A/N: Next chapter is here! I think this turned out much better than the previous chapter. Still very OC focused but most of them fade to the background in the later chapters. Ellen and Theon are the two that have a bigger role, rest are more of a little additions and linked to my other fic that I'm re-writing currently.
Still no beta so sorry about the typos if there's any.
Read&Review please ~
XxXxXx
He wanted to smash his head against a wall. There was no way his mother would let him go to the sea. She'd try to make him feel guilty by pointing out how such action would disrespect the wishes of his biological parents, who gave him away because they were wanted criminals and wanted to give him a chance to have a normal life.
His parents weren't home, no surprise there, both had their own business that kept them busy after all. The ship would leave approximately in two or three hours, depending how long it took for the girls to pack (because they were always so slow), so Theon figured he could pack his stuff before his parents got home. Maybe he could just lie that he would go camping and fake a note with his mother's signature to make it look like he was allowed to go? Yup, that sounded like a plan. A plan that could go wrong in many ways, but sometimes you just had to gamble a little.
He started to get through his wardrobe, throwing all the clothes he'd take with him to his bed, which ended up being majority. Rest were shoved to the top shelves. His home island had sixteen seasons, so he probably had suitable clothing for every possible weather condition out there.
The packing took about half an hour. He felt like he had all he needed, except his sword, which was held in a locked closet at the hallway. And then he'd have to write a note that would get through Ellen's radar. She could probably tell if her BFF's signature wasn't authentic. He really had to put up his best performance.
XXX
"Where is he!?" Heidi was getting frustrated, tearing her red hair with anger. She wanted nothing to do with Ellen and now the only person who could possibly make her tolerate the blond, was nowhere to be seen.
"Maybe his parents didn't allow him to come with us", Hans mumbled. It would suck to be stuck with nothing but girls for few weeks. Not that he and Theon had much in common, but still. Plus, he knew that there were now two people on board who couldn't even boil water, one person who was unable to touch half of the ingredients because of allergies and such and one who knew how to cook some basic dishes. They would starve to death without him, or live with veggies and all things that definitely weren't meat.
Ellen sighed. It looked like the boy was not coming. That stubborn kid should have just asked her, but the young man was still trying to play his little game. Valentina had told her five years ago that Theon knew who his real parents were and ever since that moment she had waited the boy to find the courage and comfort her about the matter. But he had obviously decided that he'd keep quiet until she'd confess herself, that stupid brat.
"I guess we have to leave without him. We can't wait the whole day." Ellen was upset by the turn of the events, but not quite as upset as Heidi who was having a I-don't-wanna-go-without-him tantrum. The girl was seriously reconsidering her situation and probably thinking about abandoning the ship.
They started to board the ship with their bags and Ellen had some regrets with her decision to pick a fishing vessel as their mode of transportation. With the amount of belongings that they all had taken with them, there might be difficulties to get all of it fit to the storage room. Still, there was no way she could have taken her own ship, the one she used to sail before joining Whitebeard pirates. The figurehead of that ship was very real looking, crucified skeleton after all – anyone would recognize it. She wanted the world to think that she was dead just a little longer, make sure that the teens would get to Moby Dick before she'd get into trouble with World Government again.
As they were about to set sail, they heard a scream that told them to wait. All four of them turned around to see the boy that they had waited. The teens cheered as the brunette ran towards them, slowed down by the massive back bag and two cases. His friends went to help him with his bags while Ellen stared the boy, unreadable look on her face.
"I got the permission", he said tiredly and pulled a note from the pocket of his dark, ripped jeans. "Here!"
He was slightly nervous as the silver orbs traveled on the paper, taking a close look of each letter. This wasn't first time he faked a signature, but he usually did it only when his friends got bad grade from an exam that needed to be returned to teachers – signed.
"I guess it's all settled then", the blond spoke after she had finished reading the note through carefully. The teens laughed and hugged each other, excited to finally get away from the boring, isolated island.
Ellen went to the kitchen as the others removed the rope that was tied to a wooden post, finally setting sail. After a few minutes she returned with a silver tray with five glasses of wine.
"Boys and girls", she started, grabbing a glass from the tray. "This will be our first adventure together", she spoke proudly. For six years she had trained them, watching how they got stronger day by day. "So let's try to get along, even if all of you don't think that highly of me." Her eyes drifted to Heidi at that point. The read head huffed at her words but the blond ignored the girl and raised her glass. "For freedom and dreams!"
"For freedom", the teens chanted in unison, grabbing their own glasses, celebrating the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.
The teens watched how the place they had considered home all these years was slowly getting further and further. Ellen didn't care. If it was up to her, she would have never returned to that island in the first place. These troublesome brats were the only thing that had kept her sane all these years she had been away from the place she considered her home. Away from her friends and lover.
After they had emptied their glasses, Hans begged for more wine while Heidi simply stated that she was eighteen so she could drink as much as she wanted. For their surprise she let them drink more – pirates were meant to party anyway and Heidi was far less hostile when drunk. Pleased, the said duo headed to the galley, leaving the youngest two on the deck until Dorothea figured she should go grab a jacket or something since it was getting chilly, leaving Theon together with the middle-aged pirate.
She placed her hand on the boys shoulder, giving him a little scowl. "What did you tell them?"
Theon was startled by the question but tried to be as if he had no idea what she was talking about. It didn't work, though. But if she knew, why did she let him go?
"I almost fell for the note, the signature was just like hers", she told him, sounding more impressed than angry. "But the way she writes O, hers are wider." The teen blushed, sheepish smile on his face. Ellen tried to keep stern look on her face – when Valentina would discover the truth, she'd be in real trouble, but the boy was too adorable to be mad at. Just like she could never stay angry when she had to deal with the shenanigans of the teen's father. Damn, she had definitely gotten soft during her temporary retirement.
"You better not get into trouble or Val will kill me", she threatened, sounding less hostile than she intended to. Sure, they were pirates so trouble would get into their way sooner or later, but she could always hope for a miracle. She didn't want to end up being butchered and fed to the piranhas by her best friend. "When she notices your stunt and calls me, you better take the blame yourself!" She demanded.
The brunette nodded. "I promise. Thanks for letting me come m-", he halted his words, realizing he almost called Ellen his mother. He wouldn't do that, not in a million years. He couldn't do that to the people who had raised him. He knew that when the blond pirate had given him away, she had her reasons. Good ones, too, and he had forgiven her years ago. Yet, he was not ready to bond with her, he needed time to get to know her better and being stuck on the same ship was a good start. "Thanks Ellen", he corrected, pleased that the blond didn't notice his slip. "I gotta go unpack my things", he excused himself. Being alone with her made him feel awkward. Not blurting out his secret turned out to be more difficult now that there was no training involved.
Ellen smiled as she lit a cigarette and watched the boy go inside. "So, he doesn't know that I know..."
XXX
Ace felt like he was about to lose it. He had tried not to think about the calls Marco got, but every time he was about to get over it, there would be another call and then he'd get jealous again. To make things worse, it was obvious that the blond had figured out how stressed he was about it, yet that asshole did nothing to ease his suspicions. The blond was enjoying the situation way too much for his liking. Not that he could blame him since a jealous Ace was a clingy Ace and Marco obviously loved all the extra attention the young commander gave him.
There was also another thing that made him feel upset – he was starting to realize that recently most of his focus had been on Marco. He had been given the position as the commander of the second division, yet the only people from his division he actually knew properly were those who had been part of the Spade Pirates.
He really wanted to fix it, which was why he decided to eat the dinner with some of his division members instead of the usual company that was the other commanders. He spotted Teach (after his former crew, the big man was most familiar to him) with a few men who were complete strangers to him. He wasn't even sure if they were from his division, so he picked another table, one at the furthest corner of the dining area. The said table was occupied by one person only, but one that Ace knew to be one of his subordinates. The lack of females, other than the nurses, guaranteed that the dark skinned, long haired woman in her mid-to-late forties would stand out from the rest of the crew.
"Can I join you?" The young commander asked. The woman lifted her gaze from her plate and for a short while she stared the boy (well, more like his full plate) with her brown eyes, making him nervous and expect refusal. In the end she did nod and motioned him to sit down, but pretty much ignored his presence and focused on the white wine on her glass, like it was much more interesting as the man opposite her.
Ace didn't know much about her, not even the name, but most of the crew called her black widow anyway, because she apparently got her first bounty for killing her husband. She was also rather skilled with her sword, one of the best after the sword wielding commanders. He had yet to see her in action, but Thatch and Vista, the best swordsmen on board, acknowledged her skills and that was enough for Ace.
How to start a conversation with her, Ace didn't know. It was already clear that the woman wasn't paying any attention to him, and he didn't want to make her think that he was boring or anything like that. "Why are you eating alone?" He finally asked after swallowing a mouthful of food. Most crew, even if they weren't bottomless pits like Ace, had bad table manners, but she seemed far too sophisticated to appreciate people who spoke when they were still having food on their mouths.
She just shrugged and took another sip of wine. "Why are you eating with your subordinate?"
Ace let out a nervous laugh. " I figured I should get to know who I work with. My mind's been kinda elsewhere." He was a bit embarrassed. It was clear that the woman knew what he meant. His relationship with Marco was far from a secret – everyone knew.
She chuckled softly and grabbed the teen's hand. "No need to be ashamed, I've been in this crew for over twenty years and I can assure you – you're not the first commander to get distracted by love and lust." Ace figured she was probably trying to make him feel more comfortable, but her words just made him blush harder. "Not even if we only count this division."
Ace had never really wondered why the spot of the second division had been vacant, apparently, several years. It had never felt relevant or important. He noticed the woman to get little nostalgic when she thought about her former commander, whoever that had been. She emptied another bottle of wine and was getting a bit tipsy. If you asked Ace, it was way too early to get drunk, not that she agreed.
"You said you want to get to know me." After starting the third bottle, she figured she might as well open up to the young commander, even if she wasn't the type to talk about things, but this boy reminded her quite a lot of her former commander, her former captain before their small crew merged with Whitebeard's. "What would you like to know?"
XXX
Chances to encounter trouble in the New world were high. That's why it had been a miracle that the pirate crew of five had managed to stay away from all possible trouble, aside few things that were weather related, but even those proved to be less of an issue than Ellen had feared. She had taken the role as the night watch and slept during the days,which slowed their journey since the kids had very little to none experience with navigation, but thankfully enough Heidi was very intelligent girl and little briefing from the 'captain' (because she'd be one until they'd reach Moby Dick) was enough to keep them on course. She had problems with the most extreme weather conditions, but Ellen had enough experience to feel them even in her sleep and rushed to the rescue when needed.
Theon was the only one who really knew how to cook versatile and pay attention to the special diets. He had conquered the kitchen to make sure Heidi couldn't try little tricks like sneak meat or fish into Ellen's plate (she was a vegetarian and allergic to fish). The remaining duo spend most of their time entertaining others. Hans told his jokes (that others had heard what felt like million times already) and Dorothea would sing for hours without her voice caving in. When she wasn't singing or playing any of the various instruments her mother had taught her to play, she'd try to convince the others to play poker with her. None of them agreed even once.
Then there were their sparring sessions, which lead to several cases where someone was sent overboard. Luckily none of the teens were fruit users and Ellen wasn't dumb enough to jump to the rescue, so there were no frustrating save-a-hammer-from-drowning incidents. The most dreadful moment had been about a week after their departure, when Theon's parents figured out that the whole camping thing had been a lie. The shit storm Ellen got from her best friend had been horrifying, even for the veteran pirate, and the moment Theon took the snail phone and explained it was all his fault, it was the best moment (for Ellen) during their journey.
After two and half weeks they were finally there. When Hans had spotted the Moby Dick, girls had started to panic – because they feared they didn't look presentable enough. Boys had rolled their eyes to their behavior but Ellen noticed both of them taking few glances at the mirror to check their own appearances. Ellen was more wary of the possible hostile reactions from the crew of the strongest man in the world, but no signs of such actions was shown so the blond figured either Marco or Pops was on the deck to prevent anyone acting foolishly.
With no danger at sight she performed a quick striptease, switching her skimpy dress to tight denim shorts and a top that had its back removed, giving full view of her tattooed back. Her actions resulted a very red-faced Theon and a thumbs up from Hans who was staring a bit too intensively. His friend smacked him to the back of his head and hissed at him, not appreciating the way the raven drooled at the sight of his half-naked mother.
As they got closer to the huge ship, they could see how people rushed to the railing, curious to see what was going on. In the middle of the crowd a huge man stood out from others, his large frame making others look like ants. Whitebeard smiled as his eyes met with the woman's. She gave him a smirk in return.
"Permission to board?" She asked, but for her it was nothing but a formality as she jumped to the railing of her own ship even before the old man gave her a nod.
She placed her hand on the side of her boat and suddenly a branch shot through it's side, the narrow end twirling itself around the railing of Moby Dick. She balanced her way across the branch with little effort and jumped on the deck of Moby Dick. She could see plenty of confusion around her; several pirates who were currently present had joined after she left and were unaware of her relationship to their captain, but there were lots of familiar faces and they seemed to be excited. She turned around to show the teens that they could join her before giving all her attention to the old pirate.
"Yo! It's been a while", she spoke. "I assume Marco told you that I intend to stick around?"
"Guarara! Cheeky brat...", he laughed and closed a delicate hand inside his huge one. The woman had some issues when it came to personal space so he figured a handshake would have to do, even if he wanted to give a warm hug to his dear daughter who had finally returned to him. "Good to have you back", he welcomed before pointing his finger towards the teens who were carefully trying to get on board without falling to the sea. "I see you brought company, what's with the brats?"
"Just trying to save four morons from certain death. Tried to make them drop the idea of piracy for years but they are too stubborn to listen. It's okay for them to join, right? You always had a soft spot for young delinquents after all." Whitebeard couldn't help but to laugh at her words. All the troublesome brats that had gotten under his wings during all these years, starting from Marco (who had actually grown to a responsible adult) Thatch and Ellen decades ago to his newest troublemaker son Ace, were more than enough evidence to prove that she was telling the truth.
"Boys, go give a helping hand to the kids!" The old pirate ordered. "Get their bags too."
As much as Ellen wanted to catch up with her captain, she figured she could do it later. Her eyes spotted Marco who was standing little further. Most of other commanders were present, too, but Marco was one of the few who she was really close with – one of the few who was allowed to invade her personal space to be more exact. She ran to the first division commander and almost tackled him to the ground as she jumped on him, squeezing him into tight hug.
Phoenix returned the hug, happy to have his friend join them again. "I've missed you, yoi." He gave a small peck on her cheek, pleased that Ace was still eating. The boy would interpret the situation as something it wasn't. He couldn't wait to introduce them to each other. Ellen had teased him years of how he was still single but now she was forced to pick someone else as her victim. It would most likely be Jozu.
Ellen could have stayed like that longer, but there was something she needed to do. An irritated scowl appeared to her face, heavily painted eyes staring directly into the blue ones. "Now, where is that moron who decided that not calling me in three months was a good idea?"
XXX
Thatch studied the reports of the latest stocks. The numbers didn't add up no matter how many times he counted. He figured he might do miscalculations once, maybe even twice but there was no way he'd get wrong numbers five times. The amount of meat and alcohol beverages they had purchased from the last island was way beyond the usual, which implied that there would be a party or two, but he was the head chef and if there was a party he'd definitely be informed. He should ask Marco about it. As the first mate, The Phoenix would definitely know if something unusual was going on.
Well, that had to wait since he was even busier than usual, all thanks to Ace who had spent even more time in the mess hall than usually, which was a lot. The young commander was having fun with Laura, who had isolated herself from most people after her closest friends had retired. It was a good thing that she was opening up to the raven teen and vice versa. He could see why they got along so well, even if they shared very few things in common. The fire user was just like the older pirate's former captain, commander, closest friend. Thatch had noticed it too right away, which was probably the reason it had been so easy for him to approach the murderous, hate filled kid that Ace had been when he was first dragged on Moby Dick.
He noticed that Ace's plate was almost empty again so he put together another huge mountain of food. He was getting used to the boy's incredible skill to inhale all that food but he still wondered where it all went. Sure, Ace did his fair share of work out, but even then it seemed weird for him to stay so fit. Maybe it was genetic – the few times their encounter with Roger had been partying instead of fighting, the late pirate king had loved food, not as much as Ace, but way more than an average person. With another mountain of (mostly) meat he went to the young commander who was listening another story with a large smile on his freckled face.
"This piece here -hic- is my most valuable possession", the slightly drunk female pirate pointed out proudly, showing Ace the huge jewelry on her golden necklace. "It's a real ruby and this necklace is custom made by captain herself. Everyone in our -hic- crew has one~" she sang and gave a kiss to the gemstone.
Ace studied her with curiosity. Whoever her captain had been must have been an amazing person. Last two hours had been incredible. He had learned so much about this woman, more than he knew about anyone else on this ship. Heck, Luffy was probably the only person in the entire world he knew better. It was amazing to talk with her. All those adventures she had gone trough, especially before joining Whitebeard pirates, were so awesome. Hearing about all the skillful robberies their small, six member crew pulled of reminded him times when he and Sabo (and later Luffy) wrecked a havoc as kids, collecting savings (robbing people) so that they could get a ship and become pirates when they'd get older. And he couldn't help but to laugh as he learned that her pick-pocketing Marco and her captain stealing from Thatch had been the reason they eventually joined Pops' crew.
"Having fun I see", Thatch interrupted, placing another pile of food in front of Ace.
The raven thanked his fellow commander before he started to vacuum all that food into his mouth. Laura giggled at the sight before lifting her gaze to the fourth division commander. "Thatchyyyyy," she screamed, "Come and join me and pretty boy~"
He grinned but shook his head. "Sorry, gotta check few things with Marco."
The woman pouted, not liking what she was hearing. "You are no -hic- fun. Eli agrees with me ya know!"
Thatch paled at her words, his usual cheerfulness fading away. "You've been talking with her?"
Laura groaned and drank more. She ignored her glass like it wasn't there and took a gulp straight from a bottle. "She was really -hic- pissed. Not that I blame her." She smashed the bottle to the table so hard that she accidentally broke it. Ace stared the older pirates with curiosity. Saying that Thatch looked horrified would have been understatement.
"Ya know -hic- you might get out of this mess -hic- if you just go and buy the damn ring already!" She scolded. "Be a man!"
Ace chewed his food, confused. The mention of a ring felt weird, first thing popping into his mind being an actual wedding ring. But Thatch didn't even have anyone as far as he knew. Unless he was secretly dating one of the nurses. Then again, if so, then the calls wouldn't fit. Maybe he knocked up some poor woman who was now stuck with him? Whatever it was, Thatch didn't like this topic, which made the raven to want to know more. It was rare to anyone to get under the brunette's skin.
Sudden commotion from the deck interrupted them, however, and all three of them rushed to see what was going on, commanders ahead while Laura followed them with wobbly steps. Thatch was extremely thankful of the sudden change of events, not knowing what was waiting him outside.
When they opened the door that gave them a view to the deck, Ace froze. First thing he noticed was Marco who was embracing some woman who he didn't know. The worst part was that it wasn't just a hug but Marco, his Marco was kissing that tramp. He felt his body heating up, as if it acknowledged that he wanted to burn that woman to a crisp. He only got more pissed as he heard Laura to start calling the woman with her name; Ellen.
Fucking Marco.
A/N:
Yeah, the ending didn't go as I planned. I had decided to end this chapter to a certain spot but as I wrote this, the number of pages just went higher and higher so if I went according the original plan, the number of pages would have been at least three more. And maybe I wanted to torture Ace a bit, just a little. :p