making him pay - making him suffer - had my blood pumping. 
"Th..Thank you so much, Sir! You have no idea how many people we've asked since we got to Alabasta!" I jumped up and down on the spot, momentarily forgetting about my heat exhaustion.

"Glad to be of assistance, Miss. I'm guessing a lot of other people you've asked have probably seen him, too, but these days most people are just out for themselves. Can't blame them, really. Gotta be if you want to survive in these conditions. Damn King Cobra..." The man shook his head with a sigh, but before I could say anything, a loud crashing sound caused us both to flinch. 

Yep. There's no doubt about it. Whatever that was is Ace's doing.

Already starting to back out of the store, I politely bowed and waved to the merchant, repeatedly glancing over my shoulder so I wouldn't bump into anything. 
"That...will probably be my husband...Again, thank you so much, Sir! The second I have some money, I'll come back and buy from you, I promise! See ya..!" Without giving him a chance to respond, I dashed out of the store and into the dusty street. 

It was chaos. People were running around like headless chickens, and the restaurant looked as though a flink of bulls had charged directly through it. Smoke and dust was beginning to settle and dissipate, and that was enough to give me a vague idea of what had happened. Ace had caused a scene, and now he was on the run. 

AND HE LEFT ME BEHIND! 

I shouldn't have been surprised, but more than anything I was colossally pissed. Sure, at some point Ace would have returned for me, because I knew he loved me and wouldn't abandon me forever, but it was the principle. 

"I swear to god, I'm gonna beat that hot piece of ass with a sea-prism stone hammer..." I hissed under my breath as I started off in the direction others were running away from. It seemed like the most logical path to take if I wanted to find my idiot. 

Racing around in the heat was horrible. Even after five minutes, I was out of breath and dripping with sweat. Ten minutes, and my lungs were burning. Fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, the only reason I knew that I hadn't dropped dead somewhere along the way was the severe discomfort I felt, bordering on pain. 

Finally, after poorly navigating my way through backstreets and laneways, following the sounds of panic and chaos, I broke through the cluster of buildings just in time to see a hoard of marines backing off and away from familiar bursts of flames. I recognised one of them as Smoker, who had a Devil Fruit befitting of his name. My presence didn't stay secret for long due to my gasping and panting, and the eyes of the Marine flickered over to me. 

"Ah ah ah. Run along home, Smokey. She's with me." Ace made his arm flare in warning, and Smoker clicked his tongue before ordering his men to retreat, sparing me one last, irritated glance before disappearing back into the Alabastan township. Once Ace had snuffed his flames out, I dragged myself over to him, limply batting at his chest the moment I got close enough. 

"You left...me...you stupid...dumb...asshole..!" I snapped at him between heavy intakes of breath, my legs turning to jelly beneath me. Ace caught me when I faltered, but to show that I wasn't about to just forgive him without revenge, I sunk my teeth into his forearm. 
"Owowowowow! Hey, quit it, (Y/N)! We've gotta go! You'll never guess who I ran into!" 

My curiosity, though visually dulled by my exhaustion, was genuine, and I unlatched my teeth from my husband's arm to look up at him. 
"Who? Smoker? I saw him already. That's no reason to have abandoned me, all alone in a strange country! Oh, you're welcome, by the way! I found out where Scorpion might be." 

Ace lifted me up properly, his face almost splitting in two with a broad grin. One that reminded me of him when he was a mischievous little boy. His hands found my shoulders and he lowered his face to my level, eyes sparkling with pure excitement. 
"That can wait for five minutes! I found Luffy! He's here!" 

"No, it can't wait for...DID YOU JUST SAY LUFFY?!" 

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***I'm beyond exhausted. Usually I only have two to three shifts per week, but lately I've been working almost every day, some of which as a supervisor. I'm BEAT, my dudes. 

My Doffy finally came, too, and I'm in love. 

He's a lot bigger than he looks.

Next Time: Three Out of Four***