Title: Of Dreams and Desires
Pairings: Smoker x Ace, Sanji x Zoro, and other side pairings
Ratings: T - NC-17
Chapter: 48 of ?
Summary: The road to One Piece is a dangerous one and each individual begins at different times and places. Some paths cross for a fleeting moment but the encounter could be so great that it can alter the initial direction. Every meeting is important and is planned by the souls long before the bodies see each other. Follow everyone's story and see what path they take.
Disclaimer: I do not make any profit from this story; all props go to Eiichiro Oda.
Author Note: Those who read and review, you guys are amazing.
Shout Outs: Thanks to yukino76 for the review; glad you thought it was good. Thanks leon-andrew! I feel the same way you do. Garp's gonna go through the struggles.
Beta Reader: descriptionsalive21, thank you so much!

Marshall D. Teach

Laffitte's black tap shoes clicked against the rotted wood as he made his way to the medical ward, a place once known as the sleeping quarters. He avoided a hole in the floorboards as a low groan reached his ears. He rolled his eyes at the sound. They had received word from the Marines to make course for Mariejois. Once there, they would meet the admirals and turn in their captive. However, ever since they got the call, Teach had locked himself away. He claimed his body was dealing with the after effects of the battle. It wasn't until Doc Q had Burgess tear down the door that he allowed treatments for his wounds.

The Demon Sheriff pushed aside a sheet they'd hung to act as a divider and stepped into the room. He gagged slightly at the strong smell of chemicals. Whatever the doc was doing had the whole bunker stinking. He followed the yelp from behind one of the wooden beams and saw Doc Q standing over their captain, rubbing ointment onto his chest.

The pale man hummed as he stepped closer to the pair, cringing when he saw the blisters that covered the larger man's body. "How's he doing, Doc?"

Said man continued to apply ointment to the wounds as he sniffed some falling snot back into his nose, "His skin is badly burned." He lifted a patch of gauzes, pointing at the wound, "The boy bit a chunk of flesh from him. It's infected because he wouldn't let me treat him sooner."

Blackbeard groaned as he tilted his head in the direction of his navigator, "You guys," he whined, "don't talk about me like I'm not here."

Laffitte leaned down, looking the injured man in his glassy eyes, "We know you're here. The whole ship knows you're here with all the noise you've been making." Thin fingers flicked the man on his burnt cheek, smiling when Teach let out a pained moan. "We're just ignoring you."

Marshall huffed and Doc laughed, "You did a fine job back there, Captain."

Tapping his cane against the floorboard, Laffitte nodded his head, "Yes, you impressed us all. We actually betted that Portgas would win."

Teach shifted his eyes over to the thin man, "You betted against me?"

Both men gave one solid nod, "Yup."

There was silence before Blackbeard wheezed a laugh, "I would have done the same."

Laffitte sat on a nearby stool, "For the type of power your devil has, you sure take a lot of damage. The kid's nowhere near as beat up as you are."

Doc Q hummed in agreement, "He has bruises, a couple of cuts, and a concussion, but that's about it."

Marshall let out a pained groan as he attempted to sit up on his own, huffing when he finally got upright, "Where is Ace?"

Laffitte fiddled with the hem of his sleeve, "He's in the brig, cuffed with seastone as ordered."

Doc help Teach swing his thin legs over the side of the bed, "Has he said anything?"

The navigator stood and moved near the door frame so they could have plenty of space to maneuver, "Not a word."

Blackbeard reached out to the wooden pillar to steady himself as he stood, "Get Jesus in here to help me to the holding cells." He looked up at Laffitte, "Arrange food and water to be brought to him."

"You're feeding the prisoner?"

Black eyes glared at the thin man, "Just do as I say."

Tipping his hat, the Demon Sheriff disappeared behind the curtain. Mumbling to himself, Doc Q flopped down exhaustedly onto his dubbed "Doctor's Stool", wiping sweat from his face, "Caring is weakness."

"Yeah? Well, if you don't like it, get off my ship."

Sick eyes rolled in their sockets and they sat in silence, waiting for the Champion to arrive. It wasn't long before Burgess stormed into the room with a smile plastered to his face, "Cap! You're awake!"

Teach winched at the booming voice. His headache worsened the more his nakama spoke. He held up his hand to silence the man and gave him a small grin, "I'm fine, Jesus. I need you to take me to the brig."

"No problem, Cap!"

He smiled when Burgess threw his arm around his shoulders and proceeded to help him walk. The man rarely questioned him. If only he was smarter; he would've made him his second in command.

Pained gasp escaped Blackbeard with each step he took. The walk to the brig was long and painful. About half way there he paused to catch his breath, "How much further?"

Burgess hiked the man upright from his slumped form, "Not much."

Teach nodded his head and they continued their slow march. When they made it down the last stair, the captain hobbled away from his crutch and landed with a thud in front of his prisoner's cell.

Swallowing the build-up spit in his mouth, he addressed the shackled male, "Commander."

The teen let out a heavy sigh, "I told you not to call me that."

Blackbeard shrugged, "Habit."

Ace glared at his captor, "What do you want?"

Laffitte approached the wounded man, clearing his throat. Marshall look up and smiled when he saw the food and water he'd requested. With a flick of his finger, he gave the command to Burgess. The wrestler opened the cell and the navigator slowly walked towards the other pirate. They didn't have chains, so there was nothing binding Ace to the wall besides the seastone cuffs placed on his wrists. Keeping eye contact, he placed the items before him then backed out of the space. When he made it safely on the other side of the bars, Burgess locked the door and they stood near the exit of the brig, waiting for their captain to finish with the prisoner.

Ace's stomach growled at the smell of food, but he refused to give into his basic needs. Last thing he would do was accept anything from the asshole who kidnapped him. He glared up at Teach and snarled, "I don't know why you are trying to be friendly. What the fuck do you want?"

Marshall huffed, looking past the dirty hair and into hardened black eyes of the teen, "We're taking you to Mariejois. I don't know what will become of you after that."

The captain signaled his helmsman to help his stand and, after some struggle, he was on his feet. The pair shuffled past the Demon Sheriff but before they could make it up the stairs, Ace's voice echoed to them.

"Teach."

Said man hummed in acknowledgment, turning slightly, "What's up?"

The silence stretched. Convinced it was nothing, they continued to walk, but he heard the whisper from the commander, "Whatever you do, don't tell my brother of my fate should you meet him."

Burgess laughed and Blackbeard silenced him with an elbow to his ribs. He limped away from his crutch, fully facing his former nakama and nodded his head, "I swear."

Not sure if he fully believed the statement but satisfied with the answer, Ace leaned back against the decaying wooden wall, closing his eyes.

Seeing the other had no more words for him, Blackbeard and his men left the brig.

M.D.T

Aokiji stood arms crossed at the port of Mariejois. He pulled a small watch from his pocket and checked the time.

They were late.

Hie shifting alerted him of another and he turned his head to see Kizaru approaching him. When he was near, he addressed the man. "I thought you were in Sabaody?"

The Yellow Monkey pursed his lips, "I told Sentomaru to contact me when I was needed. I couldn't miss out on this. We finally got Whitebeard's second commander."

Kuzan turned back to look back at the sea. They stood in silence for a while before he spoke, "Whitebeard will come for him."

Borsalino shrugged, "He's no longer in his prime."

"He's still the strongest man in the world. That's not a statement for his strength but his crew's strength as well."

Situating his admiral's jacket on his shoulders, Kizaru tilted his head, "Let them come. We can take them. It'll give us a chance to rid the world of those pirates in one fell swoop."

Aokiji shook his head at the Marine's words. He couldn't grace the statement with a response and he was more than happy to see the raggedy ship pull into port. Kizaru's laughter pulled his attention to him, "That's their ship?"

The rotten wooden craft weighed anchor and the admirals watched a thin man step off the craft. He paused at the bottom of the ramp, looking back towards the deck. The pirate of the hour was guided out of the rear quarters, followed by Blackbeard and another member of his crew. Aokiji pursed his lips, making a mental note of the pirates present. He frowned when he saw Ace. He'd become too familiar with the pirate and the sight of his shackled moved something in him.

Burgess pushed the smaller man's shoulder, causing him to stumble forward. "Move your feet! Don't tell me you're scared!"

Ace growled, spinning around and kicking the wrestling champion off the ramp. When the large body splashed into the water, Van Argus pointed his rifle at him, ready to fire but Blackbeard's chuckles stopped him from pulling the trigger, "I told him not to fuck with the kid."

Borsalino laughed at the scene and shook his head, "How the hell did they capture him?"

"I wonder the same thing." Kuzan whispered. He approached the pale man, signaling for his partner to follow.

Laffitte sucked his teeth at his nakama. They couldn't even put on a united front in the presence of Marines. If they didn't pull it together, the crew wouldn't last long. Black eyes shifted to the admirals and he tipped his hat in greeting, "They will be down shortly."

Holding his head up high, Ace continued down the ramp. When he saw the dark skinned Marine his shoulders slumped slightly. Of course it would be Smoker's friend.

Their eyes met and the taller man gave a slight nod of his head. Ace returned the gesture and waited for whatever was to come next. Blackbeard, after many struggled steps, stood beside Laffitte panting. He shuffled a little before he spoke, "So, what's next?"

Kuzan adjusted his sleeping mask before hiking his thumb towards Kizaru, "You'll follow him inside. He'll inform you from there. Your men stay on the ship." He looked at Ace and jerked his head towards the warship behind them, "You'll be coming with me."

Not happy with the situation but eager to get away from Blackbeard, Ace brushed past the admirals and made his way towards the ship. Teach's voice halted his footsteps, "It was a pleasure sailing with you again, Commander."

Ace's shoes scuffed the ground as he halted. Hie moved in Aokiji, a warning. Even with the cuffs on, the devil could feel Mera's desperation to attack the other man. Unable to do much in his position, Ace stormed back to the man, putting everyone on edge. Gathering spit from the back of his throat, he ejected it onto the other's face, smiling when the smirk that was there slowly fell.

Ace glared with hells fire behind his eyes and he winked before he walked away.

Aokiji chuckled as he elbowed Borsalino, "Garp's grandson indeed."

Said man snorted but raised an eyebrow when Laffitte began to progress towards the retreating pirate. He stepped in front of the man, "You don't wanna try anything. Not here." He looked at Blackbeard who was wiping the glob of spit out of his eyes, "Come or we'll be late."

Kuzan walked briskly to catch up to the pirate, leaving behind his comrade to deal with Shichibukai duties. When he fell in step beside the young man and they were far enough away, he whispered, "I was hoping you'd win."

Ace sighed, "Does Smoker know?"

"I'm not sure."

Their conversation came to a pause as they came up on the ship. Some lower ranked Marines preformed a body search before shackling Ace's ankles with cuffs, further weakening him. When ready they walked up the ramp to the deck and Ace hung his head as realization settled upon him.

His Old Man.

His Grandpa.

His Lover.

He prayed for the first time in his life at that moment. Praying that they wouldn't get involved, and that they would let him receive his punishment without any movement on their end. Whatever his fate would be, he had already come to accept it and he hoped they could too.

So it begins. Stay tune for the next chapter: Jinbe - Huredhiel