Disclaimer: I own nothing obviously.

A/N: It's been a while. I'm sorry. I lost my job last year and had to do A LOT to get my current one. It's been pretty crazy and hella busy. I won't ever permanently abandon this story, I've never lost inspiration or love for it or for One Piece, I just had other priorities but things have been kinda hectic considering the pandemic and now I've been found with a lot more time on my hands. I had already finished a few chapters before my long hiatus but hadn't published because I was nervous that I wasn't putting out every detail I wanted but now I'm going to just go with the flow. Stay Safe Everyone!

xXx

Saviour

Chapter 19

The mood of the ship was drastically low, everyone not knowing how to act or what to do, all feeling terrible, the girl they desperately wanted to know more about, who had an unmistakable glow that surrounded her was immobile at the moment. They were all assigned watch times for her, always checking up on her in the doctors' office, making sure she was okay... that she was still even there.

Amethyst hadn't gotten up since her break down five days ago, they all planned on docking on an island to take a break from the ongoing adventure, coming to an agreement that they needed to as Amethyst put it so clearly yet vaguely, 'Make everything stop.'

It was Luffy's turn to check up on the girl, which left some of them on edge, she was always responsive when he visited her but it always left him less so. He was probably taking this the hardest, he didn't understand how to help her or how to get her to be okay again, he just wanted her glow to come back but was finding it hard to find the solution.

Luffy stood outside the door for a few minutes more before knocking on it and then opening it when getting no apparent objection, he felt the stark difference in the air that washed over him like a cold breeze, it was stale and cold and he didn't like it... he really didn't like it, it reeked of loneliness and for someone like him that was, in essence, something he couldn't hate more but if it was for Amethyst then...

"Lu?" A small voice penetrated the silence, filling his head with an undeniable amount of grief that he couldn't exactly comprehend.

He sat down on the chair next to the bed where she was lying on, she automatically smiled at him as her eyes landed on his, reaching out and grabbing his hand, wrapping it in her own. "I keep telling you, stop blaming yourself, it's no one's fault but mine, this is all just coming out because I haven't fully gotten over my past which has nothing to do with you," She tried to convince him, telling the truth and yet lying smoothly as well, she knew very well that he was apart of her past, but she wasn't going to tell him that, nor was she planning on ever telling him that, she could only imagine how he'd react to him forgetting about her.

She didn't want to think about it.

Luffy felt a confusing amount of responsibility and guilt towards the girl, he misunderstood her many times when the crew felt uncertainty towards her. He took from her out of pure curiosity when she was nothing but understanding towards him, always defending him, supporting him and knowing him like none of the others really did, as if she shared the feelings and experiences that he did that the crew would never be able to understand and yet here she was, unhappy and he didn't know how to fix it.

"I want things to go back to how they were," he said honestly, gripping her hand harder in his and sighing before, laying his head on the bed, his forehead placed against the sheet. "I want you to be okay, I want your light to come back."

Amethyst sighed, she felt overwhelming guilt but what was she going to do? She couldn't just go back to pushing her true feelings down, that won't work anymore. "I know you do Lu, I want that to..."

"What can I do? I'll do it, just tell me what to do and I'll do anything, Am... please just tell me what I can do," he begged into the soft cushion of the bed, squeezing her hand almost painfully.

"I just... I need you to-" Remember. That's what she wanted to say, she wanted to cry and beg for him to remember her, if not the person who she truly wanted and needed to remember then at least let him... her little Luffy who she loved so dearly to remember before it was too late before she could no longer be with the people she cared about ever again. She wanted to shout that 'I'm your big sister! We made a pact and you aren't supposed to forget!' but... "I... just need you to stop worrying and be yourself, okay?"

Luffy sighed, that wasn't what he wanted to hear, he knew she was concealing what she really wanted to say but he didn't want to cause more trouble for her, tears pricked in the corners of his eyes, he was glad that his face was buried in the bed so it could soak into the fabric and he wouldn't be called a crybaby even though he knew she was the last person who would ever call him that or judge him for showing emotion.

He felt her softly and tenderly pressing her lips against his head like she did a lot and he closed his eyes revelling in the warmth and comfort it brought to him, all too soon the warming pressure left but soon was replaced by her slender fingers running through his hair, massaging with every movement, gently untangling the knots that had built up.

"I love you Lu, very much," she whispered, he looked up at her and saw the honesty shining through her eyes before he could respond she continued speaking all the while looking at him. "You're my little brother, whether you like it or not and I will always be here for you, I'm not going anywhere unless you want me to... I promise."

"I'll never want you gone, Am!" Luffy shouted in indignation at her statement.

She laughed wholeheartedly at the familiar and humorous determination on his face and for the first time since she collapsed that day he saw her glow glimmering like a light through a tunnel, not clear but very much there. "Well, I would hope so," she let out in mock relief.

"Do you want to come out yet?" He asked hopefully and Amethyst didn't have the heart to reject him again.

"Sure, I'm going to have a shower first I smell pretty bad," she said, cringing at the slight sour tinge that filled her nose.

"Yosh!" He exclaimed excitedly, fist-pumping into the air, she rolled her eyes, smiling down at him and got up, stretching out the tightness in her body.

"I'll tell Sanji to set you a place for lunch!" Luffy shouted, bouncing out of the room beaming with happiness, she giggled, shaking her head at his reaction but was happy that he was happy.

She walked towards the door before stopping abruptly and swiftly placing a hand on her chest, over her heart, silently encouraging herself as she felt herself become suddenly winded. She continued on to her destination walking through the ship and taking in the fresh air that blew through, she took a few more turns before getting to the captains quarters where she stayed, Luffy preferred to room with the other boys rather than have his own so it was unoccupied before she took over it.

Opening the door, her eyes landed almost instantly on the vase of Fire Lillie's on the bedside table, she walked towards it and caressed the petals tenderly, smiling as his face popped into her head. Shaking her head, she focused on what she was doing in the first place and grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, not feeling all that confident to wear a singlet anymore.

She walked into the bathroom that was connected to the room and took off the bandages and shorts that she had been wearing. She cautiously walked in front of the full-body mirror that was there and stared at her body, it wasn't only the scars on her back that came back, she could see the faint, less noticeable scars around her body that had come back, they didn't bleed like the ones on her back, she didn't know why but there was a lot she didn't.

Taking a deep breath she gathered up some courage and turned around, looking at the scars on her back, she quickly looked away, covering her eyes as she started tearing up. "Disgusting," she whispered under her breath, she bit her lip in anger, frustration taking over her body.

Suddenly she cringed feeling a weird uncomfortable pain in her chest appear but shook it off as she took another deep breath in before turning her head to look again at the scars that she despised, thanks to her quick healing they were completely healed, a slight pink tinge to them. The large gashes that appeared only a couple years ago were still there but oddly faded as if they were disappearing.

"AM!"

She jumped in fright at the booming voice that resounded behind the door, grasping at her chest. "What Lu?!"

"ARE YOU DONE YET?!"

She laughed quietly. "No, I'm not, you don't have to scream, I'm right here. I haven't even gotten in the shower yet," she replied back in amusement.

"Awwww, hurry up!" He whined.

"Okay okay, just get out of my room idiot!"

She heard him run off and shook her head, wondering why he was acting so impatient when an idea popped into her idea. "I swear if they have some kind of surprise or apology gift I'm going to kill all of them," she said to herself, slapping her head in exasperation.

She turned the shower on and stepped inside revelling in the warmth that spread throughout her body, washing away the grime and memories that came with it, she looked down at her hands as the water splayed across them and fell to the floor much like her life she too was falling hopelessly without control. She shook her head, chuckling at her negativity and cheesy thoughts. "Stop acting like a loser Amethyst," she said aloud to herself.

Sabo looked at the object he was holding in his hand, holding it up to his face and contemplating whether or not he should open it, he knew it was a bad idea but... he couldn't help his own curiosity taking over and he had already basically made up his mind as he did end up taking it hostage.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you."

He jumped at the sultry voice breaking the silence of the bathroom he had sworn he had locked. Looking around he was confused at the lack of a presence.

"That's not for you to look at, it's Amethyst'"

He looked forward and saw Robin's face, unmistakably on the mirror in front of him, looking him up and down with a judgemental gaze, disappointment clear on her face as her eyes wandered and stuck to the necklace dangling from his thin fingers. "I'd expect more from you, Sabo."

"I..." He sighed and slumped a bit, looking at her. "Aren't you curious?"

She smiled a little. "Of course, it's my literal role to be curious but, it is neither my right nor yours to snoop around people's personal belongings without their knowledge especially considering the past couple days and how they've gone for her."

He sighed again, guilt taking over as he went over the thoughts he had going on in his head before she had caught him. Walking over to the door and opening it, he handed her the necklace and started walking away wordlessly.

"Wait, here." She shouted after him.

He turned to look back at her and down to the hand that was holding the offending object out towards him "You should give it back to her, make up for nearly invading her privacy by returning it."

Nodding his head, he gently grabbed it, making to go towards the girl's room when he whipped around suddenly, his face scrunching up in apprehension as he glared towards nothing in particular.

Confused by his sudden body language she questioned him, brow raised inquisitively. "Something wrong?"

"Somethings coming and it's close."

Amethyst quickly got out of the shower and got changed, not wanting to make Luffy wait too long or she wouldn't hear the end of it, not that she wouldn't enjoy listening to Luffy's meaningless rambling.

A knock was heard on the door, making her laugh.

"Lu, can you chill out? I'm almost done."

"It's Robin, actually."

She opened the door immediately, a small smile on her face as she looked at the raven-haired woman in front of her. "Were you sent by Luffy, perhaps?"

"No, I wasn't, he did want you to hurry though," Robin replied, eyes darting to the left. "I'm glad to see you out of bed."

Amethyst nodded, eyebrows scrunching together slightly at her avoiding eye contact. "Is there something wrong?"

"Am! Finally, you're out of there let's go!" Luffy shouted, bounding into the room, grabbing ahold of her and dragging her out of the room. She looked back at Robin who made a gesture towards her neck only serving to confuse her even more.

She was dragged towards the deck, this uncomfortable feeling in her chest got stronger the closer she got to the deck. She was guessing it was the nerves, she always felt embarrassed when things like this happened.

'Just act normal.' She thought to herself.

When she got to the deck, she was instantly greeted with Zoro, who was in the doorway, blocking the way. "Zoroooo move!" Luffy whined as the swordsman blocked the view of the deck.

"Luffy..." Zoro said seriously, giving him a look.

Luffy ignored him and pushed past him and dragged the confused girl further onto the deck. The girl, however, didn't let her eyes leave the swordsman, he was acting weird as well, 'what's wrong?' She mouthed to him, knowing that if he could say it out loud he would've but before she could see his answer, she bumped into something, stumbling backwards before falling flat on her butt.

"Dammit Lu, least you could do is make sure I don't fall on my ass, why are you so hyper anyway?"

She looked up.

Everything slowed.

Her heart quickened.

White noise.

Everyone disappeared.

Her breathing hitched in her throat as she shook off the sudden trance, her view was greeted by a broad and bareback, covered in a mark she was all too familiar with. The figure quickly turned around and she looked down at her feet, avoiding eye contact, her eyes wide as her mind raced now trying to catch up with the sudden bomb that had just dropped in her stomach. 'No, no, no, this cannot be happening right now' she thought frantically. She wasn't ready, years passed and all filled with intense unrivalled longing and yet, here, right now, she felt unready. Completely and utterly unprepared for a moment she wished for every chance she got. Irony, huh, what a bitch.

The person reached their hand out to her after punching Luffy in the head for being careless. "Sorry about that," the person said, their voice restarting the heart that they'd stopped, his voice sounded so... wondrous to her ears, her heart responding readily to it.

Amethyst quickly got onto her feet, ignoring the hand, she felt self-conscious all of a sudden, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, hands suddenly all too interested with the hem of her shirt. She wished her mask was with her, wanting to get mad at Luffy but knowing that he wasn't really at fault although he should've been more conscious of her worries of meeting 'new' people without her mask.

"I've been trying to find you for a while actually," the person continued, obviously unaware of the inner turmoil the girl was going through. "I'm Luffy's Older better brother, my name is-"

"Ace..." she whispered out, cutting him off and finally gathering the courage to look him in the eyes.

Ace was the one to have his breath sucked out of him this time as their eyes locked in an intense embrace.

The deck fell silent.

No one moved.

No one breathed.

There was an unmistakable tension between the two and it consumed everyone there. For a while, the two of them just stared at each other, drinking the other in for two different reasons yet both in admiration.

"I'm Ace," he let out in a very un-Ace-like fashion, breaking the silence.

She smiled a little at that, the small action made his chest lurch uncomfortably. "Y-yeah we established that," she said timidly.

He lost his words in his throat and instead opted for sticking his hand out again.

She looked down at the hand warily, sticking her hand out slightly but not touching him, she didn't want to hurt him, she was afraid that if she touched him, it would end up like when she tried to visit him. "I don't want to hurt you," she whispered out, confusing him as he barely caught the words that slipped out of her mouth.

He let out a sort of amused and impatient breath before gently but firmly grabbing her hand in his, before whatever thoughts in her mind strayed her from doing so. He felt the air get knocked out of him as a thrum of energy seemed to blow through the both of them.

Amethyst feeling the jolt of electricity shoot through her body quickly pulled her hand away. "Sorry, I-I didn't mean to," she apologised.

"You didn't do anything..." he said seriously, He looked at her intently and she looked right back, engaged in another battle of who-would-look-away-first.

Amethyst saw something hurling towards Ace's head and quickly made a hand gesture, the object turning and going the opposite way, towards the blonde that threw it who caught it luckily.

"What the hell?" Sabo shouted as he caught the pole in his hand, immensely confused at how it boomeranged back towards him.

"Did you do that?" Ace asked the girl softly, looking down at her. She fiddled with her fingers awkwardly, nodding.

He grinned down at her making her look away, flustered at the smile that was directed towards her. He smirked at the flustered look on her face before turning to Sabo. "Serves you right! Why'd you throw it at me bastard?!"

"What do you mean by 'better brother'!? I'm obviously the better aaaand nicer brother!" Sabo retorted in annoyance.

"Oh yeah?! Well, Luffy and I are way closer than you two are!" Ace shouted back, fists suddenly going up.

"Oh please! Luffy always liked me better, tell him Lu!"

"Yeah Lu, which sibling is your favourite?!"

Luffy laughed but then got serious, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as the two waited for his answer as if it would solve world peace.

Amethyst, couldn't keep her eyes off of Ace, seeing him there was so surreal for her, she felt her heart warm at the sight of the three brothers. She just wanted to touch him again, even if it was another handshake, scolding herself silently for pulling away too quickly.

"Am!" Luffy shouted, snapping her out of her daydream.

"Yeah?" She remarked, tilting her head cutely to the side, a gesture she often did when snapped out of her daydreams.

"I pick Am! She's my favourite sibling!" He shouted enthusiastically.

"...WHAT!?"

"Aw Lu," Amethyst cooed, ruffling the youngest hair affectionately.

"Now that whatever the hell that was is settled, we've been wanting to talk with you... Amethyst, was it?" An exasperated voice let out.

Amethyst looked to the side and had to keep her emotions at bay as she saw the person who she recognised as her overprotective mother figure. "I- yeah."

"I'm Marco, First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates," he unnecessarily introduced himself.

She felt her words get caught in her throat and she recognised the feeling as her throat started to tighten, she slowly backed up from the two figures, eyes snapping to the side and seeing the big ship that she once called home, the deck surrounded by people she once called family, she was getting overwhelmed.

"Are you okay, Amethyst?" Ace asked worriedly as the colour seemed to drain from her face. She nodded, turning around quickly, going to rush off not wanting to have a breakdown in front of them when she felt him grab her wrist. She turned her head to look at him, the concerned look on his face making it harder for her to keep her emotions at bay.

"Please let go," She whispered out, the desperation in her voice causing him to immediately obey.

"I'll be back, okay?" She said quickly towards Luffy, not saving any room for a response as she quickly left, running past everyone.

When she got to her room, she quickly closed the door and locked it.

Her breathing started to get heavy and she slowly dropped to her knees, holding her hands to her chest as she cried. "Fuck fuck fuck!" She chanted as she cried and cried, strangled sobs slipping from her mouth as she had never first hand experienced them acting like she was a different person. The pain she felt was indescribable. To have them standing there, the people you've wanted to see for so long but not able to see you? The real you? Not able to touch them or hug them or be with them even though they were... right there, so close you could just reach out and feel them. So close but so unreachable.

She felt a hand on her head and jumped in surprise as she looked at the hand sticking out of the wall before slumping again, pulling herself into a familiar fetal position.

"Amethyst, it's Robin and Zoro, can you open up?"

She didn't really hesitate this time, wanting the company of people. She stood up, wiping her face and opened the door, not giving them time to see her face before turning around and sitting on the edge of her bed.

"I don't understand," Zoro spoke up, looking at the girl with suspicion. "He doesn't seem to know you."

Amethyst groaned in frustration, putting her head in her hands. "He doesn't," she replied.

Robin sat beside her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know you can't tell us too much, so we won't ask any more questions," She said, looking pointedly at the swordsman who looked away with a 'hmmph'.

"He seems to like you," Robin said teasingly, nudging the girl in the shoulder.

Amethyst looked down, fidgeting with her fingers, scoffing slightly. "Whatever," She said brushing it off.

"He looks at you different than everyone else, I can tell, if not 'like' then he at least has a deep interest in you," Robin stated factually.

Amethyst scoffed again, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, her previous anguish being pushed to the side momentarily, replaced with deep disbelief. "Because I saved him, that's it," she replied definitively.

"You wanna go back out? We'll be with you," Robin said encouragingly. "Luffy's worried that he did something."

Amethyst sighed. "I just... don't want to freak out, that's all I've literally done the past couple of weeks," she said in a tone of exhaustion that made the two feel sorry for her.

"If you feel like you're going to freak out just come to one of us," Zoro spoke up then, taking both girls by surprise, Amethyst looked at him with a raised eyebrow making him look away from her, feeling slight embarrassment. "Or don't, just trying to help."

"Thanks... Zoro," she replied almost laughing at him.

He didn't answer, instead opting to walk out of the room, away from the situation altogether and leaving the two there to stare at his disappearing figure in amusement.

"If I didn't know better I'd say Zoro has a little crush on you as well," Robin said nudging the girl again for what seemed like the tenth time since she got in there.

"Okay, that's enough, did a worm crawl into your brain or something because you seemed to be hooked on this romance thing for me," Amethyst replies, rolling her eyes at Robin as she got back up on her feet.

Robin stood up with her. "Well, maybe I'm more perceptive than you," she replied amused.

"Or more deluded."

They both looked at each other and started laughing.

"You know I've never really had a girl-friend... well maybe except for April," Amethyst remarked thoughtfully.

"Who's April?"

Amethyst started walking out of the room after taking a deep breath, mentally preparing herself. "You'll probably meet her."

"You get more and more interesting the more I hear about you Amethyst," Robin remarked, standing and following behind her.

"So I've heard before."

They both walked side by side and if Robin felt a slight tug on her top she didn't say anything about it, knowing that she was a source of comfort for the girl made her happy.

When they got back to the deck, they saw a lot more people, Some Whitebeard Pirates, mostly commanders had flooded onto Sunny, interacting with the Straw Hat crew.

"You okay?" Robin asked the girl as they now stood still in the doorway.

Amethyst' eyes landed on all the crew she was very close to, Marco, Thatch, Namur, Jozu, Vista, Blenheim, Izo, Haruta and so many more, she had to restrain herself from jumping all of them, she knew that she missed them but seeing them right there but not being able to show any sign of recognition was a punch in the gut.

"Yeah I'm good," she said finally, letting out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.

"Robin!" Nami screeched our suddenly, grabbing a hold of the archaeologist and before either of the other girls could react, Robin was being dragged off back inside the ship, leaving Amethyst alone.

"Fuck..." she hissed under her breath, she felt curious eyes on her and before she could turn and back away from the situation altogether, a hand softly grabbed a hold of her wrist, looking up she came eye to eye with Sabo, concern etched on his face as he saw her uncomfortable expression, he could tell right away something was up.

"Are you okay?" His fingers tightening unconsciously around her wrist.

She nodded, giving him a small smile before spotting someone who was looking at her with a half expectant expression on his face. "I'll talk to you after," she replied giving his hand a small reassuring squeeze before stepping towards the person who was staring at her.

She sat next to them, the tension in her body ebbing out bit by bit as she felt herself calming down, she knew she was pushing her luck a bit but decided to do it anyway, placing her head on the person's shoulder, feeling them tense slightly before relaxing as if they were used to it.

"Thanks, Zoro," she let out, not expecting an answer.

"If you're looking for your boyfriend he's on the ship head with Luffy," Zoro joked casually, trying to lighten the mood slightly.

"I know."

"How would you know?" He questioned confused.

"I don't know I just do... somehow," she answered vaguely, not entirely knowing how she knew that either, she just had a gut feeling he was there, feeling a sort of pull towards that direction.

As if sensing her thoughts, Ace and Luffy jumped out from the ship head and Amethyst almost jumped out of her skin as they started making their way towards her, all the worst scenarios playing in her mind as she over-exaggerated every single thought of how this could go.

"Fuck fuck fuck, what do I do?" She whispered frantically to Zoro who was both amused and annoyed at her sudden outburst, it was weird seeing someone usually so in control with how they act and respond being so all over the place and nervous like this because of one person. Although, she had been pretty out of character in the past few weeks.

"Just calm down, act normal," He answered not reassuring her at all as she just stayed in that position, completely frozen. Zoro glanced at her and internally sighed 'Idiot.'

"Am!" Luffy shouted tackling her to the ground. "Are you okay now? Did you have to poop?"

She shot back up into a sitting position, pushing him off of her, getting ready to yell at him but was beat to it by Ace. He hit the boy in the head and plopped himself down in front of the three, shaking his head at his little brother. "You don't just say shit like that Lu," he remarked in disappointment.

"It's fine," she reassured, amused at the show of exasperation. She wanted to say something along the lines of 'You raised him.' But that would be more difficult to explain seeing as Luffy never really talked about his childhood and the reason she knew that was from Ace.

Looking at him, Amethyst could see the small differences, he was broader, more toned, defined, his hair a couple of inches longer, the only thing that was the same was his eyes, the same whiskey-colour she remembered that made her insides turn into mush. She was so caught up in her own staring that she almost went unaware that his eyes had been locked on her as well, analysing her every movement and every feature.

"Hm, I see what you're talking about Lu," He remarked in an almost awe-filled tone, eyes raking over the now flustered girl.

"You can see it too right?!" Luffy exclaimed enthusiastically. "She glows like sunshine!"

"Yeah..." Ace drawled out in a dazed like voice. "...like sunshine." He gave her a half-smile before winking playfully at her.

She rolled her eyes at him, trying to act like he had no effect on her, although the blush that spread across her face and down her neck was slightly harder to conceal.

"Amethyst..." Ace said seriously and she had to keep herself from cringing at the sound of her full name on his tongue, never really liking when he had said her full name, as he had always only said it when she was either in trouble and he was mad at her or in trouble and was in danger, both being very non-desirable situations.

"You have questions," She stated, her eyes travelling up and down his bare torso as if she hadn't already had a lot of time looking him over completely a couple of seconds ago. "Obviously."

"You saved me, I'm very thankful," He said, bowing his head a bit before looking back up staring her straight in the eyes making her look down at her fingers. "But I can't help but wonder why..." And there it was, the question she really wanted to avoid, especially coming from him. "You don't know me and have no previous interaction with any other white beard pirates that I'm aware of... so why?"

Amethyst let out a breath she had been holding. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, I guess," she replied nonchalantly, a slight shrug in her shoulders.

She saw his eyebrows furrow and saw disagreement and slight frustration shine in his eyes. She almost laughed to herself, of course, he out of all people wouldn't be as convinced. Their eyes interlocked with each other, he was looking at her with an intense curiosity that made her feel insecure, she reached up unconsciously to grab ahold of her necklace when she felt nothing there, her eyes widened. "My necklace..." she trailed off.

"You looking for this?"

A pair of hands gently caressed her neck, she looked up to see Sabo smiling down at her, settling himself next to her, she felt him lay her necklace on her neck that she recalled ripping off beforehand. "I can do it myself," she spoke only to be ignored, his fingers lingering for a second longer than necessary and she looked up at him, getting ready to tell him he could stop touching her but she found he was no longer looking at her as he was looking forward.

She followed where his eyes had landed and were met with a tense-looking Ace who didn't seem all pleased with the show of affection, eyebrows furrowed in she wasn't sure if it was distaste or just pure curiosity of what brought on the sudden closeness between the two. She went to push away the blonde but he had already pulled away from her. 'Lucky,' she thought.

Silence still seemed to circulate through the group several moments after the unwarranted touching had already taken place and Amethyst glanced at Zoro who looked back at her just as confused.

"Why are you two looking at each other like that?" Luffy questioned just as cluelessly.

"You're smoking a bit Ace," Sabo remarked almost mockingly but Amethyst and everyone there except for Luffy could hear the hidden bite in his words. Ace gritted his teeth slightly when suddenly Amethyst laid a hand on his knee, concern etched on her face and slight apprehension at the fact she was touching him but just like that all the tension in his body seemed to disappear, an unfamiliar warmth filling his already heated body. He smiled at her reassuringly and her hand moved back to her lap much to his dismay.

Amethyst's eyes travelled down to his lips, his smile returning, bright like the sun and she thinks that nothing will ever feel more right than that smile on that face.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by a sudden object obscuring her view and if it weren't for the person doing this she'd show them how displeased she was with the blockage of her view.

"I made this with you in mind, I hope you like it," the person holding the bowl in front of her face said, whom she recognised to be Thatch, her personal punching bag and prank buddy, she felt all sorts of emotions come over her, one of the last times she saw him was with a knife sticking out of his back, she did see him a couple of times after that but never like this, right in front of her, acknowledging her presence and an entire war not raging. If she were a weaker being she would've cried but she held it in as she would most times.

"Thank you," She said, not questioning it as she did the first time she had been in this sort of position. Taking the bowl in her hands, warmth spreading through her palms and fingers immediately, she looked and saw that it was a simple bowl of soup, it was a coincidence really... the same bowl of soup she was given before, it felt like so long ago and just like before she took the spoon and placed it beside her before placing her lips on the edge of the bowl and feeling the warm liquid travel down her throat and warm her body.

"I missed this soup," She commented blissfully.

She felt Zoro nudge her, her head snapping to the side. 'What?' She mouthed back to him confused. He made a hardened expression that seemed to be telling her that it was obvious what he was trying to say when it clicked. 'What an idiot.' They both thought.

"I-uh I mean it reminds me of my friends cooking back home," she let out far too quickly.

"D'you like it?" Thatch asked her with a hopeful look on his face.

She looked up at him with a small smile on his face. "Yeah, it's the best," she said truthfully, ignoring the shout of pain from across the ship that no doubt belonged to the cook of the ship she was currently sailing on.

She watched as an unnatural blush spread across his face and rolled her eyes at him, giving the emptied plate back to him as he rushed off with it. She felt a hand grab her wrist gently, a warmth spreading through her body at the contact, she looked to the person holding her and her eyes interlocked with the toffee brown ones she had fallen in love with so long ago. 'God, the heart grows fonder alright,' she thought to herself as she recalled the words of a past friend.

"Amethyst, can I talk to you?" He asked softly, she nodded her head slowly, words promptly dying in her throat. He grinned, letting go of her much to her relief, he stood up looking down at her and holding his hand out towards her. She looked at the hand for a split second, slipping her own into it, feeling fire igniting with every contact her skin made with his. He gripped it gently but firmly as he helped her onto her feet she stumbled a bit, taking a few steps too close to him, freehand falling on the bare skin of his torso, she felt him go rigid but then suddenly relax, letting out a breath of contentment but her not noticing the less-than-negative response she quickly took a step back.

"I'm so sorry!" She half-screamed, completely mortified and over-exaggerating at the fact that she had just touched him as if she knew him. Well, she did know him but that was beside the point.

He seemed to shake off the initial feeling and placed a hand on her head. "It's fine, you didn't do anything wrong."

"I wasn't trying to take advantage of you or anything!" She panicked, her mind flailing around and pushing out words without thinking.

A smile spread to his lips, trying to hold in a chuckle of amusement. "I know, Amethyst, just calm down... it's fine, really," he tried to reassure the girl.

She felt her face flush in embarrassment and didn't dare look up, starting to walk, assuming he was following, she looked up a bit and caught sight of Robin who seemed all too amused by the exchange, no doubt a laugh hiding behind her hand. She shot a glare at her that contrasted greatly with her bright red face, Robin only winking in response.

She glanced back a bit and saw him following, a small smile on his face that made her want to just melt into a puddle and disappear, she walked into the ship taking the all too familiar turn until she was in front of her room.

"Is this your room?" She heard his husky voice question from behind her, she muttered a quick yeah before going into her room and climbing onto the bed, shuffling right to the headboard so that she was leaning her back on it, legs crossed.

She watched with cautious eyes as he looked around, taking in the quite bare room, little to no indication that someone occupied the room. "It's... big," he remarked not knowing how else to describe it, it was so... empty it left one with no words.

"Yeah, it's the Captains Quarters," she replied awkwardly, not knowing what else to say, she didn't really think this all through when she lead him here.

"Yeah, Luffy never did like being alone, couldn't imagine him being in such a bare room, it feels so lonely," he commented slightly insensitively but just voicing his honest thoughts.

"Geee, thanks," she let out in a breath of slight shock and embarrassment, tilting her head and looking at him with a cocked brow, amusement was written all over her face.

He looked at her quickly, a look of regret on his face. "Sorry, I really didn't mean it like that," he tried to remedy.

She shook her head, smiling up at him, freezing him in place at the sight of it. "It's fine... I mean you're not wrong." She leaned her head on the wall behind her and looked to the ceiling. "I'm sorta going out of my way to not settle in too much," she admitted.

He sat at the end of her bed, confusion clear on his face, he's met all of the crew by now and none of them has even the slightest indication that this wasn't a forever deal, he couldn't imagine being with anyone but the Whitebeards. "Why?"

"You could say I'm kinda holding out for someone," she answered honestly, finally looking him in the eyes.

His breath caught in his throat as he saw the look she was giving him before she turned away, hiding it like she had been doing the whole time he had been around her, he noticed that once she gave an inch of how she was really feeling she would immediately recoil... 'Such a frustrating woman' he thought to himself.

"You must really care about this person," He remarked as an uncomfortable feeling squeezed his chest as he saw the many emotions shining in her eyes, wondering what kind of person she could talk about with that kind of look on her face like they were so precious to her.

"I'm in love with him," she responded almost immediately, she grabbed her necklace, stroking it tenderly between her thumb and index finger. "He's my heart."

Ace couldn't understand how she could say that so easily, who was this person that she seemed so utterly enamoured with, so many questions swirled around his head but only a word seemed to escape. "Why?"

She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you in love with him? What's so special about him?" He replied, not noticing the slight bite in his words as if he were talking about a person he wasn't the biggest fan of.

She beamed, face softening even more if that were possible, looking him straight into his eyes, the stare making it hard for him to breathe, feeling a slight discomfort as it felt like she was looking right through him and seeing every part of him, even the parts that were hidden from everyone else.

"I don't think I knew it back then," she softly explained, amusement flashing in her eyes. "But I think I fell for him the first time I met him."

She seemed to get lost for a bit, analysing the golden specks dancing in the liquid chocolate of his eyes before her eyes started to tear up, she quickly blinked back the dam ready to burst. "It was the first time anyone had ever looked at me the way that he did." She finally looked away from him, fiddling with her fingers before grasping her shirt in one of her hands, making eye contact once again, sorrow and an emotion Ace couldn't quite pin swimming in her eyes. "He looked at me as if there were something in me worth looking at."

Ace didn't know what to say to that, whether to question what made her think that she wasn't worth anything but that would lead into her past which he no doubts about it, wanted to know, but he had just met her so he wasn't going to just ask about that. He couldn't help it though... Who was this person she talked about? That made her lose her tough, nonchalant facade she was trying to put on to mask her inner person? How it made him itch to know more... know everything to do with such a mystery, a true beauty to behold. 'What the hell,' He thought as his train of thought took an unexpected turn.

"Sorry," She said, breaking him out of his thoughts, she smiled sheepishly at him. "I didn't mean to go off-topic, you're just easy to talk to and it came out. What did you want to talk about?"

He had to sort his head out a bit, what did he want to talk about? "Um, Marineford." He watched as her expression seemed to drop suddenly. "You're strong, I want to know more about your powers."

"My powers?" She let out softly... speaking the words more to herself. "Well, I have a few different abilities but if you wanted to know where I got them well..." she looked at him and shrugged. "I don't really know myself."

"I assume they're not from a devil fruit then?"

She looked at him in a bit of shock before smiling a bit. "Yeah, you'd be the first to think that, usually everyone tries to figure out what Devil Fruit I ate."

"Well, maybe I'm just smarter," Ace replies with a smug look on his face, winking at her playfully.

She laughed heartily at that. "Yeah keep telling yourself that," she teased, lifting her hand and patting his cheek tenderly before realising what she was doing, her hand freezing midair and quickly pulling it away from him, looking up at his expression.

"I'm sorry!" She frantically let out, wanting to beat her hand to death right then and there.

Ace didn't move, body going stiff before shaking it off. He didn't understand the reactions she brought out of him, he wasn't some blushing virgin so why did his entire body either just freeze up or become completely relaxed whenever she touched him? 'My hormones are really out of control.' He thought to himself, drawing his own conclusions to the reaction.

"You seem pretty comfortable with me," he teased back amused at her show of affection, he watched with a sinful pleasure as her face turned redder if possible. "Woah, you could roast marshmallows on that face," he mocked her even more, relishing in the reaction that he got out of her.

"You're such a dick," She hissed, a scowl clear on her face but no indication of malice there.

He grinned further as he enjoyed her squirm beneath his gaze. "Why'd you join this crew?" He asked her suddenly.

Her expression softened at that. "I was lonely, missing the family I once had and found him."

"If you missed them so much, why'd you leave?"

"Well it's more they left me rather than I left them," she answered somewhat vaguely yet clearly.

Ace nodded in understanding. "Well, anyone that would leave you behind doesn't deserve you anyway," he answered truthfully, looking her in the eyes.

She didn't look away this time, instead, she smiled almost laughing at the insinuation. "You think so?"

"I know so."

A comfortable silence lay around them and they seemed to bask in the presence of the other both having many things to say to the other but for the moment just settling for this silence eyes never leaving the others.

"Everybody decent in there?" Robin's voice rang from the other side of the door

Amethyst had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. "No, sorry we're completely nude," she replied back sarcastically. She was more than disappointed that their bubble was burst but relieved also.

She watched the door open and an unusually smiley archaeologist in the doorway looking quite pleased with herself.

"Luffy wants you both back on the deck, he's being quite pouty and Sabo is reaching his tether so I suggest you both go back," She announces in amusement.

The two got up, feeling slightly awkward at the moment they shared, Ace being the first to smile at Robin and then walked out wordlessly.

"Well, how did it go?" Robin questioned a tad too enthusiastically.

Amethyst looked at her annoyed but then it melted away to bounding relief that it was just them two. "I almost fucking died, my heart feels like it's going to burst out of my chest." She leaned her head back against the headboard letting the tenseness in her muscles ripple away. "Any longer and my lung would've fallen out of my ass."

Robin laughed at the unsightly description before speaking, "Also, It's Whitebeard..." Amethyst lifted her head at that. "He wants to talk to you, privately."

And just like that all the nerves she shook off reanimated themselves.