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A New Rocket and Missing Memories
"So, where will you go from here?" Shanks stood beside his daughter at the docks, awaiting his crew who, despite begging and pleading for her to reconsider, Blaize had refused to meet with. True, she missed them so much; they'd been a part of her family when she was younger. But that had been a long time ago now...and she still had much to do before she could even think about seeing them all again with a clear conscience.
"Ace got a tip off from an old friend a few days ago, and now I know where Mihawk's gonna be in six months time, I'll stay with him and train until then I suppose."
Shanks looked over at his daughter, who had so many of his features but was every bit the beauty her mother was and felt his chest ache, knowing there was very little he could do to help ease her burden. Portgas on the other hand...
"Don't think it dishonourable to use your devil fruit to your advantage in your fight against your uncle. And if you ever need a sparring partner..." he let it hang in the air and Blaize gave the tiniest nod; it was a start, he thought with a small smile.
"The boys a complete imbecile by the way," he stated suddenly, causing Blaize to look up in surprise, "he's completely reckless, attracts trouble almost as much as his idiot brother, steals, fights, falls asleep at the worst times and is a danger to all those around him – I wouldn't trust your life with anyone else."
Blaize gave a short chuckle, "I'm just surprised you didn't scare him off. You can be pretty terrifying when you want to be."
Shanks quirked an eyebrow, mirroring his daughter's famed expression perfectly, "then how come you never do what I tell you to?" he asked dryly making Blaize snort.
"Because I'm your daughter; I'm immune to your reign of terror."
Shanks let out a great laugh and clapped a hand down on her shoulder, "I think most people think you're more terrifying than me anyway."
Her expression turned to one of mock seriousness, "I think you might be right there, I'm pretty sure Ace told me as much once. Hey, I've been meaning to ask, what the hell did you guys talk about when you went off without me?"
Shanks suddenly looked very interested in looking for his ship, "Nothing much," he muttered, casting her a knowing glance with a small smirk. Before she could force the information out of him however, Ace appeared behind them.
"Ready to go?"
She looked up at him, torso bare, hair flying free beneath his hat (which he'd stolen back only moments before) grin in place with the sea and the sun bright and radiant behind him; she was definitely ready for him. Blaize let a grin grace her face and shot him a nod before glancing back at her father.
"I'll do my best to see you again someday," She said.
"Someday soon." Shanks said firmly.
Neither of them wanted a long goodbye so with a wave of his hand and a meaningful glance to his daughter (which told her to train as hard as possible and be careful) he sent them off on their way again; but not before shouting...
"Oi Portgas! If I see Blackbeard I'll be sure to get the message to you on his whereabouts."
"Eh, thanks!"
"And make sure you look after my daughter or you'll be feeling the end of my sword before you can blink, got it?"
Blaize laughed when Ace winced at the thought but nodded in agreement all the same. It was just as their small vessel was coming into sight on the harbour that Ace nudged his hat up off his eyes and said nonchalantly, "So...Mihawk's your uncle eh? Figures."
Blaize glance up at him, suddenly feeling slightly uneasy, "what else do you now know?"
He shrugged, "not much to be honest, your father was very tight lipped about it all. But I'm not one to pry into another person's past." He said, though he did seem a little miffed to Blaize. She let out a small sigh of relief.
"You're not going to tell me I'm stupid for going after him?" She asked curiously.
Again Ace shrugged, but this time it was markedly more rigid, "if anyone could take him, I'd imagine it'd be you. Just don't go running into a fight you're not ready for and I'll hate you forever if you go in expecting to die."
It was such a vehemently strong statement that Blaize actually stopped in her tracks, "hate me?"
"Eh," he confirmed, not stopping his steady pace.
Blaize smirked before catching up and saying offhandedly, "You know, my mum once said we only truly hate the people who have either gotten close to our hearts, or taken someone close to our heart from us."
"Well you've never taken anyone close to my heart from me..." He responded quietly, leaving the meaning of his words hanging in the air, buzzing between them and causing a stunned Blaize's own heart to pound rapidly in her throat.
(Two weeks later)
The pub they sat in was a small shabby place, with cobwebs in every corner and dust in every cup, but damn the food was good. Blaize's original promise to be the food provider still stood but right now she wasn't touching hers, just staring pointedly at the fire user beside her, whose mouth was full of various different things.
"So...you spoke to a guy in a pub, then an old hag in a brothel who told you to go to a weird potions seller who said he'd give you the information you needed provided you drank some freaky looking blue stuff...is that right?" Her eyebrow was raised incredulously, mouth parted in disbelief.
"Pretty much, yeah." He responded between bites.
"So what did you do?" Blaize asked, already knowing the dreaded answer.
Ace looked at her with a blank expression, "I drank the stuff," he said simply.
"YOU WHAT!?" She cried, slamming a fist down so hard it shook the whole table.
"Eh, what's wrong?"
"Did you even get the information we needed?" She groaned.
"No," he grumbled, "the damn weirdo shoved me out before I could ask. Nothing else really happened –"
She cut him off, "Have you looked in a mirror lately?!"
Ace frowned, perplexed, and grabbed a spoon off the table...and shrieked like a girl, "FUUUUUUUCK! What the...! How...! AH MAN! Look at what that bastard's done! HE'S TURNED MY FACE UPSIDE DOWN!"
Blaize felt a nerve pop at her temple and quirked an eyebrow incredulously, "Ace?"
"WHAAAT?" He whined, not looking up from where he was repeatedly banging his head against the table.
"All spoons turn your reflection upside down...your face is fine." She told him dryly. Ace felt his face frantically, running his hands all over it before giving a great sigh of relief. He frowned over at Blaize.
"So what's wrong with me then?"
"Aren't you missing something? Or things should I say..."
"Huh? Red are you sure you didn't drink anything funny?"
She growled in anger, "YOU'RE TATTOOS ARE GONE YOU IDIOT!"
"WHAT!?"
Ace repeatedly banged the door to the potion seller's shop so violently Blaize was surprised it held up.
"Oi! Arsehole! Get the hell out here now! I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!"
"Oh yeah, that's the way to get him to open the door, threaten his life..." Blaize remarked sarcastically and Ace threw her a glare before resuming his attack on the shop door.
"Open it now or I'll burn your whole fucking shop down! HEY ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME IN THERE! OPEN THIS DOOR!" He battered the door, raining punches and kicks down on it; it didn't budge. "Alright, that's it! You asked for it!"
Blaize watched with dry detachment as Ace flamed up and tried to set the door alight. She was rather impressed when she saw it wasn't even scorched.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING MADE OFF?!" Ace bellowed, trying three times more before giving it an especially hard kick and stubbing his toe, "FUCK!"
While he hopped around naming every curse under the sun Blaize pushed off from the wall she'd been leaning on and made her way back down the road into town, "I'm hungry. I'll be back later ok? Don't do anything too stupid." She told him, but he wasn't really listening. With a roll of her eyes she hoped she wouldn't regret leaving him alone...oh how wrong she was...
"Portgas?"
"Yes girl Shanks?"
"Mind telling me what possessed you to use our boat as a battering ram...?" A nerve twitched dangerously in her temple as she surveyed the practically demolished boat that was their sodding transport!
Whether Ace noticed the impending danger of her wrath or not, one couldn't tell, because he merely shrugged and muttered, "Seemed like a good idea at the time."
She shot him a murderous glare, steaming red mist.
"Eh? What's the problem? Its fine, I can fix anything" He said with a confident grin. With that he clapped his hands together and rubbed them, "right, where's a tool kit."
"Portgas?"
"Yes girl Shanks?"
"I hate you."
"Duly noted."
He sat rather dejectedly by the boat, which he'd somehow managed to make worse. Blaize had gone beyond fury but was still seriously considering rocketing him off into the sea. Arms crossed firmly over her chest she raised an infamous eyebrow.
"Does the D in your name stand for dumbass?"
"I've often wondered..." He muttered, throwing down a charred wrench.
Annoyingly, she was suddenly overwhelmed with sympathy for her poor fire user and shrugged off her cloak, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt and tapping him on the shoulder. "Stand aside Portgas; watch a real master at work."
"Don't come near me when I'm this mad at you Portgas. I'm trying to fix this wreck of a boat thanks to you, so go find something else to annoy." In all honesty she wasn't too mad with him now, after all, this was something she genuinely enjoyed doing; thought if she told him that he might see it as a green light to do more reckless things with their boat...and her tolerance was pretty low.
Ace sat behind her cross-legged, watching her with wrapped fascination. "Where did you learn how to fix up a boat?"
Not pausing in her work, "You learn stuff when you have to travel on your own. Now piss off will ya!"
"Who'd you learn it from?"
She let out a cry of frustration and pushed back the goggles so he could see the murderous glint to her black eyes. Apparently immune to her death glares now however, Ace just stared expectantly. She gave a short sigh and but started to tell him as she turned back to the boat.
"There was this blacksmith called Dutch Morgan I stayed with for a little while. I was only thirteen, and although mum had taught me most of the domestic stuff and dad and Mihawk had made damn sure that I could defend myself, I still didn't really know much about the world. Plus I had no money. He sort of picked me up one day, I think I looked like death by this point...he said he'd teach me the trade so I could earn money and he had an assistant." She felt a warm glow encase her chest as she spoke about this time in her life; it was one of the few occasions where which hadn't been fucked up by her devil fruit.
"I didn't tell him about my devil fruit at first; in fact I'd even go as far to sneak out on nights I needed to sleep. But one day, I got scared by a spider and blew up half the shop. But instead of being mad or scared of me, he was thrilled. I couldn't understand why until he started to suggest all the different things I could do as a blacksmith, because of my devil fruit." A soft smile graced her face as she held her finger to an injunction between two slates of metal. "Like this..." a short spark flared from her finger tip, burning white hot. She pulled down the goggles and set her finger on the broken plates, grinning when great sparks flew up. They sealed together beneath her touch and when she pulled away it was as good as new – and neater than any blow torch could ever do - that done, she retracted the blaze and blew some smoke off the tip of her finger with a smirk. She glanced over at Ace and laughed ruefully when she saw his bug eyes wide with fascination.
"Yeah that was pretty much my reaction when I first managed it. This was the first time anything good had come from my devil fruit." She continued, picking up the wrench and going to work on some crooked bolts, "I could handle burning metals and turn stuff in a furnace without the hindrance of huge gloves. He taught me everything he knew and he never once showed he was scared or worried about being hurt because of me. I think over the time I spent there, he reconnected me with the world of humanity. In fact he was the one who suggested I find a way to put my past behind me, so I could truly have a future. And he was right; until I rid myself of the guilt of my past I can never truly be free to live."
She looked up to see Ace giving her an odd look which was gone before she could figure it out. He gave her a genuine smile and Blaize felt her breath hitch slightly.
"So you want to rid yourself of past regrets to feel free to live?"
She cocked her head to the side, musing over what he'd said, "Yes."
"Huh," a sort of determination sparked behind his eyes, "I can relate to that." He said softly. She turned to him once more, lifting her goggles.
"Yeah?"
There was a far off look in his eyes, not exactly sad, but not happy either. "My mum died protecting me." He said quietly. Blaize looked at him in shock; she'd had no idea...
"I'm so sorry –"
"It's ok," he reassured her, shaking his head with a slight smile, "she died in child birth so I never knew her. But, she did so much for me and I never got to thank her for it...and for the longest time I felt guilty about it, until I realised there was nothing I could do to change my past; so there was no use regretting it."
Blaize was silent for a moment while she digested this, then "It never stops hurting though, does it?"
He didn't reply straight away, but Blaize caught the look in his eye; no, the pain never left you. "Having pain in your life just makes you a stronger person." He said.
Blaize let a sad smirked slip from her lips, "because when you're fighting against the pain every day, you have to be strong to survive it, or it'll consume you. You have to let it become a part of you on your own terms, force it to become a strength and not a weakness."
"Exactly!" Ace said with a firm grin. "No regrets!"
She laughed and had to agree with him; to get past the pain you had to find a way to put it behind you and live life with no regrets whatsoever.
"So," he shuffled closer so that he was sat just a few inches away from her, head propped up on one hand, "what happened to this Blacksmith guy Morgan? You ever hear from him?"
She shrugged and turned back to the boat, "couple of times, mainly when I got my first bounty. Heh, he seemed seriously proud that I chose to become a pirate."
"Eh? Why's that?"
"Because his brother was a Marine; I say was, I think it was actually your brother who defeated him and got his ranks stripped...but then Morgan was never all too close with his brother, said he was a self important prick who had raised his son to be a pussy. Couldn't be happier I was on the side opposing him."
"Geez Luffy sure knows how to make his mark on the world."
Blaize chuckled in agreement. "What was it like growing up with him?"
The rest of the day and well into the night was spent with Ace in the otherwise empty shipping yard regaling stories of his youth. He animatedly told her tale after tale of all the kinds of trouble he and Luffy got into as children, all the adventures they went on, how he'd been made terrible fun of for wanting to learn manners just so he could thank her father properly for saving Luffy and how growing up with bandits meant there was very little left to be scared. All day Blaize listened unwaveringly, soaking in the excitement rolling off Ace in waves, laughing until her tummy hurt and she couldn't safely try to fix the boat without blowing something up. Ace told her about his childhood friend Sabo, and how, although he'd died years ago, he was still his and Luffy's brother and they would never forget him.
At this Ace went to show her his arm, before cursing and letting it drop dejectedly by his side, "that bastard," he hissed, and Blaize realised he meant the guy who'd taken his tattoos. Her tools long abandoned, replaced by bottles of sake and food instead, Blaize shifted closer to Ace and gently touch the place where his missing tattoo was. He relaxed into her light strokes.
"Every single one of those tattoos is on me to remind me that there are people out there I care about, people who are worth fighting for...even if they're not all with me anymore. I feel naked without them." He smirked softly, fully aware of the irony considering he was in fact naked from the waist up.
Slowly, Blaize moved in front of him and lifted up the t-shirt she'd put on for working on the boat. "Do you see this tattoo?" She turned her head slightly so she could see Ace nod, "what does it look like to you?"
He leaned in closer to expect it better and a shudder ran down her spine when his fingers lightly brushed aside her dark red curls so he could trace the black ink. "It looks like a sun or a star..."
Blaize nodded with a soft smile, "My mum used to say that that was what my devil fruit really was; a star. I got this to remind me that at least one person thought my devil fruit was more than just destruction."
Ace didn't say anything for a while, then just before she was about to turn around, she felt his hot lips press against the cool skin of her tattoo. Her heart instantly kicked into high gear, hammering against her chest as Ace kissed her exposed skin, moving up to the base of her neck before hooking a finger beneath her chin and bringing her round so he could capture her lips with his.
"You're not destruction Blaize; you're life."
(Ace P.V.O)
The next day, Ace woke to find Blaize missing from bed and suspected she'd left as soon as he'd fallen asleep. He was right of course; she'd been up all night in the shipping yard fixing the mess he'd made of their boat...in fact...
"You fixed it!" He exclaimed, staring in utter awe at the shiny, perfect, immaculate custom made speed boat, showing absolutely no signs of his handy work whatsoever. He looked between it and Blaize, who stood with a proud smirk on her oil, dirt and dust stained face.
"I didn't just fix it; I made it better than before. It should accommodate for my powers now."
For a few seconds Ace just blinked at her... "Your powers?" He asked carefully, wary of the spark in her dark eyes.
"Yeah! I thought, you always do all the work when we travel and what with your narcolepsy and all, we get stuck for ages sometimes – so, I modified the jetpack thingy on the back –"
"..Jetpack thingy...?"
"– so that it could take my blast as well. Want me to show you?"
"I don't know, do I?" He teased. She shot him a withering look before kicking the boat off the jetty sending it slashing into the sea below. "Oi, careful!"
"After what you did to it yesterday...?"
He winced, "Touché"
Ace went over to the edge of the shipping yard as Blaize jumped down into the boat. He was thoroughly curious about this and more than a little thrilled (and scared) by this zealous pirate woman.
"Alright then, you watching Fire Fist? Three..."
"Eh, have you tested this yet?"
"Two..."
"Wait what am I supposed to do if you fall into the sea! I can't –"
"ONE!"
!BOOM!
(Blaize P.V.O)
"We are way too reckless to be travelling together." Blaize pushed a frazzled curl off her forehead and rubbed at some dirt on her cheek; god she needed a bath.
Ace just smirked, "Then why do you sound so proud saying that?" She nudged him with her elbow but couldn't suppress the grin on her face. Ace stared at her until she raised a brow and shot him a questioning look. "You look different, that's all."
"What do you mean?" She frowned.
"This is the most relaxed I've ever seen you look."
Oh...he was right. She felt completely at ease right now and more than a little thrilled that her invention had worked - travelling would be a hell of a lot easier now with two of them being able to work the boat. In fact working on the boat all night had made her realise how much she missed doing blacksmith work; perhaps after her mission was over... Well, right now there were more important things to think about; like getting Ace's tattoos back and forcing the information they needed from this bastard. They arrived at the door of the 'potion' shop and Blaize could practically feel the fumes radiating off Ace. She laid what she hoped was a calming hand on his arm and found it scorching; thank god for her devil fruit.
"Just go with my plan ok?"
"Fine." He ground out, firmly crossing his arms to prevent them from doing some much wanted harm. Last night when Ace had been in blissful slumber, she hadn't just been fixing the boat; she'd been hatching a plan too. She shooed Ace away and rearranged her clothing (a simple loose shirt with shorts) as provocatively as possible; not too hard with her breast size to be honest...
Evidently the shop owner hadn't expected Ace to come back today because the door swung open without hindrance.
"Ah, good day miss, can I help you with anything?" A strange little man with small, round rimmed glasses propped on the edge of his pointy nose leaned across the welcome desk with a sly smile. She didn't miss the slight tip of the glasses and the flash of greed in his beady blue eyes when he caught a glimpse of her cleavage. Biting back a retort she smiled sweetly and walked over with a distinct sway in her step. The shop itself was weird. Covering almost every surface was a jar of some sort, containing anything you could imagine from thousands of tiny little eyes to bright green sludge and perfectly preserves flower heads. There was stuff hanging from the low ceiling as well, odd plants and animal skins which she avoided with great caution.
"I was just noticing your door; I've never seen any wood like that. You must be pretty special to have such a door?" Flattery was not exactly her strong point, but he seemed to fall for it hook, line and sinker.
"Why yes I am." He gave her a toothy grin and beckoned her in closer, "The wood is just a covering; it's actually a solid sea stone door, in fact this whole shop is made of sea stone."
Ah, well that would explain it then. But why do that? She asked as such and he got a sly glint in his eye, "Tell me, have you ever heard of devil fruits?"
Feigning innocence and trying not to crack a smile, she nodded wide eyed, "Of course, but they're just legend right?"
The man gave a crooked cackle and shook his head patronisingly, "Naive girl – they're real alright. I've seen them myself, had them come through here as trade more than once or twice."
Really? Now that was interesting, she looked appropriately impressed and awed and leaned in closer, pushing up her breasts on the counter. The less blood there was in his head, the lower the chance of suspicion, "Do you have a devil fruit power?"
"Me? No, the price of selling them on always outweighed the wish to take a bite myself. But that's why I made this store out of sea stone, in case the idiots eat it instantly and can't control whatever power comes out of them. In fact...hmm, I really shouldn't tell you this..." He pulled back a bit, stroking his chin. Worried he'd stop Blaize the most innocent look she could muster (she'd need a serious pint of beer after this was over; she didn't do girlish innocence)
"You can trust me. Please? You have the most fascinating way of explaining things." That seemed to do it. The idiot man puffed out his spindly chest proudly and came in close again over the counter.
"Well, I just had a very important pirate come by just a few weeks ago. You don't happen to know the name Blackbeard do you?"
Her heart stuttered to a brief stop, but she managed to cover herself with a look of terror and nodded; bingo.
"Well, I happened to sell him a devil fruit for over 200'000'000 beli. Not sure what it did to him exactly, but whatever it was was seriously powerful; he flattened an entire town not twenty miles from here."
Oh shit...this was bad, this was very, very bad. So that was the information that Ace had been sent here for. Blackbeard was now a powerful devil fruit user...fuck.
"Wow, that's amazing," She pushed off the desk and wondered round to the other side. The guy looked over her body hungrily, "just one more thing; I have this friend whose tattoos have suddenly disappeared, can you perhaps explain how that might happen?" Her voice had grown steadily more dangerous as she gladly dropped the act of innocence and thumbed the hilt of one of her swords.
The snivelling little man's eyes widened past the rims of his glasses as confusion and suspicion warred on his crooked face, "T-tattoos you say? Horrid, offensive things, can't stand them myself; I'd say your friend was lucky." He said nervously.
"That's not really for you to decide." She unsheathed her sword just enough for the deadly sing to reach his ears; he flinched and started to back away.
"W-wait! What's the meaning of this? You're with that heathen pirate who came by yesterday, aren't you? You bitch, you tricked me!" He cried. Getting bored Blaize unsheathed her blade and brought it to his neck in one fluid motion. "AH! Ok, ok, I didn't really get rid of them, just made them invisible. H-here," He reached over for a small bottle, full of black liquid, "this'll bring them back, I swear!"
At this point Ace swaggered in, arms hanging loose by his sides, itching to take the potion. Blaize held up her free hand for it but then paused, "Take a sip first." She ordered. The man trembled beneath her cold glare and without hesitation, uncorked the small bottle and took a short swig. When he did keel over dead Blaize deemed it safe to drink and reached forward to snatch the bottle from him, handing it over to Ace who drank it in one instantly.
"I-it takes about an hour for the tattoos to be revealed again." The man nearly screeched fearfully.
Ace walked over and sat deliberately on the counter, blocking any form of escape. "I better stay here until that happens then. And between now and then, we can have a little chat, see what else you know about Blackbeard."
The man practically squealed and Blaize could've sworn he was only moments away from wetting himself. She sheathed her blade and pulled back, sending Ace a nod.
"I'll just leave you two boys to it then..." She said, shooting one last dangerous look at the trembling store clerk, before leaving to find a place for them to stay for the night.
Blaize came up and slapped him lightly on the arm, "Would you get some sleep already? They're back, actually technically they were never gone..." She rolled her eyes when she realised he wasn't even listening. In fact she was fairly certain he didn't even realise she was there and was just about to give up and turn away when he suddenly caught her attention.
"Oi, can you check something for me?"
"Um, sure...WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" She blanched when he oh so casually dropped his pants; yes plural!
Standing butt naked with his back to her (but a very clear view of his front in the mirror he was stood in front of) he looked over his shoulder at her with a wicked grin, "I need you to check if there's still a tattoo on my lower back."
"WHY DID YOU NEED TO DROP BOTH PANTS!?" She cried, hiding her very red face in her hands. It wasn't as if she hadn't seen him in a state of 'undress' before, but she had yet to see him in his birthday suit.
"Relax would you, I'm covering up all the goodies." He told her in a frustratingly sexy voice. She inched her eyes open to see him smirking at her, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Her hands quickly found something to throw at him which he ducked deftly with bark of laughter. "Just take a look for me, please?"
Still blazing red in a whole new way (because Blaize blushing was a very rare occurrence) she gave an uncomfortable huff and slowly let her eyes rake down the back of his perfectly muscled behind, trying desperately to ignore the heat shooting to her groin. Then she spotted it and after a slight hesitation, she leaned in for a better look. It was situated just above his left arse cheek, and compared to the other two it was relatively inconspicuous, which was probably why she'd never noticed it before.
"A pink hibiscus flower?" She remarked, not missing him visibly relax upon knowing it was still there.
He turned slightly, looking down over his shoulder at her, "It represents my mother; she always wore a pink hibiscus flower in her hair. I've never let anyone see it before – apart from the person who did it for me of course."
"Well I wouldn't imagine there'd be many opportunities to get your arse out Portgas," Blaize teased, though she truly did feel privileged that he'd let her see a tattoo he kept close to his heart...well arse but that was beside the point. She stood up, fully intending to put some distance between herself and this magnificently naked man before she lost all self control, however Mr. Naked Magnificence had other ideas. He turned too quickly for her to back away and suddenly she was completely trapped by his intense stare.
"So do you have any tattoos in 'hard to reach' areas?" He asked suggestively, earning a sharp swipe to the head.
"Pervert," she muttered, thoroughly flustered. "Put some pants on for god's sake! It's bad enough you go around absent a shirt damn it!"
"Is that still bothering you?" He smirked, bending over to pick up his trousers and giving her a wonderful full view of his behind.
"I'm getting used to it..." she smirked and heard his dark chuckle.
"Alright, I'm dressed."
She stayed turned away and asked sceptically "You're version of dressed or ordinary people's version of dressed?"
He let out a rough laugh behind her, "Which do you think?"
She didn't get a chance to turn around to check, because he was suddenly right behind her. Her breath caught in her throat, she could feel the intense heat of his obviously bare chest against her back. It was so hot, too hot; she couldn't breathe past the thumping heart lodged in her throat. Just as his fingers went to trace her sides she slipped away from his grasp, muttering something about needing a bath.
What was wrong with her?! She wanted him, wanted so much more than just heated kisses and well placed caresses, yet every time she felt like they were about to get into something which could lead to this, she chickened out. It was insane! Here she was, one of the powerful women in the world, with a man who could actually take her power head on and survive, and she couldn't make the jump. Was this normal? Ok, so she was a virgin, so what?! She had never really wanted anyone like this before. She was only nineteen for god's sake, it wasn't unheard of, especially with past restrictions on being close to people...Still...why was this so difficult; more importantly, why was she scared.
With a soft sigh she sank deeper into the blanket of heat and bubbles. This was ridiculous. She wasn't scared, she wouldn't allow it. She had to do something about this. I mean she was acting like some pathetic love-struck teen – ...The water sloshed noisily as she sat up quickly. Was she...? She liked him that much was very, very clear...but was she...was she in love? How long had they been together now, two months roughly? Wow, two months, that time had flown by. In fact, were they even together? They'd never had that conversation...Ok, what was the advice Morgan had given her to know if she was in love or not? Right, three questions; one, does he make your heart beat faster than a drill? Almost always – two, can you imagine your life without him? Now that she really thought about what it would be like to travel without him...a hand shot to her chest from the sudden, unpleasantly sharp jolt which shot through it. The answer was no then, she couldn't imagine life without him; and that thought was terrifying – and three, would you die for them...?
Morgan had said, if the answers are yes, no, yes, then you're probably in love and therefore royally fucked, as he'd most eloquently put it. But he'd said that with a genuine smile, like it was a good thing. This feeling though, if it really was what she suspected it might be, was the most terrifying thing she'd ever felt. And when she thought of letting him be her first...that feeling jacked up ten folds. No wonder she felt like running every time she thought it might lead to that. But then, did she really want to lose it to someone else, who meant less to her, just because this scared her so much? No, that would be stupid.
So in answer to her question, was she in love with Portgas. D. Ace? It was obvious...
When she finished her bath and got back to the room Ace was resting on the bed, eyes half closed in a daydream. Taking a deep breath and tightening her grip on the towel around her otherwise completely naked body, she walked to the end of the bed, right into his view line.
"Ace?" Bloody hell her heart was like a jackhammer against her chest!
"Hmm?" He looked up, eyes widening only ever so slightly upon seeing she was in a towel and nothing else.
"I need..." deep breath, just say it... "I ne – no – I want you...to show...to show me how to...um...to showmewhatpeopledoinbedtoget her." The sentence burst out of her in a tumble of jumbled letters and for a moment, Ace looked thoroughly confused. Then as his brain slowly started to decode what she'd said his eyes went alarmingly wide and his jaw dropped.
"Oh...you mean –"
"I mean sex, y-yes." By this point she'd squeezed her eyes shut against the awkwardness she'd created. Urgh, this was so uncomfortable, why won't he say anything.
"Blaize...look at me." She cracked her eyes open and saw that he was now standing, moving almost carefully towards her. "Are you sure?" He asked softly. She swallowed hard and nodded, perhaps a little too fast. Unconvinced Ace closed the distance between them and gently took her face in his warm, strong hands. "You look terrified."
"I am." She said before she could stop herself. Biting her lip, she fought not to look away. She needed to show him she was serious about this.
"This isn't something that can be undone once it's done...are you sure you want it..." he took a shaky breath and it was then that Blaize noticed he was trembling slightly. "Are you sure you want it to be me?" He sounded so hesitant...a crushing force suddenly drove through Blaize; did he not want her? Was this a responsibility he didn't wish to take on?
"You – you don't want this?" She whispered, trying to hold back her confusion and possible humiliation, "You don't want me...?"
Ace looked like he'd been hit in the face with a brick, "Wha – No! I mean yes I do, of course I do! More than you could possibly know...it's just, I need to be sure this is what you want Blaize, because I don't think I could forgive myself if I let this happen and you weren't ready for it" ...oh... "I don't think – I don't think I could forgive myself, if I lost you because I didn't wait for the right moment."
Blaize was stunned into silence. She couldn't think or breathe, she could only stare into his dark eyes, strained with concern and uncertainty and...desire – not lust, but unadulterated desire. She couldn't honestly say how she could tell the difference, perhaps because what she saw in his eyes reflected perfectly what she felt inside. And suddenly the fear was gone; not the nerves or the uncertainty, because she had no idea what to do, she'd never done this before after all, but the fear was gone. She knew what she wanted and why. Going up onto her tiptoes she brushed her lips against his and only felt brief hesitation from him before he pulled her against him with a strained groan.
"Ace," she sighed happily and pulled back slightly, noses still touching as she rested her forehead against his. She needed to tell him...
"I need to tell you something." He said, his baritone voice stealing her line. Their eyes connected, the silence around them was so utterly complete she could swear both their erratic heartbeats were like thunder in the room. "Blaize I –"
BOOM! An explosion suddenly tore through the building, shattering their room apart and sending both pirates hurtling through fire and debris.
What? You didn't think I'd make it that easy did you? You'll have to review if you want to hear them say those three big words...of course, that's if they both survive what just happened...Review and find out loyal readers.
