(A/N: Been forever, huh? Sorry about that. Well, this chapter is actually in honor of a special occasion! For those of you who don't know, it was recently Kyyhkynen's birthday! She's the AMAZING artist who runs a BEAUTIFUL MarcoxAce ask blog on tumbler (if I spell it correctly I'm afraid the site will eat it. But I do know there's not supposed to be an 'e' there.) So this chapter, in all of its incredibly belated glory, is in honor of her. Her art, headcanons, and conversation have always cheered me up, so a big shout-out/thank you to her! I love you! Keep drawing! Happy Birthday and all that! :DD The world is very glad you were born! ANDI'MSOSORRYTHISISSOLATEBUTLIFE'SCRAZYANDYEAHI'MWRITINGTHISINFRENCHCLASSRIGHTNOW.

Also: Mountain97 had some input on this chapter, so for those of you reading Kill the Rabbit, there's apparently a clue in here? (She beta-read and helped me with some sticky bits). (If you don't like the headcanon that this is connected to Kill the Rabbit, fear not. It's subtle and foreshadowing/references are easy to miss.)

Okay. Moving on. It's been so long since the last chapter I honestly don't remember if I replied to reviews or not. If I didn't, I apologize and I assure you I will respond to all reviews left for this chapter. c:

This chapter contains SWEARING and VIOLENCE)

~I will reach inside

Just to find my heart is beating~

There's a simple progression to these things. Ace had learned this long ago.

You don't mourn. Not right away, at least.

First is vengeance.

Then guilt.

Then mourning.

Ace jogged at a manageable pace, considering he was heading uphill. Everything in his mind was currently shoved behind a wall. He wouldn't think. He wouldn't remember. He wouldn't feel. He wouldn't. Not now. All of that could get out later. Now he needed to move he needed to survive he needed to focus. He had one task. One task. Everything irrelevant to that task had to wait.

Teach.

Or more specifically, his head. On a fucking plate.

And that bastard with the monocle. He was going to die. He was going to die.

Ace felt white-hot rage rising beneath his bones and forcibly stifled it. It wouldn't help to get angry. He needed to remain collected. He needed to remain calm. Getting angry wouldn't help him, wouldn't help Thatch, and certainly wouldn't help in taking down Teach and his crew. Anger leads to recklessness. Recklessness leads to death. Ace grit his teeth, clenching his eyes shut, trying to force back the images.

Fatigue leads to recklessness too.

It was his fault.

Simple as that.

It was his fault they had died.

They hadn't deserved it, hadn't been involved in the conflict in any way. What right did Ace have to take everything away from them? What. Right?! Ace felt tears biting at his eyes, a painful ache occupying his throat. He raised a hand to his face and bit hard enough to bleed on one of his fingers. The pain snapped him back to the present, back to his objective.

Mourning is last.

Vengeance. Vengeance first. They didn't deserve anything less.

Ace redoubled his pace, pressing his thumb against his bleeding forefinger with enough force to hurt. He needed the hurt, needed the clarity and simplicity of something like blood and physical pain. Because everything else hurt far, far more and he couldn't deal with that now.

He was in the trees of the mountains now, mental map telling him he couldn't have been more than a mile from the house where – he hoped beyond hoping – Teach and his crew still were, having established it as a kind of base camp.

As he drew within a hundred feet of the house, he swung up into the trees. It wouldn't do him any good to get caught out of sheer stupidity alone. And those bastards had already proved to be damn observant. It was lucky Ace had already taken out Top Hat. With him gone, he didn't think any of the others had the stealth to sneak up on him. Well…Ace assumed he was gone. He wouldn't be climbing any trees in the near future, that's for sure. Not with the crunch Ace had heard when he'd landed on him after their fall from the tree.

Ace found himself a comfortable, maintainable perch within sight of the house, knowing he'd be camouflaged by the dappled light from the leaves, which would make his shape ambiguous and hard to discern. From here, he was confident he could see without being seen.

And so he settled himself, prepared to wait, to observe, and to plan.

Via the windows, Ace was able to pick out two different figures moving around in the house. He could see what might be the shape of Shoulders in the central room, slumped against a wall. Ace smirked to himself. Damn right you're still unconscious, asshole. The tranquilizers Ace had hit him with were still in effect, and Ace thought they probably still would be for another few hours at least.

The other figures were harder to pick out, based on appearance alone. The other three members of the crew (besides Teach) were of the lanky, tall variety, and that made it hard to figure out which was which based on silhouette alone. He couldn't be sure if one of them was a conscious, albeit injured Top Hat, or if it was just Tuberculosis and Monocle. If it was Top Hat, that left the question of which was remaining of the other two. And where the other had gone. And then there was one more thing, one more thing that was bothering Ace pretty deeply.

He hadn't seen Teach.

And even worse than that:

He hadn't seen Thatch.

He would have recognized Thatch. He would have. Instantly. Of course, he supposed it made sense that they wouldn't keep a prisoner near a window or other easily open-able place, but it raised the question of where he was, as well as what condition he was in. Ace felt anxiety rising in his throat like bile, choking him with worry for his friend.

The last time he saw Thatch, it hadn't exactly been under the best of circumstances and Thatch hadn't been exactly doing all that well. Rising fury was trying to overrule the anxiety.

They'd hurt Thatch.

They'd hurt his best friend, his brother.

Nobody.

Nobody was allowed to do that.

He could still hear Thatch's stifled cry of pain when his rib had broken, could still see each hue of bruise and blood on his face. The memories were seared into his mind with all the finality and fervor of a brand. Ace's whole chest was tightening with the sheer force of his rage.

Teach would pay.

Teach would pay for each and every memory that Ace couldn't forget.

Teach would pay for each and every memory that Ace couldn't prevent.

Ace felt fire rising beneath his skin and struggled to suppress it. Calm down, Ace. He tried to breathe deeply, tried to cool the burning rush. Calm.

You could do it, you know. Burn it to the ground. Kill them all. They deserve it. They DESERVE. IT. Ace felt his chest clench tighter still. He wanted to do it. He wanted to. They'd killed innocents. They'd hurt his friend his family nobody can do that IT'S NOT ALLOW-

Ace clenched his eyes shut. No. He couldn't afford this. He couldn't afford to do this. Calm down. It's okay. You're okay. He tried to regulate his breathing, tried to somehow slow his rapid heart rate, tried to quiet the ringing in his ears. He slowly opened his eyes, the feel of the breeze on his skin and the glint of the sun reassuring him.

Movement inside the house attracted his attention, distracting him from his inner turmoil. It was a welcome relief, the seeming pressure in his chest relaxing. The movement wasn't subtle, and it didn't seem as random or relaxed as before.

Ace watched as the two figures converged in the kitchen area. They remained in there for a while, seemingly doing…something. It was like they were trying to lift something heavy or-

It was Thatch.

He was conscious.

He was alive.

Ace felt part of him start breathing again.

Thatch seemed to be struggling against them as best he could, from what Ace could see. But he could also tell that Thatch obviously wasn't at his best. His movements seemed sluggish, and while still apparently giving one of the lanky guys a bit of trouble, were weaker than they should be. When Thatch had taught Ace grappling he'd proved on numerous occasions the ability to toss Ace about like a sack of flour. Tuberculosis or Monocle couldn't be that much heavier than Ace. And Tuberculosis was sick. He shouldn't be hard to beat in a physical confrontation. The thought of being flung into a tree by said person's double-bladed, no doubt quite heavy scythe crossed his mind, and Ace reconsidered. He shouldn't underestimate these people. In any way.

He'd apparently already done that too much with Teach.

Ace felt his jaw clench painfully at the thought. He should have seen this coming. He should have prevented this, somehow. He should have known. As Teach's division commander, he was supposed to know him intrinsically. He should have seen signs that this was coming or something. He should have stopped this.

He shook his head, forcing the thoughts away. He needed to focus on the situation at hand, if he got distracted it could spell the end of him. Or Thatch.

They'd seemingly gotten Thatch under control and were dragging him towards the door. Ace perked up with interest. If they were moving him, Ace would get an opportunity. A golden opportunity. It'd be easier to fight them out in the open where he could more effectively use his devil fruit without putting Thatch in as much danger. And Teach wasn't-

Oh. Scratch that.

Teach had emerged from one of the other rooms, and the two manhandling Thatch paused in the entry room to talk to him or receive orders of some kind. After a moment, all four continued moving, heading for the front door. Ace was equal parts excited and wary. On the one hand, this was a great opportunity to get Thatch back and kill three out of the five targets he now had. On the other hand, he would now have to fight three of them. It wasn't that he thought he couldn't. He didn't ever count himself out in a fight, he knew he could be plenty deadly. But there was the issue of now he'd be fighting three of them. All five had managed to outmatch him, last time. With three his odds were significantly better, but they had a hostage and knew Ace wasn't willing to give up Thatch's life, even at the cost of the battle. It would be better to remain out of sight until he figured out the best way to deal with this specific situation. Teach was damn cleverer than he'd given him credit for, if he'd managed to lie to Ace this convincingly for this long. If he knew Ace was here, he'd use Thatch's life to his advantage, and Ace wouldn't let Thatch die.

He watched as they came out the door, Thatch's hands tied behind his back, face bruised and stained with dried blood. They brought him to the edge of the woods then stopped. Teach looked out at the trees, scanning. Yeah, good luck with that, asshole, Ace thought. From where Teach was, there was no way he could see him, unless he knew specifically where to look. Teach's eyes swept over him sightlessly, taking in the whole panorama, passing over the glaring Ace harmlessly. Ace felt something, like a passing thought, prodding absently at his conscious. He swatted away the thought absently. He had to focus-

Teach's mouth folded into a victorious smirk, eyes snapping and fixing on Ace's current position and Ace's eyes widened in shock.

AhfuckingSHIT. It hadn't been one of his own thoughts. It had been sensory haki disguised as one of his own thoughts. Ace hadn't even known that was possible. How in fuck's name did Teach know how to do it?! And not only that, because Ace had interacted, responded with it, Teach had been able to pinpoint his location. Not only that, he knew Ace's mind well enough to disguise his haki as Ace's thoughts. Ace felt an involuntary shiver pass down his spine. In this regard, he was unbelievably outclassed. It had been a long time since he'd felt this outmaneuvered. Nearly eleven years. Ace swallowed thickly.

"Hello, Ace." Teach didn't shout, merely projected, keeping his eyes fixed on Ace, assuring him he knew exactly where he was. Ace didn't respond, and Teach went on regardless. "I've decided I'm bored of this game." Ace didn't like where this was going. "So it's time for you to give up the ghost, Ace. Why not make this easier for both of us and come down here?" Ace didn't move, and he got the feeling Teach wasn't exactly expecting him to, for he continued mere moments later.

He pulled a gun out of the sash around his waist and shot Thatch in the ankle.

Thatch gave an involuntary scream of pain, falling to his knees, head bowed, and Ace could see how his jaw locked in agony, trying to suppress further shouts. Ace felt his heart leap into his throat.

"One," Teach said calmly. Ace's eyes widened. Teach was still staring right at him, gap-filled grin firmly in place, shattering any lingering thought that he may still feel any sense of loyalty towards his former brothers like so many flecks of white bone visible in Thatch's leg. He raised the gun, angling it towards Thatch's middle. Shitshitshitshitshit- what could he do what could he do?! He didn't have any time to think of anything and Thatch was bleeding and if he didn't do something that gun would be pointed at somewhere lethal soon enough-

"Tw-"

"Wait!" Ace scrambled out of the tree, half falling, half climbing to the ground. It didn't matter. It didn't matter if he got caught. He wouldn't let Thatch die like this. He sprinted through the trees towards Teach, hands raised in a sign of nonaggression. He came to a panting stop at the edge of the trees, maybe fifteen feet from Teach. "Don't!" Teach had a predator's grin and Ace felt some part of him shudder.

"Ace," Teach said, dragging out the syllable. Ace felt cornered. He couldn't attack. If he so much as twitched in a way Teach didn't want, Thatch was a dead man. He wouldn't have time to attack before the bullet found Thatch's brain.

He was truly and entirely trapped.

"How lovely to see you again." Teach had an expression and tone that said he knew well and truly that he had Ace. He grabbed a fistful of Thatch's hair, dragging his head up. Thatch groaned, and as his face became visible Ace could see it was contorted with pain. "Now, if you please, kindly give all weapons in your possession to Van Augur, including any hazardous chemicals or poisons." Monocle – Van Augur – approached, expression placid, bored. Ace's eyes turned to a glare as he drew nearer, but he did as he was told, moving slowly. He unstrapped the knife from his waist, still sheathed, and carefully handed it off. Next was the one on the underside of his wrist, then, moving slower still, the one from his boot. He saw Augur tense up at the naked blade (this was the only one Ace couldn't hand off without unsheathing and he made sure to move as slowly and unthreateningly as possible. If they were going to kill Thatch over something, this would be the moment they'd do it. Ace felt like he was walking on a sheet of fine glass), but when Ace handed off the final blade, Augur's face quirked into a smirk.

"Good little obedient bitch," he murmured, voice no more than a whisper, below even Teach's hearing. Ace's fingers twitched, itching to strangle him, to grab back a knife and cut out his tongue, anything, so long as he got to watch the cruel light leave his eyes. Ace was sure his glare was nearing a level of melting steel and he spoke, voice again too low for Teach to hear.

"I swear to you right now one day I'm going to be the one that kills you. Be careful where you sleep and who you tell your name to, Van Augur. Until the day one of us dies I will be hunting you." He said the words with deep finality, but his voice was entirely monotone. He stared into Augur's eyes and for just a moment allowed his face to form into a wide grin, lips bending further than normal to pronounce the next words. "So smile while you can, hmmm?"

Augur looked taken aback and lightly unsettled, but Ace had schooled his face back to one of perfect seriousness, the previous grin entirely vanished from his expression. Augur looked like he didn't know whether to believe what he'd just seen or not, and took a subtle step back, holding the blades a bit further from Ace than he had previously. Smart move, Ace thought, still wanting to rip his throat out. Augur swallowed, stepping back to place the blades near where Teach was standing. He returned to Ace and Ace grudgingly handed off his bag, all grenades, smoke bombs, and chemicals inside. Augur handled the bag delicately, seemingly aware of its contents, gingerly setting it on the ground.

Teach was still smirking victoriously, and when Ace turned back to face him, Teach tossed something to him. Ace caught it deftly, and nearly collapsed, his expression displaying his surprise. Seastone, he thought bitterly, of course.

"Now be a dear and put those on."

It wasn't the highest concentration he'd ever encountered. The purer the sample the greater affect it had on devil fruit users. Marco had given him quite the dissertation. Marco had a tiny fleck of pure kairoseki, and when Ace had touched that he'd been in a coma for four days. Based on the samples Marco had shown him, this was…maybe 25% pure kairoseki. Ace, after long practice, could touch samples up to 40% and still be strong enough to perform light physical activity normally, but there was no doubt about this taking away his abilities. Ace snapped one of the bands of the handcuffs around his left wrist, his sense of dread and resign growing.

The other band closed around his right wrist with echoing finality.

"Ace you fucking idiot…" Thatch whispered, face twisted with a kind of anguish Ace knew all too well. Guilt. "Why would you give yourself up for me?! I told you to leave me, dammit! I told-" Teach kicked him hard in the stomach and al air left Thatch's lungs in a pained grunt.

"It's time for you to tell me why my devil fruit isn't working, Ace." Ace blinked, careful not to let his surprise show on his face. He doesn't know it's fake yet? Ace swallowed thickly. …Sorry about whatever consequences this has for either of us, Thatch.

"No," he stated simply. Teach smiled, shoving Thatch to the ground, Augur quick enough in placing a foot on the back of Thatch's neck, pinning him there. Ace contemplated taking this instant to run, but he knew Augur was a damn good shot, and with the seastone handcuffs getting shot in the knee or ankle was all too real a possibility. Teach stopped just in front of him and Ace hated him for the extra height and the fact he had to look up to meet his eyes.

"Come now, Ace. Wouldn't we all rather this remain civilized?" Ace smiled up at him coldly, close-mouthed.

"You lost any claim to civility when you attacked your own nakama. You lost any claim to humanity." Teach didn't seem to react to the words in any way. At least, not for a moment.

Then he grabbed a fistful of Ace's hair and threw him forward.

Ace grunted as he collided with the packed ground, dragging through the dust. He felt the gritty sting of scrapes along his knees and forearms. He felt one of Teach's booted feet land on his back, pinning him to the ground. A hand found its way to his hair, dragging his head up, bending his back painfully.

"You think I won't hurt you?" Teach asked, voice deadly quiet. He crouched, face beside Ace's. "You're mine now. I can treat you however I see fit." He pressed his nose to Ace's hair, inhaling. Ace could practically feel his smile against his ear and resisted the urge to shudder. "So you may find it more…enjoyable to be more cooperative." Ace felt anger beginning to tighten his core.

"Let me go," he said calmly, jaw locked. "Before I break your hand." Teach chuckled.

"You're not in a great spot to make demand-" Ace swept his legs around before clamping them around both of Teach's. With a grunt of mixed effort and pain, he simultaneously pulled back with his legs and, using Teach's grip on his hair, down with his head. He felt Teach overbalance, and as he started to fall, instinctively releasing Ace's hair to catch himself, Ace rolled, still using the grip his legs had on Teach's to end up on top. Before Teach could recover from the fall, Ace slid up his torso, untangling his legs and moving them to pin Teach's arms instead. His own arms wrapped around Teach's neck, one wrapped behind, the forearm of the other pressed against his windpipe, the looseness of the handcuffs allowing them to ride up Ace's arm so they could take this position. He smiled coldly.

"How about now? Am I in a better spot to make demands now?" The smile dropped to a snarl. "The only reason you're not wheezing out your painful death through a broken trachea is because your crony has a gun against Thatch's head. But if you ever touch me again I will ensure you die a painful, early death." And as quickly as he had pinned Teach, he released him, sliding off, rolling to the side and raising his hands in a sign of placation. Augur had been too surprised to shoot Thatch while Ace was attacking Teach, and now looked unsure of whether he still should. Ace smiled at him.

"Sorry to embarrass your captain in front of you and dissolve whatever illusion of grandeur he has you believing. Don't worry, though, I'd kick your ass just as quickly. It tends to be easier with you guys since you're all over-confident, inexperienced children." Thatch actually laughed, though the sound was tight with pain.

"Way to upstage me, Ace," he chuckled. Ace smiled in response.

"Oh don't worry. I did notice the new bruises on Augur and Tuberculosis."

"Augur do me a favor and make Thatch scream," Teach said jovially. Ace's eyes widened, snapping to Teach before returning to Thatch. Augur didn't even hesitate to plant a foot and a good portion of his bodyweight on Thatch's shattered ankle. Thatch went white as a sheet and Ace couldn't imagine how much that hurt. But Thatch locked his jaw, so hard Ace wondered his teeth didn't crack.

He didn't scream.

Augur scowled and redoubled the pressure on Thatch's wound. Ace saw the way Thatch's chest spasmed, lungs trying to force an instinctive scream of agony past his mouth, and a small choked sound managed to escape, quickly cut off. Ace saw the way his expression twisted with equal parts determination and pain.

"Stop it," Ace said breathlessly.

"You see, Ace, this is your problem. You never consider the consequences of your actions. You're too smug, too self-satisfied," Teach sounded nonchalant, like they were discussing the weather. "Augur." Ace saw him press more weight onto Thatch's leg and Thatch did start screaming.

"Stop it!" Ace shouted desperately. The sound of his best friend in that level of pain was tearing his soul to shreds. Ace felt physically ill, felt near tears. He turned to Teach. "Make him stop!" Teach stared at him coolly before smiling.

"What did I say about you making demands? You're not a division commander here, Ace. You have no authority. It's time you recognized that." Ace felt a lead weight sinking in his stomach. Teach turned back to him, grinning. "What do you say, Ace?" Ace swallowed thickly, the word and its implied defeat tasting like death. But Thatch screamed again, and Ace didn't hesitate.

"Please!" Teach, still smiling, looked briefly to Augur and nodded. Augur withdrew his foot and Thatch was left gasping, sweating, shaking. He was still bleeding, and Ace knew this much blood loss was beginning to near danger. He wanted to go to him, wanted to help, to apologize. Ace took a step towards Thatch, then paused. His lips pressed into a thin line, his hands clenched into fists. But he couldn't let Thatch suffer like that again, not because of him.

He slowly turned his gaze to Teach, silently asking for permission.

Teach grinned, looking satisfied. "And they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks." Ace didn't respond, didn't snark, didn't snap, just continued to wait silently. After a moment, Teach nodded and Ace ran to Thatch's side.

"Oh my God, Thatch, are you alright?!" Ace knelt by Thatch's side. He wrapped his arms as best he could around Thatch's form. "Here, I need to stop the bleeding. Lay down." He could feel the way Thatch trembled as he helped support him to the ground. Once Thatch was no longer kneeling and was safely on the ground, Ace turned to the injury.

One look put it past what Ace's severely limited medical knowledge could handle.

Endless flecks of shattered bone shone through the red, bloody meat of Thatch's ankle, gleaming in the midday sun. Blood chugged sluggishly out of the injury, and Ace could see dirt and dust had been pressed into it from Augur's shoe. Ace's hands hovered helplessly over the injury for a few moments.

"Ace." It was Thatch's voice that snapped him out of it. Ace instantly turned his attention to Thatch's face and some of his fear, some of the seriousness of the injury most have haunted his expression. Thatch's voice and gaze was calm and collected, though Ace knew he must have been in a great deal of pain. "Clean it first, then bandage it."

"But I can't-"

"Don't worry about resetting the bones. If they have to, they can rebreak it back on the Moby Dick." The mention of their home was a jolt of clarity to Ace. Yes. Yes, they would fix it on the Moby Dick. Because Ace and Thatch were going to get out of here. They were going to get home. Ace, having found his feet again, felt like he could breathe again. He nodded firmly.

"Yeah. You're right. Okay." He turned back to Thatch's ankle. He glanced at Thatch. "…This is going to hurt a lot." Thatch nodded firmly, and Ace set in. He knew he had to get out as much of the dirt and grit as he could. If Thatch's injury got infected, there wasn't a whole lot Ace could do about it, so cleaning it now was important. Thatch grunted as Ace started trying to pick and brush out the dirt, occasionally hissing in pain. "I'm sorry, Thatch, I'm being as gentle as I can…" It was slow going and Ace could tell Thatch was fighting not to show his pain. Ace's heart felt like it was made of lead at every wince, every gasp.

Time seemed to pass slowly, the minutes it took to get Thatch's wound as clean as he could feeling like hours to Ace. By the end, Thatch was gasping and panting from pain and Ace's hands were stained deep red. Ace had continued to whisper small apologies throughout, and felt like no matter how thoroughly he scrubbed his hands the red would never be entirely eradicated now. Now that the wound was as clean as it was going to get, Ace tore off strips from the bottom of his shirt. As he bound Thatch's ankle, he felt his guilt redouble at the shout of pain Thatch gave from the pressure of the binding. The shot had been a lucky one, for all the bones it broke. The major artery in Thatch's leg hadn't been torn or clipped, and the blood had already slowed its deadly exodus.

Now that the grisly injury had been addressed, Ace found his mind returning to their current situation.

Teach.

They were prisoners.

And for the sake of both of their wellbeing, Ace had become compliant.

His pride stung at that word. Compliance. It tasted like surrender, and Ace never surrendered. Never. He'd die first.

But he wouldn't let Thatch suffer for him.

He raised his head slowly, but didn't turn to look at Teach, sitting back on his heels, waiting. For instruction. For a command.

"Get him up. We're moving inside," Teach's voice was authoritative, commanding. Ace grit his teeth, hating how much Teach knew him. He knew exactly how obedient Ace would be, now that Teach could threaten one of Ace's friends. What was worse?

Apparently Ace didn't know Teach as well as that.

He'd thought he'd known Teach. He'd thought he knew exactly what made him tick, what motivated him, what impassioned him. He'd been dead wrong. And now he was left grasping at straws, trying to find some weakness he could exploit to try to get them out of this. For now, it was all he could do to try to keep him and Thatch as alive and unharmed as he could. So he leaned forward.

"Thatch, I can't really help much with my arms bound, but you can lean on me to walk." Thatch's arms were bound in front of him, at the wrist, so with a bit of bending he was able to get his arm around Ace's shoulders. This left their faces fairly close, and Thatch was able to whisper without Teach hearing.

"Ace why are you being so compliant? You know as well as I do this isn't a long-term solution." Ace heaved, Thatch simultaneously pushing with his good leg, and managed to get the two of them standing.

"I know. But I don't know what else to do, Thatch." Ace was sure some of his desperation must have seeped into his tone. "I can't watch him hurt you, not because of me. So this is okay. At least until I figure out some kind of weakness that I can use to get us out of here."

"Let's move. Get inside," Teach's voice was cold, and as he and Augur started moving towards them, they started shuffling towards the house, Thatch leaning heavily on Ace.

"And you think I like seeing you submitting yourself to him like that? It's bullshit, Ace! I can't just let you do that for me!" Thatch hissed. "It's not fair of you to sacrifice so much for me and expect me to just sit pretty and let you!"

"It's temporary. I can take it for the week or so it'll take for someone from the Moby Dick to get here. The marine blockade will keep them from leaving during that time, so it's not like they'll move us."

"Ace…"

"I don't know why you're getting so defensive about this! It'll be a week and a half at most! They're expecting us back in, what, three days from now? Beyond that, it'll take another 4 days to get here once they realize something's wrong, so it'll only be for seven days, 9 at most-"

"You don't get it Ace!" Thatch snapped. "It's not just nine days! When Pops asked for estimates on how long this mission would take, I told him that it could be slowed down by weather, bad wind direction, or any number of unforeseeable problems!" Ace almost froze in his tracks. "Not to mention I thought travel times could be longer than what they ended up being. The time estimate I told you was about the middle of the extremes I told Pops it could be." Ace was beginning to feel very cold.

"…And your maximum estimate?" Thatch looked as sick as Ace felt.

"…I'm sorry, Ace," he whispered, barely audible.

"My maximum estimate was three months."

(A/N: SORRYTHISISSOLATEOMG. Sooooo…does the last line and the major, major problem therein make sense to you guys? If not, tell me in your review and I'll clear it up for you!

Okay! So…happy…birthday…? This is probably the latest birthday present in the history of birthday presents. (I SUCK. *shot*) But I hoped you like it! Not exactly a…happy chapter, but hey. First chapter in a few months, so yay? Sorry it's so late, my life is SO BEYOND CRAZY RIGHT NOW. NEXT YEAR'S WILL BE MORE ON TIME I SWEAR! Thank you for being patient with me. ;A;

Sooo…I hope you all enjoyed, and I hope you'll all treat yourself to going and visiting the amazing tumbler of our dear friend Kyykhynen at .com! I really hope that doesn't get eaten by the site. If it deletes the tumbl(e)r out of there, just know it's on tumbl(e)r.

Please drop your thoughts in a review! I'd love to hear what you all think, and I apologize this chapter took so long! No promises on when the next one will be out, though. :(

Stuff'nStuff)