Disclaimer: I own nothin'! Only the pestering plot chicks and OC's

WANTED! - In search for a beta for my brain farts/stories :D

''What the hell? Luffy, get her down or she might break something!'', Ace yelled in exasperation, watching Rena hug the apple tree in which's treetop she was currently standing and apparently - stuck.

Luffy, who was stuffing his mouth full with half red, half green apples on the ground swallowed another one before launching and stretching his right hand towards the branch Rena was currently standing on. The next second he was standing next to her and the moment he made a move to grab Rena the branch gave a cracking sound.

''WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!''

Ace could only watch with wide eyes when the branch gave away under the double cargo and Luffy and Rena came plummeting through the treetop and onto him.

*THACK*

*THUD*

*…*

''Get the fuck *wheeze* off me!''

''…''

''Ugh, sorry.'' Luffy scrambled off of him after he managed to get Rena off of himself first.

''Damn, this'll leave bruises… How the hell did you get up there anyway?'' Ace groaned while getting into a sitting position.

While Luffy and Rena had a somewhat soft landing, Ace was the one on the receiving end and his breath was literally knocked out of him for a moment when not only the branch hit him, but the two youngsters too.

Instead of an answer a bright red, deliciously looking apple was showed into his face.

Dumbfounded, Ace blinked at the apple and then at the person holding it.

''For me?'' he asked stupidly.

Rena nodded.

''You went up there to get the apple?''

*nod*

''And the apple is for me?''

*nod nod*

''Uh, thanks, I guess…'' Ace momentarily forgot that he was supposed to be mad at them for nearly crushing him, taken slightly by surprise with the unsuspected offering.

''HEY! How come I didn't get any?'' Luffy was immediately jealous. The apple was a bright red color and his mouth drooled at the sight of it.

Seeing his predatory look, Ace swiftly hid the apple behind his back.

''You ate a whole bunch already so stop complaining.''

Rena pulled Luffy at his shirt to get his attention and pointed at the tree branch that fell off with them.

And there, under the mass of broken branches and leaves, was an equally bright red apple, though a little beaten up after the rough landing.

Luffy all but beamed after spotting it, making short work of uncovering it from the brunches.

With a victorious ''A-ha!'' he held it up high and sat next to Ace, about to devour it in one bite.

''What about you?'' Ace blinked at Rena after she sat down on his other side, a content smile gracing her lips.

After she gave him a confused look, Ace sighed and muttered something that sounded like ''stupid'' under his breath, before pulling out the knife he was always wearing around his waist.

Slicing his apple in half he offered Rena one half while biting in the other.

''Just take it.'' Ace grumbled irritated after the girl only stared at him.

And she did.

With the smile now fully blooming on her face.

Which threw Ace a off guard. Again.

Because Rena never once fully smiled. Not that shit-eating-happy-go-lucky smile which Luffy wore all the time on his face.

And knowing that he made her smile like that made Ace feel something dangerously close to pride and joy, and he couldn't help the grin that tugged at his corners.

Sometimes her silence in combination with her stupidity was really getting to him and could piss him off in no second if he had a bad day.

On other times he was grateful for her silence as he soon noticed that she let her actions speak instead of words.

Just like he noticed that she was more perceptive than she showed.

Like when she would comb her tiny fingers through his messy hair when they were lying next to each other on the makeshift bed on the floor and his dreams were haunted by the past again. Not that he could sleep much with Luffy snoring like that anyway. Still, her gentle caress would always manage to lull him into sleep.

Or how she would just sit next to him when he tended to get into 'brooding moods', how Luffy called it.

Just allowing him to feel her presence yet not invading.

Or maybe it was just coincidence. Sometimes he really wished he could read people's minds, specifically her thoughts.

Because God knows what was going on in that mind of hers.

Her closeness had freaked him out at first.

Then her persistence pissed him off.

No matter how many times he pushed her away or how rude he was to her, she would always throw him off balance with some little act of kindness as a piece offering for making him mad.

And he would always give in.

Because he couldn't bring himself to kill that smile that broadened every time he accepted, if not returned, her kindness.

So, eventually he gave up.

And accepted.

It became nothing unusual anymore if she fell asleep with her hand still tangled in Ace's hair, from time to time. Just like she tended to clutch Luffy's shirt most of the time.

It was probably her way of assuring herself that she wasn't alone.

Because, Ace noticed also, she didn't budge from either of their sides, whether him or Luffy.

No matter what, she was always close to one of them.

There could be various reasons for that: like because they were the first who found her, or the only one who spent such a great amount of time with her.

But it was more likely that she was afraid to be left alone.

And that was something Ace could relate to.

She didn't talk much and only slowly learned particular words and expressions to make herself understood.

But Ace didn't need words.

He was getting to know here by just watching her, noting the tiny details that he wouldn't usually give as so much as a glance.

And if Luffy did notice Ace's change in behavior towards Rena, he didn't comment on it. If only, he got even more enthusiastic to drag Ace into teaching Rena and being her 'mentor and protector'.

Which Ace soon also caved in.

'Damn, she's getting under my skin…'

Ace cursed in his mind while the first traces of sleep were getting him, the small, gentle fingers that played with his hair soothing his jumbled mind.

This is for all those who like to make themselves understood in different ways, without needless words ;)

See ya later folks!

N.D.