For the first time in over a decade, I could truthfully say that life was good. 

The months rolled on by, just like the waves we coasted upon, and I quickly found my place among the Whitebeard Pirates. I became a member of the Fourth Division, working under Thatch, much to Ace's dismay, but I found it easier following the pompadoured cook's lead.

If I had been in the Second Division, Ace and I would have constantly butted heads. Besides, it was put to a vote, and Ace was the only person who voted for me to join his group. Nobody wanted to deal with our clashing personalities on the battlefield on top of on the Moby Dick. 

There weren't really all too many fights to be had, thanks to how scared other pirates were of Pops, but even when we did fight, I had to rely on the others to protect me. I didn't like it, so I continued to train, to make sure that I could pull my weight. Sure, I wasn't the worst fighter, but compared to the rough, rugged pirates, I was pretty damn pathetic. 

As well as taking me under his brotherly pompadour for division duties, Thatch also welcomed me into his kitchen, which, according to the others, was quite an honour. Whenever I wasn't busy training, I did my best to help him out with meal prep, along with his cook underlings. Chopping vegetables, gutting fish, mountains upon mountains of dishes, the usual things a kitchen hand would do. Sometimes Thatch even had to chase me out with his cleaver, just so I wouldn't overwork myself. 

Any and all of my free time was spent with Ace, and those were my favourite moments, even though I would never admit it out loud. He would make the most mundane of days exciting just by being there, and he kept me on my toes with his feisty banter. I quickly came to enjoy the company of Marco, too. We had gotten off on the wrong foot, but once I gave him a real chance, we hit it off. 

"Wait. No way. Seriously, there's no way." Eyes almost popping with shock and confusion, I stared at the pineapple head, brows scrunching up. "You really think I'd believe you're old enough to be my dad? You're getting rusty, my dude." Smirking at my reaction, Marco leaned back in his chair, sweeping a hand over his blond tuft. 
"I know, I just get better looking with age, but as sure as water is wet, I'm forty three." 

Standing up and rounding the small table in the kitchen, I stopped beside him, leaning in close to hunt for any sign that we was telling the truth. 
"He's not lying, (Y/N)." Thatch chuckled, not even bothering to look up as he peeled potatoes for that nights dinner.
"I don't believe either of you. You're twenty, give or take. A baby. A child."

Snickering to himself, Marco decided to close a bit of the distance between us, winking to make sure he got me to fluster at least a little.
"Honey, I'm more than twice your age, but it's sweet of you to think I can pass for a youngster, yoi."

Shoving his face away with a faux snort of disgust, I gave his cheek a little pinch before Ace wandered in, stretching his arms above his head.
"We're about to pass by a cool looking island. Anyone wanna come check it out with me? Pops said we can't dock there."

Both Thatch and Marco shook their heads respectively, the latter rocking back in his chair to look at him properly.
"I'll pass. Today's a lazy day for me, yoi." He yawned, slowly returning his chair to fourt legs when Thatch gave him a stern look.
"I'm out too. Lots of prep to do to feed you sorry lot." He did more affectionately than sour.

Raising my hand like a child in a classroom, I smiled.
"I'll go. I got shunned from potato duty so I've got time to kill." It wasn't my fault that my method of peeling potatoes wasn't up to Thatch standards. How was I supposed to know he liked them peeled clockwise?

Grinning, Ace grabbed my wrist and tugged me towards the door, giving me no warning.
"Sweet! Off we go then!" I didn't even bother resisting. I was used to him dragging me around now, and I would have been lying if I had said it still pissed me off.

Leading me to the port side, Ace climbed up onto the railing, and I narrowed my eyes, leaning over to spy his personal vessel, the Striker, bobbing in the water below.
"I'm not jumping down there. If I miss, I'll drown, and don't say you'll save me, because you'd sink like a stone too."

Clicking his tongue, Ace ignored my concern and jumped down anyway, landing exactly where he had planned.
"Come on, flatty! Don't be a wimp!" Sure, his taunts and teases got to me, but I was staying firm.
"On second thought, I'll stay here. You have fun though, Pepper. Bring me back a cool rock or something..."

Sensing a presence behind me, I glanced over my shoulder to find Teach, having approached to see what was going on. I still didn't particularly like the guy, but he was friendly, so I chose not to judge his book by the cover.
"You two heading off on a day trip, huh?" He asked curiously, and I thumbed down towards Ace.

"He is. I'm not jumping that far so I'm quitting while I'm ahead." I could have jumped down, I had probably jumped from bigger heights in the past, but the ocean made me nope out big time. It was already risky enough being out in the open water with a Devil Fruit.

"Oi, Teach! Toss her down to me, yeah?!" Ace called up from the Striker, and before I had the chance to threaten the scruffy man, he had picked me up and walked closer to the edge.
"Woah woah woah! T..Teach, buddy, my compadré...You wouldn't actually throw a lady overboard, would you..?"

Maintaining his cheery expression, Teach gave me a closed eyed smile, which did nothing to ease my worry.
"Sorry, Missy, but he's my commander, after all!"

With that, he threw me over the edge of the Moby Dick, and I screeched basically every cuss word I knew until I landed in a heated pair of arms. Even though I had known Ace wouldn't have let me get hurt, I wasn't at all impressed.
"You're both dead, ya hear me?!" Contradicting my threat, I clung to Ace as he placed me down, the Striker rocking to and fro in the current.

"It's gonna get hot, so I'd suggest you ride piggyback style, unless you wanna bear hug the mast." He warned me, and in an instant I was on his back, legs wrapped tight around his chest and my hands keeping me pushed up on his shoulders. Deuce had told me how the Striker worked, so I knew just how easily I could get burned.

Untying the rope that kept it towing alongside the ship, Ace activated his flames and off we went. It took barely ten seconds for me to start sweating, but he kept the flames low, so they wouldn't lick at my lower half.

It didn't take long for us to reach the island, much to my relief, as we had been pretty close by. It had a port, but we decided it would be safest to dock somewhere a little more hidden, lest there be Marines or other pirates around.

"So, what made you think this island was cool?" I asked Ace as we climbed ashore, and he shrugged his shoulders, adjusting the pouched dagger upon his hip.
"Haven't been here before, that's all. I think it's called Koseki or something. Pops never wants to stop by, so I thought I'd check it out for myself, y'know?"

If Pops doesn't wanna stop here there has to be a reason, you idiot...

It was a very rocky island, that was for sure, with not much cover. It kind of made me wish that Ace had worn something other than his usual attire, so he wouldn't have stuck out like a sore thumb.

We walked side by side, bickering about this and that until we reached a village, where many people seemed to be wearing hard hats and carrying tools.
"Must be a mining country..." I speculated, noticing that Ace looked like he had a specific goal in mind. Allowing him to lead, we ended up out the front of what seemed to be some kind of jewellery store.

"I'm gonna check this place out. Wanna look around for a bit?" He asked, seeming like he had business to take care of. Curious, but choosing to keep that to myself, I nodded, waving him off as I scanned my surroundings.
"Sure, just don't take too long. If the ship sails too far ahead I'll melt before we get back."

Before I could leave, Ace took hold of my wrist and flipped my hand over, filling my palm with coins.
"Consider this part of what Marco owes you for making you lose your cash." He chuckled, and I hesitantly shoved it into my pocket.
"Thanks, it's a start. I easily had fifty thousand in there."

"Yikes. He's gonna love that." Ace replied with a laugh, heading inside the store as I began to wander across the street. It seemed like most places sold gold, or precious stones, which pretty much confirmed my earlier theory.

I decided it was best to stay close to where Ace was, so I just browsed the window of the store across the way, which happened to be filled with mining supplies. I was about to turn and wander a little further when the colour white flashed behind my reflection, and I turned to find something I had been hoping wasn't the case.

Marines. A whole swarm of them, lining up outside the jeweler Ace had entered.

Shit.

A nervous crowd had gathered to watch the show, and I kept my eyes glued to the door, praying Ace was prepared.
"Ma'am, you should distance yourself. This could get violent." An officer approached me, and I took a few steps back, hoping my fear didn't seem suspicious.

"O..oh, really? Well, I really should get out of here then, huh? Off I go!" Turning on my heel to leave, I barely took a step before the officer reached out, seizing my wrist with a strong hand.
"Hold on a moment. You look familiar..." He mumbled to himself, and I watched as the cogs ticked inside his brain, suddenly clicking. "Wait, you're the missing bride from Dressrosa!"

Double shit!

"Y..you've got the wrong girl, Sir. I've never been to Dressrosa in my life. I'm flattered you think I look like her, though." I lied through my teeth, but he didn't buy it for even a second, tugging me closer so I couldn't make a break for it.
"No, your picture is plastered all over the Grand Line. There's no mistaking it. What on earth are you doing all the way out here? Did that brute Fire Fist drag you along with him?!"

Of course my face had been printed by the thousands, spread across the entire ocean. That was such a Doflamingo thing to do, and that meant that I was royally screwed. Just as I was losing hope, the chime of the Jewellery store's door rang, and out stepped Ace, as casual as ever.

"Hands in the air, Fire Fist Ace! You're surrounded!" The leader of the group yelled fiercely, and much to my surprise, Ace complied, smile never leaving his face.
"Uh-oh, you got me! Good job, guys!" He cheered, and I mentally punched him in the face ten times over. This wasn't a joking matter, but there he was, making light of it.

The Marine that had hold of me began to pull me off to the side, completely ignoring the way I struggled.
"You're safe now, don't worry. We'll take you home once we've neutralised the pirate scum." As he spoke, I pushed back against him, but he was built like a brick house.
"Let go of me, you asshole!"

The moment I called out, Ace's smile vanished into thin air, and when his eyes landed upon us, they were burning with an anger I hadn't seen since we were children.

I wasn't even sure what happened next. One moment I was struggling in the hold of a Marine, and then next, his entire left side was on fire, and Ace was dragging me in a sprint by the hand.
"Just keep running, don't look back, I'll catch up, okay? Fight if you need to. I'll back you up." His direction was quick, and as soon as he finished talking, he'd released me, dropping back and leaving me on my own.

There was no time to argue, I knew that, as crazy as he sounded. Sure, I had fought against gladiators before, but my life had always been guaranteed. In the real world? I had zero experience.

Running as fast as my legs would carry me, I could hear the grunts and cries of falling officers, and the vicious crackling of flames. Was Ace killing them? It didn't seem to be his style, but with an ability like his, there had to be occasional casualties.

"Oh no you don't!" The voice that shouted was way too close behind me for comfort, but I just kept on running, squeezing my eyes shut and begging for some assistance. At each of my flanks appeared the largest Colosseum fighters I remembered.
"Please keep me covered, guys!" I asked them in a breathless yell, and they immediately turned to do my bidding.

It was going well, and I was making a decent gap between me and the Marines, up until I felt sharp, piercing sensations in my stomach and chest after hearing gunshots. My spectres had been shot, no doubt, and even though I only took a fraction of the damage, it was still going to be a problem.

Stumbling, I almost fell to my knees, but before I could hit the ground, I was swept up in those familiar arms, and I had never felt so glad to see Ace's face.
"Hold on, I'm gonna try and get us further ahead so we can lose 'em!" With that, he sprung into the air, and I heard the roar of flames as he began to propel us, and I just closed my eyes, pressing my head to his chest until we came to a stop.

Without much warning, I was dropped to my feet and Ace pressed into me, sandwiching me between his body and a coarse, stony surface.
"Not a sound." He warned me in all seriousness, and I nodded once, instinctively pulling him even closer when I heard the shouts and bellows of Marines nearby.

He had hidden us away in the lip of a cavern, possibly the mouth of a mine, but we seemed to be out of sight as they dashed past, hunting for any sign of us. My entire being was thrumming with adrenaline, and feeling Ace's fast-paced heartbeat so close to me had my head in a tizzy.

He was so warm - so unbelievably hot - and I peered up at his face as he craned his neck to keep an eye on our surroundings. He seemed so intent on protecting me, and it stirred a deep, intense feeling in my chest. After the longest time, he sighed, body relaxing as he turned back to face me.
"Okay, I think we're in the clea-"

I had absolutely no idea why I chose to kiss him in that moment. Maybe it was the excitement of the situation, or maybe it was because I had never found him so attractive, but whatever it was, it was an urge so strong I couldn't have refused it even if I had tried.

Again, Ace's entire body grew rigid, but it only took a moment for his lips to carefully move against mine. They were dry, and a little cracked, but it didn't take away from the experience. He didn't push for more, nor did he try to back out of it. He allowed me to have complete control, and for a second I very nearly gave into the temptation to turn it into something more.

Snapping to my senses, I gave him a harsh shove, and he stumbled backwards, eyes wide and face flushed a brilliant shade of red, and I refused to make eye contact, covering my mouth with the back of my hand.
"Th..there...I gave it back, s..so now the promise is officially fulfilled..." I muttered, embarrassment blanketing me whole.
"U..uh...yeah..."

Puffing out a shaky breath, I took once last look around the mouth of the cavern before I stepped out, pocketing my hands and lowering my head.
"We sh..should get out of here. Get back..." I announced, gingerly rubbing at the areas my ghosts had even riddled with bullets.
"Y..yeah..."

Dammit...Why did I do that?! Why...did it feel like what I always thought a kiss was supposed to be like..?!

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***I ran out of drive near the end but meh. I went way over my usual word quota xD

Next Time: SHALALALALALA KISS THE FUCKING GIRL YOU FOREHEAD WITH LEGS - Marco (probably)***