Arina sneezed, wrapping herself tighter within the blanket. She was sitting in the dining hall along with Marco on the other side while Thatch stood beside. There were some pirates not far from them, drinking hot tea while talking. Arina shuddered as she held a cup of, now already warm tea in her hands and sneezed once again.
"Bless ya," amused Thatch responded.
Shooting him a glare, Thatch laughed and shook his head before she looked at Marco. "I don't like you." she stated.
"Heard that many times." Marco mused, watching her curiously. "Why this time, if I can ask?"
"You threw me into snow!" she claimed only to sneeze a second later.
"Bless you," Marco said and added; "and as far as I remember, you let go of me and fell straight into snow."
Arina huffed and looked away, her eyes falling on Ace, who walked inside. "I'm so jealous." She whined with a pout.
Thatch raised an eyebrow and looked at Ace. "Ah…" he murmured with a nod and exchanged a glance with Marco, ideas forming in their heads. "Hey, Ace, boy," the Fourth Commander called and walked over to the Second Commander, wrapping an arm around the latter's neck. Ace narrowed his eyebrows, knowing in a second Thatch was up to something. "Hey, why don' ya keep company to Ari-chan and, ya know … warm 'er up?" he wiggled his eyebrows.
"What!?" Both Ace and Arina claimed wide-eyed.
They looked at each other, frowning, while Thatch and Marco watched in amusement.
"No!" they both said at the same time once more.
This time they glared at each other as Thatch burst into laughter.
"Come on," Marco spoke. "Thatch has to prepare something warm since we were out in the snow and I have to talk to Oyaji."
"Why can't Haruta?" Ace opposed. "Or, or, or I don't know. Izo?" he frowned.
"They have other things to do." Marco answered and watched as Thatch gently pushed him forward. "On top of that, you're made of fire, that's gonna warm her up quicker than tea will."
Ace stumbled over his feet, but with a grunt sat beside Arina. Arina's cheeks were dark and Thatch snickered before he walked away. Marco stood up and looked at the two, shaking his head along. Ace shot him a glare, yet couldn't hide the way his cheeks and ears along turned bright red.
"Now be nice, both of you." Marco pointed at them.
"When am I not?" Ace and Arina opposed at the same time.
Glaring at each other, Marco shook his head and disappeared from the dining hall before silence came between them. Both of them were looking the other way, but the warmth Ace was emitting was pulling Arina closer. The coldness Arina held, made Ace shiver, but he moved closer until he reached for her blanket and wrapped it around him. Arina blinked her eyes when she felt his arm around her waist, pulling her close to his side just a bit stronger. Her cheeks heated up at his boldness.
"So…" Ace coughed and looked away when she turned to him. "Are you and … uh … Rosinante a couple?" he grimaced at the last word.
"What?" Arina murmured, shocked to hear him ask that. "No." she was confused. "He's more like an older brother to me." She explained and looked down where Ace held her hands. She couldn't remember when he held them, but he was gentle. The corners of her lips turned in a small smile, his warmth spreading into her. "I don't exactly remember how we met, but it might have been after he's been shot."
Ace stilled and looked at her. "He was shot?" his voice almost cracked.
"Yeah," she nodded and looked at Thatch who was in the kitchen. She could see him from where she was sitting, one of the few places she loved to sit at. "He didn't like how Doflamingo was taking care of things, how he was using kids and then he met Law. The boy had an incurable disease that only Ope Ope could save him." She let out a silent sigh. "Of course when Doflamingo found out, he felt betrayed."
"Couldn't he…I don't know… Ask him to change his mind? Or something?" asked Ace.
"He's a former marine." Arina answered quietly. "Or maybe he still is, I don't know, but since we were together for these two months, they didn't seem to recognize him. Doflamingo felt betrayed that his own blood would stab him like that so he did what he thought was the right thing." She averted her gaze, observing a couple of pirates by another table. They were talking and laughing, enjoying their presence without caring for anything. Ace on the other hand remained silent, deep in his thoughts.
Neither of them said a word for a while, but it wasn't until the doors opened that made Arina look towards. She smiled when she spotted Sabo and waved at him the moment their eyes met. Ace looked at where she was looking and almost froze. In a second he was standing up and approaching Sabo while Arina watched confused. Sabo prepared himself for a punch and he shut his eyes in the process, but they widened when he felt Ace's arms around him.
"You're an asshole …" Ace hissed out, his embrace just a bit tighter.
Sabo chuckled and hugged his brother back. "I am, aren't I?" he murmured.
No one knew what to say, but it was a sneeze that brought the two's attention back on Arina, whose cheeks were now burning. Ace cursed and Sabo chuckled, saying; "Bless you."
"Hey!" Thatch called from the kitchen, knife in hand and pointing it at Ace. "I told ya to watch on Ari-chan." He glared and in a second Ace was sitting behind Arina, his arms around her in a protecting manner. The corners of Thatch's lips twitched, amusement obvious on his face with Arina's ears growing red. Sabo stood beside, completely confused, but laughed a moment later, seeing how flustered his brother was.
Murmuring under his breath, Ace was sulking. He wanted to talk to Sabo, but at the same time he didn't want to leave Arina's side. She seemed too cold for his liking. Luckily, Sabo sat across them and leaned his chin on the palm of his hand, watching the two.
"How are you doing, Ari-chan?" Sabo was the first to speak. He didn't miss how Ace flinched at the nickname, smirk spreading across his lips.
"Eh…okay…" she answered slightly confused. "What are you doing here?" she asked instead, sensing the tension Ace was emitting. She didn't miss how every now and then Thatch looked their way and smiled like a proud parent.
"I came to see my big brother."
"Okay, that's enough." Ace snapped, half glaring at Sabo. "You punched me pretty good back then." He huffed and Sabo chuckled while Arina looked all the more confused.
"What else did you expect me to do?" Sabo frowned. "I heard a gist of what happened from the Dark King and the next moment I saw her lying under debris and you not too far away. Couldn't help myself." He shook his head before looking at Arina. "I tried to infiltrate Moby Dick to get some information of your whereabouts only to be found by Thatch." A shiver ran down his spine, remembering the 'threat'.
It was Ace, who snorted and Arina jabbed him in the ribs. He barely caught himself from falling back, shooting a stern look her way. She shot one right back at him, yet seeing how close they actually were, they turned the other way, their cheeks growing dark. Sabo seemed all more amused, slightly enjoying the awkwardness they had, but neither of them moved from each other.
"I'm sorry for not being able to contact you." Sabo's voice was serious and Ace looked at him. "I don't know how much you know," he glanced at Arina, "but I couldn't remember. Not a single thing." He shook his head and sighed. "All I could see were these faces I didn't know. Until I met you." He looked at Arina completely. "Again …" he added with a small smile.
"How many times have we met?" she wondered aloud.
"A couple of times." Sabo answered. "Once when we were still kids. Couple of times when I was with Dragon." He shortly explained.
Arina hummed and tilted head to the side. "When you were still kids…" she murmured. She remembered when Luffy embraced her, saying how she hasn't changed since he last saw her – as a kid – and Arina turned her head enough to look at Ace. "Have we met before too?"
Ace looked at her, thinking before he shook his head. "I don't think so." He answered and looked at Sabo, who asked; "You don't remember?" with a frown.
"Not really?" Ace murmured confused. "I mean…I can't remember so far back. Maybe some parts, but not Arina."
Sabo pursued his lips into a thin line. "Maybe I wasn't the one who lost memories …" he snickered when Ace sputtered out curses and almost caught the table and chairs on fire if Thatch didn't look their way in that moment. Arina chuckled from the side and pulled the blanket lower, feeling warmer. Ace pulled away a bit so she held it in front of her before he quickly leaned closer to her. Sabo watched them in silence, rather curious this time.
"Oh!" Arina seemed to remember. "Have you met with Luffy yet?"
"No," Sabo shook his head and scratched the side of his head. "I didn't manage, but I sent him a letter." He smiled. "Dark King said he was training so it's best not to interrupt him."
"That's true," Arina nodded. "Aaah," she whined and stretched her arms, a smile on her lips. Turning to look at Ace her smile widened. "Isn't it nice? You get to see Sabo again."
Something in Ace's eyes changed and Sabo didn't have it in himself to tease him about it, because what Arina said was true. Sabo was alive. He remembered his brothers and Ace could see him once again. He could talk to him, fight with him and quite possibly tease Luffy with him. He gets to live with Sabo there and that was all it mattered to him.
A gentle smile spread across Ace's lips and he tightened his grip around Arina's waist just a bit tighter. "Yeah…" he whispered, his eyes falling on Sabo, who seemed rather teary. "I get to see my brother again."
-:-
Sitting on a bed in the infirmary, Arina's mouth was open as she let the doctor examine her throat. Feeling like she wanted to cough lately, she decided to visit the infirmary to check upon herself. Doctor seemed more than happy to examine her, especially after the snowball fight she so kindly and excitedly started. While waiting patiently, she looked around before she focused on the man in front. He was tall and muscular, his light blue hair the second thing that spiked her interest. Blinking her eyes, Arina half tilted the head to side before her eyes widened. She made a noise and the doctor looked at her, slightly confused.
"What is it?" the man pulled away, his expression now worried.
"Deuce?" Arina asked, her eyebrows narrowed. "You're Masked Deuce, aren't you?"
The man blinked his eyes before they widened. "You know me?" he asked, taken back.
"Of course!" Arina claimed and grinned. "You were Ace's first member of Spade Pirates, weren't you?" she chuckled, but began coughing.
Deuce quickly reached for a cup of warm tea, which was on the side, and handed it to her. "Here, drink this." He said and watched the young woman follow.
Once almost finished, Arina held the cup in her hands, frown seen on her face. "But you weren't here before." Her voice was a bit hoarse.
"Ah," Deuce chuckled. "I wasn't. I returned a couple of days ago." He said and put a hand on her forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever…" he murmured more to himself.
"I rarely catch fever." Arina commented and continued seeing his confusion. "Even…back home I rarely caught a fever. Coughing, sneezing and sniffling yes, but rarely fever. It was more common cold, be it autumn or spring." She shrugged, averting her gaze to the side. "The only time I ever spent in the hospital was when I had problems with the heart." Her eyes widened when she realized what she had just said. She looked at Deuce, who was watching her with sadness. "Sorry…" she murmured.
"Arina," he called her name softly. "We only wish to help, so if there's anything we should know when it comes to your health, don't hide. Perhaps in the near future it could save you, especially if it reoccurs."
Biting her lower lip, Arina looked at the cup in her hands. She closed her eyes and sighed. "I know…" she whispered. "I didn't feel anything weird, I can promise you that," she opened her eyes and looked straight at Deuce. "I'm not sure if you know of this … illness, but it's called cardiac arrhythmia. It's an uncontrollable beating of your heart that doesn't exactly calm normally."
Deuce caressed his chin, humming. "I haven't heard of it." His expression turned into a troubled one.
Arina smiled. "It's okay," she said and took another sip of tea. "When it happened, my heart was beating fast, much faster than the usual. I got tired and all I wanted was to sleep, feeling like I ran a marathon, the whole word, but I was conscious the whole time." A chuckle escaped her lips. "You could say doctors were surprised I could talk normally, without any problems, but the longer it went, the more exhausted I was after all it was going on for the whole afternoon. Later on, they said if they didn't handle it sooner, my heart could give up. It was abnormal beating."
Deuce remained silent as he listened. He wasn't sure what illness Arina was talking about, but he was certain to remember it and hopefully find any notable moments. "How do you feel now?" he heard himself ask and Arina looked at him.
"Okay," she answered. "I had my last check-up a couple of years back and the doctor said I'm healthy."
"Did you go through surgery?"
"I did," she nodded. "Three, if I'm not mistaken…" She held the cup in one of her hands while with the other she tapped her chin, tilting head to the side, missing the way Deuce stilled. "Yeah, I think it was three."
"Is there anything you'd like to do here?" the doctor asked. "In case you have an attack again, what's the best way to proceed with?"
"Get me a doctor and something to calm it down."
There was a moment of silence that Arina broke, saying; "So…how was Ace a couple of years back?"
Deuce blinked his eyes before he burst out into laughter. Arina looked confused at his reaction when a small pout graced her lips. "Leave it to you to change the topic from important things." He commented and shook his head.
"Hey, I told you what you needed to know." She was quick to oppose.
"And I'm thankful for that." Deuce lowered his head, a smile on his lips. "Well…" he began and reached for her cup to hold it. Arina handed it to him and watched him stand up. "Where should I begin?" he murmured more to himself. "He's much calmer now. Before, he always wanted to get himself into fights he didn't know if he could win them, but you must already know that." He looked at her.
"Some parts," Arina agreed and leaned back on her hands, suppressing a cough. A shiver ran down her spine, already missing Ace's heat. Her cheeks flushed when she remembered the way he held her close.
A fond smile spread across Deuce's lips. "Ace…he changed in these years since he became part of Whitebeard pirates. Of course he still has that recklessness he did a year ago, but he's growing." Deuce chuckled and Arina followed. "He's the Commander that I would follow to the death."
Arina smiled. "I'm sure you would." Her voice was gentle and Deuce found himself calm, much calmer than he could remember he ever was. "Am I good to go?" she asked, waking him from his thoughts.
"Yes," Deuce nodded and watched her standing on her feet. "Just make sure to keep yourself warm. We're in cold parts these days and you don't want to get sick now." He said and took the cup that she drank completely.
"Of course," Arina grinned, slightly wincing when she moved her right knee.
"Does it still hurt?" Deuce didn't miss the small action.
"A bit." She admitted. "Well I was under debris, so that's expected."
"Take it easy." The man warned with the look. "I'll update Marco on your wellbeing."
"Eeeh, why?" Arina opposed, her lips in a pout. "He's gonna be such a mother hen and always on my back."
Deuce raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Do you want me to update Thatch instead?" he asked and put the cup on the desk by the doors.
"He's worse than mother hen." Arina shuddered. "Just thinking about that time he found bruises on my arms and back makes me shiver." Deuce laughed, shaking his head. "Why not update Izo? Or maybe Whitebeard instead. I mean, I'm not exactly part of the crew, am I?" she tilted head to the side while holding hands on her back.
"That's what you say now." Deuce responded. "I'll tell Marco, alright?" he walked back to her side before both walked towards the other doors that led on the hallway. "If I don't, I'll hear it from every Commander on this ship and I don't want that and neither do you." He put a hand on her lower back after he opened the doors.
Arina laughed. "Oh god, just seeing them all serious makes me want to tease them." She admitted and it was Deuce who laughed. "But yeah," she continued, nodding; "having all sixteen Commanders and Captain on my back wouldn't be nice. Okay, Deuce you can tell Marco."
"Tell me what?" Marco's voice was heard from behind and Arina screamed as she jumped, her eyes widely looking behind.
Deuce startled as well, but he felt Marco's presence while the latter had his hands raised, expression of an amused man. "You scared us." The doctor commented.
"More like sent me halfway to death." Arina was holding for her chest, breathing in deep breaths to calm down her fast beating heart.
"Sorry," Marco smiled and Arina knew he enjoyed this way too much even if he wouldn't admit it. He looked at Deuce, asking; "What was it you wanted to tell me?"
"I'm just gonna go up," Arina thumbed up with both hands. Expecting both of them to deny her request, she was caught off guard when they nodded. In a second she looked at Deuce with a warning look and the man smiled, giving her a small nod. She knew this would be a very long talk from Marco. Biting her lower lip, she sighed and waved before she turned and walked away.
Marco watched Arina disappear down the hallway before he focused on Deuce. "Everything okay?" he asked.
"Well, depends what you mean by okay." Deuce sighed. "It's a long story."
"I have time." The First Commander replied.
With a nod from the doctor, the two walked back into the infirmary where they both made sure that no one could disturb them. Arina on the other hand was slowly walking down the hallway, her hand tracing the wooden wall, deep in thoughts. Her footsteps were silent and slow, so no one exactly saw her, less alone heard unless they paid attention. She wondered where Rosinante was since she hadn't seen him since the fight with marines and the only thing Whitebeard told her was that he left for the island, searching for something. Yet they've been at Drum Island for a couple of days now and something seemed fishy to her. She couldn't point out what exactly, but she didn't like being in one place for so long.
"—feel about Ari-chan?"
Arina came to a full stop when she heard her name being spoken. She looked around, wondering if someone called for her, but she was alone in the hallway, standing not too far from doors that were open.
"W-what do y-you me-mean?"
It was Ace's voice that made her curious. He stuttered and Arina wondered what they were talking about. Moving closer to the doors, she tried to be as quiet as possible.
"How do you feel about Ari-chan?"
Arina realized it was Sabo and a small smile spread across her, seeing they were hanging out with each other. The question though, seemed to throw her off a bit.
"You like her, don't you?" Sabo's voice was teasing and Arina could see him smirking. She smiled unconsciously and her cheeks warmed up in a second. She bit her lower lip, wondering what Ace would say. Her heart sped up, hands unconsciously covering her cheeks.
"No. What makes you think so?"
Her smile disappeared and she looked down at her feet. Of course he wouldn't. Why would he in the first place? Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh and continued her way. She didn't realize Sabo saw her and his heart almost missed a beat before he focused on Ace. It was obvious how much his brother was still in denial about his feelings for her.
"Whenever you're close to her, you somehow can't keep your hands off her." Sabo wanted to make Ace realize that he indeed liked Arina more than he thought he did.
"That's because she was in a snowball fight and Thatch told me to warm her up!" was his excuse.
"You always look for her when she's not around." Sabo countered back, slightly frustrated.
"Well, I just want to make sure she's okay." Ace didn't give in.
Sabo groaned, leaning forward. "You went after her, alone, after she told you the truth. You'd never do that if you didn't feel something for her." He argued back.
"What's your point?" Ace hissed, half glaring at his brother.
"I just want you to see that you like her more than a friend." Sabo groaned.
"What?!" Ace exclaimed, eyes wide. "I do not!"
"You do!" the latter argued. "You do and you can't convince me otherwise. I'm your brother, I've known you the longest."
"Well you've been gone for ten years, what makes you think I'm the same as back then?" the Commander snapped.
Silence erupted, hurt obvious on Sabo's face. Ace was taken aback by his own outburst and he lowered his gaze, cheeks dark. Neither knew what to say. Sabo knew Ace was right, because he has been gone for ten years. The Chief of Staff knew he went too far.
"I'm sorry …" Sabo was the first to break the silence. Standing up, he looked at Ace, who watched him with fear in his eyes. Ace wanted to say something, because he parted his lips, but Sabo beat him to it; "You're right. I haven't been here for ten years, so it's not my place to say anything."
"Sabo—" Ace stood up when he walked to the door.
"No," he shook his head and looked at him. "If you truly wonder how I know that, it's because of that look when you see her." Ace was confused. "You're looking at her like she was everything. You refuse to believe it; I can see it. But whenever she's by your side, you're so calm, you look so happy. Even after that fight you had with her, that anger didn't last, did it?"
Ace opened his mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came.
"See?" Sabo chuckled, his expression sour. "You can't even argue with that. You look at her like you did when we were kids. She was older, more like the same age as now, but older than us. I wonder why you can't remember her, but it happens, I guess." He shrugged. "I could never forget it, though. She was always there, looking after us, arguing with Dadan. But it's there, Ace, and you can't hide, less alone run from it. You love her and if it takes us arguing about it, then it will."
"I…I don't…" Ace shook his head, but his eyebrows were narrowed, confusion all over his face. He stared down at his feet. "I-I can't …" his voice cracked before he looked back at Sabo. "I just…can't…"
The corners of Sabo's lips turned in a small smile. "You can, because she's the one for you."
Note: Okay, when I was checking the chapters for a moment I had a heart attack when I didn't see 2 chapters, but then I remembered I have them saved on doc. You guys have no idea what awaits these two idiots and I'm so excited to post more (⺣◡⺣) *
