Disclaimer: We do not own One Piece. That brilliant piece of art belongs to no other than Eichiiro Oda.
Greentulip: Hey guys! I'm terribly sorry we haven't updated in FOREVAAAAA. But, a lot has happened. And one of them was moving. Ough, moving was a pain! I mean, 20 hours in the car with bags and bags of stuff? Not my cup of tea. TT On the bright side, I was able to confess to the guy I like before I left... Still makes me giddy just thinking about it!
'If you love someone, tell them' -Chris Crocker
Enjoy!
'It was a beautiful day out,' Marco mused.
The sun was up high, the winds blew softly- cradling a salty scent that is the ocean, dried leaves crunched under his sandaled feet, carrying him to the one place he calls home.
Although it was nearing autumn, the weather was still nice and the sun shown ever-so-brightly over head.
The blonde-haired man reached the gate, which led to where he stayed at, and nodded at the guard who let him in.
As soon as the commander entered the warehouse, he was greeted by a rush of people asking questions about various things.
Marco answered all of their questions in good humor.
One rookie offered to carry one of the multiple bags that Marco was carrying, but as soon as he grabbed it, the kid's shoulders slumped. Marco chuckled before picking up the bag with ease.
"This stuff is heavy, so I'll carry them." he said with a smile and the kid nodded while sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.
After dropping off the bags in the kitchen, Marco set off to find a certain narcoleptic pyro.
-;-
The man in question was quietly sitting on a crate, dazed.
There were many things about Ace that the average person living in this world would know:
He's the second division commander of the Shirohige pirates, and if one did some snooping, one would find out that his crewmates find him the most… eccentric among all fourteen commanders, beating a cross-dresser, a man with snake-like hair and pointy nose hairs, and a swordsman with a porno moustache—decided unanimously, of course.
If one were to ask his crewmates, one would know that Ace tended to be the most troublesome out of all of them. His pranks were worse than Thatch's and his jokes more annoying than Haruta's. He threatened to shave Vista's moustache on a daily base, he swore that it was evil and would kill them all. The kid also had the shortest attention span one would ever see.
There were many things about Ace, however, that the average person in the world would NOT know:
He hated his blood father and chose his mother's surname.
His favorite colors were red, orange, and black.
He was the second oldest in a trio of siblings.
But most of all, for those who knew of her, Ace became a demon capable of burning hell when it came to his little sister and other guys.
-;-
Ace had noticed a looming shadow over him as he awoke from his narcoleptic fit. The brunette rubbed his eyes, to remove them of sleep, before he looked up and grinned at the blonde, who raised his eyebrows at the freckled teen.
Marco sat down next to the brunette with his lunch, consisting of a sandwich and thermos most likely filled with ice-cold water, on the side furthest from Ace.
Marco quietly sat next to Ace on the crates and began to eat as silence filled their little corner. Ace decided to start the conversation and Marco listened halfway until Ace brought up the marine chase from the day before.
"I heard the marines almost got you this time." The black haired teen mused while Marco kept chewing while shrugging his shoulders slightly. "How many times does that make it this week?"
"I think about three." Marco said not feeling like remembering it.
"How'd you get away?" Ace thought out loud as Marco stopped chewing for a split second. "Fly? Fight? Hide n' seek?"
Marco noticed that Ace was no longer watching him; instead he was eyeing his food very intently. Before the murderous look in Ace's eyes got the best of him, Marco devoured his sandwich. The freckled teen was obviously upset about it but showed no signs of anger. Marco took a quick swig of his drink and looked at Ace with his same half-assed expression.
"Kiss n' Run." He said simply and Ace's eyes widened.
A Cheshire cat grin bloomed across his face before he slung an arm around Marco's shoulder. "Ooooh, Marco's getting some." The Cheshire grin never once leaving his face; Marco was un-amused. "I knew you weren't gay."
"I'm not what now?" Marco asked, confused.
"Let's just say me Thatch and Haruta got drunk and- OW!" Ace caressed the bump on his head created by Marco.
"That's enough I don't want to know." Marco said and Ace laughed.
"So, who's the lucky lady or was it unlucky?" Ace asked and Marco let his mind drift to the girl.
"Don't know…" he muttered barely enough for Ace to hear him.
Ace moved his face directly in front of Marco, squinted one eye, placed a hand under his own chin and began to stroke it.
Marco looked at the boy's serious face, though it was half comedic since it did not fit his features at the moment.
"How hard did she hit you?" Ace asked not seeing a bruise though it was most likely from his ability. "Did your healing thing-y get rid of it?"
"It's called regeneration properties." Marco corrected and Ace brushed it off.
"That's why you can never get a girl." He said and a tick mark formed on Marco's head.
"Says the guy you doesn't have one himself." Marco said with a smug grin.
"Yeah but I broke up with mine last week while yours was what, three years ago?" Ace asked and Marco sighed.
"One and a half." He said simply, completely forgetting who the girl even was.
"Anyway, since you don't have a bruise did she, like, faint on you or something?" Ace asked, evaluating the situation carefully. "Or was it something else?"
"Ace." Marco said trying to get a word in.
"Maybe you had bad breath and she instantly ran away to wash her mouth out with soap." Ace said not letting him continue.
"Ace!" Marco said becoming a bit annoyed.
"Oh I know she was so ugly you ran away!" Ace said smacking his fist onto his palm. "That was it wasn't-"
Before Ace could speak anymore, Marco covered his mouth so that he could speak. The look in Marco's eyes told Ace to shut up so he did so and waited for the blonde to speak. "Give me at least ten minutes to speak." Marco said and Ace nodded before the blonde released his mouth.
"So what happened?" Ace asked and Marco told him.
"To escape the marines I ran into an alley and onto one of those abandoned streets." Marco began. "There was a girl cloud watching while eating her lunch."
"How old was she?" Ace asked and Marco looked at him weird but answered.
"Around fifteen or sixteen, why?" Marco asked but Ace answered with another question.
"Hair color?" he asked.
"Black, a bit darker than yours." Marco said trying to figure out what the man was getting at.
"What!" Ace asked but Marco put his hand up.
"Let me finish." He said and Ace nodded. "Obviously I kissed her and waited for the marines to pass. And the girl did scream."
"With what? Cursing?" Ace asked and Marco shook his head.
"No, because I made her lose her crepe." He said and Ace lost it.
The pyro-man started laughing his ass off and though no one turned towards them, everyone in the warehouse heard Ace. The man began to lose his breath from the fact and began to speak intangible words. Marco spared the teen a humor-filled glance and waited for Ace to settle down.
"That's priceless." Ace said wiping a tear from his eye. "What did she look like?"
"Short boyish black hair, long sleeved red shirt that was slightly open, knee length jean shorts and a pair of flip flops." Marco said remembering the girl's appearance while Ace was thinking about Marco's heartbreaker and imagining the scene.
"Straw hat…"
"A what?" Ace asked abruptly pulled out of his thoughts.
"A straw hat and this huge-ass scar on her chest." Marco said remembering how it stood out pale red on her tanned skin.
"Was there a stitched scar under her left eye?" Ace asked in a lower tone and Marco noticed his eyes getting darker.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Marco asked before staring at the crates that they had just been sitting on burst into flames. "OI!"
Marco easily and quickly doused the flames with his own before turning to Ace. "If you know her or something, I'm sorry." Marco said not wanting to set the whole warehouse on fire. "If you have claims or something…"
"Claim?" Ace gritted out, the tips of his hair lighting on fire and Marco knew this was going to get bad.
"Well yeah, I mean she was nice. Not a bad body either, but if she's yours, she's yours." Marco said but this did not calm Ace down.
"She was nice? Good body? Mine?" Ace repeated. "You have a death wish Marco."
Before Ace could actually kill the man who was trying to find a way to of this mess, someone dumped a bucket of water on Ace. Thatch looked down at the two younger men who were somehow is superiors and sighed. "You have a visitor, Ace." The brunette said ignoring Ace's glare.
"Who?" Ace asked still ready to burn Marco when a familiar voice reached his ears.
"ACE~!" a girl's voice rang as one ran into view. People stopped and watched as a young girl, no older than sixteen, walked through the warehouse wearing a red bikini top. The outfit however did not hide the monstrous X-shaped scar on the girl's chest.
Ace's eyes softened and his flames died down before he went into a more relaxed state. "Hey." He said fondly and Marco stared at the man who just a second ago was trying to kill him. "How'd you get in here?"
"Through the door." Luffy said holding up a few bentos for her brother.
Ace chuckled before gladly accepted the food. "Sabo really needs to stop worrying about me." Ace said remembering his elder brother who worried about both of them nonstop.
"It's just Sabo-nii being himself." Luffy said happily before looking around the warehouse excitedly.
"So, shall we eat?" Ace asked before glancing at Marco who was staring at Luffy in shock.
"YEAH!" Luffy cheered jumping up and down which did wonders for her chest and the men around. "What about work?"
Ace smiled before placing his hands on the girl's small shoulders, preventing her from jumping. "I can ditch for a bit." Ace said with a genuine smile that made it hard to believe he was about to attempt at killing a phoenix with fire.
"Yay~!" Luffy cheered. "Let's eat at the boardwalk Ace-nii!"
"NII!"
The two siblings turned towards the Whitebeard pirates who were staring at them at shock. Luffy laughed at their expressions and Ace seemed mildly amused by them. Marco was the first to recover and looked between them before he realized as to why Ace was trying to kill him.
"Siblings…" Marco said quietly and Ace sent him a look.
"Yes, Luffy is my little sister." Ace said wrapping an arm around Luffy's shoulder. "What did you expect?"
"You just didn't seem the type who had family…" one member said.
"I don't live here." Ace said and the Whitebeard members recalled that Ace went someplace after work every day.
Marco looked at the small black haired girl who was happily talking with members of the Whitebeard crew. The image of him kissing her the day before came to his mind and he quickly shook it to get it out. When he opened his eyes, Luffy was staring up at him with keen interest. Marco was slightly taken aback by the girl's closeness and glanced at Ace who was watching him intently.
"Your head looks like a pineapple." Luffy said bluntly messing with Marco blonde hair and seeing if she could get it stick straight up.
The whole group burst out in laughter at Marco's expense while said man was trying not to yell at the girl. Luffy started to laugh as well, showing her white teeth and Marco became entranced by this look. Ace saw that Luffy was closer than he wanted and wrapped his arm around her waist, easily lifting the girl up.
"So shall we eat?" Ace asked and Luffy cheered again.
"It's rather noisy here."
Everyone turned as Whitebeard himself walked into the area as he had noticed that his sons had gathered. He had expected to see another fight between Marco and Ace or some other members. However instead he had been greeted with the most wanted rookie at this time. The old man looked down at the girl who was laughing as Ace prevented her from escaping his arms.
"Ace, do you know this brat?" Whitebeard asked his son who looked up at him and nodded.
"This is my imouto." Ace said proudly as Luffy waved at the old man she did not know.
"So your sister is Mugiwara no Luffy." Whitebeard said and Luffy smiled at him.
"Mugiwara no Luffy…. YOU MEAN THE MIRACLE ROOKIE!" a member asked and all of them looked at Luffy, recalling the name.
"Ah, that's me." Luffy said smiling and Ace put her down. "What about it?"
"You're the most outrageous 'pirate' since Gold Roger's time." Marco answered and Luffy looked at him. "How crazy are you?"
"She makes me look docile." Ace said simply and the crew could only imagine.
Before Luffy could say anything, a wind caused from the open doors rushed the group. All held on for it but Luffy's straw hat blew off of her head and into the machinery at the top of the warehouse roof. When the wind died down, while everyone began to steady themselves, Luffy frantically looked for her precious treasure.
"What's up Luffy?" Ace asked as the girl looked at the ceiling.
"Boshi blew off." Luffy said before spotting it on one of the machines. "Found it!"
"Do you want me to get it?" Marco asked but Luffy simply shook her head and jumped.
The crowd was amazed at how high the small girl had been able to and Whitebeard decided to watch the girl's ability. Luffy easily landed on a part of machinery and without a second thought, jumped to another. "She's a monkey." Someone stated and Ace chuckled as he watched his sister attempt to get her hat.
One of the machines automatically started working, it being on a timer and Luffy's hat began to move on the conveyer belt. "Oh no you don't!" Luffy said jumping on to the belt and snatching her hat before jumping off. The crowd below yelled in shock as the girl jumped straight down, not using machinery to lighten her fall.
Luffy easily landed in front of them and smiled at the people before placing her hat back on her head content. "I win." She said smiling before they noticed that the tied strap on the bikini had gotten loose. Men fainted from nosebleeds while others cradled their bleeding noses as the top fell off.
Ace quickly rushed to his sister and shielded her from view of the others and helped Luffy put the top back on. Marco had gotten a good full view of what the girl had and was trying to act like he had seen nothing. Whitebeard had respectfully looked away after he realized what was going to happen. He glanced at the now covered girl who was laughing and apologizing to his sons.
"Ahaha sorry." The girl said and she was instantly forgiven.
"That girl can get any guy in the world to do what she wants." Marco commented. "But she doesn't seem like the type who would."
"I think she defines pureness." Thatch said having been one of the men who did not faint from his nosebleed.
"Yet she's one of the most wanted pirates on the island." Marco stated and the taller man agreed. "Ace, are you going to introduce you sister properly?"
Ace turned towards Marco with slight murder intent but Luffy pushed in front of him and bowed. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy." The girl said smiling. "Nice to meet you."
"Why were you here again?" Ace asked and Luffy looked at him confused.
"I don't know." She said before glancing at Marco and though Luffy had seen him before, just now she recognized him. "Ah you're the guy who bought me a crepe. Thanks again for that!"
"Marco how do you know Luffy-chan?" Thatch asked before the man comprehended what was happening. "So this is the little lady."
Luffy looked at the two confused while Ace clearly showed his hatred for what Marco did to his sister. Thatch laughed and smacked Marco on the back, at the young man's expense. This made the rest of the crew confused for only Marco, Thatch and Ace knew about Marco's kiss n' run. Luffy was just as confused as to what was going on and Thatch wrapped his arm around her shoulder, leaning down to be able to whisper into her ear.
"How good was he?" Thatch asked quietly though Ace and Marco could hear him.
"Hah?" Luffy asked confused.
"Marco's kiss." Thatch asked with a sly smile. "How good was he?"
"Kiss…?" Luffy said not recalling what the man was talking about. "What kiss?"
