Behind Those Smiles
Summary: Ace is a pirate who can rarely kill his smile and Nemo is a girl who can't ever seem to see a reason to even try. The only difference between the two is that one can produce fire and the other can't seem to register the burns. Ace/OC 50 Drabbles
Rating: Rated T For Thursday, 'Cause It's Also Friday-Eve ^^
Disclaimer: All I Own Is Nemo, Not The Fish, But The Pirate
Chesire Proclaims: The Only Reason Why I Was Able To Write All These Was Because I Was Trying To Write Nemo As A Story –And More Or Less Failed =3=- So I Wrote These 50 Drabbles Instead. Plus, I've Been Writing Since 1PM-10PM Last Night, So I Had A Good Chunk Of Time To Spare. XD
What The Radio Says: "Stealing Cinderella" By Tim McGraw
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Dedicated To Ace, And What I Am Sure Would've Happened Had Nemo Existed In The Actual "One Piece" Series… I Miss You, Ya' Narcoleptic Pyropath... X'(
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01. Deadly Boredom
She wasn't very old when she cast herself off from the world and decided to travel around in a dinghy.
The only problem was how bored she was at sea and how much more bored she grew when landed in a quiet, dull town. Was that much of a surprise that she decided to sneak on a nearby pirate ship for some excitement?
02. Nemo
But, under the second level of the deck, her face showed surprise when she felt someone grab the back collar of her shirt, pulling her off the ground to face her captor; who was a giant compared to her small size, a crescent moon white mustache and a superior grin on his face. His chest was bare, unless you counted the few scars on it, with a marine-like jacket over his shoulders, a purple waistband, and a pair of yellow-beige pants with black boots.
He spoke with a superior grin that made Nemo unsure of whether or not to smile back or frown, "Why hello there, little girl. May I ask what are you doing here on my ship?"
A vein appeared on the forehead of the "little girl's" as she squirmed fiercely while scolding the Captain as one would do to a disobedient dog, "BAD MAN, BAD! NEMO'S NAME IS NEMO, NOT 'LITTLE GIRL'! BAD MAN, BAD!"
Of course, this reaction only made Captain Edward Newgate laugh.
03. Grand First Meeting
She had been so excited to meet her new nakama, so surprised when she saw her captain about to be attacked, so angry while she fought the attacker, so not understanding why her hands were bleeding from pushing away the attacker's weapon… So sad when she found out that her heavily bandaged hands wouldn't allow her to go help the cooks bake cookies that afternoon, like they had planned.
And Ace couldn't help but feel so guilty –something he kept trying to deny- when he saw her hands, wounds he had caused.
04. Milk
He noticed with a chuckle that Nemo never drank sake, beer, or anything. Instead, she drank milk with a crazy-straw. Always childishly entertained with a pile of bubbles that she could blow, and it would just keep getting bigger and bigger.
05. Hey, Kid
It didn't matter if she was just a year younger then him. She still didn't like it when he called her anything but her name. Call her immature, didn't matter.
"Nemo's name is NEMO!"
…Of course, the fact that she also spoke in third-person like a three year-old might have something to do with a few of those nicknames she despised…
06. Devil Fruit
It wasn't until she sneezed and ended up 5 feet away from where she first stood that Ace realized that he wasn't the only Devil Fruit eater.
07. Zoom-Zoom
That was the name of her Devil Fruit; allowing her to suddenly appear anywhere within a 4 miles radius. That was how she had suddenly appeared out of nowhere to stop Ace's attacks on her "Cap'n". That was how she could always sneak up on him. That was why she always was able to get someplace before him, no matter how fast he thought he had came.
Of course, he didn't learn about the 4-mile radius thing until he found out that the Devil Fruit affected her body, not her brain. It was sort of like massive carsickness if she went farther then 4 miles. He had the pleasure of finding this out when she puked on his boots.
08. Good Morning
"Good morning Cap'n!"
"Good morning Nemo~"
"Good morning Marco!"
"Hmm? Oh, g'morning Nemo."
"Good morning Thatch!"
"Ah, good morning Nemo!"
"Good morning Ace of Spades~!"
"…"
09. Blame
Nemo pointed an accusing finger at her Ace, "Ace made me!"
"Did not! You fell overboard all by yourself!"
10. Acting
Nemo always thought of Ace as a better actor rather then a pirate. He could smile happily, ALMOST genuine, while –if the saying about eyes showing the soul was true- he crying on the inside.
11. Nonexistent Tragedies
Unlike most, Nemo didn't have a tragic back-story. But, Ace preferred that.
That meant Nemo had never cried, and he would like to keep that image of her doing such a thing in the far corners of his mind.
12. Worry
First time Ace had a nap because of his Narcolepsy, Nemo didn't know. Just like how Ace didn't know how he ended up on top of one of the hospital beds.
13. Teleportation
"What took you so long?"
"Sh-Shut…Shut t-the h*ll up..."
14. Burns
Ace is a pirate who can rarely kill his smile and Nemo is a girl who can't ever seem to see a reason to even try. The only difference between the two is that one can produce fire and the other can't seem to register the burns.
"Pretty…"
15. Boring?
"Is Luffy-san boring?" Nemo asked as Ace's brother's ship came closer and closer to Whitebeard's
Ace laughed, his arm draped over her shoulder, "Luffy isn't boring at all!"
16. Ranks
Ace was a Commander and Nemo was his Lieutenant.
Ace was Nemo's protector, and Nemo was Ace's back-up.
Ace was Nemo's dearest friend, and Nemo was Ace's.
17. Baking
The cooks liked Nemo and Ace. But, financial-wise, having Nemo and Ace together in the kitchen wasn't smart. Because Nemo would always want to make cookies and forget to wear the mitts when she took them out of the oven, and Ace would blame the oven and blow it up.
18. Cinderella
As he looked at these pictures on a shelf of Whitebeard's private quarters, he could see multiple pictures of the Captain's "sons". But, he smiled when as he searched for the group of Nemo's pictures. Inside one picture, he found one, either taken this year or last, with her looking at the camera in surprise with a big blue Popsicle in her mouth, Ace smiling as he stood next to her. He saw another where she was jumping up and down on a bed, a pillow in her hand, challenging the photographer to a pillow-fight. In another she was holding up a fish about her size, giving a wide smile. And in the last one he found, it was Halloween, dressed in a ball gown dressed as Cinderella, she was about 8 or 9 years old, and on top of Whitebeard's shoulder cheering about all the candy she got.
He set the photo down when he heard the door open, and smiled as he saw the girl of his present thoughts looking at him happily, "Aha! Nemo found Ace!"
"I wasn't hiding, idiot…" He chuckled as he ruffled Nemo's hair
19. Just See Me
People ran away whenever Ace just glared. And they would always run to Nemo, because she'd see him and wave happily, and Ace would forget why he was so angry.
20. The Sabo Incident
"…Ne-Nemo is sorry… Nemo doesn't know what losing someone is like…But…! But Nemo is always willing to listen to Ace's thoughts, problems, an-and everything! Nemo swears she'll always be ready to listen when Ace is ready to tell Nemo!"
21. Running Away
She had eaten the Devil Fruit by mistake, and she took the power as the idea of running away. So, in a fight, never had Ace seen her use her power.
22. Everything
Nemo loved everything about Ace.
Even the things he didn't like about himself.
23. Dress
Ace looked away when Nemo came out of the dressing room, his face red as Nemo spun around in her new sundress.
24. A Dark Foreshadow
"Ace? Ace, is something wrong?" Nemo asked
A second ago, Ace was giving her a noogie and laughing. Then, all of a sudden, his eyes darkened as he looked out to sea, his smile sad…
He looked back at her and smiled weakly, "Nothing's wrong, Nemo. Everything's just too good to be true right now, so I can't help but think something bad is about to happen.."
25. Denial
"So, you like Nemo~" Marco smirked; he wasn't asking a question, he was stating a simple fact
"What? No, I don't!"
"Oh yeah, I can see why you don't then. She's too peppy, she's not very smart—" Marco baited
"Nemo is not 'too peppy' or 'not very smart'! She's amazing! She's optimistic, she says what's on her mind so I-I don't have to try and figure her out like other girls, she's easy-to-please, she's a good cook, an-and—!"
"Okay, so if she's perfect, then why aren't you into her again~?" Marco teased
Ace covered his blush of falling into that obvious trap by tipping his hat down.
"…Shut the h*ll up, Marco."
26. Hide-N-Seek
"Ace~ Ace, come out, come out wherever you are!" Nemo called out, her hands cupped over her mouth
"Aha! Nemo found you!" Nemo squealed in delight when she suddenly poofed up on a tree-branch, the sudden voice in the middle of his nap making the pirate fall out of his tree. His hand massaging his new bump, he yelled back; "I told you I didn't even want to play Hide-n-Seek, Nemo!"
27. Lost
"…Where are we going?"
"Uh, to the right?" Ace suggested
"Isn't Ace going to check the map?" Nemo asked, looking at the fork in the road for a second time
"The wind blew it out of my hands, okay!" he responded loudly
28. Partners
When Ace had been chosen to go after Blackbeard, he was surprised that Nemo didn't ask to go with him.
Until, about a mile into the journey, she suddenly appeared onto the boat with a pout, "You left without me~?"
29. Pervert Protection
Ace didn't even bother to hesitate when he found out about his brother's skeleton-musician, Brook, often asked girls for their panties.
"You ask Nemo for her's, and I'll burn you to a crisp."
30. Carrying Cargo
Nemo groaned as she continued carrying Ace into town, the pirate falling asleep in the middle of walking. She could've just poofed them into town, but town was 5 miles away, just a little too far for her to go without puking in Ace's hat.
And she was sure he wouldn't appreciate that.
31. Mutual
She froze when Ace's lips were suddenly on her's, before she relaxed, putting her arms around his neck, and realized that the feeling was mutual; that "Nemo loves Ace too".
32. Anything
"Nemo would do anything for Ace."
"Is that so?" Ace sighed, his arm draped over Nemo protectively
"Nemo swears on her life that she'll use her's to save yours."
"Well, then, I swear that if you do that and get yourself killed, I'll join you and kill you again for being such an idiot."
33. Paranoia
Nemo screamed when she heard rustling behind the bushes nearby their campsite, causing Ace to leap up and search the grounds, his hands already aflame to whatever might be lurking out there—
He dismissed his flames when he saw a simple rabbit hop out of the bushes, raising an eyebrow to Nemo.
"Don't move; it can probably smell fear." He retorted sarcastically as he went back to his sleeping bag.
34. Ghost Stories
As much as it may seem like she could care less, or maybe not even register how scary something may be; Nemo was not one for scary stories. Ace had the pleasure of finding this out after Marco told her one and she refused for Ace to leave her alone in her bedroom.
35. Cooking
Nemo was a good cook, not a great one, but her food was good enough that Ace would happily eat it. It was just that every year on January 1st, she'd get so nervous, most of her food would end up burned.
And Ace would still eat it and tell her it was her best piece's yet. Because Nemo made it for him.
36. Night
Nemo and Ace usually had their most deep and soul-searching questions when they were in the crow's nest, watching the stars and sea during their night-watch.
37. Answers
"Nemo… Do you ever wonder why you were born?"
"No." Nemo answered simply
Ace sighed sadly, "Oh…"
"Nemo knows why she was born." She looked up at him with a smile, her answer causing Ace's eyes to widen, "Nemo was born so that she could distract Ace from asking himself that question. Because Ace was born, because without Ace; Luffy wouldn't have a big brother, the Spade Pirates never would have met, Cap'n would have one less son, Blackbeard would get away with killing Thatch, and Nemo would be all alone. Ace was born with a purpose; to be intertwined with other people's lives." Nemo finished, giving his cheek a kiss as if that proved her point
And whether or not Ace smiled and thanked God for allowing Nemo to intertwine with his life… Well, that's his little secret.
38. Faults
Ace's fault was his pride; it never allowed anyone to insult anyone he cared for.
Nemo's fault was her loyalty; she's give up everything to save the people she cared for.
Those faults are what causes their downfall, and what the other loves most about the other.
39. Idiot
Ace could remember when he tried to kill Whitebeard with a battle-axe, and Nemo interfered, using her Devil Fruit to get there in time, putting her hands on the sharp blade, and pushing both the weapon and it's holder away from her Cap'n. Her hands bloody, and yet she didn't even seem to register they were.
Though it was his fault, and he was glad he didn't hurt his "father", he still thought Nemo was an idiot for interfering and getting herself hurt.
And then, just yesterday, she had tried to swim because she thought it was hot, …forgetting that she had eaten the Zoom-Zoom Devil Fruit. Causing Ace to tie himself to the nearby tree with a rope and jump in after her.
Again, she was an idiot.
But she was HIS idiot.
40. Narcolepsy
To be quite frank, Nemo didn't like Ace's spontaneous naps. She always worried that he wouldn't wake up this time around.
41. Respect
Nemo loved Ace's hat, she loved the smiley face and the sad face, but it was Ace's most prized position (or so she had heard), so she'd never dare touch the orange cowboy hat.
42. Monsters
Nemo screamed when she first saw Brooke the skeleton. Ace blamed Brook for trying to see her, so he could have her panties, just after hearing a scary story about a skeleton that would murder people underneath a full moon.
And Brook blames Usopp for even telling that story.
43. Haunted House
"Ne-Nemo's okay! R-R-Really!" she said, trying her best to smile
Ace's frown just deepened as he looked at her face, her cheeks tear-stained and her body trembling as she held on tightly to Ace.
He just nodded and threw a fireball at the Haunted House that Luffy had convinced her to go in to when she wasn't looking.
44. I Love You
Nemo liked to tell Ace everything. But her favorite thing to tell him is simple.
She took a simple blank sheet of paper and drew a big capital "I" just to the right of the middle, and a "U" on the left of the middle. Drew a simple picture in the middle, and signed it in the bottom right corner. She folded it in half and put it on top of Ace's pillow, hurrying away before he'd get out of the shower and see her.
And that picture the center was split evenly by the crease in the sheet of paper she had drawn a heart.
45. Directions
She raised an eyebrow at her companion.
"…The wind blew the map out of Ace's hands?"
Ace didn't reply.
She shrugged, "Nemo doesn't care."
Ace's eyes widened, nobody had ever told him that a missing map meant nothing to them…
Ace fell backwards when the girl continued with a shrug, "Nemo doesn't know how to read a map anyway…"
46. Forgiven & Forgotten
Ace yelped as Nemo suddenly appeared in front of him, slipping from standing, now on the floor. But before he can lecture her on sneaking up on him like that—
Nemo bends down and offers him a chocolate chip cookie she just made, all be herself, smiling widely.
And before he knows it, he's still on the floor, just sitting there with Nemo on his lap as they eat their cookies, watching the sun set and he's forgotten all about her sneaking up on him.
47. Blank
Nemo stared blankly at the poster, the usual life in her eyes gone, her hands trembling as she read the poster.
"Portgas D. Ace is scheduled for execution…"
48. Alternative
Ace froze when he saw everything around him change.
Instead of on that island, he and Luffy were on a ship.
Instead of Akainu, he saw his crew.
Instead of him dieing… Nemo was laid next to him, smiling shakily at him, with massive burns drawn on her smoking skin.
49. Questioning
"Why?" he yelled, crying, "Why did you interfere, you idiot?"
Nemo smiled, putting a trembling hand on his cheek, "N-Nemo had to make a choice…"
"You made EVERY ONE OF US go FIFTY MILES away from that island! You can't even handle more then FOUR MILES just transporting YOURSELF!"
"To choose over… over Ace and everyone's pride and letting them all hate Nemo," she winced as if it hurt to talk, "O-Or their safety…
"An-And Nemo chose safety.." she whispered finally, smiling as a last tear rolled down her closing eyes
50. And They Lived Happily Ever After
You have no idea how happy Ace was, 5 years after that fateful day, when Nemo finally awoke from her coma; alive and well.
"THANK GOD!" he cried as he gripped onto the girl tighter
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