pairing: Ace/Nojiko
rating: T
theme: secret admirer

Potential

You have a potential urge and the ability for accomplishment.

The fortune had taken him by surprise, he had never had one hit so accurately before. Looking around the room almost nervously he took the small slip of paper and slipped it into his pocket. He leaned back in his seat and scanned the room with an experienced eye, he immediately picked her out by the bar chatting animatedly with the bartender. It hadn't taken long to find her because he had always known she was there. He seemed to have picked up a sixth sense about her whereabouts, whenever she was within a hundred feet of him he could easily pinpoint her exact location with his eyes closed. With his eyes open it was only that much easier. Her pale hair was unique and drew almost as much attention as his naked chest.

With a wave to the bartender she was gone, walking into the brightness of the day. She looked almost ethereal framed in the doorway encased by the light. Her hair shone, almost glowing and her tanned skin had a sun kissed glow. The intricate designs of tattoos running up her arm and shoulder proved that she was his kind of angel. Time seemed to stall for a moment and he took in her beauty that was laced with a sharp edge of spunk before the moment passed and she was out of sight. His thoughts were on his mystery angel only and he stood up and slipped out of the restaurant forgetting about the bill that would be arriving at his now-empty table in any minute.

He knew her routine pretty well by now, he had been crashing in this small town for a couple of weeks now. He hadn't meant to stay that long but he had seen her one evening and hadn't been able to leave yet. He knew she was going to head back to her place, a small house on the outskirts of town, and grab a basket of freshly picked mikans, he had watched her pick them that morning contemplating approaching her. Then she was going to take the basket to the center of town where the old man with the scars worked. She did this a couple of times a week, each time choosing the freshest mikans. The first couple of times she had done this he had thought it was for a secret lover and he had been thrilled to discover the old man who was clearly more of a father figure than anything amorous. It was when relief surged through him that he had finally realized he had fallen hard for the mystery woman and it went beyond simple fascination and attraction.

Most days he watched her from a far, hidden in shadows or sometimes hiding in plain sight. Today he was close enough to hear the murmur of their voices and he heard the old man complaining loudly about something, he could catch the odd word and knew he was trying to make a complaint about a picture in a poster.

"Then why did you have it blown up and hung here?" her sweet voice drifted out into the street.

He was intrigued by this photo and was making his way closer to the open doorway when she spoke once again this time only a foot or two away from him.

"That's the evidence."

He paused in front of the doorway the sight in front of him startling him out of movement. He hadn't given much thought to what the photo would be of but he certainly hadn't thought it would be that. The familiar face grinned coyly back at him from the wall and he took in the upswept orange hair that matched so perfectly her treasured mikans and the soft curve of those lips that uttered such insanities.

"Nami!" he said without realizing he had spoken out loud.

The mystery girl turned around sharply at his voice, the basket of mikans at her feet.

"You know her?" she asked quickly.

It was the first time she had spoken to him or he had held her direct gaze and he found his heart stupidly speeding up. He swallowed hard and nodded in reply to her question, he was curious as to what their connection to the fiery navigator was.

"Well sort of, she's a part of my brother's crew. I hooked up with them for awhile."

"You're the strawhat's brother?" the old man asked standing up.

Once again he nodded, still wanting to know how they knew Nami and hoping that this wasn't her father or anything. The woman's face broke out into a grin that lit her face up and he found himself grinning back. She jumped down the steps to where he stood shouting a farewell to the old man and grabbing his arm led him off down the street. He was powerless to do anything but follow her.

"How is she doing? Is she still happy, she looks it in the picture. I am so happy for her, she is out there having all of these adventures and finally living her life for her. I'm Nojiko by the way, Nami's sister."

"You're Nami's sister?"

"Well Bellemere adopted us both but she's as much my sister as anyone is anyone's sister."

"Fair enough."

"So how is she? You did see her right?"

"Last I saw them they were all doing fine. She is quite spunky, does a great job of keeping my brother in line."

He answered a few more questions about Nami the last he had seen her and before he knew it they were in her kitchen a glass of water in front of him. Nojiko's love for Nami was tangible and something Ace could easily relate with. He'd put his life on the line to protect Luffy time and time again no hesitations and looking into her lilac eyes he knew she felt the same about her sister. Ace stretched in his seat feeling the welcoming pull on his muscles and looked around the small kitchen. He noticed a vase with a flower sitting on the counter and his lips curved up in a smile.

"Nice flower."

Nojiko looked startled at the random comment and then turned to look at the flower, Ace noticed the small wistful smile on her pale lips before she turned back to him.

"Someone left it on my doorstep the other day."

"A yellow chrysanthemum, it means secret admirer."

"How do you know?"

"I dated the daughter of a florist once."

"Oh."

"Yeah. The hydrangea means perseverance, the larkspur indicates a beautiful spirit..."

"And the red rose?"

"Passionate love."

"Over the last week I've gotten all those flowers. The others are in other rooms."

"Oh really? Looks like someone has attracted an admirer."

Nojiko's cheeks flushed ever so slightly and Ace let out a low chuckle. He let his gaze travel the length of her body, caressing her delicate features. Her cheeks darkened under his intense gaze but a fire was starting to burn in her eyes and he could feel it in his gut. Ace didn't know who moved first but suddenly the table was pushed aside and their bodies were flush while their mouths warred with Ace slipping his tongue into the sweet warmth she provided.

His hands skimmed over her flushed skin causing her to shiver and press closer. He could feel the lithe muscles quivering under his fingertips and adding fuel to the fire and he let out a low groan that reverberated through the small room. Ace trailed his hands back up her sides, pushing the shirt up as he went and exposing firm, tanned skin. Then the tank top was up over her head and tossed aside, he nearly choked when he realized she wasn't wearing a bra, taking in her perfectly rounded breasts.

While he stood and took in her beauty Nojiko's hands were busy undoing his belt and gently nudging his pants down over his hips. The air was cool on his flushed skin but he didn't notice as the two of them slid to the floor, coming together once again. The remaining clothing was shed and Nojiko wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him in to her with soft cry. The heat between them raged as they moved together picking up speed and Ace thrust harder until he could feel she was close. He kissed her deeply as the fire threatened to consume them both, sending them over the edge into a foggy oblivion of pleasure. A few thrusts later that's exactly what happened and he swallowed her cries while her nails dug into the flesh at the hollow of his back. Her other hand was tangled in his mess of hair gripping tightly as they rode out the pleasure together.

They lay tangled on the kitchen floor for a few minutes before the discomfort set in and Ace could feel his back starting to cramp. He arched his back stretching out the kinks and relieving the tension that was starting to build back up. When he turned to look at Nojiko she was eyeing him hungrily and he tossed her a confident smirk.

"So what flower was I going to get next?" Nojiko asked slyly.

Ace considered lying but in the end he figured there was no point, he had never hid his feelings before so why start now.

"Yellow tulip."

"What's that mean?" she asked nuzzling the crook of his neck.

"Hopelessly in love."

The nuzzling stopped and she propped herself up on an elbow to look down at him. A bright smile crossed her face and she bent down to kiss him passionately. As he took her back in his arms Ace forgot all about his discomfort.