Hello Again!

Here comes the next chapter. I have to say I really loved to write this one. But I also have to say that I was rewriting it over and over again to get it as good as possible. Hope you like it too!

Disclaimer: All Oda's still.

Enjoy!

When Marco was on the way back to his cabin, he met Izou. The commander gave him a questioning look. The phoenix knew what he was up to - the earrings. So he just shook his head. Izou rolled his eyes and headed for the kitchen to get some breakfast. The blonde returned to his cabin.

When entering, he was a little taken aback by the picture Anne gave. She had cuddled up in the bed, sobbing horribly. Marco kicked the door shut and hurried over to his bed. Sitting down beside the trembling woman, he shook her violently. "Anne, what's wrong?"

That was when she realized that she was no longer alone. She furiously whipped away the tears and tried to regain her composure. Then she sat up and adjusted her shirt. "Anne. What happened?" She just shook her head and was trying to stand up. Marco wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap.

She struggled and tried to free from his iron grip, accidently releasing her devil fruit powers. Marco hissed in pain, before his own power worked against the injury. "Anne… Anne!" Suddenly her resistance faded and she started sobbing again. Marco pressed her head against his shoulder, whispering soothing words until she calmed down a little. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." A sarcastic laugh escaped the phoenix. "Ace, I know you. It's not like you to start crying out of nothing." He didn't get an answer. So he let her cry silently at his shoulder, while hugging her tight.

After a few minutes, which tore Marco's heart to pieces, Anne had calmed down. "I don't know who I am. I don't want to be a vulnerable little girl. I don't want this new body be the end of my time as a pirate."

The blond remembered the desperate words he had overheard before and started to realize what her problem was. "Hey, listen to me. You are Ace and you are Anne. You don't need to be a scared, vulnerable little girl. You can still be a commander. And you can still be a tough fighter." He pressed a kiss on her hair. "You are who you've always been. Just a bit different."

Marco smiled down on her, as Anne raised her head. Her eyes were red and puffy. "What do you want me to be..?" She asked with a broken voice. With his next words he hurt himself more than he though possible. There were a few things he would have liked her to be. All of them were selfish and wouldn't help to calm her. So he told her the simple truth. Truth that somehow included all his selfish wishes without naming them. "I want you to be happy. Nothing more, nothing less."

He was a little surprised when she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Thank you, Marco." He returned the embrace, burying his face in her hair. It was true; he wanted her to be happy. And if it meant to be her best friend and captain (only), then he would be exactly that.

He placed two fingers below her chin and forced her to lift her head. He resisted the urge to kiss her and instead said: "Let's go for breakfast." She smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Then Anne stood up and walked over to the door. "You're the best captain one can wish to have!"

The kitchen was a mess, as always. Marco shook his head at the chaos his nakama had produced and walked to the table of the first division. The commanders ate with their divisions and the captain had planed to go from table to table.

Anne formed a fire ring around a half-empty pot of coffee and heated the liquid while grabbing for some food. Marco smiled. She seemed quite happy. But today would be tough. The phoenix knew that organizing the first division was a bit of a pain. Even though Anne had won Reji over, she still needed to convince the rest of the crew.

The blond saw Izou looking at Anne closely. The commander of the fifteenth division shot his captain an angry glance. Marco raised an eyebrow. Izou wouldn't leave him in peace until the small gift had found its way to Anne. The blond closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them again seconds later, only to find that somehow his coffee that he had only got moments prior, had vanished. He shot Anne a glance.

The raven-haired woman smirked and handed him back a half empty cup. A quick look around and Marco understood the issue. Someone from the first division had accidently picked Anne's cup and upon noticing it, he let it drop.

Poor boy. He had only joined the crew a few weeks ago and had already seen too many deaths. He was still more a kid than an adult and had joined Whitebeard's family because he had no other choice. His real family had cast him out the moment they had realized that he was able to use Haki.

Marco knew that the kid would be one of the strongest in the division in only a few years time. Maybe one day he could even lead his own division. Only if the crew survived that long, though.

Of course now, the boy was just seriously scared. Ace was famous for his choleric behavior when it came to his coffee. But apparently Anne was fine. Maybe because she stole half of my coffee, Marco thought. The commander gave the boy a broad smile and helped him collect the shards of the cup.

The phoenix smiled. Anne was doing a really good job. And her smile didn't look fake anymore. The captain grabbed his cup and walked over to Vista. Sailing meant that there was not too much to do for them. Sure, they needed to make sure their stock would last until they reached the next island. And they had to think about their allies and their territory. So Marco presumed that the first few days would be pretty hasty nevertheless.

As expected he was extremely busy for the following few hours and when he saw Anne the next time it was already late afternoon. He crossed her in one of the small corridors in the lowest part of the ship. She just left one of the rooms Marco knew exactly belonged to the first division. Reji had informed her well.

When seeing him, Anne shot him a broad smile. Marco smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Are you enjoying yourself?" She laughed. "I don't get bored." With a shrug she stepped closer to him and Marco felt his heart speed up. He was ready to be her friend only, but he couldn't ignore what he felt. And she made it hard for him to control his feelings…

Anne looked up to him and said. "Sorry that I stole your coffee today." Marco shook his head. It wasn't really an issue. But her close proximity and her adorable smile were an issue. He just hoped they would reach the next island soon. He needed to get laid, desperately.

And then, out of a sudden urge, he bent down, casually ignoring that he technically knew better than to make this mistake. His lips were almost touching Anne's, her eyes looking at him with a slightly confused look. But to his surprised, there was no resistance.

"Commander Anne! We have a problem up here. Move your lazy ass to the laundry!" Marco wasn't sure if it was relief or disappointment that he saw in her eyes. He watched her running up the stairs to meet Reji and realized that from now on, he would hope. And he knew that it would tear his heart to pieces, every time he would meet her gaze.

When Anne stumbled into the kitchen for dinner, she was soaked in soap water and didn't look particularly impressed. Marco nearly chocked at his noodles when he looked at her. Had no one told her that white fabric got transparent when wet?

The captain guessed that whoever had notice was probably too busy staring to be able to talk. Anne stomped to her seat and grabbed for a bowl. Her whole division was gaping at her sight. The rim of her bra was clearly visible under her white shirt and Marco forced himself to concentrate on his noodles again.

Anne quickly ate something and then stormed off again. In the mean time, the rest of the first division that had been in the laundry had shown up. They were all as wet as their commander and the phoenix could now overhear their conversation.

Apparently, two youngsters had decided that a fight over 'who would get the commander' was a brilliant idea. And Reji had brought Anne to get rid of the issue, once and for all. She had been careful not to hurt them too much. But steam was brutally hot and no one was to be expected to fight over Anne again in the near future.

Marco finished his dinner and decided to spend his first division commander a visit. Leaning against the doorframe he looked at the laundry. It was a mess. The dirty and the clean laundry were spread all over the floor. Everything was wet and full of soap. Anne was currently collecting the cloths and shoved them in a basket.

The phoenix grinned and started helping her and soon enough, the laundry was tidied up but still soaked. "Shouldn't the stupid kids be doing this?" She laughed. "While I look like this?" Marco knew immediately what she was referring to. He looked down to his hands, while sorting some soap that didn't need sorting. So she had noticed, after all.

Anne stepped over to him and forced him to look at her. He focused on her eyes, those warm brown eyes. Marco swallowed hard. He couldn't look away. And when she started to close the distance between them, the blond didn't know what to do. "Anne..." he whispered. She smiled and for a moment he saw Ace. It kicked Marco back to reality. He took a step back and fled.

He retreated to one of the loneliest places in the whole ship, the end of a tiny corridor. It was cold down there, the seawater only meters away on the other side of the wooden planks. Marco sat there, his face buried in his hands. She was Ace. And that was exactly his problem.

Of course he wanted her. And apparently she somehow felt the same towards him. But what if she suddenly changed back to her male form again? Was it only Anne's new appearance that caused those feelings, or was it truly about the person behind those brown eyes? What if it had nothing to do with the person she was, but with her new look? If they started something they would be breaking some unspoken rule. You just didn't touch your nakama. Not for the sake of mere lust.

He took the little present from his pocked and unwrapped it. The golden earrings were small and a tiny diamond glittered on each clip. Izou was right. They were beautiful. And they would fit Anne. But would they fit Ace? Not Ace's body of course. But him as a person…

Anne had said she wanted jewelry, though. "So why can't I give them to her?" He knew the answer. Because he wished that they would be something special for her. Because he wanted to be someone special for her; someone else than her nakama and captain. He leaned his head against the wood and sighed.

It didn't answer the original question, though. Did he mind, that Anne might be Ace again one day? He closed his eyes and imagined Anne's smile and face. All those special attitudes that she had were Ace's. Her personality was a little more female than it used to be (please remember her weakness for clothes and shoes), but it was still Ace.

And Ace had always been his favorite commander and nakama. Though he was never allowed to show it, because he had to be fair towards everyone. Thatch had known of course. Marco could never keep anything from the forth division commander.

A desperate laugh left Marco's lips. "No, of course I don't mind it…" But he shouldn't do this. Anne was still so unsure when it came to her new personality. He didn't want to hurt her. He… "Oh, shit..!"

Up in the crow's nest of the main mast sat Ace and watched the sky darken and the stars appear. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He had always admired Marco. The new captain was a great person and a strong leader. And a wonderful friend.

But since Ace was stuck in this female body, everything had changed. Especially since yesterday evening. When Anne had hugged Marco to warm him (this had been the original plan), she didn't want to let go anymore. It felt so comfortable, so right. Her natural body temperature was higher than normal people's and Marco's was cooler. Feeling his cool presence was so reassuring.

And then all those incidences today. By Davy Jones, how should this continue? They couldn't just go for almost-kisses in dark corridors all the time. And what would happen if they accidently fell in love and he changed back to his male body?

Oh, scratch that! He wouldn't fall for his captain. "And even if so, he wouldn't fall for me. I am a man…" What should she do? She couldn't be what Marco really wanted, because it all was an illusion. A desperate laugh left her lips as she looked up into the dark sky.

At some point, Anne was kicked out of the crow's nest by the poor guy who was on the watch that night. She climbed down and started wandering around the ship. Before they had lost their main ship in the war, Ace had never spent a lot of time on the Black Moby Dick. And as he knew he could neither sleep, nor was he ready to go back to the cabin in the first place, he decided to explore his new home.

And of course Anne also went to the lower regions of the ship and promptly found his blond captain. Anne stopped a few meters away from him and watched him look at something in his hands. Carefully she stepped closer and saw the beautiful earrings. Briefly she wondered why Marco had a pair of earrings. Then Marco looked up and she forgot the earrings. Basically she forgot everything around.

Of course the phoenix had felt her presence. Marco stood up and closed the distance between them. He grabbed for her hand and placed the jewelry in it. "We don't need to go shopping." Anne searched his eyes but found nothing that helped her.

"Marco.. I…" With a small smile he placed a finger on her lips. "I bought them after we got the clothes for you. Just didn't get a chance to give them to you." Her smile made his heart ache. She was just too beautiful. His hand moved to cup her cheek and he watched her lean into the touch. Anne looked up at him. Her eyes showed fear, and something Marco couldn't really figure out.

The phoenix took a shuddering breath. "Anne… Ace." He saw the fear melt away. He picked one of the earrings from her hand and said: "This might hurt a little…" Marco placed the post at her earlobe and used Haki to prevent the fire fruit of having too much effect. Anne flinched when he pierced the metal through her flesh and again when he quickly did the same on the other ear. Carefully now, Marco closed the earrings.

"They fit you." The woman looked up at him and carefully touched the earrings. Her earlobe healed immediately around the earrings. Grabbing Marco's wrist she dragged him all the way up to his cabin, where they had a mirror. He watched her face lighting up and felt his heart skip a beat.

He stepped behind her and met her gaze in the mirror. Ace was looking back at him through Anne's eyes. The phoenix didn't mind. He bent down and pressed a kiss on her neck. "Didn't you want to have jewelry to wear with the dress?" His eyes flickered over to the dark read dress that still hung over his chair. Anne turned around.

The look in her eyes knocked the breath out of him. She casually walked over to the dress. "Close your eyes, captain." He found that he couldn't, so he turned around. A few moments later, she touched his shoulder lightly. Slowly he turned back around and looked at her. She met his gaze with an almost shy look. "You are so beautiful…"

Aaaand End of Chapter.

I know.. Cliffhanger again.

They got OOC here, but I have to admit that I seriously love the feelings I got into this chapter.

Tell me what you think, please!

Read & Review please - Thanks!