It had been a while since I had felt so immensely pissed off.

Things had been a lot less awkward than I had expected the morning after Ace and I opened our feelings - and our bodies - to each other, and we even spent a while talking in the early hours of the morning, my head upon his chest and his fingers combing through my hair.

Once we had redressed and dropped the key back to the generous shopkeeper, we set off to track down The Moby Dick, launching off from the shore in the Striker. I was a lot more comfortable acting as Ace's sentient backpack now, arms and legs curled tight around him so I couldn't get burned by the flames whipping from his feet.

However, my mood began to change when Ace took out Marco's vivre card. It had been pointing back towards the island. Confused, we mutually decided to circle around instead of landing again, just in case we had missed something.

We had.

On the Northern shore, opposite to where it had been anchored the day prior, was the Moby Dick in all its glory, waiting for us to return. The moment I saw Thatch, Deuce and Marco leaning over the starboard edge, I felt like I was burning more than Ace was.

"Oops, did we forget to tell you we were moving the ship? Totally our fault!" Thatch called out, lowering the ramp for us whilst Ace reattached the Striker to the tow-line. Up I marched, throwing the bag of plums in his face before I even made it the whole way up.

"So, how did you and Acey-Boy enjoy your evening together? How convenient that the grocer had a spare room for you two, yoi!" Marco chuckled, only to burst out in hysterics when I grabbed him by the collar, threatening him with my fist.

"Oh, you sons of bitches..! The whole thing was a set-up?!" I backed him further onto the deck, still holding his shirt tightly when I turned to jab a finger towards the wheezing cook, who was busy picking up stray plums that had flown from the bag. "You thought that was funny?!"

Duece stepped between me and Thatch, holding his hands up in a feeble attempt to calm me down.
"Easy, (Y/N)...They insisted that it was a necessary course of action-"
"Which just so happened to be hilarious!" Marco added, earning him a harsh shove which knocked him flat on his ass.

Ace joined us on the deck, grunting as he pulled the ramp back up to sit in its usual spot.
"Seriously, guys, that was overkill. Sure, it helped, but a little warning would've been nice." Groaning, I raked a hand down my face, slumping my body into a very poor posture to show my frustration.
"Don't encourage them!"

Standing and brushing himself off with a limp wrist, Marco was still chortling, gnawing away at my patience.
"Oh, so it helped, did it, yoi? Knew it would! Did you two finally jump each other's bones and get together?"

I'm going to flay him alive. I really am.

Again grabbing Marco's shirt, this time by the sleeve, I began to drag him off, willing away the urge to remove my boot and slap him across the face with it.
"Shut up and come with me. I need to talk to you. In private..." I muttered through clenched teeth, glad that he decided to zip his lips.

I lead him all the way to the infirmary without saying a word, making sure the door was locked and nobody else was around before I released him, moving to sit down on the nearest bed.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing for a moment. What's up, missy?" He pulled up his wheelie chair and sat backwards, scooting closer and folding his arms across the headrest.

"You're technically a doctor, right?" I asked, my hands already wringing the material of my shirt nervously. He noticed immediately, quirking a brow but not mentioning it aloud.
"If you drop the technically, yes. Did you get hurt during the storm? Falling branch? Slipped and fell, yoi?"

Marco really could switch from goofball to mature in a second flat, which impressed me, and I shook my head, not wanting to say what I knew I needed to.
"N..no, nothing like that. Do you have, I dunno...any contra..ceptives..?" I flinched down as I spoke, expecting a ruckus of laughter, but instead, Marco kicked off, rolling over to the cabinet beside his desk.

"Let's see, I don't have anything conventional, but I do have a little something I learned how to make back in Sabaody Archipelago. Some of the women who live in the slum districts there work nights, kicking it with the Marines, so they have their ways of making sure they don't get any bonuses, if you catch my drift, yoi..."

I watched him as he rummaged around, relieved that he wasn't making any inappropriate jokes at my expense, especially after he had technically been the cause.
"As...long as it's safe, I trust you. Thanks, Marco..." I murmured, eyeing the small bottle he pulled out before rolling back on over to me.

"I wouldn't be giving it to you if it wasn't. Honestly, I'm just glad you're being smart about things, yoi. As much as the cute little pitter patter of chubby baby feet would brighten things up on the ship, I think that's more of a distant future type of thing." Marco offered me a smile as he handed me the bottle, pointing to the pipette top. "Three drops under the tongue, twice a day for the next five days. Six, if you want to be safe."

Nodding, I opened it up and did as instructed, grimacing when a horrendous taste filled my mouth.
"Oh, yuck, ugh, that's disgusting." I gagged, screwing up my nose. Uttering a chuckle, Marco rested his chin in his hand and gave me a lazy smirk.
"Yeah, sorry, I probably should have mentioned it tastes like month old boiled ass."

Settling the bottle in my lap, I listened intently to the long silence before I decided to open my mouth.
"Why did you guys do that? Leave us to think we'd been abandoned?" Straightening up a little, the tuft-topped man gave me all of his attention, a soft seriousness easing my concerns.

"Well, I saw how bad Ace was hurting. He tries to keep up the tough act, but everyone on this crew knows he's sensitive, and not just when it comes to you, yoi. So, when Thatch brought up that he'd had a chat with you, we decided we needed to step in and meddle, just a little bit."

I should still be mad, but...

"As much as I really didn't appreciate the method...thanks. We really did need to sort things out. My head's a lot clearer now." I finally returned his smile, and the Pheonix beamed, reaching out to ruffle my hair.
"Hey, what sort of big brother would I be if I didn't horn in on Ace's love life, huh, yoi?" He snickered, standing up and helping me to my feet, hand lingering in mine. "Forget about fame and infamy. You're exactly what he needs. I'd bet my right nut."

I couldn't help but snort at his words, squeezing his hand before giving him a chummy nudge with my elbow.
"Pffft, keep your nut. I'm allergic." I replied, starting to head towards the door.
"Considering you came in for contraceptives, I doubt that, yoi." I could hear the wiggle of his brows in his voice and rolled my eyes, glancing over my shoulder as my hand fell upon the doorknob.
"Yours. I'm allergic to yours."

Upon returning to the deck, I found Ace deep in conversation with Whitebeard, who sat upon his mighty throne in the center of the ship. We had set off from the island, and I took a deep breath of fresh sea air before heading over.

"Glad you made it back in one piece, (Y/N)." Whitebeard greeted me with a knowing lilt to his tone. "Ace was just filling me in on the latest piece of news." Suddenly feeling shy under his gaze, I instinctively gravitated closer to Ace's side, and he welcomed me under his arm without hesitation.

"I hope you don't mind. I'm just really happy and couldn't stop myself from sharing that with Pops." Ace grinned, and for a moment I was blinded by how bright it was. Did my mutual affection really make him that happy? If it did, then I was luckier than I initially realised.

Shaking my head, I looked between him and our captain, still feeling a little timid but smiling anyway.
"Who am I to stop you? I don't mind...as long as there's no problem with it..." That was the one thing I wasn't sure of. I had heard that, sometimes, relationships among crewmates on some ships were frowned upon. I just hoped it wasn't the case on The Moby Dick.

Whitebeard waved me off, his hand momentarily getting caught on his oxygen tubing.
"Nonsense. If ever I have a problem with a son of mine finding happiness, shoot me where I stand. I'm just glad there won't be anymore childish fights to give me a headache." He guffawed, and it was a strong, delightful sound I had grown to enjoy during my time on the crew.

Looking back to Ace, he pulled me even closer into his side, pressing a kiss to my cheek before he grinned again. Somehow, the peppering across his cheeks, and the slight crease beneath his eyes made him seem all the more attractive to me, and I felt my heart skip a beat.

I guess I owe Marco and Thatch, because I think this has been the best decision of my life...

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***Marco for President of the world.

I had another spider give birth in my room, so I'm seriously considering starting to charge fees for being an arachnid midwife/daycare attendant. Perks of being Australian.

Next Time: Unconventional***