"If you could have a New Year's wish, what would it be?"
Green eyes blinked as ten-year-old Sophia looked at Ace in bewilderment, watching him stare out at sea with a blank look in his eyes. She was not expecting him to ask such an odd question out of the blue, especially since they had been sitting in a comfortable silence. Not a first for the duo that often bickered over the most menial of topics, but it was something that was cherished by the two even if neither of them admitted it.
Sophia stared at Ace for another moment before looking out to sea again, moving her arms behind her and supporting herself. She, then, blew a strand of pale blue hair out of her face and pouted.
"What an odd question to ask," she muttered casually. Ace looked at her. "I wasn't something like that to come out of you."
"What were you expecting?" He inquired while raising a curious brow.
Sophia thought for a moment before replying, "I don't know. I figured you were asking me to get you something for your birthday. It is on New Year's Day, after all."
Ace scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Why would I ask you, of all people, to get me a gift," he began to ask, "when I know it would probably be something stupid?"
"Hey!" Sophia scolded him, sitting up and shooting a glare at the boy. "If I get you something, regardless of what it is, you better be grateful for it! Not everyone is gonna be able to get you a present for your birthday, you know!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." Ace waved his hand nonchalantly, unintentionally angering Sophia more before continuing. "Now, answer the question."
Sophia's anger subsided almost immediately before blinking.
"Huh?"
Ace looked at her blankly, though it was clear that he was serious.
"If you could have a New Year's wish," he repeated, "what would it be?"
Sophia blinked once more, confused by how genuinely serious he was about a question, before scoffing and turning back to the sea.
"Why are you getting all serious over a dumb holiday?" She asked as she hugged her knees. "It's not that big of a deal, anyway."
"Maybe to you," Ace pointed out. "I'm only asking because..." Sophia noticed his brief hesitation, glancing at him as he turned his head away. "I'm...I'm just curious. That's all."
Sophia stared at Ace for a moment, eyeing him carefully to see if he had ill intentions behind his words before her gaze faltered. She had a tendency to distrust him when he became that serious as it often resulted in him joking around despite her being genuine. However, upon closer inspection, it was clear as day that Ace was not in any kind of joking mood. Who could blame him? After everything that happened that year, it was a surprise that he even smiled at all these days.
Despite seeing how serious he was, however, Sophia found herself answering with a simple, "I don't know."
"Liar."
"W-what?!" She shouted, turning back to him and glaring at him again. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"What do you think, Sophie?" Ace stated monotonously. "You know what it means."
"I meant why are you calling me that?" Sophia scolded him. "I was honest when I said I don't know!"
"No, you weren't."
"Then prove it!" Sophia puffed out her chest. "Prove that I was lying to you! Right now!"
"Simple," Ace replied, looking at her blankly. "You didn't look at me." Sophia blinked, bewildered by his answer, and said nothing. Ace sighed and went on. "Whenever you tell a lie to someone, you never look them directly in the eye. You've done it to me a lot since I've known you, and you were doing it again now."
"D-don't be ridiculous!" Sophia stammered, crossing her arms and turning her head away. "I was just thinking about how to answer. That's all."
"You also stutter on your words, too," Ace noted, watching her tense up. "Not to mention you answered way too quickly to think about the question, so it's obvious you don't want to answer me."
"Ugh, you're stupid!" Sophia snapped, turning to look him in the eye. "If answering a dumb question is so important, then why don't you answer it first?" Ace went silent at that, staring at her with the same blank look he had before. After a moment, Sophia grinned in satisfaction. "See? You don't even have an answer to-"
"I want to grow stronger," he interrupted her, catching her by surprise and silencing her. Sophia blinked, and her eyes rounded. She did not say anything at first, and her silence allowed him to continue. "I wanna be stronger, strong enough to protect the people that matter to me most." His gaze never faltered as he continued to look at her. "You know this already, Sophie. I swore that I would do everything to make sure I didn't lose anyone ever again." He paused before closing his eyes. "I guess...making a New Year's wish is just a reinforcement of that."
Sophia remained silent as Ace directed his attention back to the sea, his gaze now distant. She stayed this way before doing the same, turning her head to the ocean waters and hugging her knees. A silence fell between them, the only soothing sounds resonating from the seawater before them. It remained this way for what seemed like an eternity, and it was only broken when Sophia found her voice to speak.
"If I had to make one wish..." She began softly, grabbing Ace's attention, "then I guess...it would be similar to yours." Ace stared her quietly, blinking while she continued. "I want to be strong enough to protect my friends...and my family, but...in general, I just..." She hid her face in her knees. "I just...don't want to lose anyone else. Not again..." She remained this way for a beat, inhaling deeply before muttering, "I don't want to be alone again..."
Ace continued to stare at her, watching her breathing as she used every ounce of strength she had to keep herself from becoming emotional. After a moment, he sighed and moved closer to her before draping an arm over her shoulder. The action confused Sophia as she raised her head slightly, though she was surprised when he pulled her closer, allowing her head to rest on his shoulder. She blinked a few times before she looked up at him. She was expecting to see his typical "tough-guy" expression, pretending that he was not a fan of his predicament. However, to her surprise, she did not see that. Instead, he had a look of compassion and empathy even though he was not looking at her directly. She had only seen this look in rare instances, and she always found herself marveling at the sight.
"You don't have to worry about being alone ever again, Sophia," Ace finally spoke, keeping his gaze fixated on the sea. "As long as you have people who care about you, you'll never have to be alone..."
Sophia continued to look at him for a long moment, staring at him with an awed look in her eyes before her gaze faltered. His words brought her some form of comfort, and she could not help but smile faintly. She wanted to thank him for his kind words, tell him that they meant a lot to her, but decided it was better to enjoy his company in silence. After all, he knew her far too well to understand that her silence and willingness to remain close to him was enough to show her gratitude. And for Ace, as long as she felt better and happy, he was satisfied with that.