Time out

Lucia's POV

I cautiously step onto the deck, ready to jump back into the sea at any moment, but Marco seems to have disappeared. Warm arms encircle my waist and Ace's chin rests on my shoulder. "You do know that there will be revenge?" the fire fist asks me, amused. "Like you don't enjoy the show!" I laugh and the crew join in. "I do but I like you best unscathed!" chuckles Ace. I just snort at where he's right. I guess I'll have to avoid Marco today, it's just going to be hard with the haki he has. "Unfair!" I say grumbling. "What, my child?" Whitebeard asks me. I make a face and look up at the emperor, "Marco can cheat with Haki!" I say as everyone laughs. All of a sudden Ace notices and lets go of me. Irritated, I turn around and see him beaming at me. What's wrong with him now?

And then he just runs away. "What's bitten him now?" I ask irritably. Vista grins knowingly and stands next to Whitebeard. He also seems to know what the fire fist has. "Well, I'm going to look for a hiding place!" I say, wanting to go below deck, but Shanks puts an arm around my shoulder. "You sure? Marco is waiting for you below deck!" the redhead says. I freeze and think. Somehow the emperor is right. I bite my lower lip and notice some scowling at the Emperor. "Why are you here, anyway? Other than to serve as a shield from Marco?" I ask Shanks. "Just wanted to see how you were doing!" he grins at me. Ace comes back on deck, along with a huge basket. I tilt my head and ask, "What's this going to be when it's finished?" I ask Ace, but he just replies with a big grin and pulls Shanks' arm off my shoulder. Before I can even say anything, Ace throws me over his shoulder and walks towards the railing. He waves at Whitebeard and jumps on his Striker.

What the hell? "Ace, what are you doing? I know Marco is angry, but running away is no solution!" I say with a little self-mockery. "I wasn't planning to, but it's just a good opportunity!" says Ace with a laugh. "A good opportunity for what?" I ask the black-haired man, but only reap silence in response. "Ace?" I ask more urgently now. "You'll see Lucia!" says Ace to me gleefully. We rush over the waves with a destination unknown to me, the Moby itself having become only a small shadow in the distance. "Ace not that I don't enjoy the view, but the position is starting to get uncomfortable!" I say to Ace who then takes me off his shoulder and now holds me bridal style. I lean against Ace's chest and listen contentedly to the steady beating of his heart. I look at Ace, who has his eyes fixed on the target. Slowly, I make out an island coming closer. "What do you want on the island?" I ask Ace. He just turns red in the face and clutches the basket tighter. "Ace?" I ask curiously now, but Ace turns even redder.

"What are you up to?" I ask now really curious. The island is close now and the waves are getting stronger. Ace drives to the beach and jumps into the sand, there he sets me down and pulls the Striker ashore. "So what now?" I ask him, but he still doesn't answer. I'm starting to get really curious, especially because everyone seems to know what Ace is up to. Ace takes the basket in one hand and my hand in the other, then he pulls me behind him. Well what the heck the island is really beautiful, colourful huge flowers line the ground and huge trees grow into the sky and give shade and that is really needed. I pull my top over my head, otherwise the sultry heat here becomes uncomfortable. Ace has stopped when I let go of his hand in return. "We're almost there!" he tells me. "And what's the destination?" I ask impatiently but only earn a smile. He takes my hand and pulls me along, every now and then Ace stops to get his bearings. "Phew, it's hot!" I say, panting like a dog. "Over there!" says Ace, pointing to a wall. "What's there?" I ask him, but he quickly pulls me on. We walk around the wall and I notice how the air is getting cooler, but not so uncomfortable.

And then all of a sudden we are standing in front of a waterfall that flows into a crystal clear lake. The water mist cools the air pleasantly and conjures rainbows in the air. The forest ends abruptly here and the lake is lined by an emerald green meadow. Small blue flowers adorn the meadow like stars. An untouched piece of nature. "Beautiful!" I murmur and walk onto the meadow as if in a trance. "Do you like it?" asks Ace tensely. I turn to him and smile brightly. "It's wonderful, how did you know this place was here?" I ask curiously. "We found it by accident once, I thought you would like it!" says Ace, setting the basket down on the floor. "So what's in the basket now?" I ask and want to look inside, but Ace beats me to it and opens it. All I see is a dark blanket. Ace pulls it out of the basket and spreads it out, and now I can also see what's in the basket. "A picnic!" I say excitedly when I see the food. "Good idea?" he asks me and I nod enthusiastically, it's been ages since I've been on a picnic. I throw myself onto the blanket and look up at Ace. He smiles and sits down next to me on the blanket. "So now what?" I ask and Ace's stomach answers me with a growl. I laugh and Ace turns a shade of red. I sit up and reach for the basket. "So what do we have here?" I mumble asking.

"Chicken, meat legs, bread cheese and uhh grapes!" I say excitedly and hand Ace a big leg of meat. I can't see how quickly Ace has devoured it. I put the basket in the middle and take the grapes. Then I see that Ace, in typical pirate fashion, has packed a bottle of sake. "You think that's a good idea?" I ask, pointing to the bottle. "Why?" asks Ace, his mouth full. "In this heat, I'm sitting in the corner with a sip wide." I admit with a laugh. Ace tilts his head and shrugs. "So what?" he asks evenly, graciously. I drop onto my back and rest my head on Ace's knee. "Do you remember what happened last time?" I ask Fire Fist mischievously. Ace just looks at me with a smile. Satisfied with the world, I take a grape and want to drop it into my mouth with my eyes closed, but when I let go the grape doesn't fall into my mouth. What? Irritated, I open my eyes and search the surroundings for the grape. It must have fallen somewhere. And then I see Ace grinning. "Did you eat my grape?" I ask playfully sternly. "No I ate the grape you let go." he laughs at me. "You..." I say and roll over onto my stomach. I take another grape and put it in my mouth with relish, not wanting Ace to steal it again!

"Do you regret it?" he asks me suddenly. "Regret what?" I now ask him in turn. He looks at me with his dark eyes and says seriously, "Choosing this world in the end." I sit up and squat down on my knees, then take his face between my hands. "Not for a second. You know what? This world has what mine lacks!" I ask him and he shakes his head. "You!" I say, smiling at the fire fist. He looks at me and the next moment I'm lying on my back with Ace propped up with his arms next to my head. My heart races in shock, or is it that expression on Ace's face after all. Then I just kiss the fire fist. Ace pushes me to the floor and runs his hand along my side. I get incredibly hot and claw at his back. A shiver runs down my spine and I groan. I feel Ace shudder in response. He turns to my neck and I put my head back so he can get to it better. I whimper as he bites down gently, running my hands up and down his back. He runs his hand down my neck and I can feel him ignite his hand, but the fire only jumps to my skin and leaves a tingling trail. Suddenly he grabs me and sits me up. I look up into his face and have to smile. Ace's cheeks glow red and his gaze is veiled and unfocused.

"Let's go for a swim!" I say, running my hand down his chest. "Hmm." he just goes and doesn't seem to listen to me. I have to admit though, I'm not really concentrating anymore myself. I move away from Ace a little and start to take off my clothes, feeling Ace's burning gaze on my skin as I do so. Without turning around, I walk towards the lake and slowly dive into the cool water. Behind me I hear the rustling of clothes and grin. Seems Ace isn't against my idea. The lake just reaches my chest. Light waves crash against my back and I turn around. I swallow hard when I see Ace. The water is barely up to his hips and I can see every muscle on his torso. Well, I can usually do that, but this time it's different. We are alone, no one is looking for us and there is a tension in the air. I walk up to Ace and put my arms around his neck.

He leans down to me and kisses me wildly, I return the kiss just as passionately. Ace grabs my butt and lifts me onto his hip. We break the kiss and I kiss and bite my way down his neck. Ace throws his head back into his neck and moans deeply. The sound sends a shiver down my spine and I wrap my legs around his hips to free his hands. He uses these and claws into my hair. Suddenly he goes forward through the waterfall. I press myself tighter against Ace because of the sudden chill. Behind the waterfall is a small hollow, big enough for both of us to fit in. The roar of the water shields all sounds from outside and the waterfall prevents us from being seen. It is as if we are in our own world. "Lucia?" Ace asks and I understand what he wants, pressing my lips to his in response.

Panting, I lean my head against Ace's shoulder and try to calm my rapid breathing. I can hear Ace's heart racing against my chest and I keep running my hands through his hair. Ace leans his head against mine. His breathing is still fast too. Ace is about to put me down, but I don't want to let go of him yet. "If you put me down I'll sink, I don't think I can stand!" I say. Ace chuckles darkly and carries me out of the lake to the blanket. There he lowers me and lies down beside me. I snuggle against his chest and he presses himself against me. He lies down on his back and grins contentedly at the sky. "Did you plan this?" I ask tiredly, resting my head against his chest. He just hums sleepily. I close my eyes and notice myself slowly falling asleep. Ace still puts his other arm around me, but then I'm asleep.

I slowly wake up as it gets cooler. Grumbling, I open my eyes, noticing that the sun is about to set. "Ace, I think we should get back slowly!" I say, shaking his shoulder. He pulls me to his body and turns so that I am lying under him. But he hasn't woken up. I laugh and poke him in the side. Ace grumbles and opens his eyes. "Wake up!" I say and Ace looks at me. He just grins widely. "We need to get dressed and get back to Moby." I explain to him about waking up. "Besides, it's getting a bit chilly, undressed like this." I say then laugh. Ace taps me on a spot on my neck and grins before saying, "Mh then we should get going slowly not that the others are going too far away." he says still grinning broadly. What's wrong with him?

Well never mind! I stretch and dress slowly and provocatively. A little fun is allowed, after all. "We can also go behind the waterfall for another round!" I hear Ace say darkly. I grin at him over my shoulder and say in a smoky voice, "Another time, I have another job on the Moby." I say and Ace tilts his head. He's dressed by now, meaning he's got his trousers on again. He has knotted his boots together and slung them over his shoulder. I take the basket and run after Ace to the beach. I blink as I see the golden band between me and Ace, only it is no longer faint and thin, but wide and brightly shining. Ace, who is ahead of me, doesn't see it, of course. "Um Ace, do you see that?" I ask excitedly. Ace turns to me and then snaps his eyes open. "What?" he asks, surprised. "So you see that?" I ask him urgently. "The golden band, YES! It's hard to miss!" he says, tapping the band. It lights up strongly and I feel like Ace has touched me. "Um." I say. "What?" asks Ace and the tape fades. Even though I can't see it, I can feel it's still there. I focus on the band again and see it's back. "Ace, tell me what you are feeling right now!" I say. He nods and I touch the band. Ace turns around in surprise and grabs his shoulder with his hand. "What's that now?" he asks in surprise. "I don't know, I guess we need some more answers," I say with a shrug. He nods and the band fades again. "We'll just ask Marco!" says Ace. "You do that then, because he won't be happy to see me!" I say laughing.

Suddenly Ace's gaze turns curious and he takes my hand to help me over a log. "What did you actually do?" Ace asks me. I grin meanly before answering him questioningly, "Remember those pictures and stories Loki showed you? The ones of you and Marco?" he grimaces and nods, but then says, "Please you didn't show him any of those, did you?" he looks at me incredulously. I just shake my head frantically, "I'm not crazy!" I defend myself before smirking meanly, "No I wrote one of those stories of Him and Shanks and mixed it in with his papers!" Ace looks at me open mouthed. "You did what?" he asks me incredulously. I shrug and say, "He started it!" Ace throws himself on the floor and laughs at the top of his lungs. "You are so dead!" he giggles breathlessly. I nod and say, "Yup!" which only makes Ace laugh harder. Ace slowly calms down and stands back up. He puts an arm around me and then says, giggling, "I guess I'll have to hide you from Marco then!" I just look at him in disbelief before saying, "You can't even manage to hide yourself from Marco!" Ace grins at me and just keeps walking. Well then I bring my prank on the two of them forward a bit, then I only get punished once. I just have to manage to get into the ship unnoticed by Marco.

"Do you think he has calmed down and will leave me alone for today?" I ask Ace as we slowly arrive at the beach. "No!" says Ace resolutely. " Oh, you are optimistic!" I remark and Ace shrugs his shoulders. "After all, it's your own fault!" he says, still chuckling. I wonder if it was really a good idea to tell him the story about Marco. "You're going to hold it against him, aren't you?" I ask, earning only a grin. And how he will use that against Marco. We've arrived at the beach and he lifts me up in his arms again but I squirm back down. "Lucia we should go!" says Ace. I stand in the fire bowl and look at Ace. "Lucia you can't stay there, you'll burn yourself." he says seriously. "Really?" I ask. "Yes you're not fire...!" he says slowly towards the end, then grins and gets behind me. He wraps his arms around me and carefully lets his feet become fire. Waiting, I look down, the fire licking at my feet but not burning me. I grin in satisfaction and Ace now lets his whole legs burn. Jerkily the Striker moves forward and I am pressed against Ace. Ace laughs and we head towards Moby. The sun is setting and bathes the sea in a blood-red colour. We are just racing across the sea. I myself am almost asleep again. "Do you know how far the others might have got?" I ask, yawning. "They can't have got that far!" says Ace. I nod sleepily. My eyes keep falling shut. I feel myself drifting away.

Narrator's POV

Ace notices Lucia slowly slumping down. He carefully lifts her into his arms. She snuggles into his arms. He increases his speed and already sees the shadow of the Moby. After what feels like an eternity, he finally arrives and attaches the Striker to the Moby. Admittedly not easy with a sleeping Lucia in his arms. He jumps up onto the railing and is greeted with joy. Ace shifts Lucia's weight in his arms. And that's when he sees Marco coming towards him. He is about to reach for Lucia when he sees that she is sleeping contentedly. "Take her to bed, but tell her there will be consequences," he says. Ace nods and tries to stifle a laugh. "She told you, didn't she?" says Marco, annoyed, wiping his face with his hand. Ace says nothing and takes Lucia below deck so Marco doesn't throw her into the sea after all.

In the cabin he puts Lucia in bed and quickly undresses before lying down next to her. He covers her up and takes her in his arms before he falls asleep.

Next chapter

Into the lion's den

... Vista looks at me and tells me: "Today Marco wants to train you!" I snort and say, "He wants to do a lot of things with me, but I doubt you can call it training!" Ace just grins as everyone laughs. I look at Whitebeard, maybe he wants to save me. Suddenly Marco pushes me aside and sits between me and Ace. He makes a huge pout. "What's that face you're making? Has Shanks decided to give up his crew and join ours?" I ask. Marco looks like this is his worst nightmare. He shakes his head to get rid of the image. "No, your rookie is close by. We will meet him soon. That means your training is cancelled today!" says Marco...