Pietrica gradually awakened to the sound of rain pattering against the large pane of glass on the sliding door that led to the balcony. Keeping her eyes closed, she extended her arm across the bed in a blind search for her handsome bed mate. Her hand patted the bedspread that did not contain the slightest amount of warmth much less his body. Apparently, Ace had vacated the bed quite a while before she had woken up. Her eyes slowly opened despite the desire to stay closed so she could drift back off to sleep while listening to the raindrops slapping against the glass. Rolling over, she could see Ace standing in front of the door. His body was illuminated in the dreary gray light that came in through the space where he had pulled back the curtain. Her eyes studied his face that looked as gloomy as the weather outside.

"Ace?" she called. There was no response from the man who seemed to be a million miles away in his thoughts. She sat up, standing to her feet to go to him. Moving up behind carefully, she called his name again so she would not startle him when she touched him. Her fingers touched his back, spreading out so her palm could flatten against his skin. The corners of her lips twitched upward into a smile as the warmth from his body soaked into her hand. He was like a human space heater. Heat emanated from his body into hers, comforting her. Just being near him made her feel good. One hand slid around his waist while her other hand glided around his chest. She pressed the front of her body to his back, holding onto him tightly as if he might disappear.

"I like this," he murmured, placing his hand over hers that lay over his heart.

"Like what?" she asked, pressing her forehead to his back.

"Being close to you. Having you hold me. I wish..." He stopped before he completed his sentence.

"Me too," she responded. She wished they could stay like this forever too.

"It's raining," Ace stated as if mesmerized by the raindrops that hit the glass door.

"I like the rain," Pietrica returned, patting his abdomen with her other hand. She felt the taut ridges of muscle twitch under her fingers as she hugged him.

"Why?" he inquired sounding genuinely bewildered.

Pietrica slid her hand down his arm into his hand as she backed away from him. She pulled on his hand when he continued to stare outside. After he turned to look at her, she said, "Come on, and I'll show you."

Pietrica bypassed her shoes. She would not need them. Glancing back at his feet, she was glad to see that he was still barefoot. Leading him out of the room and down the hall, she took him down the back staircase that led outside of the hotel instead of taking the elevator that opened up to the lobby. She flung open the door, feeling Ace pull her back before she could run outside.

"What are you doing?" Ace asked, squeezing her hand.

"We're going to play in the rain. Let's go," she said, pulling him forward. She squealed as the first cold drops hit her skin.

"You're crazy!" he yelled at her reluctantly allowing her to pull him outside into the pouring rain.

"I know! Isn't it great?!" she hollered back, holding up the long skirt of her dress as she turned to run.

"Where are we going?" He apprehensively glanced around at the few people they passed on the sidewalk who were carrying umbrellas and staring at them as if they were escapees from an asylum.

"Wherever our feet take us!" Pietrica exclaimed, leading him away from the streets that comprised the more populated main part of the city. The rain soaked through her dress but as long as they kept moving she did not grow cold. The shops and restaurants became more sparse as they exited the edge of the city proper. The buildings tapered off until there was nothing. Even the street dead-ended. A forest lay before them. There was a trail worn through the trees where adventurous vacationers had trekked into the woods. The dirt had turned to mud to squish between her toes and splash onto the bottom of her dress. She was ruining her new coral dress, but she did not care. The moments of freedom, of reckless abandonment to the simple joys of life, were few and far between for her. It made her even happier to be lugging Ace along with her on this wonderfully ridiculous trip of serendipity.

"Rica stop!" Ace shouted when they reached a clearing.

Pietrica immediately halted in her tracks. She spun around to face him, the water from her hair arcing out around her. She laughed when Ace stumbled backward slightly from the unexpected slap in the face from her hair. During the night, she had freed her hair from the bun for it flow loose and free. Now it hung in a sopping wet curtain down her back. "What did you call me, Ace?"

"Rica," he repeated, clutching her hand firmly as if to ask without words if that was all right with her. "Your name is a mouthful. I want to call you something that's a little easier to yell."

"Oh, Ace, you want to scream my name?" she asked, sidling up to him with a flirty grin on her face. She giggled when his bronzed cheeks darkened with a blush. Reaching up to cup his angular jaw, she brushed her thumb across the freckles that dotted his brilliant red cheek.

"I want to do a lot of things to you," he told her, pulling her into his arms.

Pietrica sighed as his lips pressed to hers. His lips were soft and wet against hers. The raindrops were almost sweet to the taste on her tongue; perhaps it was just the sweetness of the kiss that made them seem so. She pressed her body into his to draw some of the warmth from his body when she began to shake from being chilled. She clung to him as he continued to kiss her while the heat of his body seemed to rise. A faint hissing sound filled the air causing her to pull back from him in surprise. Tendrils of steam rose from his shoulders, the rain drops making a sizzling sound when they hit his skin. "Wow," she murmured, her eyes skirting over his steaming chest. "You really are hot stuff."

Ace laughed at her, enveloping her body with her arms as he held her to his body. He was purposely raising his body temperature to keep her warm. Raising his face to the sky, he closed his eyes as the rain dripped onto his skin. "This is nice."

"Yes, it is," she agreed, reveling in his warmth and strength of his arms.

"You're the strangest woman I've ever met," he said, pushing her head back to see her face. "But I like that about you."

Pietrica's eyes held his as he smiled down at her with that remarkable toothy grin that shone all the way through his eyes. She felt his stomach flutter against her chest just before growling irritably in a request for food. "Well, I'm guessing that wasn't thunder," she giggled, poking him in the ribs. "Want to go eat?"

"Of course I do. I would never turn down a meal. Especially one with a pretty lady," he said, kissing her on the forehead. "Let go back to the hotel for a shower then we'll go eat."

"Sounds like a great plan," she returned, taking the hand that was offered to her.

They held hands as they strolled back to the hotel in the rain. No words passed between them as they relished the sheer joy of being with each other. They did not have much longer. Three nights and two days was all that remained of their time together. An hour later they found themselves sitting in the little restaurant where they had eaten together on their first date. Due to the rain, they had to eat inside this time. They were half way through their meal when Luffy walked in.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" he asked, sitting down next to Pietrica without even being asked to join.

"Nothing," Ace replied, standing up from the booth seat across from her. He grabbed his brother by the wrist, pulling him out of the seat to push him over to seat he had just vacated.

Pietrica smiled at him as Ace slid in next to her while putting his arm around her shoulders. Before Ace could retrieve his plate, Luffy had already helped himself to the french fries. Instead of arguing with his brother about eating his food, Ace flagged down the waitress to order more food including another round of drinks with one extra for their unexpected guest.

"What have you two been doing?" Luffy inquired despite having a mouth full of food.

"We were enjoying a nice dinner together...just the two of us," Ace added. His brother remained annoyingly oblivious to the hint. To his dismay, before the food could arrive they were joined by Cary and Nami.

"Imagine meeting you here, Sis," Cary said, leaning over Ace to kiss her cheek. He put his hand out to Ace to formally introduce himself. "I'm Cary. Her brother. Her very protective brother."

"Cary," Pietrica hissed, watching the two men as they shook hands. She could see that there was a tension to the handshake; they grasped a little to tightly in a show of dominance, both refusing to let go first.

"Hey, are you two going to hold hands all night?" Zoro remarked as he walked up to the table.

"Yay, another guest," Pietrica muttered under her breath, finishing off the dregs of her beer as the new one arrived. She grunted in protest when Zoro grabbed the fresh, frosty beer from the tray the waitress was holding. "More beers, please," she requested. "A half a dozen or so. Can you just roll a barrel of beer out here to save yourself a couple dozen trips?"

The pretty waitress with caramel colored hair laughed. "Can't do the barrel, Sweetie, but I can bring several pitchers."

"Bring this guy a pitcher and a straw," she said, hooking her thumb at Zoro who slid into the seat on the other side of her. She knew they should have requested a nice table for two in the corner instead of a large booth in the middle of the restaurant.

"You still remember my drinking habits? I'm touched," he rejoined with his typical caustic sarcasm that seemed more acidic than usual. He flinched when Pietrica thumped him on the forehead. His head made the same sound as a ripe melon when tested for ripeness. "Ow! And you're still mean as hell."

"You two know each other?" Luffy questioned them, his cheeks full of food like a squirrel's.

"Yes," the two answered in unison. Zoro smiled at her, Pietrica stuck her tongue out at him.

"She's like the annoying little sister I never wanted. The two of us worked together on bringing in several bounties when I was a pirate hunter. She may have the personality of a viper but she a damn good hunter," he complimented, draining the mug of beer that should have been hers.

"Personality of a viper? She's been nothing but super sweet to me," Ace offered in her defense.

"Of course she has been an angel to you because she's in lo- OW!" Zoro yelled in pain when she kicked him in the shin.

"Shut up, Zoro," she growled through her teeth. Her body trembled nervously as the green haired pirate hunter turned pirate leaned close to her to whisper into her ear.

"You were in love with me once too. Remember? How long will you love him? For as long as you're here on this island?" he asked in a low voice only she could hear.

Pietrica pretended not to have heard him, despite the fact that he had been so close to her that his warm breath blowing across her neck while he talked had raised goosebumps over her entire body. What he said was true. She had been in love with him once. He was the first real pirate hunter she had met soon after she and Cary had begun their journey to capture pirates. He had traveled with them for a while, teaching them and guiding them as best as he could. She had been devastated when he had made the announcement he would be leaving them after being with them for over six months. Her eighteenth birthday party was held the night before he planned to depart to go out on his own once again. She had received her first kiss that night. Zoro had found her sitting alone at the helm, finishing off a bottle of rum. Everyone else had passed out so she had retreated to the top deck to stare at the moon and listen to the waves as they coasted toward the next island where he would be getting off. Tears had reddened her eyes and streaked her cheeks.

"Why are you sad? It's your birthday. You're officially a grown woman now," Zoro said, sitting down beside her on the seat that was built into the side of the ship.

"Oh, yeah? Why should I be happy? You're leaving tomorrow," she sniffed, swiping angrily at the tear that slipped from her eye.

"You knew from the beginning I was not going to stay." He reached out to wipe away the next tear that fell with his thumb. "When did you fall in love with me?"

"I don't know," she sighed, staring at her hands. Humiliation made her face burn.

"I told you not to do that."

Zoro had told her not to fall in love with him soon after he had boarded their ship. She had thought he was being a conceited asshole. But he was amazing with his swords. She admired his determination to become the best swordsman alive. His passion for sword fighting had inspired her to become the best bounty hunter alive. Somewhere along the way she did something stupid and became convinced that she loved him.

"I have a present for you," Zoro said, reaching behind him. He pulled out the small dagger he had bought for her the last time they had made port.

Pietrica took the dagger that was twelve inches long from the end of the handle to the pointed end of the sheath. The handle of the knife was inlaid with pearl and the sheath was an ivory color with silver embellishments. White cords of leather hung from the sheath. They were to secure the dagger to her thigh. He had bought her a weapon to hide under her clothes to protect herself. She knew he cared for her but not in the way she wanted him to love her.

"Happy Birthday, Scylla," he told her, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. He held onto her neck, keeping her face close to his. "I have one more present for you."

Pietrica had held her breath as his lips pressed to hers for an innocent kiss that was no more romantic than kissing her brother. Despite the lack of passion and romance, she had officially received her first kiss from another man. She had also experienced her first genuine heartache.

Pietrica took one of the full glasses of beer the waitress had sat down on the table. Once she had drank the whole thing, she turned to the green haired man sitting beside her. She laughed to see that he was actually drinking straight from the pitcher using a straw just as she had requested. Inclining her head toward him, she whispered conspiratorially, "There's one major difference between being in love with him and when I was in love with you...Ace feels the same way I do. And that makes all the difference in the world."

"Touché, little sister," Zoro retorted, raising his pitcher to her as if it were a giant beer mug. "Just be careful when falling in love with pirates."

"Or pirate hunters," she rejoined, raising her glass to tap it against the pitcher in a toast.

"I deserved that one," he muttered, sticking the straw into his mouth.

What had begun as a nice quiet date for two ended up being a noisy, drunken food fest. Although it was not the intimate occasion Pietrica and Ace had intended, they still enjoyed the raucous company. They stayed so long at the restaurant that they were finally asked to leave since it was past closing time. The group dispersed to go their separate ways. Cary informed his sister that he would not be returning to the hotel room that night. This decision worked out well for Pietrica and Ace since Luffy would be going to their room.

The rain had stopped while they were in the restaurant. The bright lights from the clubs and casinos that would be open all night reflected in the puddles that had gathered along the sidewalk. Pietrica had taken off her sandals so she could hop in the puddles of water along their way. She was wearing short shorts and a t-shirt so she would not have to worry about ruining her clothes this time.

"What should we do now?" Ace asked, swinging their hands that were linked between them.

" I don't know. I want to spend every moment I can with you," she confessed, squeezing his hand.

"We need to make all the memories we can so they will sustain us until we meet again," he said, sliding a sidelong glance at her.

"Until we meet again?" she repeated, tilting her head like a confused puppy.

"Well, yeah," he answered, sliding his arm around her waist. "Did you think I never wanted to see you again once our time here is over?"

"I just thought - "

"You just thought wrong," he interrupted her, tilting up her chin to kiss her briefly. "We can go back to the hotel. After getting some sleep, we can spend all day together. I've never slept with a woman so many times without actually having sex with her."

Pietrica stared down at her bare toes while emitting a self-conscious giggle. The thought of him having sex with another woman filled her with an unfounded jealousy. She should not be upset over his past because none of that mattered at the moment. He was an incredible man that she had met who seemed to be as enamored with her as she was with him. So this was what it felt like to have a man to be head over heels in love with her too. She liked this feeling - a lot.