Disclaimer: I do NOT own One Piece.
Convince Me
A woman with a wild mane of golden locks sat alone in a booth along a wall of a dimly lit mildly crowded bar both sipping at a drink of medium strength she had been working on at a leisurely pace and eavesdropping on the chatter of the bar. So far nothing good or worthwhile had been said, had been picked up. Though she did learn that a big name pirate crew, a Yonko eve, was on this no name island, that they had docked sometime last night.
Not only was this island but a smudge of ink on the edge of a map on the grand line but it also had little to no magnetic pull. It didn't register on log poses, unless it was an eternal log pose. So the only people that usually ever docked or in most cases washed up on the shores of No Name Island were lost travelers, pirate wannabe's or people who didn't have a log pose. So that wasn't too impressive of a number to be honest, it wasn't many people.
But this bar was her favorite place in town, it was even better when she was drunk. The bar fights with the other drunken men were to die for and the bartender even had a drink named the Roaring Lion for her. And it wasn't long until it became a menu item. She was done working for the day and tomorrow was Saturday so she had a nice weekend of nothingness planned. After she eventually finished her drink she'd go home and sleep till late into the afternoon of tomorrow. She watched people come and go, not really paying attention to who they were, just listened to their conversations and kept to herself.
At about the same time her drink was getting on the low side there was a sudden uproar about a man having dropped dead while in the middle of eating. While some men were freaking out others were accusing people of having poisoned the man and fingers were getting pointed as well.
After rolling her eyes the commotion made Cleo want to laugh in disbelief. The situation was far too familiar for comfort. So she chugged down the rest of her drink, gathered her things and slid out of the booth. Even though she was slightly concerned about the guy she wanted to slip out of the bar unnoticed before the 'dead guy' became 'undead'.
But despite her haste, at the door she paused and in a louder than usual voice shouted, "Yo! The guy's alright right?" Falling asleep eating, while eating, well that sounded a lot like someone she used to know. Someone she had no desire to see again.
Instead of getting her answer one man shouted, "OI! YOU WERE JUST SLEEPING?!" Some of their eyes comically bugged while others had sweat drops at the back of their heads, tick marks on their foreheads or pulsing veins.
"Hey, the lass want to know if you're ok." A different man said putting his hand on a tattooed back before spinning his bar stool around and pointing at me.
The dead man who hadn't stayed looked the direction the large bearded man was pointing.
The bar fell silent and impossibly still as searching brown eyes fixed on wide golden ones.
Both were convinced that the other occupants of the bar could hear their dangerously racing hearts. The two people stared at each other neither able to move for what felt like an eternity even though it reality the exchange took less than a minute.
Ace didn't know what to think. He had thought that she was gone, one day she had 'poofed' and now here she was, standing at the door of a bar on an island that was called No Name Island. On her face was an expression somewhere between horror and shock that confused him.
Despite the fact that her heart was pounding, almost right out of her chest, her blood froze in her veins. The man she had run from sat across the bar almost innocently with this stupefied look on his face, his jaw hanging open.
The moment he lifted his hand to offer a small wave the spell was broken and in a blur of motion she was gone and the door closed with a deafening click.
Stepping out of the bar she realized that in order not to be found she had to hide. Unfortunately the street was deserted so there were no crowds to hide within. It would only take the man so long to reach the front of the bar and to open the door. She whipped her head left and then right before picking a direction and taking off. Only to make it just a few feet before the almost casual words, "Hey Cleo!" Were shouted as footsteps pounded on the dusty road behind her.
At the sound of his voice she picked up her already quick pace. But he gave chase. No matter how many corners she turned he turned them too, he was never too far behind her and each time she looked over her shoulder he was closer than the last time she looked.
As he pursue her he reached out, hoping to catch her by her shoulder or by her wrist or arm, or even by the back of her shirt. But as his fingertips skimmed the material she disappeared around and corner and when he rounded it too she had stopped and was facing him. Neither were too much out of breath for they both knew how to regulate their breathing when in a chase as they had both been in, only neither had been running from Marines.
"Yes?" She asked, her tone curious and almost innocent in pitch while she cocked her head to the side to go accompany the curiousness in her voice. Despite all the running they had done they stood once again in a near empty street but no one paid either of them any mind.
"Why did you run?" He asked as though he actually thought that she wanted to see him again.
But the only answer she offered him was a simple shrug and the words, "I was done."
Despite not really believing her answer Ace accepted it and asked, "Mind if I walk with you?"
She raised her arms at the elbows in surrender and said, "No one's stopping you." If he REALLY wanted to do so then nothing and no one could stop if from doing so. Though she'd really appreciate it if he left her alone. Because nothing good came from the smiled that those simple words had slapped onto his face. It stuck there even as they walked in silence.
"Why so smiley?" She grumbled at him. She had only given him permission to walk with her. That's all. "Didn't you just drop dead?" Cleo could have sworn that was the case before she had fled the bar.
"Nah, just fell asleep. But you know that." He said still grinning like a fool while he effortlessly kept pace with her long and agitated steps.
"Just joking." She muttered under her breath at him. He was close, so close that their bare arms could brush against each other's. So close that he could wrap his arm around her shoulders without having to reach too far. As far as she was concerned he was too close.
Ace was so happy to have found Cleo here. It was a very unexpected but extremely amazing surprise. Who would have thought that she'd have gone back to the Grand Line. The only reason the crew was here was because according to Pops they had some really good sake. Plus there were no marine bases for miles and so it was like a little mini vacation. But it wasn't going to last long because once the log pose set on a different island they were leaving. However whether Cleo knew it or not, they weren't leaving the island without her.
"Of course you are." Ace scoffed at her. There was no way she was just joking when her tone suggested that she wished that she'd drop dead right then and there. That or she really wanted him to have a narcoleptic attack. But even if he had one the island was only so large so eventually he'd find her. And if he couldn't do it himself he was in charge of an entire division.
"You know I think food poisoning would be the best and most enjoyable way for you to go." She continued to muse.
"Hey!" The black haired man protested sounding shocked by the woman's words. This time he couldn't tell if she were joking or not. Not that he could have before but still.
"Well do you have a preference?" She asked.
"Yeah!" Ace instantly snapped. Death by food was not how he wanted to leave this world. Of course he had a preference, even though he didn't spend much time dwelling on the possible ways for him to die. And even if he did think about it food poisoning was not on that very small list of ways he wouldn't mind leaving this world. But his answer was the one that was on the top of the list.
"Then please, do tell."
"In battle under Pops." There was a short pause before he added, "Which reminds me, when are you coming back?" Her response was predictable and probably had something to do with the word never.
"I'm not coming back Ace." She muttered refusing to look at him. She didn't want to see his disappointment or the look of determination. One of those two expressions or a mix of the two were going to be on his face and she didn't want to see either, let alone both.
"Why not?" He asked in a whining voice.
"Because I'm happy here an-"
"You were happy with us." He interrupted the woman. All too easily he could envision her smile lighting up the room, which was no exaggeration. But the smile he was seeing in his mind's eye was not appearing on her face. In fact there was no hint of it at all. He knew that she was happy when she was on the crew.
"That part of my life is over Fire Fist." She growled at him, using his epithet instead of his name as she stopped and turned towards him.
"Says who?" He asked stopping and facing her as well.
There was a fire that raged wildly within those familiar brown irises.
"Says me." She snapped. "I say so. I'm done with being a pirate. I'm done."
"Is running away all you know how to do?!" Ace shouted at her. She may hold her ground on the battle field but she was always running when people got too close, always putting up walls and when they got past those walls of hers she turned and fled.
"I'm not running from anything!" She yelled back, louder than he had yelled at her.
"You're running from me!" His voice was a combination of a low growl and a shout, but it was louder than her shout. It was as though they were having a competition, trying to shout the loudest at the other.
"I'm not afraid of you Portgaz!" The had been somewhat light and tense conversation had turned into a yelling match in the middle of an otherwise deserted street.
"Of course you aren't. I don't want you to be afraid of me." He looked almost hurt that she'd think that that was what he wanted.
"Then tell me Ace! What is it that I am so afraid of?" She shouted the first part at him but then as she asked the question her voice lowered and became a hoarse whisper.
"Of what we could be! Of what we could have been if you hadn't left!" His words echoed down the street, the loudest yet, and reverberated through Cleo's head. Silence crept in and rang louder than any of their combined shouts could have. The two of them stood face to face, their chests rising and falling rapidly, their breaths fast and shallow. Brown eyes met golden ones for the second time that day but unlike before the world didn't stop, neither of them were in shock. They stared each other down, waiting for the other one to break first.
Cleo was the first to speak but not the first to back down. She was nearly as stubborn as he was and there was no way she was going to let him win. "You want me to come back?" Her voice was but a mere whisper but Ace heard her as though she had spoken at a normal volume.
"We've missed you." Ace muttered, being the first to avert his gaze, he was the first to break. But he had good reason. Eyes revealed more than any other part of the body and he was afraid there might be things hidden in his eyes that weren't so hidden to Cleo.
He wasn't the only one who missed her, even though he was the one who had missed her the most, there was no doubt about that. After Thatch and Marco she bad been one of the first people to extend a hand to him, she was one of his first friends on the Moby Dick. Somehow he had managed to charm and weasel his way into her heart but not long after he had done that he woke up after an episode and she was gone, just like that.
He heard her audibly gulp before speaking. "Your log pose will be set in one full day. Meaning you have twenty four hours left on this island."
"What are you trying to say Leo?" He asked. Ace was well aware of that fact but he wanted to know what the point of her telling him this was. "I have twenty four hours to do what?"
She wet her lips before saying, "Meaning you have twenty four hours to convince me to come back."
No sooner had those words left her mouth did a pair of hands latch onto her shoulders. No sooner had she spoken then a pair of arms pull her into his body and crush her against his bare and painfully familiar chest. Had she had the freedom of movement at the moment she might have reached up and traced the contours of his chest. There wasn't a scar on him that she didn't know, both internal and external. Or so that was the case until she disappeared.
When her pulled back and held her at arms distance once more he was grinning as if their yelling match had never taken place. "Twenty four hours is plenty of time. You can bet your bottom that I'm not going to fail."
"Not when you subtract twelve hours of sleep. And as of now I am one hundred percent unconvinced. So you should get hopping." And with a little hand gesture to signal that he should get going she began walking once again, this time the way they had just come, realizing that she was farther from her house then the bar was, and that was a pretty decent walk.
"You know I would me much happier if you just dropped dead." Cleo muttered now regretting having challenged Ace. She was regretting her challenge because when the boy put his head to it he was a formidable opponent and he didn't take too well to challenges, he always took them personally but at least she hadn't insulted his biological father. But back to the challenge, the chances of his success were quite high and the last thing she wanted was to rejoin the Whitebeard Pirates. She was afraid of the result, of being trapped on a boat with Ace. She was afraid of what might happen if he was given another chance to get close to her. Yes, Cleo was afraid but never would they know.
"That's not nice." Ace pouted crossing his arms over his chest with a huff. He hoped that she didn't really mean that.
"No, not nice but it's true. Haven't you heard of the ugly truth?"
"That's not true Cleo." His eyes narrowed and for the briefest of moments he was serious, dead serious.
"Look stop following me Portgaz."
"Nah. You said that I've got only twelve hours, remember?" He said this with a grin.
"Yeah, minus sleeping. I remember. You can have your twelve hours after I wake up tomorrow."
"No way. I'm not leaving your side until either you're convinced to come with us or my time is up."
"Ace." She firmly stated his name before continuing. "It will never happen." She was never going to be convinced, even if the chances of his success were a lot higher than hers.
"We'll just see about that Leo." Ace said. He was determined to win her challenge, to get her back on the crew. If she were trapped on the crew and on the Moby Dick then maybe, just maybe they'd regain what they had lost. He'd really like it if they did and gained even more. He wanted her to open her heart to him. He wanted her to know that whatever had happened in the past she refused to share that it was wrong, that him nor the crew would never do anything to hurt or betray her. "Either way, I'm staying with you."
"Not in my house and most certainly not in my room you're not."
"Why not? We've slept together before." He said those words so casually. But it was true. They had done both meanings of sleeping together, though more often than not they were literally sleeping together.
"I want to sleep Ace, not fight for the covers or roll around under the covers with you."
"Ok. But I can stay with you and while you sleep I can make sure no one sneaks in." he thought that sounded like a pretty good deal. He'd try and stay awake and she'd go to sleep. Of course that's not what would really happen, it was just a matter of Cleo actually falling asleep tonight.
"Like hell you will. We both know you're more likely to kidnap me." She growled at him. Ace was not above kidnapping someone he wanted, especially after having already asked nicely for her to come with him. And what better time to do something when she was asleep and vulnerable.
"I wouldn't!" He exclaimed putting his hands over his heart with a hurt expression and an offended tone of voice.
"You sound like a guilty child. One that got caught." Cleo said.
"Caught doing what exactly?" Ace asked feigning innocence.
"Scheming something, hatching a plan of sorts, what else?" She snapped at the man who she had yet to shake.
When they reached her house the sun was beginning to set. The colors weren't vibrant hues of pinks and oranges but the blazing blue sky was fading, it's color was melting quickly, the sun taking its light. Cleo opened her door and walked in. Ace was a few steps behind her and so she took advantage of that and once she was in her house she whorled around and slammed the door in his face and then bolted it with lightning speed. But despite the fact that she had slammed the door in his face, when she got to her room guess who was perched there on a chair in the corner, waiting for her, or so it seemed.
When he saw her walk into the room he hoped was hers he spoke, "Look Leo you just go to sleep and I'll watch over you."
Cleo was tired, both mentally and physically. Ace was to blame for the emotional tiredness and the long day at work and the fact that she hadn't slept well last night were what was contributing to her physical tiredness. So instead of arguing any further she caved and as she grabbed her pj's, turned her back to him and began changing despite the masculine presence behind her. As she lifted her shirt over her head she said, "Fine. But I awake anywhere other than this bed I'm skinning you alive. Got it?"
Ace grinned. He wasn't very conscious of the woman changing in front of him, though he didn't stare blatantly at her. "Yes ma'am." Even though she couldn't see the gesture he sharply saluted her.
When she had changed into baggy pants and a tank top she lay down but with her head at the foot of her bed clutching her pillow to her chest. For the longest time she lay there staring at him, waiting.
Ace found it a good idea to constantly annoy her with the question 'Are you convinced yet?' even though he had done nothing to convince her to go. In fact he was doing the exact opposite. But when he wasn't asking that annoying question he was either having a narcoleptic episode or they were making small talk about the last several months to a year as the moon began its nightly climb into the sky.
Before brown eyes opened sleepy ears picked up the sound of the ocean. It's relaxing crashing waves were closer than they should have been, in fact they were far too close. Now attentive ears picked up on the chatter and laughter of people as well as the sound of birds, gulls most likely, overhead. The stable bed she was on was being rocked from side to side, like her floor were on those waves. Brown eyes snapped open only to close just as fast. Her ceiling was gone, as was any protection against the sun, which was almost directly overhead, and the sight of the blazing blue sky. Once her eyes were adjusted she was instantly on her feet and looking wildly around. She knew where she was and she was NOT happy about it.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" She roared her angry eyes darting around hoping to catch sight of either a large back tattoo, a familiar orange cowboy hat or a head of black hair. She looked around for a half-naked man.
"Who are you going to kill?" A calm voice asked from behind. When she whorled around she came face to face with a grinning phoenix.
"Ace." She growled, wondering how she had even managed to fall asleep in the first place or how she had even gotten on the ship. "Where is he?" She was out for blood now. He had made her a promise and he had failed to keep it.
Marco laughed and said, "He's in the Captain's quarters talking to Pops, who will be delighted to see you." After a welcoming pat on the back Marco walked away, leaving Cleo to storm off and find Ace.
Upon throwing open the door to the room she caught sight of that half covered tattooed back, red beads and orange cowboy hat that hung around his neck at the moment. "Ace!" She growled his name before turning towards Pops and bowing. To the floor she said, "Excuse me Captain, I've got a certain commander to skin alive." When she straightened she was glaring daggers at Ace. When Pops didn't verbally reply fast enough she turned her full attention towards Ace and said, "I'm going to kill you!"
"Welcome home child." Pops said laughing at the furious woman, who gave him a curt nod but hat her sights set on the object of her anger. It was a pleasant surprise to get on of his daughters back, though Whitebeard figured that Ace could have approached bringing her back differently. But she was back and hopefully to stay this time.
"I trusted you!" She shouted. "You promised that I'd wake up in the same bed that I fell asleep in, and I believed you!" God she realized how stupid she had been, letting her guard down enough that she'd be able to sleep. She realized how stupid she had been to have believed a promise made by a pirate, even if that pirate was Portgaz D Ace.
A smirk, not the usual grin or too large smile, curved up the corners of his mouth before he said, "You did. But, Leo you said nothing about waking up in the same room you fell asleep in." The smirk blossomed into a silly little grin as her eyes narrowed dangerously.
Had she specified that she wanted to wake up in the same room she had fallen asleep Ace would have to have been more creative and probably have to drug the girl so that he'd have enough time to move the room or reconstruct it around her on the deck. But she hadn't and that was several less reasons she had to kill him.
"There's no way you moved my entire bed, frame and all."
"Nope." He popped the p and shook his head. "Just the mattress. And besides how do you plan on skinning me alive when you don't know haki?" I ate a Logia type meaning unless you've mastered haki you can't do the deed." The silly grin transformed into a very pleased with himself smile.
"Are you sure?" Cleo growled. "Remember that food poisoning I was talking about yesterday? I don't need haki to poison your food."
For a moment the grin slipped from his face and a worried expression replaced it. They could all hear him gulp. The likelihood of Cleo joking at the moment was quite low. But then the grin was back, just as she was about to sneer a question about why he looked so worried, but he beat her to speaking and said, "I did you a favor Leo. You'll thank me for it later." The smile grew into that oversized thing and remained plastered on his face as he walked over to her, put an arm around her shoulders and turned her towards the exit of the room, ignoring the dangerous glare that would have warded anyone else away and the threatening aura that would have kept any sane person at bay. As he walked her out of Pops quarters he said, "The crew will be very happy to see that you're back."
"Against my will." She grumbled. This was the very definition of the kidnap she had accused Ace of having not yet done last night. If she had known that this was his plan all along then she would have snuck out during one of his narcoleptic attacks and rented a hotel room until they left.
But then again… Cleo let out a heavy sigh, she wished that she knew what she wanted.
Ace saw it like this. She had a chance to leave, she could have done so the moment she had woken up, but she hadn't. She could have swam back to her little island, but she hadn't. Cleo could have hidden on the ship until they reached a different island, but again she hadn't. She could have stolen a ship or threatened someone to return her, but she hadn't. Instead of trying to escape she had decided to find and threaten him within inches of his life. If Cleo really didn't want to be here then she wouldn't be.
Ace kissed her cheek and repeated himself, "You'll thank me for this later."
Cleo scoffed at his words but said nothing.
Seeing that he wasn't going to get an answer from her he leaned over so that they were closer and whispered, "I don't suggest running again because this time I'll give chase."
"Congratulations Fire Fist." She muttered mirroring his quiet volume. Cleo enjoyed the momentary confusion her words caused Ace. "You've convinced me to come back." There had been no convincing taking place but she was here and in the end all that mattered was the result. "But now you've got to convince me to stay."
Both Ace and Cleo knew that this was where the real challenge lied. But it was a damn good thing that both of them were up to the challenge.
A/N: I hope you lovely readers have enjoyed this fanfic.
Blah Blah Blah, reviews are always welcome and appreciated. Blah, Blah, and thanks for reading.