Author's Note:
Originally intended for Sophia, the OC in this story, to have snow-based Devil Fruit powers, but I learned Monet has the Snow-Snow Fruit so I figured I'd change it to something else. She now controls flower petals instead. :)
"Where exactly are we going, Ace?" Sophia grumbled as she was led forward by an excited Ace. Her green eyes shut tightly, and he was leading her by her hand to an unspecified location. The only sounds presents were the voices of the crickets, their feet against the grass, and the slowly fading cheers and laughter of Whitebeard's crew. "You know I'm not a fan of surprises...especially if they're coming from you."
According to him, Ace wanted show her something "very special," something he knew she would greatly enjoy. However, for him to show her, it apparently involved getting away from the other members of the crew, claiming it was better to view it when it was completely dark. Sophia could faintly recall Marco saying something along the lines of how it was about time Ace "got some" before laughing - and earning a light glare from Ace himself moments before he tried to set the First Division Commander's shirt ablaze - which only caused her suspicions to grow even more. She knew Ace all too well to assume that something "very special" was his way of saying "I'm about to pull a fast one," and that had more meanings behind it than she could count.
Sophia could sense Ace grinning as he turned his head to her. She was tempted to sneak a peek at him, to see his expression and know what was going on, but decided against it.
"Just trust me on this one, Sophie," he told her, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "It's nothing bad, I swear, and I'm not trying to mess with you."
She raised a brow, keeping her eyes tightly shut.
"You know, the last time you said that you had to explain to Pops why the Moby Dick was covered in a mountain of white petals..." She pointed out dryly. "Again, I might add."
Ace snickered, causing Sophia to frown.
"You gotta admit," he started, "it was pretty funny to find out you have a fear of butterflies."
"S-shut up!" She snapped, trying to force away an embarrassed blush by turning her head away from him, while Ace laughed at her reaction. After the laughter had ceased, he stopped walking, ushering her to do the same before releasing her hand. She turned her head back, confused by the action yet kept her eyes closed, as she listened to his footsteps move on without her. "I'm allowed to look now?"
"Not yet," he replied. He sounded a bit further away than before, indicating that he was creating distance between them. "I'll let you know when. Just give me a few more seconds."
With an impatient huff, Sophia crossed her arms over her chest and leaned to one side, tilting her head to the side and causing her light blue strands to tickle her cheeks. She decided to focus on the tranquil sounds of the nighttime scenery to distract herself, though it was only a matter of time before she gave up waiting and opened her eyes.
She was confused by why he would tell her to wait there in what she presumed was the middle of nowhere. At the same time, however, it did not seem like much of a surprise either. Sophia was praying that Ace, while she was distracted, did not decide to leave her there as a joke, knowing that it was very much something he would do just for kicks. This was Portgas D. Ace she was referring to, after all. She may have known him as one of her best friends, and she may have known that he cared about her a lot, but she also knew that he was not afraid to play a few tricks on her every so often just to see her become riled up and upset. From her understanding, he thought it was "cute" when she got angry with him.
Of course, Sophia knew being called cute was another way for him to mess with her, and he seemed to make his mission to do so as much as possible, much to her dismay.
Before she could come to the conclusion that this was the case yet again, she suddenly felt something warm graze past her cheek, causing her to jump and stiffen like a board at the contact. While she did not mind things that were hot, it would have caught her by surprise because it was relatively cool for a summer island, key words being "would have."
"Ace...?" She called out slowly to him, dragging his name out a bit to voice her suspiciousness. "What the hell just touched my cheek?"
She heard him chuckle before he answered, "See for yourself."
Cautiously, Sophia slowly opened one eye, taking a small peek to make sure the coast was clear and she was safe. However, it was not long before both eyes shot open, and she gasped in surprise and awe, floored by the sight she was witnessing. Small, bright green balls of light were floating around her and throughout what appeared to be a meadow area, lighting the dimly light space far more than the moonlight in the sky. They hovered in a seemingly aimless manner, similar to that of a group of fireflies floating on a crisp summer evening. The only notable difference was that they these lights did not flicker like the tiny insects, but rather remained glowing and shining brightly without fail.
The scene alone left Sophia speechless as she watched them pass by with a small smile on her lips, awed by the amazing sight of the strange bugs. They must have been a different breed of fireflies that resided on the island, a kind that she was more than happy to admire.
"Enjoying the scene?" The familiar voice of Ace spoke up, momentarily bringing Sophia back to reality.
She looked at him, noticing the smile on his face despite their short distance before raising a curious brow. She saw his hands were also hiding behind his back, yet she paid no mind to it.
"How...how did you get all these fireflies in this area?" She inquired, her smile never faltering as she looked at the creatures once more, raising a hand in front of her and waiting to see if one would fall onto it. "Do they naturally just graze around here, or did we just get lucky tonight?"
Ace's gaze had shifted a bit before he looked at her again.
"Well...about that..." He began to speak in an almost sheepish manner. It caused Sophia's smile to fade as she looked at him, blinking once in a curious way. When she did, she was surprised to find him moving his hands from behind his back and positioning them in front of him.
To her astonishment, they were glowing - or in the case of "Fire Fist" Ace, burning - a bright green shade, similar to the fireflies that surrounded the both of them. It took some time for the revelation to set in, for Sophia to register what was going on, but when she did, she immediately began to glower at him. The sight made him shutter even if he did find it oddly cute to see her that way.
"So this was another one of your tricks, isn't it?" She hissed, clenching her fists as they began to surround itself in small petals.
"I-I swear, it's not a trick, Sophie, and I'm not trying to mess with you!" Ace quickly defended himself the moment she began storming toward him. "I know how much you loved seeing fireflies back home, and I was learning this new technique that reminded me of them!" He grinned sheepishly. "I thought it'd be nice to show you! That's all."
His smile faded the moment she stopped in front of him, glaring up at him and frowning. If looks could kill, he was sure he would have already died minutes ago. However, instead of scolding him like she usually did for messing with her once again, she said nothing. She continued to frown at him for another moment before looking down at his hands, staring at them as her expression turned blank. She remained that way before making a small sound and glancing at the floating fireflies - or fireballs, as she came to realize. Her blank stare lingered as she began to pout.
"I suppose...this was sweet of you to do..." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest again. Her hands had returned to their fair skinned color some time ago, a sign that gave away that she was much calmer and not ready to turn him into minced meat. Ace relaxed at that and began to smile warmly, keeping his gaze on her. When she noticed, she glared at him once more. "What?" She questioned while looking at him suspiciously.
Ace did not respond to her question. Instead, he leaned forward and quickly pressed his lips to her cheek, pulling away fast enough to see her shocked expression while a growing blush grazed her cheeks. He grinned widely and chuckled.
"Oh, nothing," he answered her sweetly. "It's just so cute to see you when you're pissed off like that."
Sophia slapped him in the face...or at least she would have if her hand did not glide through Ace's flame body with ease like it always did when she became enraged. She growled in annoyance while Ace began to laugh at her, causing her to blush even more than before.
"S-shut up!"