Shivered Timbers
by Kaline Reine

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of the characters/settings. This is just a fanfiction story. I do own Shiori, she is my character. I also own a few other original characters in this story (not affiliated with One Piece), which will be introduced as they are needed.

WARNINGS: This story contains (or may contain) graphic adult content and language, explicit sex scenes, possible violence, gore, cursing, adult themes, etc. I do not censor my writing, but I do my best to warn people about the subject matter and potential subject matter. So if you don't like that kind of thing or can't handle it, then I suggest not reading this story. You have been warned. Also, I know this doesn't follow canon but it doesn't have to, that's why it's a fanfic. xD

Also... The beautiful cover image for this story is by my friend, EzariaUmiko on DeviantArt. All credit for the image goes to her. c:

Chapter 43: Almost Angelic

Shiori had just finished with her shower, and wandered into Ace's room. He was finishing a bowl of soup, presumably one that Rex had probably made for him while she was cleaning up from her adventure. Vanora was asleep on a pillow which had been placed atop a stray crate, snoring lightly and making cute little mewing sounds. Ace must have let her in... Shiori noticed that he'd already moved her possessions into his room... What little she had, anyway. At least there wasn't a lot to move when switching rooms. It would also make the transition to Walter's old room that much easier later on...

During her time alone, she had thought about the kindhearted doctor a lot. It helped to process his death a little faster, although she knew it would still take time. She felt like her head was more clear about it for the moment. She only hoped he was in a better place, and that his death hadn't been for nothing. There must be a reason they'd ended up here; a method to the madness... Otherwise why had things happened the way they did?

Yet, regardless of all the 'why's and 'if's and 'but's, he had still died in the end. There was nothing anyone could do about it now. She would have done anything to save her Nakama from suffering such a horrible fate, but nothing she could do now would make any difference. It was too late.

The Valkyrie had come to realize that Ace was right. All she could do now was make the most of the time she had left, and do her best to prevent that from happening to anyone else she cared about. She also needed to let those people know how she felt, before it was too late for them as well.

'You never know what tomorrow might hold...' She silently mused as she paused in the doorway to stretch out her sore limbs.

With renewed resolve, she walked in wearing one of the black dresses that she'd sewn for herself. It was made of old Nuns' habits from the Monastery, so it held a lot of memories for her. The stretchy fabric was made for them to be able to move gracefully, as they were fighting Nuns, first and foremost... It was the last one she'd made, and she had run out of materials before it was completely finished. Due to this, it was a bit shorter than the rest, exposing more of her lily white thighs than she would have liked, and causing her to be somewhat self-conscious. Despite all of this, the dress clung to her curves nicely.

...Not that she felt she had any. That is, until she took notice of the way Ace was staring at her as she made her way over to his bed and sat down. Feeling suddenly even more self-conscious, Shiori tugged at the hem of her dress, as if she were trying to make it longer than it actually was. She'd only had so much material to work with, and she had to try to get as many outfits from it as possible. If he noticed the blush that fell over her face, he didn't comment on it. For the first few minutes, no one said anything at all. The two sat in awkward silence.

The Captain's eyes wandered over her petite frame, taking note that she was in her normal little black dress but wasn't wearing her sweater or her stockings. She'd probably given those to one of the crew to have them washed right away. Whoever had night watch would probably do it. He knew it was her favorite sweater and he could relate, being very fond of a certain faded orange hat, himself.

"Thanks for getting my stuff for me..." She hadn't stuttered that time. She fought back a small smile, but it took over anyway. "And Vanora-chan. It's really nice of you to let us stay here."

"It's no problem." He told her lightly, shrugging and putting the empty bowl from his meal just outside the door. Whoever had dish duty tonight would be around to pick it up. "I hope this isn't too awkward for you?"

She thought he was coming to sit on the bed with her, but instead he sat back down at the table, seeming not to want to invade her space too much. He was keeping his distance. Shiori wasn't certain how she felt about that.

"Nah, it's fine. Artemis-chan is my friend, but we g-get on each other's nerves sometimes, and I needed to be alone right now anyway."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to leave? I'll give you some space if you want."

"No, no! N-not at all!" She held up her hands as if to grab him if he tried to leave, but thought better of it and sat back down on the edge of his bed. "That isn't what I meant. I just wanted to be away from the others for a bit. At least I'm not bothered when you're around. You don't have to go. Besides, it's your room, that would make no sense."

"You aren't worried about what the rest of the crew will say about us behind our backs then? I mean, when they find out we're sharing a room..."

Thought he'd initially meant it in a somewhat teasing way, he just couldn't bring himself to let it seep into his tone too much... It was still a valid point.

He leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other and propping up his feet on the table. Shiori eyed the movement carefully. She noticed he was still wearing his boots, but his shirt was nowhere to be found, having long since been discarded. All he wore were his normal black denim shorts.

"Not really. I mean, we can't control what they think a-anyway. If they assume things, it's their problem, isn't it?" She shrugged, doing her best to remain calm.

Feigning nonchalance wasn't exact her forte however, and the meek albino girl was already fidgeting with her silky iridescent hair. It looked darker in the dim lighting of his cabin, the shadows lending it an almost gray hue. It was still damp from her shower too. She missed her sweater so much right now. She hoped it would be done being washed soon, but she doubted that anyone would even start on it until morning.

Honestly, she didn't care what the others thought about her in relation to their Captain. If anyone had a problem with something, she knew they would definitely speak up about it, just as they had done on numerous other occasions. They really were an outspoken bunch, but she supposed that was probably a good thing. Honesty was generally the best way to go. What unnerved her, though, was his response to all of it. His reaction frightened her. What would he think if she just gave in to her instincts and forget about social boundaries for just one night, if she gave in to her urges-

'Eeep! I don't have any urges! It's not like that!' She forced the words through her own mind, almost like a mantra. 'I don't have them, I don't! ...Do I?'

She clapped a hand over her mouth immediately, rose mauve eyes going wide in shock.

Vanora chuckled from her small pillow across the room, raising her head for a moment. 'I'm one hundred percent certain you absolutely do not want me to answer that! But if you by any chance do have any, please be sure to tell me so I can leave the vicinity immediately.'

"And what would they assume about us, do you think?" Ace drew her attention back to the conversation at hand, before she could mentally retaliate to the smirking kitten, who was soon snoring again.

The question itself startled her. It felt an awful lot like a loaded question, in fact. Somehow Ace always managed to catch her off guard. He was a bouquet of never-ending surprises. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was questionable at times though. Was he teasing her or...?

"Umm, well I d-don't know really, I-I mean..." She trailed off, trying to figure out where her voice had gone all of a sudden.

"You're really cute when you get all flustered and start stuttering and your face turns all cute and blushy like that. Hehe..."

A grin was slowly spreading across his face, like the very wildfire he was made of. Ace finally got up and crossed the room to his bed. He stood there for a second just looking down at her with what looked like curiosity deep in his coppery eyes.

She bit her bottom lip nervously, and looked away, unsure of what to do. Shiori always got like that when it came to him. She didn't know why he made her feel like this, or what exactly it was that she was feeling, but the thousands of butterflies in her stomach would not settle down... No matter what she did, nothing seemed to make them go away or even help in the slightest.

Ace sat down at the foot of the bed, leaving a bit of space between them. His face had turned serious. He tugged at the laces of his boots, pulling them off one at a time, and letting them fall to the floor with a muffled thump.

"Sorry I didn't tell you about Walter-kun..." He attempted to make conversation while he as getting undressed. "I just... Didn't know how to break the news to you, for one thing. And I thought you'd be better off hearing it from a friend anyway."

"But aren't we friends too?"

He smiled dreamily then, trying to play it off. "Well yeah..."

Shiori sighed, long and exasperated, letting herself fall back onto the bed. She'd been wondering when they finally would talk about it. "This entire situation is completely and hopelessly f-fucked, you know that?"

'Damn stuttering! I hate it!' She mentally berated herself. Thankfully Vanora could no longer hear her thoughts, due to the fact that the little feline had fallen into a deep sleep.

"You're especially adorable when you try to curse and stutter at the same time, do you know that?" He only smiled at her. What lied behind that smile she hadn't the faintest idea.

Was he teasing her or mocking her? And if it was the latter, why so openly?

"Speechless, I see." Ace chuckled at her lack of response. After all, what could she say to that? "A lot of girls get that way around me."

She lightly swatted at his arm. "Don't joke like that!"

"Oh? Why not?" He laughed.

Truthfully, it was because his offhanded comment had unexpectedly conjured images in her head of him with other women. It caused a painful feeling to spike within her chest. It really hurt, even though she knew there was nothing physically wrong with her... But somehow, she was unable to tell him that. How would she even begin to explain it anyway?

All she could manage was a small shrug. Ace's eyes were drawn to the way it caused a single stray beauty mark on her chest to move up and down with the motion. He'd never noticed it before, but she was usually completely covered, he couldn't recall ever seeing this much of her skin at once. It was doing things to him that he'd rather not think about.

"I should tell you..." She changed the subject, suddenly becoming more serious. Ace stiffened at her change in demeanor. It was clear that whatever it was, it had likely been bothering her for a while. "I wasn't able to get any of the treasure like I promised."

"I know," He told her, looking her in the eye honestly. "I'm just glad you're safe. That's all that matters."

"No... I've failed you. I d-didn't keep my word. I let you down and I... I'm sorry." She paused, the unspoken words hanging in the distance between them as she looked away, unable to meet is gaze any longer. "And I should go soon. I'm not fit to be a part of your crew."

"Stop it!" Ace snapped, grabbing her chin and turning her to face him. "Please don't think for even one second that I don't want you here! Shiori-chan..."

His hand ghosted up her neck, his thumb sliding over her left cheek tenderly. For that one moment, her breath stopped... He moved in close and for a second, she thought that he might kiss her. But he only pressed his forehead against hers, holding her face in his hands, desperately.

"Please don't leave... I want you by my side. I need you here with me."

Instead of kissing her like he wanted, he kissed her cheek. His soft lips ghosted across her skin, barely there... She thought of turning her head, but found herself paralyzed, hypnotized- all but spellbound by him!

He knew it shouldn't matter what other people thought. And it didn't. He would still feel the way that he felt, regardless... But sometimes the things that people wanted were selfish. He knew it was a selfish request for his own selfish reasons, but he was unable to help it, all the same. Finally, she would understand how he felt...

"Ace-kun..." There was nothing else she could say.

'She's beautiful...' The thoughts filled his head, yet the words died on his lips. He was unable to speak, to move, to do anything that might break them away from their comfortable silence. He pulled back just enough to stare into her eyes, his own fawn speckled irises searing her rose petal orbs like a hot branding iron. Unsure of what to make of it, his perplexing expression caused her to wonder just what was going through his mind right then.

Shiori gasped, overwhelmed. 'This... This moment between us... What is it?'

Feeling strange, she forced herself to pull away before she melted or something. His close proximity was doing bad things to her brain. "This is o-overwhelming..." Although they were a quiet whisper, she'd spoken the words out loud before she could stop them.

It took her back to that time when they'd kissed in the forest. It had been magical... There weren't very many times in her life that could compare to that. She'd never known that kind of pleasure before and, though she was loathe to admit it, the kiss had made her wonder just how good other things might feel with him. It was only natural that she kind of wanted to know what all the fuss was about. But just... The way he'd held her that night had sent her into such fevered bliss that she'd become confused and disoriented. A simple embrace wasn't meant to feel that good, was it? She blushed when she realized that Ace was also there, and would most likely remember the kiss too.

Now it was his turn to be rendered speechless. He was leaning over her as she lay back on the bed, looking almost angelic. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to approach this. He didn't want things to get weird between them, but this was more awkward than he was expected it to be. Though he was unsure what he should even be expecting...

Ready for anything, he found his mind wandering back to that time when he'd given in to his impulses and kissed her in the forest. He drew his eyes down to her lips, pulled in like a magnet... He noticed Shiori's eyes also flicker to his own mouth. He knew she was thinking about kissing him too.

Shiori also knew that Ace was thinking about kissing her. It was written all over his handsome face. And to top it off, he was staring at her lips like they were something delicious that he wanted to devour. She wondered if she wanted him to kiss her. The smirk he wore made it look all the more inviting. She wondered if that would be so bad... After all, it had been fun the first time.

She felt herself becoming consumed by his gaze. The way he looked at her was enough on it's own to make her shiver. And then he was talking... Asking her something...?

"Are you okay?"

At first, she didn't respond, but then her face turned serious as she snapped back into reality. "Y-yeah I'm fine... I just- well, this is embarrassing but... I think I just got lost in your eyes."

When Ace didn't reply, she immediately apologized. "S-sorry..."

"Don't be." His tone had changed and the moment that stood between them had been lost. "It's okay... I get lost all the time." His stare only deepened the mood somehow, as he'd taken to staring at her again.

Shiori wondered why he was being so cryptic... 'There has to be a reason, right?' He had said that he wanted her to stay on his crew, but he hadn't given her any specific reason. It made her kind of wish that he'd just come out with his feelings already. She quickly realized that even if he did, she'd have no idea how to even react to it. 'Maybe I'm just getting too carried away with my thoughts... How do I feel about all of this anyway?'

It wasn't easy to acknowledge her own feelings on the matter. She needed time to pull herself together. And the sense of urgency to sort all of this out was hitting her full force. There may not be much time left to figure it out. Walter's death was an all-too-grim reminder of that. They were only mortal, and all mortal beings were on borrowed time. While it was true that it was no secret that her feelings for the dashing Captain of the Spade Pirates ran deep, just how deep was a mystery, even to her...

Such things were as mysterious as what may lie at the bottom of the deep blue sea...

Only that didn't feel quite right either. No... She was already all too aware of how she felt, although she had been in adamant denial for a long while now. But how to convey that to him? She felt she was being stupid and maybe even a little childish for not making a move on him, but her nerves wouldn't let her actually go that far. She didn't mind waiting for him to make a move though, and so she simply stared right back at him.

Ace leaned down with every intention of taking her into his arms and kissing her, his heart full of wildness and passion... Only it didn't happen. He moved in so close, and then backed away from the girl. Again. He was at war with himself. He'd realized something very powerful just then, in the space that hung between them and their dreams. He knew her. Probably even better than he had any right to; more than he should. This was happening too fast for her. Shiori was shy... He couldn't risk her thinking that this was the only reason he'd invited her to stay in his cabin. But then there was the way she looked at him, her mauve eyes glazed over, much more dull than they should have otherwise been.

The Captain knew that he owed her an explanation. "Sorry, it's just... I don't want to make things weird between us is all."

The look of sheer confusion on her face was impossible to miss, even though she did a good job of trying to hide it the moment it appeared. Seconds ticked by, and finally she spoke.

"Well..." The albino girl spat, almost bitterly. "What the hell DO you want then?!"

Ace actually felt himself jump when she said that. Her voice was so laced with venom that it was a wonder in itself that he was still alive right now. She'd caught him completely off guard. But he had to be honest... She didn't deserve to be lied to.

"To be with you..." He confessed. "But it's probably a bad idea on your end. I mean, you're beautiful, courageous, strong, and I'm just... A mess. Anyone involved with me is going to face tons of problems and I can't let myself force anyone to go through that. As much as I might want to... It's selfish of me."

'You aren't forcing me if it's something I want too...!' She screamed the thought in her own head like an eternal mantra that went on and on forever. Outwardly, however, she made no sign that she'd even heard him at first. Then her hand flew to her mouth, as if to keep those very words from escaping.

Ace just watched her for any signs of movement. When she rolled to her right side, he moved to allow her free reign of his bed.

Curling up into a fetal position, Shiori made sure to face the wall when her head resting on the spare pillow. She snatched half of the blanket that was on the bed, draping it over herself for comfort, and because it was pretty cold since they were still in such close proximity to the strange icy island. The fact that it was currently defrosting didn't help any, it only made the surrounding sea that much colder.

She was trying to just compose herself for a few seconds, but it was clear that he'd misunderstood the gesture when he lied down next to her. He was on his back, his arms being folded hastily under the back of his head, and the rest of his body shuffling under the covers along with her. He was very careful not to touch her at all though, and something about that irked her for some reason she could not name.

'This isn't how this was supposed to go at all...' The Valkyrie sighed, doing her best to quiet the plethora of thoughts that screamed through her mind right then. 'Why couldn't I just tell him?!' But it was much harder than it sounded.

Meanwhile, Ace was having some conflicting thoughts of his own. 'Smooth Ace, real smooth... Nice going. Now she's terrified of you.'

Time passed. Neither of them could be certain how long it had been since she'd rolled over and tuned him out. Yet somehow, a blissful silence filled the cool night air, and they were able to drift into something like sleep...

A/N: Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I'm posting two at once. You can expect the next chapter immediately! I would say more, but I don't like spoiling things for my readers.

Fun fact: If you're wondering about little tidbits like the 'Angel Eyes' nickname that he keeps calling her and this chapter's title 'Almost Angelic', well... It has a double meaning (because I love symbolism, you see.) :3 When I first came up with the concept for Shiori, I was originally going to have her be an actual angel or more like a fictional angelic being of some kind. Then once I got deeper into the fandom, I realized that a few other people had already done things similar to that, so I had to come up with something else that would be more original. So anyway, I like to think it's a little nod to the past that never was. I'm silly. xD

-Kaline