Welcome ladies and gentlemen!

This chapter wrote itself out, and I decided to keep it :D It's cute and interesting and we get to learn a bit more about Ran. Also we can see how Ace and the pilot interact. I hope that she isn't going into the Mary Sue area, if you think that I am heading there, do tell. I hope that Ace is IC. This is kind of how I think he could be in his younger years. If you don't agree, you're welcome to complain, I like to hear constructive criticism :D

A bit of info: I don't choose the songs based on the content of the chapters. It's just what I was listening to while writing xD You're welcome to come follow my crazy music choice on soundcloud anytime :D

I would like to thank DrAnime203 and insanity122 for the favs! Thanks guys! And of course, Ace Portgas D, Kuroshi-Kayane and insanity122 for the follows!

Also, welcome back Otaku-chan! Thank you for your reviews, love! And insanity122 *bows* accept my gratitude!

Chapter 5: Mighty Long Fall – One Ok Rock (If you don't know these guys go check them out, they are smoking!)

The Moby Dick had vanished on the horizon hours ago. The Sparrow was gliding on one of the warmer low currents. The two passengers were quiet. They had given up talking due to the howling wind. And the amount of bugs in the air. Ran had selected her course and she was home free to just enjoy the flight. Ace, however, was feeling the effects. From the start, he had been rigid, muscles taut and hard. He had been holding onto the glider for dear life. He could feel his body hurting. True, he was an active fighter. He was used to a lot of physical work. But he wasn't used to being all pent up in a position like this for a long time. He could feel his legs and arms trembling.

Ran tapped his hand gently. Ace looked to her. She motioned for him to go forward on the glider, around the metal bars. He gave her an exasperated look. She grinned and tightened her hold around his waist. Ace complied. Knees buckling, the pirate walked forward carefully. He was in between the two bars again soon, Ran just behind him. The glider trembled and Ace froze. He felt the Sparrow go a bit higher, catching the smooth current again. Ran pulled the pirate backwards and he felt something on his back. Ace looked down, only to see a leather strap in between the bars. Ran motioned for him to lean on it, and he did. The strap held his weight in a sitting-like position and Ace felt his muscles relax. He was good and comfortable now. He raised his head, Ran giving him a smile from above. The pilot had noticed his issue.

The duo flew for a while. They passed over a couple of ships, Marine and pirate alike. Ace found it hilarious that they went unnoticed. He could see the perks of this glider thing. The first thing that didn't go to smooth happened around noon. Ran was considering landing for some lunch. She bent down, talking straight into the young pirate's ear. She didn't notice the slight shiver that went through his body.

"Wanna land and eat something?" Ace turned, nodding to her. She smiled back and swayed slightly, the glider leaving the current. The Sparrow slowed down gradually and Ran made a small circle with it, preparing to land onto the soft waves. That's when Ace felt it. His focus was slipping. Everything became blurry and his muscles slowly relaxed. Ace fell asleep, his lax body slipped off the glider and he was heading for the ocean. Fast.

Ran realized what was happening a second too late. By the time she had found purchase on the glider with her feet to free her hands, Ace was already flying down. She made a quick decision, changing her position. The Sparrow made a nosedive towards the ocean. Ran leveled out with the sea once again, heading back towards the spot where Ace had fallen in. She cursed his narcolepsy and Devil Fruit abilities. Luckily, they weren't too far up when he fell. She cursed herself for removing her arm from around her passenger. Ran let go of the glider, following the young pirate into the ocean, the Sparrow flying off on its own. She didn't care. Ran splashed into the sea.

She blinked twice and swam downwards. Her goggles allowed her to see better in the blue depths. She thanked the Calypso in her head for giving them calm seas today. Ran saw Ace's ridiculous orange hat and kicked. She thanked him for wearing that dumb hat in her mind. The pilot reached him fast, even though to her it seemed like ages. She grabbed the hammer's hand and swam up. He was heavy. He was so heavy. And she was so slow. Too slow. She had forgotten to take a full breath. Her face broke the salty surface, the pilot gasping for air. She pulled her companion up, holding his immobile body close and his head above water. Ran checked his breathing. Then, she felt relief spread through her. Her muscles were trembling from the abuse she had put them through while fishing the hammer out. Ran started laughing loudly, kicking weakly in the water. Ace was still asleep. He was softly snoring, oblivious to the fright he had just given her.

Ran looked around, trying to locate the Sparrow. It had flown for a little bit and now it was innocently floating on the soft waves. The pilot kicked and swam towards the vessel. Ace was pretty heavy. Not as heavy as he had seemed to be earlier, but he was a pain to swim with. Ran felt a pang in her sprained wrist. Damn, she thought. She wasn't supposed to strain that. She hadn't been thinking when Ace fell.

She truly hadn't. She had so many options now that she actually thought about it. Her brain had somehow frozen though. It was like it had been iced and the only thing she could see was Ace drowning. She was glad that she usually flew alone. Correction, she was glad that she didn't fly with a Devil Fruit user.

Ran hauled Ace's limp body onto her glider. She struggled for a bit and then managed to push him onto his back. The pilot circled the vessel and climbed up on the opposite side to balance the weight. She checked on Ace again. Still asleep. She didn't have to circle like that with her glider. She could've just jumped right away. No, she should've kept her arm around Ace. She could've gone down with the Sparrow. The glider would've pushed them up faster, due to the empty storage and its light composition. She slicked back the strands of hair that had fallen out of her bun with shaky hands. The adrenaline was leaving her system. She was trembling. Damn this pirate. Damn her for taking him with her. Damn his narcolepsy. Just damn.

Ran heard a groan and Ace sat up groggily. "What happened?" He asked, disoriented. They had been flying last time he checked. Ran's arms wrapped around him suddenly, squeezing hard. Ace was startled, but he automatically accepted the hug. She was trembling. And she was wet. Had they fallen into the sea?

"Damn you! You and your stupid narcolepsy!" Ran yelled. That explains it, Ace figured. He let her hug him, slowly using his Devil Fruit power to warm her up. He could feel the water slowly evaporating.

"Are you turning into a furnace?" Ran asked into his neck. He shivered at the feel of her lips and breath. He needed to get laid. Soon. And hopefully not with Ran. He liked her too much to ruin their friendship with his pent up sexual frustration.

"I'm just thanking you for fishing me out of the sea." He replied, his hands making comforting circles on her back. Ran wasn't trembling anymore. He felt something on her back. Two small parallel bumps were under the back of her 'too small to be called a shirt and too wide to be called a bikini' top. Right under her shoulder blades. He softly brushed his hands over them again and Ran ripped herself away from him. Ace expected her to look guarded. He expected anger. Not a smile.

"Let's have lunch and get back in the air." She walked away from the pirate, opening the storage to dig out their lunch boxes. Kondor couldn't send Ace on his way without a lunch box. Or ten. "We have a lot of ground to cover." Ace realized that she wasn't going to give him a chance to ask about the bumps. He would wait for her to be ready. He would wait for her to trust him enough.

"Don't you mean water?" He grinned at her and took his lunchbox. She laughed and murmured 'smartass'.

~~~~pb~~~~

The next time the glider stopped was at a small summer island. Needless to say, Ace was starving. He didn't understand this woman. She could go for hours without food. As soon as they landed he went to leap onto the sandy beach, but that didn't go too well. The pirate was pulled back by his belt. He turned to Ran, giving her an annoyed look.

"Ok, ok! Sheesh, just a second!" She unclasped the secure line that was attached to the bars of the glider, letting the pirate free. After her little nose dive and dip into the ocean because of the narcoleptic, Ran had found a solution to her problem. She had tied the poor man's belt with a chain to the bars, thus preventing him from falling off if he had an unexpected narcolepsy fit.

Ace wasn't too happy about that. In fact, he felt angry at the pilot. Sure, he understood her reasoning. But these kinds of things happen. Ace was a pirate. It was natural for him to end up in the ocean at least once a day. And, since he was a Devil Fruit user, he was used to sinking helplessly. He didn't enjoy it, but he had gotten used to it. He didn't get how the pilot couldn't understand that it wasn't a big deal. He was also quite annoyed about the lack of food. He liked his food. He was angrier when he was hungry.

"I'm going to go to the town that we saw from the air and get some supplies. You need anything?" Ace asked, taking his bag from the storage. Ran looked around the beach.

"You should get us some water for the trip. Other than that, I am good." Ace noted the missing contractions in her words. She was pissed at him, too. Great. "I will pull the Sparrow into the shade over there." She pointed to the palm trees a little ways off. Ace nodded and left, his bag on his back and hat on his head. He needed to let off some steam.

~~~~pb~~~~

Ran started a small fire near the Sparrow, careful to make it safe. She rummaged through the storage and took out a soft blanket she had gotten last year from a winter island on the Grand Line. It was adorable, with little snowmen painted all over it. She took out her water bottle and a boxed lunch and sat down. She took a moment and then decided to wait for Ace. He had been gone for a while. The sun was almost all the way down. Ran took out the chopsticks from her hair and let it flow down her back. She leaned onto her hands and looked up, watching the twinkling stars.

She had been mad at Ace. How did he not get it? She had tied him to the glider for his own safety. She had been worried about him. He had fallen off the glider for Calypso's sake. He had plunged into the sea from at least twenty meters. He was lucky that she had been landing. He was lucky that he didn't hurt himself. He was so lucky. And he just took it in stride. Like it was nothing. She had been worried. She had been terrified. And not for herself. That wasn't something that she was used to. She didn't have such strong emotional attachments. Izo was right. She was afraid of emotional intimacy.

She was going to be fine, though. Ran reassured herself. They would get to Sabaody Archipelago by tomorrow evening. Then, she would leave the troublesome pirate and be on her way. Alone. Like it was supposed to be.

She did want an adventure with the hot pirate though. Damn. Ran was torn. This was rare. Usually, she didn't have a problem with leaving. She left when wanted to leave. To fly. To be free.

"Here." A hand appeared next to her head, holding an ice-cream cone. Ran followed the tan limb all the way to the smiling, freckled face of her mental debate. She accepted the treat with a smile.

"Thanks." Ran murmured and licked some of the vanilla flavored scoop. Ace plopped down next to her and lay back onto the blanket, hands behind his head. Ran passed him the boxed lunch silently. He propped himself up on his elbow and started eating. There was silence between the two for a moment.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so pissed. You can tell me about it when you're ready, ok?" Ace began once he finished his food. Ran looked back at him, confused.

"Tell you about what?"

"The bumps on your back." Ace motioned with his hand at them, slight frown on his face.

"Huh?" Ran spun around, sitting facing him now. "I can tell you about them right now, they aren't important. I'm not angry because you were curious about them."

"Then what?" Ace sat up, coming closer to the young pilot.

"I'm angry because you dismiss your life! You are important! You can't just be reckless and get yourself killed like an idiot!" Ace felt his jaw drop. She was worried about him. She had been scared for him. She wasn't mad because he was touching and wondering about her weird bumps. She was angry because she didn't understand his lifestyle. Ace sighed. He took her hand in his and squeezed gently.

"I'm a pirate, Ranmao. I will get into dangerous situations a lot. My life will be in danger a lot. I am wanted by the Government. And I don't regret a single thing." His eyes were boring into hers, Ace's hands gripping her shoulders now. Ran looked back. She seemed so lost. So sad. His eyes were full of spirit, a small smile on the pirate's face. He was free, too, in his own way.

"I will worry." She told him. He hugged the sad girl gently. "This is so weird." She snickered. Ace pulled back, searching for her eyes. The pilot started laughing. The pirate joined in. They both felt the tension between them clearing. "Wait, why were you pissed at me?" The pilot asked.

"You wouldn't let me eat, crazy woman! You flew for hours without food!" Ace whined. Ran started laughing again.

"You should've said something, idiot! I'm not a black hole, unlike you!" She threw her hands up, gesturing wildly. Ace pouted and rummaged through his backpack. He turned to her with a grin and a rum bottle in his hand.

"Well, since we are clearing the air, let's drink to that!" He chuckled happily, opening the bottle.

"I can't drink because of the medicine for my wrist." Ran frowned slightly. She wanted to drink good booze and drunkenly confess her sins.

"We both know you haven't taken that stuff since yesterday. So, tonight, we drink to friendship, and tomorrow, you take your medicine and be a good girl. Deal?" Ace was smirking. He knew her answer already. Ran groaned and took the bottle out of his hands, drinking. She let out a sound of satisfaction, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and passed it back to Ace. Ran welcomed the burn in her throat.

"Don't laugh at me now, ok?" Ace gave her a confused look. He swallowed some rum. "I'm from above." Another confused look. "From a Sky Island." Ace's eyes widened, but he didn't laugh. He blinked a few times. Then he drank some more and passed her the bottle.

"That makes sense." He finally said. Ace believed her. He wasn't laughing. He wasn't ridiculing her. Ran gave him a smile and took a drink.

"The bumps, those are my wings." She told him, passing the bottle again. Ace gave her one of his confused looks. "They didn't develop. It happens. They will probably dissolve completely by the time I'm twenty." Ace was silent. "It's not like I could fly with them, even if they had grown out. They would just make my wardrobe ridiculous."

"Your wardrobe is ridiculous." The pirate supplied. Ran snorted. He took another swig of the rum and passed the bottle back. "But, hey, you have your own, useful wings, right? So who cares if you don't have the proper- errr- whatever they are." He gestured to her back.

"Agreed." Ran said and put the bottle to her lips again. The two were already buzzed nicely. Ace lay back down on the blanket and made room for Ran. The pilot joined him, using his arm as a pillow, the bottle in between them.

"So, we're good?" The pirate asked.

"Yeah. We're peachy." The girl replied. "Even though you're a reckless moron."

"You're telling me, you sadistic woman."

"Actually, I think I'm an M." Ran pointed out, tasting the rum again.

"Really?" Ace raised his head slightly. "I thought you would be S. With those chains and all. Kinda hot." Ran giggled. They laughed again. The air was cleared. They were back to their usual suggestive banter.

~~~~pb~~~~

The next morning wasn't pretty for the two friends. They had gone to the small town in search of water and hangover medicine. Both had come to a conclusion that Kondor had the best stuff. Even though it was disgusting. In the end, they flew out in the late morning, after a very adventurous dine and dash. Ran didn't realize why they hadn't just paid, she had money. She had just gotten paid. But Ace had told her to live a little and grabbed her arm to run out of the restaurant.

They set off soon after that. Ace had allowed Ran to chain him to the glider again, laughing and making jokes about sadism. They ended up flying low, even lower than yesterday. There the wind wasn't as loud as it was higher up. The currents were much weaker, too. This meant that Ran often had to use the mechanism in the Sparrow to give them a boost.

The two had discussed S&M. They entered a game of sorts, where they would explain why a certain action or person was S or M. They decided that Izo was a sadist all the way, while Thatch, though seemingly S, was an M. Marco, of course, gained an undisputed S title. Ace admitted that he would probably enjoy both, but that he was more of an S. Somehow, though, they got from that weird debate to Ace daring Ran to show him some flying tricks.

After lunch, she obliged. Ace had eaten a lot, as much as he wanted. Now, he wished he hadn't. The girl had some sick flying skills. She twirled, swirled, nosedived, cut the waves and did various other tricks. Ace felt like he was on a free, very dangerous rollercoaster. The fear that he had felt in the beginning of their journey had vanished after the first few twirls. Now, he understood how she could ride the Sparrow so calmly.

By the end of the day, the Sparrow landed on the Sabaody Archipelago. Ace had expressed his joy about flying over the Red Line, and not going under it. He felt like they were cheating somehow. He said that it was like they were breaking the rules and rubbing it in the Marines faces. Ace was laughing merrily all the way down the Red Line. Ran circled around the Archipelago and landed in the lawless zone.

"Have you been here before?" She asked Ace as she unchained him. The pirate stood and stretched.

"Once." He dug his bag out of the storage. "It was very brief, too. I didn't go sightseeing or anything." He positioned his hat in its proper place, eyes going serious. "I'm not here to have fun this time either." He gave Ran a smirk. He was excited about the danger.

"Adrenaline junkie." She fired at him with a shake of her head. The pilot sealed the storages on her vessel and took out the small gear that started the takeoff mechanism. She placed it in one of her pouches.

"Funny, coming from you after all those air tricks." The pirate shot back. Suddenly he straightened and offered Ran his arm. "My lady." He gave a small bow, taking off his hat like a gentleman. "Would you do me the honor of taking a stroll with me?" Ran gave him a smile.

"Why of course, good sir!" She intertwined their arms and the duo headed towards the populated area.

~~~~pb~~~~

The Sabaody Archipelago was beautiful. The tall trees, the cozy houses, the bubbles flying everywhere. The vibrant colors along with strange texture of the trees made it seem like a walk in the fairytale. However, as the pirate and his companion strolled through the busy streets, they couldn't help but overhear the whispers.

"Isn't that Fire Fist?"

"Of the Spade Pirates?"

"Yes, the one who rejected the title of Shichibukai."

"I heard that Whitebeard leveled his crew."

"Loser."

"Shhhh! Don't look at him."

"Came back to the weaker seas."

Ran could feel Ace's arm heating up under her skin. His eyes were murderous. He was going to cause a scene if she didn't do something. A scene on Sabaody was never a good thing. Ran tightened her grip on the pirate's arm. His eyes met hers briefly. She trembled with the amount of rage that was there. She had never seen such anger. Such hatred. Who was this man? Where was her funny companion? Where was the adorable, embarrassed pirate from before?

Then, just as Ace's shoulders were lighting on fire, the young pirate stumbled and fell towards the ground, asleep. Ran caught him around the middle, relief spreading through her. She dragged him into a nearby abandoned house and plopped down, settling Ace's warmer body comfortably on her own. There was no way that she would carry him somewhere on her own. True, she probably had the strength, but he would strangle her later. Ran took out a crumpled piece of paper from one of her pouches and went over it. She had quite a few people that she did work for on Sabaody. She could try and help Ace with his investigation. The poor guy was obviously more of an 'let's beat them up' type. She could stay here for two days max. Then she needed to go. She had another job lined up.

~~~~pb~~~~

Marco sat next to his Captain, the latter drinking sake in his favorite chair on the deck of Moby Dick. The old pirate ignored his first mate in the beginning. The brat obviously wanted something. Even though his face looked bored and indifferent, he gave off that aura of anxiety. Whitebeard waited for his son to speak on his own. No use rushing the lad. He looked over his partying sons on the deck. They had set off a few hours ago. Ace had been gone for two days. Ran also. It was strangely quiet. The party was in full swing, yet no one had challenged Marco to a duel at least fifty times. The First Commander hadn't thrown said person overboard for burning parts of the ship. Nor did Leo jump in after the hothead, cursing. Ace was gone. Whitebeard had really gotten used to his new son's loud and disruptive nature. It was rather amusing.

"Was that a good idea, Pops?" Marco finally spoke. The first mate was drinking, even though he couldn't really get drunk due to his Devil Fruit abilities. He was drinking to feel the comfortable buzz of the alcohol. Besides, it helped him think.

"Which part?" Whitebeard retorted. Marco looked at his old man, judging his expression.

"Can we trust either of them with something like this?"

Whitebeard sighed. "That brat doesn't have my mark yet. That will be his advantage. He will come back, son." The old pirate then looked at Marco. "Don't you remember when Ran came here for the first time?"

Marco started snickering and then laughed. He remembered. She had come, in a beat up glider, grease and soot all over her. She had landed on the deck, in the middle of the pirates who were ready to attack at any second. And then she had marched up to Whitebeard, stood tall, looked him in the eye and when he asked her who she was and what she wanted, she yelled that she was here to 'service the strongest man in the world'. This wording had, of course, caused mayhem. After the crew had calmed down a bit, getting their minds out of their gutters, the little girl had explained her situation. That had been four years ago. She had been just a tiny kid to Marco. Barely fifteen. And she had been running errands for them ever since.

"That brat isn't a bad one. She just needs a little push in the right direction." Whitebeard said. "She has spirit, that one. Both of them do."

"Would that push be taking up your flag, old man?" Marco was grinning at the giant of a pirate knowingly. Whitebeard drank some sake and laughed loudly. All of his children were cheeky.

~~~~pb~~~~

Ran and Ace split up. She headed towards the tourist district, looking for things for her next delivery. Ace decided to stay in the lawless part of the archipelago. Even though he wasn't a Captain anymore and not many knew of his status as a Whitebeard pirate, he wanted to keep a low profile. He needed to gather information about the pirates who were attacking the Torentes islands. Marco had given him all the information that Vista had gathered. Now, it was up to Ace. His stomach rumbled and he decided to hit two birds with one stone. Besides, who better to gather info from than a bartender?

The young pirate entered the shady establishment, ignoring the whispers and looks that he caused. Ran had made him promise to control his temper. He would. This time.

Ace sat on a barstool and ordered. The bartender gave him a disbelieving look, but he went to get the mountain of food. The man was big and unpleasant looking, with an apron tied around his waist. When Ace asked what he knew about the Torentes, the man's eyes widened. Ace placed a small bag of golden coins onto the bar and dug into his food with gusto. The bartender was looking at the glinting money. It was too close to the dangerous pirate. He caved and told the young man what he knew. Ace smirked. He loved being a pirate.

After getting all he wanted from the bartender and leaving him some money for his trouble Ace left the establishment. It was rare for him to pay for food. Well, the fat bartender was going to get in trouble for giving Ace the information. Might as well give him something in return. Money was easily obtainable these days.

Ace looked at his hand. Ran had drawn a map on it clumsily, she was a bit better than Luffy with drawing, explaining where they should meet and where he could go. Ace took out the paper from his bag where Leo had written the information about his tattoo artist. Might as well head there first. He still had time. Ace walked down the street, heading towards the grove number 15. He would get his tattoo tonight.

That's all folks!

Ok, so about the age thing, it's been bugging me. We know that Ace leaves three years before Luffy (Ace is 20 when he dies) so I figure that he joins WB around a year after he becomes a pirate. So I consider him around 18, give or take a few months. Ran is 15 when she comes down to the Blue Sea, so she is 19, a bit older than Ace. I know that the age difference may bug you, but I'm sorry, Ran was an OC made on the side, and then I realized how well she went with Ace.

As for the reviews:

insanity122: Thank you very much! I noticed that you have an AcexOC, and I promise to give you a review when I go through it, I am a tad busy with college at the moment.

I hope that I made a bit of a different thing ;) I've read a lot of stuff about Ace, I can't help but love AcexMarco, but I felt like there was more room for originality. Ace is a very cool character, with all his flaws, and I hope that I am portraying him well :D

Enjoy the new chapter and come chat in the reviews again :D

Otaku-chan: Are you not entertained? Mwahahahaha~ :D Hope you enjoyed this one, too.