You had always been afraid. Fear of others, fear of making mistakes in chores, fear of speaking.
Maybe that was your biggest fear.
Nobody ever liked your voice, so unnatural and decidedly opposite to your gender. Even your parents, long before they left you to the bounty hunters out of need of money, had always told you not to talk, not to let even a breath of air ever leave your lips. Whenever you disobeyed, you were beaten by your father, until you learned that silence would be your greatest ally.
Even now that you were relatively safe, with the people who freed you, you couldn't speak. Your fears did not want to abandon you even for a second, despite the fact that your new family did everything to put you at ease.
One person in particular had not yet let go, compared to the others who, once they understood that you wouldn't let yourself go, decided by mutual agreement to leave you alone and not to give you pressure: Ace.
Despite all the months that had passed since you joined his crew and division, he hadn't stopped trying to get you talking for a single day.
Ace was not intrusive in his ways of doing things, on the contrary, sometimes it almost seemed that he wasn't even doing it on purpose when he tried to ask you questions that you couldn't simply answer by nodding or shrugging and in those cases in which you resorted to the gestures of your hands to replying, he showed that he was some way disappointed or offended. He just kept talking to you, like it was the most natural thing in the world, trying every now and then to get you out in the open with a few more questions.
Until now he had never been successful, but that was not why he was determined to surrender; it had become a kind of challenge for him and honestly it amused you, until of course he didn't win.
Until that day in which he actually won and changed your life.
You were next to each other on the bed of his cabin, you sitting cross-legged on the top of the bed with your back resting on the pillow placed against the wall and he lying on his back with his head on another pillow resting on your legs, telling you about one of his adventures from when he was still living with his younger brother; he loved to talk about him and everything that had happened to them when they were little, his eyes lit up with joy and a broad, warm and almost contagious smile was painted on his face. You listened to him absentmindedly, relaxing to the sound of his words and gently stroking his hair (something he continually asked you to do because he said you had "magic hands"), almost dozing off. It had been a long enough day for you, you had come down to that summer island to stock up and for you there hadn't been a moment of breath with all the things to do and to fix, so now that you were relaxing you really risked to fall asleep.
Ace realized that you were not paying him much attention especially when he called you by name and you did not answer, now almost completely asleep. It was then that he, acting instinctively, to bring you back to reality reached out a hand and playfully tickled the sole of your foot.
Taken aback and having particularly sensitive feet, you were unable to hold back the spontaneous laughter that came out of your mouth, revealing that voice that you had hidden for years from the whole world.
Your hand flew over your lips, blocking any other sound that might want to escape you, your eyes wide in the realization of what had just happened.
Even Ace's eyes were wide with amazement and he stared at you with his mouth open, as if he saw you for the first time in his life.
- Did you just...? -.
You shook your head, continuing to keep your hands on your mouth, while you felt your heart speed up the beats; the thing you feared most had just happened since you set foot on that ship.
The seconds passed and he did not speak.
What would have happened now?
Would Ace mock you? Would he have told the others? Would they have avoided you, considering you strange and abnormal?
Or maybe worse ... They would have done like your parents ...
- You are ticklish and you didn't tell me ? -
...
What?
You were definitely confused. Of all the things you could have expected to hear, this was definitely the most unexpected.
In the meantime, Ace had risen from his lying position and was now towering over you with a smile that went from ear to ear and his eyes shining with a mischievous and very poor reassuring light.
- Now we're gonna have some fun -, he laughed, taking the pillow you had in your lap and throwing it away, thus removing even the slightest protection and sinking your fingers in your sides, starting to quickly tickle you.
You closed your eyes by pressing one hand even more on your mouth, trying to stop the laughter that was already overwhelmingly trying to get out, while with the other you tried to stop Ace who continued to pinch the sensitive skin of your sides and belly with hope to be able to make you laugh again.
- Come on dear. Laugh. I wanna hear you voice. Coochie coochie coo! -.
Those words, together with the fact that Ace, without warning, had grabbed you by the feet and started tickling there too, were the drop that made the vase overflow.
- NOHOHOHOHOH AHAHAHACCEHEHEHEH ! -, you didn't care that he (or someone else given the volume of your laughter) heard how unusual your voice was; you could not stand the tickle under your feet and you tried in every way to kick and free yourself from the grip of Ace, who continued to tickle you with a satisfied smile on his face.
- AHAHAHAHAHCCEHEHEHEH ! PLEEHEHEHEHAHAHAHSSEHEHEH ! -
- Oh, what's the matter? Are you not having fun? -
- NOHOHOHOHO ! -
- Too bad then. Because I'm not gonna stop anytime soon. Unless ... -.
- WHAHAHAHT? I-I'LL DOHOHOHO ANYTHIHIHIHINNG ! -
- Anything? -
- YEHEHEHEHSSS ! -
- Very well then -, he said, finally stopping his evil fingers, thus giving you the opportunity to catch your breath.
He waited until you calmed down completely before saying his request: - I want you to admit that you have a very cute voice and laugh -.
You widened your eyes in disbelief at that request, confused above all by the fact that Ace was smiling at you calmly, which must have meant that he was not making fun of you.
- Are you not ... Does not my voice sound strange to you? -, you gave voice to your thoughts almost in a whisper, the fear of having misinterpreted his signals always present in you.
- Why, it should? -, he asked, approaching you again and sitting next to you on the bed, putting an arm around your shoulders, - I have to admit that, at first, it tooked me by surprise. But hey, who am I to judge you? -, he squeezed you a little closer to him in a fraternal gesture, - And do not worry about the others too. None of us will ever judge you. As Pops always says "We are all children of the sea". They all love you here, no matter how you look like or how different your voice may be. And if anything happen I promise you I'll always be by your side. -.
You let out a sigh of relief, realizing that you had held your breath until then. Ace's words had greatly comforted you; it would not have been easy to overcome your fear, but his promise had given you back a little of that courage that you had missed during those years of total silence.
Then he poked your side, making you giggle, and shift a little bit away from him.
- And closing the speech, I still haven't heard you say that phrase -, he poked you again, then closing yourself in his arms so as not to allow you to run away, - Sooo? I'm waiiitiiing -, he hummed near your ear, sending a thousand chills down your back, then starting to gently tickle you on your sides again.
You started to laugh, pleading him to stop and trying to shove his hands away from your body, but he was way too strong for you.
Suddenly Ace sank his fingers into your hips making you sqeal and jolt even more, continuing to tease you, whispering ticklish words in your ear: - Oh, waht's this? Are your hips ticklish too? How about your ribs? Tickle tickle tickle! -.
His hands moved upwards forming a claw and vibrating them on your ribs, making you almost cry from laughing too much.
- AHAHAHCEHEHEH PLEHEHEHEHAHAHAHSEHEHE ! NOHOHO MOHOHOREHEHE ! -
- You know the way to make me stop. Just say that you have the cutest voice and the cutest laugh and I will let you go. Or maybe -, and he lay you down on the bed again, grabbing you by the ankles and locking you down, his fingers a few millimeters from your feet, - Maybe I should just tickle your most sensitive spot. What do you say mhn? -, he started to trace gently some imaginary lines under your feet with one finger, chuckling himself when you, in the grip of a new attack of laughter, began to punch the mattress with all your strength, letting a few screams escape.
- Well? Are you going to give up and admit it or I have to continue to tickle you? -.
- NOHOHO! I'LL DOHOHO IHIHITT ! -, you had reached your limit and he had only used a finger to tickle you and seriously you didn't wish to press your luck even further.
When he finally stopped to let you catch your breath, you pulled yourself up leaning on your elbows, then looked up at his face, which was looking at you with a grin that was too satisfied, while he waited for you to satisfy his request, his hands always resting firmly on your feet in case you rethink about it.
You felt the redness spread over your face up to your ears, while, lowering your gaze, you pronounced the desired phrase as quickly as possible: - I have the cutest voice and the cutest laugh -.
- See? Wasn't that hard now, was it? -, he replied, finally letting go completely and reaching out to ruffle your hair, before repositioning himself next to you on the bed, closing you in a warm embrace, tickling lightly your back to make you relax, - Come on now, let's rest for a while. Tonight, if you want, we can go to explore the island. They are going to have some kind of festival if I remember well -.
You nodded slightly, before he poked you in the side, making you yelp and look up in confusion.
- From now on, I want to hear your voice, or I will tickle you again. Is that clear? -
- Okok I got it! -
From that moment on, not a day passed when you and Ace did not speak, and soon thanks to his help you were able to open up slowly even with the rest of the crew, who, as Ace had predicted, welcomed your change with open arms .
Especially when one of them in particular discovered your tickling secret.
But this is a story for another time ...