Thank you all for your reviews! It means a lot to me! :D
Here is chapter 6. :3 Hopefully it's just as good as last chapter and oh yeah, figured I'd do a favor for Maybelady in this chapter and kick Marco and Thatch out of this one for a while and bring in our favorite red-head! lol
Enjoy!
It's midday when the door bell rings, echoing throughout the house. Before Ace can get up to get it however, Thatch is already running through the living room to answer the door, almost tripping over his own two feet in the process.
Ace can't help but to snicker at that, even though it's a little mean. "Walk much?" The ravenette asked, with a smirk still present on his face, as he looked up from some magazine he was currently forcing himself to read. Honestly, reading on a daily basis wasn't really his thing but what else did he have to do? It was this or watch television but television got old after all.
"Shut up..." Thatch grumbled, as he steadied himself and proceeded toward the door without any further incidents.
Ace frowned for a brief moment. He felt bad, for taunting his brothers so much, really he did but hey, it was sweet revenge for them insisting on 'babysitting' him and with that in mind, the remarks he's been coming off with doesn't seem so mean after all.
Ace decided to ignore Thatch however, going back to his magazine that was anything but interesting to him... That was, until he practically heard an all too familiar voice that almost made him jump up off the couch and run to the door.
"Ace!" Called none other than Luffy, and if Ace thought that he might've just been hearing things for a moment, he was proven different when the younger brother practically shoved Thatch aside to bolt into the living room, where Ace was sitting.
Ace stared up at him, wide eyed in surprise at first, briefly thinking that he was about to be glomped by the younger. However, Luffy plopped down beside him, rather than tackling him where he was. Ace released a sigh of relief. That wasn't an impact he exactly wanted right now.
"What are you doing here, Luffy?" Ace questioned, tossing the magazine in hand over onto the coffee table, knowing full well that his brother would be more entertaining than some celebrity gossip, or whatever the hell he was reading.
"Hm? Do I need a reason to come see you? I've missed you!" Luffy answered, a grin present on his features.
Ace gave it a moment's thought then shrugged his shoulders. Seemed perfectly reasonable enough. He certainly wasn't going to question it because with Luffy here, he's bound to find all sorts of excitement. "You know Luffy... Now that you're here we can have all kinds of fun..." Ace trailed off, a devious smirk finding its way to his face as he began to think of all the mischievous things they could get into together.
Luffy tilted his head to the side in mild confusion. "But, Oni-San isn't suppose to be doing a lot." He pointed out.
Ace leaned in closer to Luffy. "Yeah, but what Thatch and Marco don't know, won't hurt them." He replied in a whisper, so only Luffy could hear, all the while his smirk remained.
"What are the two of you planning to do exactly?" Asked another, startling Ace.
Ace turned his attention from Luffy, to look up at the red head now within the room. "Shanks... Ha... Should've known Luffy wouldn't have just come here on his own..."
"Of course not. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let him venture out on his own right now?" Shanks questioned, a light smile present on his face.
"Is that the only reason you came or did you miss me too?" Ace questioned, in a sarcastic tone, any trace of excitement gone from his expression.
Shanks couldn't help but to chuckle at the question before answering. "Actually no! We came to stay over a little bit... Let Thatch and Marco go out and enjoy the day to themselves... They've been here how long now, three weeks? I think they deserve some time away."
Ace glared up at him, muttering something incoherent for a moment, until the words fully sunk in. Then his eyes widened and his grin returned. "Yeah! That's good! They do need some time to themselves! I can't recall the last time those two have been on a date to be honest with you..."
"Wha? Hey, who said we agree to this?" Questioned Thatch as he closed the door.
"Oh hush, no one asked for your opinion..." Ace retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"It's just one day. I'm sure Marco wants some time away, if anything. Don't worry, I'll be here." Shanks added.
"That's not reassuring..." Grumbled Thatch.
Yet, Ace wasn't willing to take no for an answer. After all, this would be his break from the two as well. "OI! MARCO! GET IN HERE!" The ravenette exclaimed, grinning like a opossum afterwards.
And just as expected, Marco came into the room seconds later, surely running to answer Ace's call.
"Do you need something?" The blonde questioned.
Ace merely smiled however. "No. I called you in here because Shanks has such a good idea..."
"Shanks?" Marco inquired, before his eyes darted to the red haired male that he had been completely oblivious to seconds ago. "Oh, hey."
"Marco, Shanks came by for the day so you and Thatch can go out and spend some time to yourselves... Isn't that nice of him?" Ace questioned, his smile growing.
"They think we need a break." Thatch through in, giving a roll of his eyes.
"That wouldn't be such a bad thing though." Replied Marco, who gave a yawn after the sentence. "I think we need it."
Thatch's eyes widened in surprise and Ace's smile turned to a wide grin. If Marco was all for it, then Thatch couldn't get out of it.
"Then it's settled. Ace will spend the day with us, while you two go out and do whatever it is you do." Shanks concluded.
"Are you sure?" Thatch questioned, more or less toward Marco, who he was currently eyeing.
The blonde nodded his head. "Ace will be alright. We can trust Shanks." He said with reassurance in his tone.
Thatch frowned. "Huh... If you say so..." He muttered. He never imagined that Marco would so willingly give up on his duties, if only for a day. Then again, they have been here for three weeks straight with hardly any time to themselves. Thatch was tired and growing irritated, he couldn't deny that and by the look on Marco's face, he was getting there.
"Oh, you guys worry too much. I'll be okay!" Ace exclaimed, adding more reassurance in the matter, his smile not leaving his features.
"Okay then you two go and enjoy yourselves." Shanks said and without further hesitation, placed his hands upon both men's shoulders and gave them a push towards the door.
"Um, what time should we come back?" Thatch questioned, glancing over his shoulder at the older man.
"Morning. Feel free to stay out all night." Shanks answered, opening the door for the both of them and gave one final push to motion them out.
"Oh, okay..." That was all that could escape Thatch, before they were out and the door was shut behind them.
Shanks then turned back to Ace, a grin forming once more. "So, how's life been these past three weeks?" He asked, as if he already knew the answer.
"Hell. Boring. Hell. Agonizing. Did I say it was hell?" Ace retorted, giving a sigh of annoyance. "Seriously, those two wouldn't let me do anything! All because you and Chopper ordered me to be on bed rest which is complete and utterly stupid. I' am twenty years old, I can do for myself." It wasn't typically his style to rant on little things but hey, he was beyond irritated at this point and he demanded it be known.
Shanks frowned apologetically and then gave a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm sorry Ace. But staying in bed means staying in bed. Clearly they let you bend the rule because you're up sitting around." He tried to reason.
It didn't sink in to Ace though. "Tsk. I hate feeling so damn dependent on others. All my life I've pretty much taken care of myself."
"Yes, but..." Shanks trailed off, moving to take a seat beside Ace on the sofa, opposite of Luffy. "But this isn't for you, it's for her." He said, placing a hand upon the younger's stomach.
"Everything is fine..." Ace said, diverting his eyes away from the red head. That wasn't entirely truth. Just like stated in the letter to Smoker, he feels as if something isn't right and he's not sure about it but he most certainly isn't going to tell that until he does know for sure. It was something for him and Chopper to discuss privately.
Shanks sighed this time. "I know they seem harsh on you but they're worried about you, is all. I came over here not just to check up on you, but to give you three a break from one another... Let some of the tension fade, before you go off and kill them." He said, the ending half heartedly and humorous.
Ace however wasn't amused. "Yeah." Was all he said, before turning his attention over to his brother Luffy. "So, how's it been going for you? Not much has changed... You've only gotten a little bigger." Ace concluded, dark eyes scanning the younger's body briefly.
It wasn't fair in a way. He was only carrying one child and he had put on quite a bit of weight that he could no longer hide. While Luffy... Luffy was carrying two and barely showing any signs whatsoever. It just wasn't fair, Ace thought.
"Good!" Luffy exclaimed, happily.
Somehow though, that only further irritated Ace. Why couldn't he be like Luffy? Why did he have to get all the sickness, mood swings, odd cravings and on top of it all, fat while Luffy stayed pretty much the same?
"That's good." Ace said though, biting back the jealous he suddenly felt toward the younger one.
"You?" Luffy questioned back, his silly grin faltering and a brief look of concern crossing his features.
Ace felt a little bad about his previous thoughts after hearing the question from the younger. He ignored it though, not letting it linger too long. "She's alright. She's been kicking a lot more lately." Ace answered simply and honestly.
"Awe! She's already excited to come see the world then." Shanks said, his smile returning.
Ace gave a half smile back. "Yeah, she is..." He muttered, his gaze darting down to his stomach as he laid his hand upon where Shanks previously had his, rubbing in a circular motion as his mind wondered back to his soon to be born child.
Shanks watched him closely, noticing how his smile faltered, and the look of worry appeared in his dark eyes. "Everything is okay, right Ace?" He questioned, concern showing clear in his voice.
It took a moment for Ace to answer and for a little bit, Shanks thought the younger hadn't heard him or he was just ignoring him. He hoped the latter wasn't the case though because it would prove otherwise to the question asked.
"Yeah." Ace merely answered, looking back up to the red head again, offering him a reassuring smile once more. He's kept it to himself this long, of how the pregnancy doesn't feel right, or how he's been experiencing pain that he knows isn't normal but like stated before, there was no use in worrying everyone.
"Alright then. Would you tell me otherwise?" Shanks questioned, already having a good guess as to what answer he would receive and knowing that more than likely Ace would say it halfheartedly.
"Yes." Ace answered tonelessly.
Shanks released a breath of air. "Okay... In other news, now that you got your break away from Marco and Thatch, what would you like to do?"
With that, Ace smirked, his mind already racing on what he could get away with now that his older brothers were away for the day.
That night, at the Marine base where Smoker is stationed at, there's a knock on the door to his office. It goes ignored for the first three times, his mind too far in the seemingly endless paperwork for him to care about who it could be at his door or what they want.
Yet, as it persisted, it brought him out of his concentration on his work and he sighed deeply, releasing smoke from the two cigars he was currently smoking on.
"It's open." He finally said, not bothering to get up and greet whoever it was himself.
The obnoxious knocking stopped and the door opened with ease. Smoker barely glanced up from his work, to see none other than his subordinate Tashigi standing there. He sighed. This woman was starting to become a pain...
"Is there something I can help you with at this hour?" He questioned with mild annoyance. It's late, and everyone else has turned in for the night. So why is she still here to bother him?
"Well Sir, I was just getting ready to leave and I thought I'd check on you first though..." The female trailed off.
"What I need is some peace and quiet, not someone looking over me." Smoker retorted, his gaze dropping back down to the papers below him regarding some mild information on this operation.
"Right, of course. I was just, a little concerned is all. I haven't seen you out much... You're spending most of your time here..."
"Is that a bad thing?" The man questioned, growing more annoyed by the minute. "I have work to do after all and we are the Navy, we aren't friends. There's no time for chit-chat..." He grumbled. To be honest, for once, most of the paperwork assigned to him was complete. He was just looking over it one final time to occupy his mind and keep his thoughts off of a certain raven haired man back home.
Tashigi released a soft breath, frowning. "Have you wrote back to Ace?" She asked, clearly ignoring Smoker's words of how they weren't friends and truth be told, Smoker didn't exactly mean anything by that. Tashigi was a decent girl, better than some of the morons he called friends but she really needed to learn how to stay out of his business... She didn't do that with anyone else...
"No." Smoker simply answered.
"Why?" She continued to pry.
"If I tell him anything, he'll only worry." Smoker tried to reason. Yet, Tashigi was smarter than that and she knew damn well that he knew it too.
"If you don't send anything, he'll worry more." She countered with a firm voice, making a valid point in the matter.
Smoker gritted his teeth. "...I don't know what to tell him." He finally answered truthfully.
Tashigi's expression softened some. "Tell him you're alright. Tell him whatever it is that your heart wants him to know. Don't think about it. Just feel it."
Smoker's gaze went off to the side, as he thought about it for a moment. Then a scoff escaped him. "That brat wouldn't know what to make of it if I suddenly poured my feelings out to him." He replied back. Yet, the thought of actually voicing the very things he felt made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside; a feeling he hadn't felt before and one that he could only describe as weird.
"I think it would make him happy." Tashigi said, a smile forming.
Smoker's eyes darted back to her in a soft glare. "He would laugh his ass off probably." That's the only conclusion he could come up with. He's certain Ace would in some twisted way, find it funny if Smoker actually told him that yeah, he misses him too and there's not a day that's went by where he hasn't thought of him and has wanted to return home.
"Just try it. You never know. It might flatter him." The female said, ever so encouraging and her smile still there. "But for now, I'll leave you be. I advise you to go get some rest though." Tashigi spoke, as she turned to leave. "Goodnight, Smoker-Kun."
Smoker only grunted in response, as he debated the advice even after Tashigi had left and shut the door, leaving him alone to his thoughts.
Hm... What to make of this? What's going on with Ace? Is he alright? On another note... Smoker seems to be having some conflict with his feelings, perhaps he'll put it all into a letter after all? :D Who knows, until next chapter! Which I have no idea when that'll be, so bare with me...
...As usual, let me know what ya think, or not.