Hello ladies and gentlemen!

Thank you for the follow K.C.96 and follow and fav Leontodon!

Otaku-chan, as my first reviewer, you have received your own chapter! This one is for you love :D

Chapter 3: Cuba 2012 - Cem Taşçinten Dance Edit

The party was in full swing with no signs of stopping. The Whitebeard Pirates had a variety of members and they each had, or didn't, a talent or two. This meant that the musicians were playing their instruments, drunken pirates were singing and there were quite a few people dancing. Whitebeard was perched in his usual chair, watching over his sons lovingly. The old pirate was laughing merrily and drinking his favorite sake. His appointed nurses had already given up on taking his drink away. Tonight life was good and tonight he would celebrate. Being a pirate you never knew what tomorrow would bring and Edward Newgate was used to seizing the moment.

The Migratory Bird had landed late in the afternoon on the Moby Dick. That girl, with her glider, had been a true blessing for the old pirate. He often needed a message or a package delivered as fast as possible. Marco was usually the one he sent. However, when the first mate left the ship, Whitebeard saw just how much work the seemingly bored man actually did. Which was a lot. His blonde son was an excellent multitasker, he kept an eye on both his division and the Commanders. This meant that Marco was always the go-to person. For everything. So, when the first mate left the ship, Whitebeard became that person. And the old pirate wasn't as patient as his son. In fact, he had a rather short fuse. He simply didn't understand how someone couldn't figure out where to put bananas. Or eggs. Or spare sheets. So all in all, the Migratory Bird was a heaven-sent. And she was a nice brat. Cheeky, but nice. She had respect and honor. Whitebeard liked that.

Ran ended up sitting with Izo and Thatch, listening to the two Commanders tell her stories about their travels. And of course bicker with each other. Out of all the Whitebeard Pirates she was probably the closest to Izo. They somehow clicked. Not that either could explain it. They were so different. Izo was all about style, makeup and scheming. He loved matchmaking, romance and guns. And he thought that those went perfectly together. Ran, on the other hand, had a weird sense of fashion, didn't wear makeup and wasn't very good at scheming. She was rather hotheaded but cowardly. She preferred to stay away from conflict. Romance was another mystery to her. Love in that sense was an alien word. She had crushes and casual hookups, but never a full-on relationship. She was a loner. True, she often thought about being with someone, full blown romance and all that. But, she only thought about it. Izo had told her that she was afraid of intimacy. Emotional intimacy. Ridiculous, she would retort. But still, Ran found the pink loving man fascinating, and the Commander liked the cheery teenage girl, even though he thought she needed a makeover. Thus, they spent most of her time on Moby Dick together. Usually, she ended up sleeping somewhere in his Commander quarters after a long night of drinking and giggling. Tonight, Thatch had glued himself to them, though. Not like Ran minded. Izo probably didn't either.

Ran was pulled up to dance many times by different pirates. Having a woman that wasn't a part of their crew on the ship was always a competition to the brothers. The pilot was used to it by now. That didn't stop her from having fun. She jumped around, danced and laughed with everyone that pulled her up. After a particularly long dance, Ran decided to take a break. She found Thatch and Izo gone from their space. She didn't worry about the two. She had learned not to worry about them. The ship was a safe place and they were strong. Insanely strong, even while drunk. Ran walked around, enjoying the sounds and energy of the celebration. She liked the sea. She didn't know how she had lived without it. She loved hearing the sound of the waves in the background and the soft lull of the ship on the calm water. The pilot grabbed a random bottle of booze and headed towards Leo's unmistakable messy blonde hair.

"Hello boys." She greeted, plopping next to the pirate and his charge. The two nodded at her. Leo seemed rather smashed already. The dark haired pirate looked to be on his way there, but still rather sober. He was also wearing a shirt now. A yellow one. Ran took a long swig from her new bottle. Too bad, shirtless looked good on him.

"Ran!" Leo's arm circled her shoulders and he pulled her close. She had forgotten that he was a hugger.

"Leo, my dear, you are going to kill me if you keep squeezing." The pirate slowly let her go, pout on his face. She giggled.

"Drinking makes him regress." The raven across from Ran remarked. She pressed herself comfortably against the blonde's side. He perked up instantly.

"I forgot." Ran winked at the raven pirate, as if that was a secret between them. Leo seemed oblivious to their conversation anyways. He was humming along with the song. Except he was humming the wrong song.

"How long have you been on the ship, errr-" Smalltalk never was Ran's forte.

"Ace." The pirate supplied. He didn't seem offended that she hadn't remembered his name. "A couple of months. I joined recently." Ran noted how he said that. He wasn't too keen on the subject.

"How do you like it so far? The crew gotten to you yet? Thatch has a warped sense of humor." She trailed off, remembering all the practical jokes she had been the victim of. Ace drank more from his bottle. He sat there for a moment, thinking. His thought process was slow when he drank. That's probably why he was so honest when he was under the influence.

"I like it." The raven finally spoke. "I didn't at first, but now I do. It's a big family. I like it." Ace figured that he probably wasn't making sense, but to him it seemed just fine. Somehow when he said it, it wasn't the way it had sounded in his head. Ran nodded, so he figured she understood. Or pretended to anyways. Ace felt the bottle slip from his hand and he blacked out. The last thing he saw was Ranmao lunging forward, a surprised look on her face.

~~~~pb~~~~

Ran sat on the deck of Moby Dick, squished in between two pirates, not that she really minded. Ace had fallen asleep suddenly and Leo was still humming and occasionally attempting conversation. Mostly he was humming. She hadn't expected the raven to fall asleep so randomly. She had caught him, and then checked his pulse, made sure he was fine. Then, she had allowed Ace to lean on her in his sleep. The pilot adjusted the raven haired pirate that had ended up on her lap. Her legs had fallen asleep. Leo told her something that she didn't catch and nodded to her, drinking more.

"That's enough, Leo, dear. Why don't you give me some of that rum now?" There was one thing that the blonde was when drunk and that was obedient. He handed over the glass bottle with a charming smile. Ran accepted and swallowed some. The pilot coughed. "No wonder you are smashed! This stuff is strong!" She remarked, but didn't return the bottle.

"You ok there, Ran?" Marco was in front of the group. Leo was attempting to answer the first mate, but all that came from his mouth was a string of not really related words. Marco and Ran exchanged glances, smiles on their faces.

"I'm all good. But as adorable as he is when drunk, he is going to feel this tomorrow. Think you could?" She left the sentence hanging, but the phoenix got it all. He reached for the young pirate, trying to help him up. Leo protested, attempting to push away the man with arms that felt like jelly.

"Leo, yoi, let's get you to bed." Marco frowned, making another attempt to catch the flailing arms.

"Commandeer Marcah, nah, gooood yeeeeh." The young pirate answered, trying to hide behind Ran. She giggled. Even Marco was showing his amusement. Leo was a very interesting drunk. He didn't get wasted often, but when he did, he was a blast to be around.

"Leo, sweetie, why don't you go with Marco now? And I will be here tomorrow when you wake up?" Ran tried to get the blonde to be reasonable.

"Prohmish?" Leo's face appeared from behind Ran's shoulder. He looked at the pilot with glazed over eyes, ignoring personal space. Obviously he was completely smashed. Usually he was all proper about personal space.

"Promise." The girl smiled. However, she didn't expect the next thing that happened. The drunken pirate leaned forward planting a chaste kiss on her lips. She heard Marco laughing in the background. Ran, though, accepted the affection. Not like she was going to get any action anytime soon. Besides, for her a kiss was like a greeting. The blonde pirate pulled away, a goofy grin on his face.

"'Night." Leo told her as the first mate pulled him onto his jelly-like legs. The still chuckling Marco led the younger pirate away. This left Ran with a snoring Ace on her lap. She took another swig from Leo's bottle. She could feel the alcohol kicking in. She could still feel Leo's lips on hers. It really has been a long time. Ran was a loner. Always flying, never in one place. No home, no attachments. She was free. And she was lonely.

But, a woman had her needs, and right now, Ran wanted someone to kiss her senseless. The Whitebeard Pirates understood this perfectly. Actually, most pirates understood her views. They too travelled the seas, not attaching themselves to the ground. She knew that a lot of them stopped at taverns or Red Light Districts in the bigger cities. That was their outlet. Ran, on the other hand, preferred a casual snog at a party. Drink, kiss and don't tell. That was her policy. Most of the people she had been with understood and accepted. She took a couple more gulps of the strong alcohol. The party was slowly dying down and she was nicely buzzed. She caught herself unconsciously playing with Ace's hair.

"How do you like the Whitebeard Pirates?" Ace was awake. Ran looked to her lap, meeting the dark eyes. She took a moment to process the pirate's question. He had just picked up where they had left off. "That feels nice by the way." He informed her, referring to her fingers running absentmindedly through his hair.

"I like them. I like their unspoken rules. Like the old 'honor amongst thieves' thing." She paused for another gulp. "You know what I mean?"

"Yeah." Ace reached for the bottle. The one Leo hadn't emptied. "Is that the good stuff? The one that Leo was drinking?" Ran nodded and handed it to the pirate. He took an impressively coordinated drink, not spilling any. Ran realized that she was paying attention to this pirate. She noticed his freckles for the first time. The moon was high and bright and there were some lit lanterns on the deck. She could see the tiny dots just fine. They were kind of childish. And cute. Her drunken brain decided that the pirate in her lap was cute and handsome at the same time. His body also gave off an unusual heat. It wasn't unpleasant. In fact, it was rather enjoyable, considering that there was a light breeze and that the air was cooling slowly. The still partially sober part of her brain noticed her drunken observations. This wasn't good, it told her. But the other side screamed party and satisfaction. So when Ace passed her the bottle, she let the amber liquid go down her throat, welcoming the burn.

Ace wasn't as far gone as Ran. True, he had been before falling asleep, but now, he could merely feel the gentle buzz of alcohol in his veins. The stuff that they were passing between them was strong, so he didn't doubt that he would be more than tipsy soon. The soft thighs under his head didn't help either. Nor did the fingers running through his hair. The alcohol made Ran forget her boundaries and insecurities. Ace could feel his face going slightly red, but he took another gulp of the rum regardless. He was lying on an attractive girl's lap, who was he to complain?

Ran accepted the bottle again. She took a drink, but only got half of what she expected. The pilot shook the glass container, as if to confirm its emptiness. She looked down at the pirate, like he had a solution to her current problem. Ace grinned at her, his hand reaching up to the back of her head. He gently pulled her down and Ran followed through. Their lips touched in a messy, drunken kiss.

What Ran felt was fire. Scorching fire burning everything in its path. That's how Ace's kiss was. Even a drunken one, it felt good. Maybe it was the rum talking, she didn't know. However, the pirate didn't seem to mind, so she continued keeping his lips busy. He tasted of rum. Ran pulled back. She wanted more rum. Ace was staring up at her, confused. Had she not liked the kiss?

"Let's go get some more rum." The pilot told him, solving his mental debate. Ace smiled and hopped to his feet. He extended his hand, helping his equally unsteady companion to her feet. They held onto each other, trying to stay standing. Walking was a challenge. The duo giggled as they attempted to go towards the booze in a straight line.

"Careful." Ace caught Ran as she tripped over a sleeping pirate. This caused him to sway, too. The pilot shushed him loudly and then they both laughed. Most of the crew was passed out anyways. They wouldn't mind.

"This way." Ace took Ran's hand, leading her towards his favorite place after they collected a bottle of rum. "I'll give you a boost." The pirate was painfully aware of the young woman's body pressing against his own hot one as he helped her onto the roof of the captain's quarters. Ran struggled for a moment, her coordination off because of the drink. Once safely on top, she offered Ace her hand. The pirate decided to humor her, and accepted. He wasn't expecting her grip on his hand to be strong. He didn't expect her to haul him up, either. They ended up rolling on their back right there, near the edge, giggling like mad. "C'mon. Let's go further down." Ace instructed. He didn't want to risk falling over in the middle of the night. Ran giggled, but complied, rolling further down the leveled roof.

Once they settled down, Ace took a drink from the rum bottle. He passed it to Ran next and she followed the example. They lay there in comfortable silence, staring at the skies. Ace felt like he could say anything at this moment and that the pilot would accept it, no prejudice. It was strange, how this girl that he had just met had him so relaxed, so off guard. He felt like he knew her from before. That nostalgic feeling that you couldn't quite pinpoint. Ace brushed it off as an effect of alcohol.

"Hey, Ace, why'd you become a pirate?" Ran suddenly asked him. He turned to her, and saw that she had been looking at him.

"To become Pirate King." He said bluntly. His dream was gone. There was no way he could become Pirate King. There was no way he could surpass Roger when people like Whitebeard existed in this world. He was beat.

"That's a good reason I suppose." Ran's voice brought him back to earth. She didn't laugh at his dream, nor ridicule it. She just accepted it. He wasn't used to that.

"Why did you start flying?" Ace asked her in return, truly curious. He had never thought a delivery service across the seas possible. Hell, before Ran came, he hadn't known what a glider was. The girl in question was looking at the stars again, small smile on her face.

"To be free." Her voice was low, but he caught it. "Like the birds, you know. They can go anywhere they want." She turned back to him. Their eyes locked and it was like the time stopped. This girl, probably younger than him, she looked so sad, so lonely, so experienced. Ace saw his own reflection in her for a second. In the back of his head, a voice said that she couldn't possibly be like him, but his brain refused to process the information. All he could see was the look of a lost little kid in her eyes. There was one thing she was lacking, unlike him. The rage. She didn't have his fiery anger. She just looked lost and frightened.

"Will you tell me about where you are from, Ace?" Ran broke the moment between them. She said his name again. She liked saying his name. He liked how it sounded on her lips, too. It was a gentle way to say his name. Ace obliged, and started talking. He hadn't talked like that to anyone in ages. He hadn't felt this comfortable in anyone's presence for ages. Ran had that welcoming feel around her. Like she would keep his secrets to her grave. So Ace told her. About Luffy, and Dadan, and Sabo, and about the Foosha Village. He told her about Makino, and Shanks and how insane his childhood was. He told her about the mountains and the animals he had fought there. And the many times he had fished Luffy out of the ocean. And Ran listened, paying attention. They kept passing the bottle of rum between them along with stories for a long time.

Marco stood, leaning against the wall of the Captain's quarters, a gentle smile on his face. Who knew that the Migratory Bird would get the fiery pirate to open up?

~~~~pb~~~~

Ace woke up groggily. His head was pounding again. This was becoming a bad habit. He quickly realized where he was, on the roof of the Captain's quarters. It was unusual for him to wake up on his own. Usually Marco or Leo came to fetch him up here. Slowly, the last night's events came back to him. Stories, rum and kisses. Man, he thought and relaxed back onto the warm planks. Ran wasn't anywhere near him. He could hear the pirates waking up and shuffling about. They were shushing each other, most sporting hangovers. Leo was probably worst off. He had been wasted last night.

Ace slowly sat up, gingerly placing a palm on his pounding forehead. That's it. He was going to go into celibacy. Well, into drink celibacy. The young pirate sluggishly dropped from the roof and headed for the cafeteria. He wondered if Kondor's evil drink would help him now. Anything to get rid of the hangover.

Ace stumbled into the unusually quiet cafeteria. He saw Ran and Izo sitting together, casually talking. The pilot had her back to him. The Commander, however, noticed his presence and gave him a knowing smirk. Ace didn't like that. That smile promised pain. Ran noticed Izo's attention being directed elsewhere and turned around. She didn't look too good. She seemed to be feeling the effects of their drinking last night, too. The pilot gave him a happy smile, though and waved. Ace returned it and headed towards the window where they got food.

"Morning, Kondor." He greeted the old cook.

"Ace, my boy! You don't look too good. Want me to fix that hangover again?" The old pirate started preparing Ace's food without asking what the teen wanted. The raven went to nod, but stopped himself.

"Yes, that would be great." He chose to answer, sparing his head. Kondor drank some wine straight from his bottle and then poured some into the stuff that he was cooking. Ace chanced a look at Ran over his shoulder. She was talking to Izo again, not paying much attention to Ace. He felt a pang in his chest. That was normal, right? He had opened up to her last night. He had told her things no one on Moby Dick except his former crew knew. He had kissed her, too. And now she was ignoring him, in favor of talking to Izo?

"She's nice, that Migratory Bird. But she ain't companion material, Ace, my boy." Kondor's voice surprised the young pirate. The old pirate had paused in his cooking to whisper to Ace. The raven turned back to the cook, seeing the knowing look the older man was giving him.

"I don't love her or anything. It's just-"

"You want her attention." The old pirate cut him off. "It's normal. A-aah~ When I was your age I was chasing skirts, too." Kondor picked up his pan again and flipped a pancake over. Ace looked once again at the pilot girl. She was rubbing her head. It looked like she was pretty hung over, too. "I'll tell you what, Ace, my boy. I'll fix you up my hangover cure, and you go score some points with the girl. Pirate life could end tomorrow, so, no regrets, right?" The old pirate was smiling at him, showing his missing and golden teeth.

"Thanks, Kondor." Ace smiled. He accepted the pile food and two evil looking glasses of red goo. The raven walked over to Izo and Ran, balancing his trays. Their conversation stopped and the pilot jumped up to help him with his food. Ace sat down, ignoring the smirking Commander. It felt weird sitting in the middle of the cafeteria. His back wasn't against the wall and there were no windows near him.

"Morning." He greeted and then passed Ran one of the glasses full of red liquid.

"Good morning." Izo retorted. Ace could feel the Commander's sly eyes on him, unwavering.

"Morning. Err, Ace, what is this?" Ran asked, inspecting the contents of her glass.

"Don't ask, just drink the stuff. It helps with hangovers." Ace didn't look at her face in favor of chugging his own red goo. Izo, however, saw Ran's horrified expression and laughed. The raven dug into his food with gusto. He couldn't help it. No one came in between him and his food. Besides, eating meant that the foul taste of hangover medicine was going away.

"Oh, Storm Thief help me." Ran exclaimed, her empty glass hitting the table top. "This is disgusting." The pilot grabbed some food off of Izo's plate and ate it. The Commander chuckled.

"It's quite effective, though, is it not, love?" Ran met her friend's eyes. She noticed his 'scheming face' immediately. The man was smirking at her.

"We'll see about that." The pilot said, her tone warning. Ace ignored the underlined conversation, eating. In fact, he didn't even register the exchange. Then, he felt his focus slip and his head slammed forward into his plate, fork still in the air. Ran looked at the sleeping pirate in surprise. The young girl started laughing, the Commander joining in. A couple of hung over pirates shushed them.

~~~~pb~~~~

Ace woke up to conversation. By the warmth of his food, he hadn't been asleep too long. Raising his head, he swallowed the food from his fork and grabbed the edge of Izo's kimono, wiping his face. Chaos ensued. Ace noticed that Leo and Thatch had appeared while he had been asleep. The blonde looked like hell. He was sitting across from Ace and Izo, next to Thatch and holding his head. The raven turned to the source of the cuss words aimed at him. Ran was attempting to hold Izo. The Commander looked murderous. Ace gave the cross dresser a blank stare and continued eating. This caused Izo to double his efforts.

"You people are too loud. I'm going back to bed." Leo stood up, swaying. He picked up a glass, taking it with him to the dirty dishes area. The blonde had obviously received hangover medicine from Kondor.

"Izo, wait!" Ran's voice caught Ace's attention. It was like he was tuned into this girl or something. "I'm sorry guys. I'll catch you later." The pilot picked up both hers and the Commander's plates and ran after the fuming man. Thatch and Ace shared a grin. Pissing off Izo was a sport. Pissing off Marco was an art.

"So, I saw you and Ran last night." Thatch began.

"It was the rum." Ace cut him off, finishing off his food.

"Hey, I didn't say anything." Thatch was leaning back in his seat, eyes trained on Ace. "Ran is a character. But she is a Migratory Bird, Ace. She tends to leave. I'm just worried about my brother."

Ace didn't look up. He felt the heat spread through his chest and to his ears. He registered his throat seizing up, and not because of the food. A drop that fell into his plate surprised him. He hadn't expected this. From Thatch. From any of the Whitebeard Pirates. He hadn't been a member long. Heck, he didn't even have their flag on his back, yet. And Thatch considered him family. He accepted Ace. With his faults and values. Without looking at the fact that Ace had tried to kill Pops. He accepted Roger's son.

No, he didn't. He didn't know. That's why he accepted Ace. Because he was Portgas D. Ace. Because he wasn't Roger's son. Because he didn't have the same blood as that man flowing through his veins. Thatch accepted Portgas D. Ace as his brother.

The tears didn't stop however. Not even after Ace angrily wiped them away. He was faintly aware of Thatch jumping across the table and sitting next to him, asking him if he was alright. Ace felt his lips form a grin. For once, he didn't care about the fact that he was accepted as Portgas. He cared about the fact that he was accepted. He felt like a ton of weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he raised his head, laughing and crying at the same time, mouth full of food. It wasn't a pretty sight, but he didn't care. Thatch accepted him as a brother.

"Ah, look at you! C'mere!" The pompadour pulled Ace into a headlock, showing his affection. The young pirate swallowed his food just in time, too. "Guess this means that we're keeping you." Thatch said somewhere above Ace's head. The hung over pirates around them came closer, cheering, to join the now group hug.

~~~~pb~~~~

Ran leaned on the wall outside of the cafeteria, palms flat on the planks. There was a blush on her smiling face. After she had caught up with Izo and calmed him down, but she had felt bad about leaving Ace and Thatch in a hurry. She had gone back to the cafeteria, deciding to spend more time with the two pirates. What she had seen, however, had shocked her. She had never seen a boy cry before. This boy, no, this man that she had kissed last night. This pirate. His emotions were so raw, so untamed, she could feel the intensity, the tension. It had stopped her in her tracks. She was no match for this man.

Ran had stepped back, watching the hugging and laughing pirates. She pushed off the wall, smiling. She didn't want to intrude. Besides, that giant grin on Ace's face suited him. That's when Ran decided. She was going to befriend the young pirate, random rum induced kissing be damned.

That's all folks!

Is it me or is it getting steamy in here? Anyways, drunken pirates, need I say more?

I hope you enjoyed the music, if you listened to it, I loved the beat :D Made me dance around a lot hehe~

Oh, If I stray into the Sue thing, please give me a heads up, I try to keep it as straight as possible, but it does happen :(

Review answers:

Otaku-chan: Hello, dear! I hope you enjoyed my quick update! I already had most of it written, that's why it was so fast :D See you around :3