Hey there! Sorry it took so long to update, but the next couple of chapters should be coming in rapid succsession.

Ummmmm

please tell me what you think...

I do not own one piece!

"Um…e-excuse me?" She faltered.

"Something happened last night. And I want to know what." Bea stared at him blankly.

"You had a narcoleptic fit while fixing the wall and I brought you to your room. That's all."

"Then how come there where sleeping pills in the kitchen?"

"Because I took a couple. I couldn't sleep."

Ace stared at her for a moment before heading to the training room. She silently followed.

Bea was glad that Ace wasn't looking at her, he couldn't see that her hands were shaking slightly. Lying and deception were a part of her job. She just didn't like it. Ace was also her friend. She didn't want to lie to him.

She looked around as they entered the room. The wood had darkened considerably because of the salt water. She noticed a large clump of black fur stuck in the wall from last night. She slowly moved to stand in front of it.

"…Bea, why are your suspenders over here?" Bea's head snapped to his direction. Her suspenders were still attached to the side of the ship from last nights accident, swaying in the breeze.

She thought over what she could say to end this situation without any trouble. "…After you fell asleep, a wave rocked the ship and you fell overboard." He looked at her before turning back to the hole. He unhooked her suspenders and brought them to her.

"Why didn't you just tell me that when I woke up?"

"I dunno… I thought you might freak out or something." They stood in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. "Why don't we go clean up the kitchen or something."

"How about I do that, and you fix the hole." He said, heading towards the door. Bea nodded and set to work.

Ace sighed as he got back on deck. Something about Bea's story didn't seem right. He just didn't know what. He leaned on the railing and looked out at the ocean. That's when something else hit him as off. The red line should have come into view by now.

"Hey Bea!" He called.

"Yeah?" She slowly walked on deck

"Where are we?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we should be seeing the red line by now. But I don't see it. Do you?"

"No, but-" She checked her log pose. "Holy shit, we've already passed it!" His eyes widened, as did hers.

"That's impossible!"

"Look! The log pose said we passed it!"

Ace rubbed his temple frustratedly. "How the hell did this happen…"

"maybe we got through the same way you did?" He spun around to face her.

"Do you know how this happened?"

She looked at him blankly, "I'm sorry. I don't" Before Ace could ask anymore, she walked back to the training room.

"You'd think she'd be a little more freaked out. Or even worried!" He sighed. Now he was convinced something was up. But for some reason, he felt like eh shouldn't ask.

The rest of the day went by slowly. A tense silence hung in the air instead of the usual lax, light one. Bea fixed the hole in the wall and watched the helm, while Ace mostly stayed in his room or was sleeping on the deck. They didn't speak again until dinner.

"So…are you feeling better?" Bea asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," She poked at the meat on her plate, not feeling very hungry. "You've been quiet all day…and I haven't really seen you."

"Oh. I'm fine."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Ace heard Bea timid voice.

"Hey Ace?"

"Yeah?"

"What would you do if you found what brought us across the red line?" He looked up at her, surprised;and answered before the question could really settle in his mind.

"I would tell pops. If we could find it again, it would offer an easy route and we probably wouldn't be seen by the marines. Why?" He started eating again, and missed the sad smile that flickered across her face. That was why she couldn't tell him. The cave was supposed to be a secret.

"Nothing, I was just thinking. You really care about your nakama don't you?"

"Of course! They're my family." He smiled widely.

"Tell me more about them. They sound interesting." Ace smiled wider.

"Well," He thought for a moment. "This was when I first joined the Whitebeard pirates. I was exploring the ship when I found the kitchen…" For the rest of the night, Bea listened as Ace retold stories of his nakama and little brother. As they headed back to their cabins, the earlier tension was almost forgotten."

One week later, they came across a small barely known island, where they decided to split up. After having one last meal, they walked back to the dock.

"2 whole months sailing from the grand line." Ace said.

"It only felt like a couple weeks to me." Bea replied. Ace smiled.

"Same here."

Bea wasn't very good with goodbyes. It wasn't because she couldn't handle them; she just didn't really know how to say it.

"Soo…-"

"Turn into a wolf."

"What, Why?"

"So I can do this." Ace reached forward and she automatically turned into a wolf. She was surprised when he started scratching her behind the ears. Ace laughed when her tail wagged happily. "It's been fun. I'm glad I met you"

"Me too, Ace"

"Well, I-"

"Oh, wait! I forgot something." She ran back to the ship and came back a few minutes later carrieing something wrapped in cloth. "You can open it when you set sail." She said around the bundle in her mouth. After receiving the package, he looked at it questioningly.

"So…what is it?"

"I'm not telling you!" She laughed.

"Alright, alright. But are you sure you don't want to join the whitebeard pirates? I'm sure pops would love to have you.."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not sure if I even want be a pirate. And I'd like some time to just sail around. You know?"

Ace sighed. "Yeah I know, but it couldn't hurt to ask." He sighed. She whined when he messed with the fur on top of her head. He got up and started walking towards his flame powered skiff.

"Ace, we'll see each other again, right?" She asked, turning back into a human.

"Of course!" He smiled. "Well, I'll see ya later, Bea." He started the skiff and moved towards the ocean.

"Bye Ace!" She yelled after him. He waved back.

Bea turned back towards the town, a slightly sad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

After Ace was a good couple of miles from the island, he turned to fabric in his hand. It looked like a hankerchief. He turned it over and frowned slightly. It was hard to tell, but he could almost swear that the whitebeard symbol was embroidered on the dark green surface. He slowly unwrapped the cloth and the skiff came to a sputtering stop. Now that was defiantly the Whitebeard jolly roger.

The silver and gold armband glinted in the sunlight. The Whitebeard jolly roger was made of gold, but the beard and bones were made of silver. When he picked it up, the metal that made up the band flexed and shifted under his touch. He looked at the small note that was left with it.

To Ace,

Thanks

-Bea

P.S. Take good care of it.

There was also a rough sketched picture of him having a narcoleptic fit and Bea eating his dinner.

P.S.S. And about the drawing; that actually happened.

Ace smiled before turning back to the armband.

"Where did you get this…?"

WEll, What do you think? I know this chapter is short, but please bare with me, i just couldn't go any farther with it.

Please tell me if anything seemed wrong and stuff.

question: does any one know how old Trafalgar Law and Eustass Kid are?

Question 2:Which straw-hat do you think will show up first? (they come in in the chapter after the next one.)

ummm oh! Question 3: Guess the pairings that you think will show up in the story.

Yay! questionssssss! i love seeing peoples answers.

anyway, Please review!