Disclaimer: Since when did I buy copyright of One Piece? Not rich enough.
No one ever told Ace that a broken heart would be so painful. If he had known, he wouldn't have gotten himself in this heartrending mess and be broken into a million pieces, with no one to help him pick up the pieces.
Why did it hurt so much? He had been tossed down a cliff, beaten by pirates, captured and tortured by Marines, and so many other experiences that left him teetering on the brink of death, but this… this was something entirely different that tore his heart and mind apart, left him in turmoil on the inside as he fought to understand all the conflicting feelings that constantly attacked his fragile mind. He didn't know how long he could handle it anymore.
So far, yet so near.
How did it happened, he didn't even know. All he remembered was that he slowly began to be attracted to someone he shouldn't be, falling deeply in love in a person so out of reach. Often he found himself staring dreamily at the other, tracing every contour on his handsome face, memorizing all the tiny details. He knew how every strand of golden hair curled, the heavy eyelids, the curves of his abdomen muscles and how his Whitebeard tattoo contrasted against his tanned skin. Somehow without realizing it, Ace had become a lovesick teenager obsessively stalking the older.
He finally realized his unrequited feelings for the other during an accident where he had drunkenly tumbled over the side of the ship railing from one too many drinks. None of the crew members had acted fast enough, all stuck in a shocked stupor as their rookie crew member fell towards the dark and vast ocean. But Marco reacted immediately, leaping off and transforming into a magnificent mythological beast that blazed brightly in the purplish-black night sky, the blue flames swirling fierily, shining brighter than the stars and the moon. Swooping down gracefully, he gripped tightly onto Ace's limp body and plopped his shell-shocked form back onto the wooden deck. Smoothing morphing back into a human, he said, "Be more careful next time, yoi," and walked away.
In that moment, Ace was completely smitten as his cheeks flared a bright shade of red that had nothing to do with his intoxication.
Somehow in the following weeks he grew carefully closer to the older male, often losing his train of thought even when Marco brushed against him, a light blush tinting his face. But the other never seemed to notice his embarrassing moments, something Ace was extremely grateful for. By then, he had already firmly told himself that no matter how deeply in love he was with Marco, he had to stay away. Marco clearly didn't return his feelings and probably would never. He was just another random crew member among the many aboard the Moby Dick, after all. No one special.
Then his idiotic self just had to approach Marco one night and act like a complete fool by showing him Ace's precious journal that Sabo had left him. It wouldn't hurt, he had reasoned with himself. They were friends. Surely Marco would understand that, right? It wasn't like he'd be particularly interested in them, anyways.
Of course, his plan entirely backfired on him when Marco did find Sabo's fairy tales to be intriguing and almost seemed to enjoy Ace's nightly visits, though he was certain it was only in a platonic way. It caught him by surprise, because he didn't think the older man would find such things fascinating, nor would he be so patient and understanding whenever Ace began to ramble without realizing.
Why did Marco have to make it so hard? If only he could be just a little despicable and not just so damn perfect, Ace wouldn't be mourning over his broken heart.
He only had one option left: avoid Marco. Break off all contact and hope that the other would never find out about his feelings, which would hopefully fade away. After all, time heals all wounds, right?
But it still didn't help the severe heartache he was suffering. The one-sided love was just so painful when you knew the other was simply indifferent to your feelings.
Ace was sure he must've looked like utter crap because of all the self-inflicted pain from barely sleeping and eating. He had lost a lot of weight, he could tell, and he felt weary both physically and mentally. Somehow in these lifeless, meaningless days he'd taken up wandering around the corridors of the Moby Dick like a ghost, musing about various thoughts. His mind almost always stayed on a certain phoenix, though. Sometimes he'd like to think of a scenario where they lived in another world, where there weren't so many obstacles standing between them so their love could blossom. Sometimes, he'd fantasize that Marco loved him as well and would be the one to proclaim his love.
Sighing, he leaned against the gray walls of one of the many halls in the ship, feeling the soothing rocking the ocean waves produced. He grimaced, running a hand through his tangled black hair as the rocking reminded him of that night he fell over the railing again for the umpteenth time. Before he drowned himself in the torrent of thoughts that poured over, he picked up the sound of muted footsteps approaching. His head snapped up, and he muffled a gasp.
Marco.
Marco was standing there with an unreadable face, his eyes glinting with a hidden emotion Ace couldn't decipher. The older man crossed his arms, looking very stern all of a sudden as he took in Ace's very disheveled appearance, making him gulp nervously.
Ace looked frantically to the other direction, only to find to his dismay that the hallway led to a dead end. Looking back to the waiting man, he said weakly, "Hi Marco."
In a barely suppressed, furious tone, Marco asked, "What the hell happened to you?"
The freckled man winced at his voice as he hung his head, unable to meet the other's sharp gaze. "I… I think…" he breathed in deeply. "Marco, I think I'm in love with you." And before Marco could reply, he pushed him away and sprinted pass, back to the safe refuge of his room.
Okay. So maybe some of you (who am I lying? All of you) are thinking that Ace is a total sap and out of character. Well, I think anyone dealing with a broken heart, no matter how chirpy they are like Ace, they'd feel absolutely miserable. No one is an exception to that, not that I know the feeling personally. ^^; Anyhow, I hope you guys liked this part! I'll try to post the last part as soon as possible, but definitely not this week because of all the stupid exams I've been taking.
On a completely unrelated side note, it's 7th Cassiopeia day for those who recognize it. If you know what that is without the aid of a search engine, then you have my utmost respect. :P
(At least it was until stupid FFn decides to quit on me so I couldn't post the chapter last night. Stupid, stupid website.)