"Shopping!" Sora cried, throwing her hands up in the air.

Eiichi sighed, shaking his head. "Of course, boss, have a lovely day shopping while I tend to your bar."

Sora grinned, picking her blue wallet out from a cubby under the bar. "I'll buy you something," she said, grinning and Eiichi sighed. He had just become accustomed to Sora not working much and he didn't mind. She seemed happier and that was the thing most important to Eiichi.

"I wanna come too!" Ace piped, spinning off the chair and launching himself at Sora, wrapping his arms around her. She laughed, trying to wrench him off.

"Stop being so clingy!" Sora teased, but Ace just squeezed her harder.

"I wanna come!" he said again, lifting her off the ground. "Let's go shopping, small boobs!"

"Bye, Eiichi," Sora giggled as Ace marched out the door with her in tow. Her friend just smiled and waved.

"Where are we going?" Ace asked, standing still as he glanced around.

"Shopping," Sora laughed, trying to free herself.

"Town square, then," he said, pivoting on his heel and starting to walk left.

"No, the shopping street," Sora said, pointing right. "The annual fashion sale is today and I want new clothes. Let me down, Ace," she laughed, and Ace finally released her. She pretended like she was going to run away, sprinting for five steps, and Ace was actually going to chase her. But she turned and grinned, holding out her hand for him to hold.

"You're the clingy one. You can't go anywhere without big daddy right with you," Ace said, lacing his fingers through hers. Sora scoffed and pulled her hand away, making a face at him.

"Oh, please," she teased, poking his nose. They made a turn and entered the shopping district, which was surprisingly very close to the bar. The street was lined with vendors and outdoor sales with big red tags announcing the sales they were having. "Just for that, no hand holding for you today."

Ace shrugged. "Whatever, you said it not me. Later, you're gonna be like, oh Ace, I want to hold your hand so hard and I'll be like, sorry, princess, you're the one that made the new crazy decree of no hand holding so now it's against the law. And you'll be like, oh, but please, big daddy, please hold my hand, and I'll say, oh, princess—"

Sora burst out laughing, shoving Ace playfully. "Shut up!"

"Ooh, andagi," Ace said, his attention already elsewhere as he veered off towards a stand, handing over some money for several sticks of andagi. He turned to Sora, his cheeks puffy with food. "Want some? Daddy will take care of you today, princess."

"Oh, shut up," Sora said, rolling her eyes. She made her way over to Ace, taking a stick that he handed her and laughing at him buying off so many from the stand that the seller actually looked quite alarmed.

"Sora?" asked a voice and Sora whirled around, recognizing it.

Sora narrowed her eyes but forced her lips to smile upon glancing upon the speaker. She was tall and slender, her blonde hair falling down her shoulders perfectly, not a strand out of place. She was dressed in a black and baby blue corset under a black leather jacket. Her black leather jeans hugged her legs, and her boots were calf high, stiletto heels digging into the dirt. A pirate hat was placed on top of her head, an electric blue feather swooping out of it. "Morganna," Sora greeted sourly, biting off a piece of andagi, chewing rudely, spittle flying from her mouth.

Ace turned at the sound of Sora talking, swallowing his food, and Sora glared viciously as the woman's attention shifted from her to Ace. "Oh, you're cute," she said sweetly, flashing a toothpaste commercial worthy smile. "My name is Reade Morganna," she said, holding her delicate hand out to Ace.

Ace swallowed his food, shaking her hand. "Portgas D. Ace. Nice to meet you," he said with a grin. Even though Ace always introduced himself to people that way, a part of Sora couldn't help but flare up. Ace was so polite and friendly; he couldn't ignore a handshake. Sora looked at Morganna's hand as though a rodent had crawled on it and vomited all over her flesh.

"You're very cute. You're the new division commander on Whitebeard-sama's ship, hm?" Morganna said, batting her eyelashes.

Ace nodded, not seeming to acknowledge her comments about his appearance. "Yup." He popped another andagi into his mouth.

The blonde woman scoffed. "What's a man like you doing out with Sora?" she said Sora's name with apparent distaste.

Ace opened his mouth to speak but at that moment, Sora looped her hand with Ace's, linking their fingers together. "We're on a date," Sora said, leaning into Ace, squeezing his hand. "We were just going shopping and then we were going to have lunch together and maybe catch something at the cinema. Right, Ace?" She looked up at the younger man for confirmation.

Ace swallowed his food, blinking several times. "Yup," he said with a grin. He was glad that Sora seemed quite protective over him – he was more than glad, actually, he was pretty ecstatic and resisted the urge to run down the streets cheering – but he didn't really understand why.

"What are you doing here?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow at Morganna. "You know we don't have any treasure here for petty second rate pirates like you."

"Ha," Morganna scoffed, flipping her hair. "As if I'm here for something like that in my own hometown, Sora. I'm here for the shopping. Arashi Island has some rather decent designers and I like sales."

"Oh, right, I suppose you need clothes to go on sale due to unsuccessful plundering," Sora responded, Ace thoroughly confused as to why Sora was being a little catty. It was interesting, though, seeing her really acting like a girl. It was actually kind of cute.

"Speak for yourself," Morganna responded, flicking a hand at Sora, gesturing at her clothes. "You're the one that needs sales more than me."

"At least I don't need to steal from other people to buy my clothes."

Morganna flipped her hair again, unaffected. "Well, I have to be on my way. It's a waste of my time speaking to tasteless women like you," she said, glancing down at Sora. She turned her eyes up to Ace and smiled sweetly. "I would love to chat with you some other time, Ace-san. See you around." She moved past them, wiggling her fingers at Ace.

"Buh-bye," Ace said, Sora tugging him in the other direction, her cheeks puffed out angrily. Ace smiled slightly; she was so cute, he couldn't stand it. But he decided it was probably not best to say that aloud; he could let Sora know that he did enjoy her overprotective attitude later. So, instead, he said, "How do you know Morganna?"

Sora scoffed, shaking her head. "Morganna used to live here but only for a little while before she set off to be a pirate. She didn't have much success so she ended up being just a treasure hunter," Sora laughed at this, shaking her head. "She's a couple years younger than me but she had a big crush on Ken when she lived here when we were kids and even had the nerve to try and steal him away from me." Sora rolled her eyes at this, bitter.

"Oh, I see," Ace said. "Should I not hang out with her?"

"Do what you like," Sora said, shrugging as though she didn't care, but her actions from before contradicted her statement.

"I'd really rather spend time with you," Ace said, grinning, and to his surprise, saw Sora's cheeks color.

"I know," she said confidently, looking up at him and grinning. "I'm way hotter."

Ace chuckled at this, handing her another stick of andagi. "Definitely."

Sora shrugged, sighing as though all the pent up cattiness from her younger days with Morganna steamed out of her body. "Sorry about being so crazy," she said, not unlacing her fingers from Ace's. He didn't mind, though, and didn't bother mentioning the "decree" she had made five minutes ago. "Morganna brings out the worst in me. Reflexes from when I was still a teenager and hated when she talked to Ken."

Ace chuckled. "Oh, it is possible for the mighty Belleville D. Sora to be jealous!" he teased, receiving an eyeroll from Sora.

"Yeah, but not anymore," Sora said, punching Ace's shoulder lightly.

Ace laughed. "Right, right, okay," he said skeptically as though he didn't believe her. "So, are we really on a date or not?" His tone was light, so Sora knew that he was just making fun of her.

"Do you want it to be a date?"

"Yes."

Sora smiled. "Then it's a date."

Ace pumed his fist, whooping loudly, and Sora smacked his shoulder, giggling. "Shut up, people are going to think you're weird."

"I don't care. We're on date number four! Let's go shopping and then let's go to the movies," Ace said, nudging Sora so hard that she was actually being pushed. She laughed, waving her hand and swatting him away.

"Okay," she said, smiling at him gently. "I heard of a really good action film that they were supposed to be playing."

"Great!" Ace responded, literally hopping into the air, causing Sora to giggle. She had to admit that it was actually quite cute that he was so excited to hang out with her. She actually wanted to spend time with him today. More than three months had gone by since the first day she saw Portgas D. Ace coming up the beach and Sora was dreading the day when he would tell her that he had to leave.

So, she wanted to cherish the time they spent together. She knew it would hurt when he told her he was going to leave but instead of distancing herself to prepare for it, she just wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. Of course, she wouldn't tell him any of that, though.

"What's up, small boobs?" Ace asked, nudging her again, but softer this time. She was surprised that he could sense even the slightest bit of unease in her now. He really did know her.

"Oh, nothing," she said, smiling.

"Okay," he said, patting her on the head with his other hand. He made a completely serious face and pointed out in front of him. "Let the fourth date commence!"


"Morning," Ace greeted, coming down the stairs. He didn't wait for Sora to respond, wrapping the older woman in a tight hug as she giggled.

"Good morning, studly," she told him, pushing him off gently. Their date had lasted all day yesterday. They had finished shopping and gone to the movies and had dinner together as well. Sora even liked falling asleep together. She was becoming accustomed to Ace's warmth and loved cuddling with him now.

"I'm going out today," he said, kissing her cheek.

"Oh?"

Ace made his way out from behind the bar and shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, Morganna offered to show me around and I figured that, you know, since I'm not clingy and we already had an amazing fourth date yesterday, I'd go ahead and give you your space to work and have some you-time today," Ace said with a smile. Sora blinked several times. "That's okay right?"

When had Morganna even gotten the chance to invite Ace anywhere? And why was Ace even going? Maybe that was Sora's fault because in his time here, she really hadn't shown him around but she figured he had been here long enough to be able to know where everything was. The last person in the world that Sora wanted Ace to spend time with was Morganna. But Sora just smiled and shrugged as though she didn't care. "You don't have to ask me, silly. I don't care what you do."

Ace leaned over the counter and kissed her on the cheek again, grinning at her. "Okay, small boobs. I'll be back for dinner, okay?"

"Okay," Sora said, waving as he left, insisting on keeping her fake smile plastered on her mug until the door closed. The moment the bell jingled, Sora sighed, blowing her hair out of her face with a huff. Morganna. Damn that Morganna. She didn't know where boundaries were, did she? First Ken and now Ace? It seemed like she only wanted the things that Sora had.

Wait, why did Sora even care? She and Ace weren't dating or anything. They were just friends. Sora shouldn't care whether or not Ace was going to be out hanging around another woman. Sora made a face. She had always given Ace crap about being jealous, and now she realized that she was exactly the same way.

"Feathers ruffled?" Izou asked, making Sora jump a little. She hadn't even seen him sitting a few seats down, witnessing the whole thing.

Sora scoffed, tossing her head back for emphasis of how little she cared. "Me? Never."

Izou laughed, waving her off. "Oh, come on, you can't play me, Belleville. Go and pounce on Ace before Morganna does."

"I will be doing no pouncing," Sora reassured him, shaking her head and shrugging. "It's totally fine with me if Ace wants to go hang out with that dirty slut."

Izou held up his hands. "Woah, woah, no need to get nasty, Sora," he laughed. "What is it with you and Morganna anyway?"

Sora sighed. "I don't even know," she said, tugging her hair. "She just makes me crazy. I do not like that woman."

"You should just tell Ace that you don't want him to hang around her," Izou suggested, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure he would be happy that you want him just to yourself."

"That's not true," Sora defended, puffing her cheeks out in a cute defiance. "Ace can do whatever he wants."

"So, if he slept with Morganna, you would be okay with that?"

"I would totally be okay with that," Sora lied. She felt her stomach drop. What if Ace slept with Morganna? Sora didn't want to think about that. It wouldn't happen anyway. Right? Ace liked Sora and he wasn't going to change his mind just because some blonde babe suddenly showed up, right?

Sora blew the hair out of her face. What did it matter if Ace liked her? They were friends. Sure, she had that really weird moment in the restaurant where she was going to leap across the table and mount him but those feelings were…suppressed now. Sora closed her eyes and leaned on the table, burying her head in her arms with a groan as Izou laughed. Sora hated that Ace was hanging out with Morganna and she knew she would definitely be bothered if any part of Morganna got anywhere near Ace – like if they slept together, or even kissed – Sora knew that she would probably explode.

"You should be a crazy stalker and just follow them around," Izou teased, poking her head. "I'd come with you! We could be like spies! I've always wanted to be a spy."

"No," Sora groaned, lifting her head slightly. "I'm not crazy. I don't want to stalk them. If Ace wants to hang out with Morganna, then whatever. We're having dinner together anyway so that bitch can suck it!"

Izou chuckled, patting her head. "You're so cute, I can't stand it. You're acting like you're seventeen again, Sora."

"I don't like Morganna," was all Sora said as she stood up again.

Izou just smiled as the younger woman stomped away, obviously upset that Ace was spending time with a woman that was not her. He wished she would just straight up tell him that she cared about him and that she wanted to the be only woman in his life, but Izou knew that was very unlike Sora. He expected her to drag it out all the way until the end and maybe not even be able to say anything to Ace, but Izou hoped it wouldn't be that way. Sora deserved to be happy and he knew that if she just told Ace how she really felt, then he would be able to make her happy for real.

For some time now, Izou could sense something odd about Sora – something that wasn't there four years ago before Ken died. Sora used to be so full of light – the weird little girl on board the Moby Dick – but now she was…different. At first, Izou thought that it was just because Ken died. Ken dying also meant that a part of Sora had died as well, and Izou thought that that's what it was – the part of Sora that was different. It was different because it wasn't there anymore.

But as the years went by, Izou realized that wasn't what was wrong with Sora. She was still full of light, but at the same time, it was hollow. It was empty. Is was like a lightbulb without the filament – she gave off the image that she was peppy and bright, when really, there was no source. Izou thought that maybe Ace would be able to fill that void, and while he did, somewhat, at the same time, he didn't.

Izou knew how to read people. He had known four years ago that Ken was hiding something from Sora and he knew now that there was something that Sora wasn't saying. Izou had a feeling that he wasn't the only one that could sense it, but he didn't really want to mention it to the only other person that could: Marco. Out of the Whitebeard pirates, Marco had been the closest to Sora, and he knew her the best. But Izou also knew that while Sora was suffering, Marco was, too. Even if Marco could see what was wrong with Sora, he wouldn't be able to know what it was. It was a fruitless effort to even ask.

But through out the years, it kept Izou wondering. He didn't mention it to Sora, or Oyaji. He wanted to know what 'it' was first. He had heard Michio and Eiichi occasionally suggest for Sora to go out to sea again – always when they thought no one else was listening – but the woman would just smile politely and decline, saying she had things to do here.

Izou would scoff at that. Things to do? Sora was a waitress at a bar. What else did she really need to do here besides take care of Kohaku and go shopping? Belleville D. Sora wasn't a civilian. She was never a civilian and was never going to be one for as long as she lived. Sora was a pirate and everyone knew that she did want to come out on the ocean with them again, but she never did, even when her own island said it was okay. Izou didn't understand.

Izou spent most of the day thinking about what it could possibly be that made Sora seem so different. He watched the way she walked and talked and to any other person, it would have looked like she was okay. But Izou knew better. Sora was the master of pretending.

Sora worked all day until around dinner time, when she left to get ready to have dinner with Ace. When she came back down again, dressed in a loose tank top and shorts, Ace was back. Sora scowled at the woman hanging off his arm.

"Oh, Sora," Ace said, weaseling out from Morganna's grasp. Ace grinned at her, but before he could speak, Morganna appeared next to him, taking his arm again. Ace looked surprised, but Sora knew that he was too polite to shake her off.

"Ace-san and I are going to go eat," Morganna said, smiling at Sora. "We had a great day out this afternoon."

"Oh?" Sora said, crossing her arms over her chest. Izou turned at the sound of Morganna's voice and couldn't help but smirk. "Too bad for you because Ace and I have already made plans for dinner."

"I know, and I'll be joining you. This bar serves food, right?" Morganna asked smugly.

To Ace's surprise, Sora grabbed his wrist and pulled him to her side, breaking Morganna's grasp. She stepped forward, glaring at Morganna through deep cerulean eyes. "Yes, it does, and we – Ace and I – are eating here. So, back off, bitch."

Izou saw Ace kind of give him a sidewards glance, seeming to be trying his very hardest not to smile. Izou rolled his eyes. Ace definitely loved the attention from Sora. The rest of the bar seemed interested as well, trying not to break their conversation to stare before this rare moment of Sora's affections for Ace was destroyed. Ace seemed to silently be thanking everyone in the bar with his eyes.

"I didn't know you and Ace-san were serious. I don't understand why he'd want to spend any time with an old retired pirate when he has the chance to be with a current one," Morganna mocked, cocking her head at Sora.

"Yeah, well, you're obviously not only super poor but also super stupid," Sora responded immediately, and Izou saw that Ace was resisting a very strong urge to leap into the air and burst into a series of cheers. "Ace is with me because he wants to be, instead of being forced by your evil voodoo shit. Now back off before I slap you in the face so hard that you die."

Morganna scoffed, waving off Sora's threat. "Whatever, Sora. Real ladies don't start fights anyway."

"Please, bitch, you started this years ago when you tried to steal my husband," Sora snapped. "Now if you don't mind, Ace and I are going to have dinner, and I'm not sure we want annoying little flies buzzing about our personal space. Leave."

With a huff, Morganna turned on her heels and left the bar. Sora kept her eyes on the door, burning holes through it. Then she turned to Ace and flashed a smile as though that insanely catty show down had not just happened. "I love when I win," she said sweetly.

Ace grinned at her. "Me, too."

"Let's have dinner," she said, and the two of them slid into the table with the rest of the division commanders, all of who also pretended like Sora hadn't just yelled at Morganna over Ace.

Ace pulled Sora in close, lowering his voice to a husky purr. "I didn't know we were 'serious'."

"Seriously friends," Sora replied with a practiced nonchalance, sipping from her water and ignoring the shivers down her spine.

The younger man smiled. "Oh, is that what you meant?"

"Yup."

"Oh, so, you weren't mad that I hung out with Morganna today?" Ace asked, still grinning.

Eiichi came by and Sora ordered for the both of them, sending him off with a smile. "No," she told Ace, still smiling. "You can hang out with whoever you want, Ace."

"Oh, okay. Since Morganna is only here for a little while, I'm hanging out with her again tomorrow. She's not that bad."

Sora shrugged as though this didn't bother her and Ace couldn't help but feel his heart swell. He knew that Sora was doing her best to try not to show her jealousy, but she had shown it five minutes ago when she called Morganna out. "Go ahead."

Ace nuzzled his face in the crook of her shoulder and face, laying a soft kiss on her neck. "You can just tell me that you don't want me to go, and I'll spend the whole day with you."

"I'm not your keeper," Sora said, laughing. She waved him off, lifting her glass of water to her lips again. "Do whatever you want."

Ace sighed, lifting his face and kissing Sora's cheek. He had thought that would have made Sora admit that she was a little jealous. He glanced back up at her and actually smiled a little. The woman was doing her best not to show her feelings but she probably didn't realize that her cheeks were puffed out and her brows were furrowed slightly.

"I won't go tomorrow," Ace said, tilting her chin to face him. He pecked her nose with a grin.

"No, you can go," Sora said, shaking her head and freeing herself from his grasp. Eiichi brought back an enormous basket of chili cheese fries, placing down in front of Sora, who began shoveling the greasy food into her mouth.

Ace frowned slightly. "I want to be with you tomorrow."

"Well, you made plans with Morganna, and that'd be mean if you didn't keep to them," Sora said, not looking at him. "Like how it would have been mean if you didn't keep to our dinner plans tonight, right?" Sora glanced up from eating, raising her eyebrows as though Ace was supposed to agree with her fake justification.

"Um, yeah." Ace ran a hand through his hair. He inched closer to Sora, sensing the situation becoming tense. "Sora, I'm sorry if I upset you or anything. I really don't need to hang out with Morganna. I'll just tell her something came up."

"Why do you think I'm mad?" Sora asked, plucking a fry out of the basket and plopping it into her mouth. "I'm not mad. I'm totally ecstatic that you're hanging out with the woman that tried to steal my husband five years ago before he died and constantly lets me know that I'm trapped on this island all alone."

Ace blinked several times. This had turned bitter quite quickly and if he didn't play his cards right, he and Sora would be fighting. "I'm sorry, Sora. I didn't know it upset you. I was just teasing."

"Ah, I see," Sora said, nodding as she chewed her food. "Just teasing, huh? So, this was just a big joke?"

"No, it wasn't."

"You know I don't like Morganna."

"But you never said I couldn't hang out with her."

"Of course I wouldn't!" Sora said, turning to face him now. "I'm not your mom or your boss or your girlfriend. I can't tell you what to do! If you want to go and hang out with her, then that's totally fine. But you don't need to rub it in my face!"

Ace was surprised at her outburst and sat there, stunned. The rest of the division commanders looked a little uncomfortable as well, but tried their best not to make the situation for Ace even worse. Ace rubbed his temples. Even after three months, he still had the magical ability to always say the wrong things at the wrong time.

"Okay," Ace said quietly. He had not played his cards right. "Sorry."

"Whatever, it's fine," Sora replied, ending the conversation successfully as Eiichi came by with a few steaks for Ace. Ace turned to try and talk to Sora again but she was already speaking to Marco and Jozu about something, acting as though Ace wasn't there.

Ace suddenly wasn't hungry. He hadn't really eaten much for lunch today because he had known that he was going to spend dinner with Sora at the bar. He was running low on cash and was actually going to take up the Sky Pub's offer to the division commanders for free food. But now that she was actually upset, he didn't really want to be here anymore. She just needed time to calm down.

"Hey, um, I'm gonna go out," Ace said, tapping Sora on the shoulder.

She waved him off. "Go. You don't need to tell me."

"Okay," Ace said, sliding out of the booth. He stood for a moment, as though Sora was going to turn and ask him to stay, but she stayed engaged with Marco and Jozu, so Ace just sighed quietly. He left the Sky Pub without another word.