Yo!

It's been a long time since I've written a romance story and I hope this work well.. haha..

I was not really fond of damsel in distress heroines so I made Sei independent. And of course I don't think Ace should put some efforts on someone he will marry. There would be no challenge if the girl likes him at the start right?

I enjoy chasings and word war too. Ace doesn't look like someone who would go sarcastic with a girl so I decided Sei to be a smart ass. :D Let Ace cope with her attitude. Haha

Sanji (cooking at the kitchen): Hey there. Hira-chan doesn't own One Piece. Wanna try my new recipe? *grins*

(~page break~)

*sneeze*

Sei automatically glared at the man she saw when she opened the door. Ace was in front of her smiling apologetically with that sheepish grin on his face.

Oh at least he knows he's at fault here.

Few minutes ago they had been on the deck of Thousand Sunny, sitting on the railings while watching the evening sea when Ace had one of his narcolepsy fits which caused him to tumble forward. Of course she managed to catch the man but the weight and height difference was too much that they both fell on the water.

She was both thankful and annoyed with Sanji and the others that they had been on the deck because she knew to herself that she won't be able to get Ace back to the ship no matter how hard she struggled.

"Sorry." Ace apologetically smiled at her hoping that his kicked-puppy look will have an effect on the violet haired girl. Too bad playing guilt doesn't affect her at the moment because her annoyance is at its peak.

Trying not to shout at the man she frustratedly spoke. "And I told you to not to sit on that railing!"

After being saved by Sanji, both of them were suggested to take a hot shower to warm their bodies. Of course it was never advisable to jump in the sea water during the night not only because the visibility is zero but also because you are bound to catch a cold because to chilly sea water.

Ace didn't reply, though his eyes were more apologetic than ever. Knowing that the girl's temper won't dissipate anytime soon, he just proceeded on what he came for. He graciously entered the room much to the girl's surprise and grabbed the girl's wrist making her sit on what he presumed her bed. Knowing that Sei would just move away from him, He immediately sat behind her and grabbed the towel off her hands and proceeded to dry her hair softly.

Eh? What is happening? Sei tried to move away but it proved to be futile since Ace firmly held her still as he rubbed her hair with the towel.

"Ace-san…" Sei's voice was full of suspicion. "What are you doing?"

It doesn't take a genius to tell that Ace is smiling. "Drying your hair of course."

"Are you trying to play guilt on me?"

"Just like a said. I was just drying your hair. You might catch cold you know."

"I can dry my hair own my own, thank you." She tried grabbing her own towel but Ace's hands stopped her and dropped her hands softly on the bed.

"Let me do it."

"…" Seems like the Fire fits wasn't going to relinquish the towel on her, she just sat still and let the man do the work. After all the soft feeling of the towel rubbing your hair was so relaxing that she began to feel a bit sleepy.

Ace began to notice that Sei was starting to relax under his touch and found himself surprised to feel the weight on his chest. He didn't actually expect the girl to fall asleep as he was drying her hair, not that he is complaining.

Why did I say that? Ace found asking himself when he remembered that he declared that he would be asking the girl to marry him once again. Even his actions puzzled him. Those child's promise were already forgotten and he didn't even know why he found himself saying about their past. When those violet eyes met his, he just found himself declaring to marry her.

Heck, even he is trouble with his own head. I guess I just have to go with the flow. Maybe then I'll know the reason why.

He smiled at the girl before placing her properly on the bed and pulling the covers over her.

I never thought that my vacation will be this great. Ace created a mental note to thank Marco once he gets back on Moby Dick.

*thud*

A soft sound was heard when Ace had one of his narcolepsy fits again and hit the bed just right beside Sei. Nah, the view wasn't romantic. In fact the two looked like they have gone partying all night and fell asleep if not only for Sei that was properly tucked on the bed.

(~pagebreak~)

Outside the room…

After also taking a shower, Sanji decided to check on Sei which he noticed taking too long. The cook was actually surprised to find the room slightly opened. When he peeked inside, he was surprised to find Ace sprawling on the bed beside their weapon's master. Obviously the man had another attack of narcolepsy again and just fell on top of the bed when he was about to leave the room.

Well… Still makes a good material. Sanji smirked and proceeded to call out the guys to borrow a camera.

"Shhhh…" The cook noticed the presence behind him. He was amused to see his other crewmates are already behind his back also snooping on the two. Nami had a winning smile plastered on her face when she slowly entered the room noiselessly and revealed the camera she had on hand.

Oh how she wasn't to see their youngest member flush in embarrassment about their commemorative picture.

*Click*

*Click*

*Click*

After ensuring that she had more than enough material at hand, Nami shooed away her fellow comrades outside the door and closed it behind her. Since their lookout is already sleeping, might as well stay up and look after the ship and wait till morning. But they all knew that in just a few minutes the girl will wake up and start her duties again. On how they would love Sei's reaction when he sees Ace sleeping on her bed. They want to pity the guy but they still can't stop themselves from snickering.

Just like what Sanji predicted, the girl, did manage to wake up again after a few minutes and automatically went out to the deck with Ace following behind her. Both still out of their proper minds didn't even notice that they were sleeping on the same bed and they both changed their clothes after taking their shower. Sei wearing white button up long sleeves which ends on the middle of her thighs. She wore the same type of shorts she always had with her with her feet bare. Ace on the other hand wore a dark brown shorts similar to the black he usually wears. Of course minus the shirt. On his left hand were violet cat slippers that were too familiar with the crew.

They were both yawning and still haven't fixed their bed heads when they finally noticed the stares they are getting from the crew. Everyone minus Luffy are already on the deck grinning at them madly with their eyes glinting mischief.

"What the hell are you looking at? HUH?!" Sei glared them with an intensity that you could swear never came from a newly woken girl.

"Oi, Oi.. Your temper." Ace yawned and smiled as he brushed Sei's hair trying to calm the weapon's master a bit. With the looks of it, the girl had a bad mood during the mornings and the reactions plastered on Luffy's crew's faces were not helping a lot either.

"You think I've forgotten about last night?" Sei continued to glare at her comrades.

To the girl's surprise, instead of guilt adorning their faces, the group only had wicked grin on their faces . Specially Nami who is giggling at her like there is something funny on her.

"Yeah right." Nami grinned at her while making a once over on her figure.

What? What's with that look? Feel guilty morons!

"Last night, eh." Robin had he brows raised in amusement as she stared at Sei then Ace.

"Looks like you really had done something last night Ojou. Something that you won't forget easily." Franky laughed.

"Congratulations." Sanji approached and tapped Sei's hair while he tapped Ace at the shoulder. A congratulatory grin was plastered on his face as he walks toward the direction of the kitchen.

What the—

It was then when they both realize what they were referring to, Sei started scanning herself. I still look decent. But why—

Sei's eyes widened when she realized why her crewmates had come to such conclusion. They slept on the same bed last night. And as if that's not enough, they really had to let people know about it but going out of her room together! Her gaze darted at Nami who was giving her a 'look'.

"No. We did not do it. So kindly stop playing images inside your mind because they didn't happen and it won't happen at all."

"Awww…" It was Ace with his voice full of disappointment.

Sei automatically glared at the guy who just scratched the back of his head.

"You're no fun Sei!" Nami pouted as she fiddled with the camera she had on her hands.

"Thankfully. Because I won't fall for that."

"Boo." The crew obviously didn't like that their crewmate wouldn't blush like what they expected her to do. Any normal girl would've blushed on those connotations alone. But no~ Sei just had to brush them off like it was a normal conversation and on the top of it she denied being linked with the Second Commander of Whitebeard Pirates! That Fire Fist Ace himself asking her hand in marriage and she just denied it like nothing.

"Then would you fall for this?" Ace's voice was heard behind Sei and it was a surprise when the guy moved in front of Sei and kneeled before her.

"Ohhhh…" Brook, Nami and Chopper are all blushing like hell.

"I-Is this 'IT'? OJOU!" Franky broke into tears.

"S-Sei… is…." Usopp practically cried just like Franky.

Zoro's brows raised in anticipation.

Robin's smile became more mischievous but giggled when she noticed Ace's hand.

"Oi—" Sei's eyes widened upon seeing Ace kneeling before her but she was more surprised when Ace lifted her foot and slipped her slippers. Eh?

Ace lifted her other foot and slipped the other slipper.

"You shouldn't walk around this early without your slippers on. It's cold here."

-! I… I…

The weapon's master stilled at her position, not being able to process things in her mind. Much to her dismay she felt her cheeks slowly heating up as Ace slowly raised his head to smile at her.

*Click*

The moment was ruined by the small sound which apparently reached the weapons master's ears. Seeing Nami holding a camera direction at them was not a good sign. Not a good sign at all.

Before Sei could inquire about the camera, a large bang automatically shifted their attention on the door. Luffy in his usual hyper self came running towards his comrade and grinned widely. "I heard you talking about 'activities'. Are you playing a game?"

The group couldn't help but snicker at the innocent tone of their captain at the subject and his sudden intrusion. Luffy's attention automatically diverted at Ace and Sei who were still in front of each other with Ace kneeling in front of Sei who had a pink blush on her face. The captain tilted his head in confusion. "What are you guys doing?"

Much to the crew's surprise, the girl began flailing her hand in the air hoping that she would be able to convey the right message that her mouth refused to speak but this only made things more difficult. Luffy titled his head again, not understanding what Sei wanted to relay to him. By each second passing that she wasn't able to speak, her face turned redder and redder from embarrassment.

SPEAK! PLEASE! Knowing that she only looked like an idiot moving too animatedly in front of Ace and her fellow crewmates, she ran back inside her room.

"What was that?" Luffy's eyes followed Sei's direction.

Nami and the others laughed at the reaction they saw on their crewmate. They always thought that the girl had no capability to blush at all, but looks like their assumptions had been wrong all along. It had been fun to see the youngest of their member blush as her eyes obviously held surprise and confusion while staring at Ace. It was a moment they will never forget in their life.

Not to mention Nami got it on her camera. Their navigator will surely never drop the issue.

(~page break~)

Sei's room…

Sei began to hold her cheeks like it was malfunctioning or something and tried to stop herself from blushing which proved to be futile. She had to admit it, she was mesmerized by how Ace had slowly bent before her and softly raised her foot and slid her slippers. She was too caught by the moment to react and all she did was watched him in awe.

I…

Thinking about what happened earlier still made her blush more and she knew it won't be stopping for a while. Her heart seemed to beat fast inside her chest and it was something she never experienced before except when she was running away or fighting. But she wasn't fighting at all, the situation didn't seem to be dangerous at all, yet there she was her heart beating like crazy.

What is happening?

She glanced at her swords that were placed beside her bed.

If only you are here…. Then maybe you could tell what this is. Sei smiled sadly.

She had to admit it, Ace is nice. He was so kind with her even though she avoided him like plague. He approached her constantly, stayed by her side. He smiled at her like she is the most important person in the world.

She never felt so special.

Special huh… Another bitter thought ran inside her mind as she grabbed her katanas and hugged them. She stayed in this position until she fell asleep.

(~page break~)

Thousand Sunny Deck…

"Did you see that?" Nami was giggling over her comrades as she raised her camera which caught every fantastic moment of her comrade's rare reactions.

"Ojou did blush! It was suuuper!"

"A lady's blush is something precious to see." Brook commented.

"Hey, Sei's face turned red. I she sick?" Chopper asked.

Robin chuckled at the different expressions her comrades were having. Yeah, it was indeed a rare sight for them to see the youngest member blushing.

The archeologist turned to Ace who has still perplexed reaction on his face. "Fire Fist-san, I do hope you understand that you really have to take your time with her. Sei, that girl had been wounded too much that even we cannot heal. She just had her first comrades in her life. So, taking a new step will take long."

"Huh?" Ace wondered what the woman was talking about.

Usopp facepalmed. "Looks like they both still have a long way to go."

"Yohohoho! It takes time."

The moment was broken when Luffy ran towards the railings of the deck and pointed forward. "AN ISLAND!"

But it was indeed beautiful. Ace started to smile to himself when he remembered what just transpired a few seconds ago. Ace then proceeded to get up and stare at the island his brother was excited pointing at. This is going to be a long day for sure.

(-)

It wasn't long when the sun started to rise from the horizon. Sanji came out from the kitchen calling out the attention of his comrade for breakfast. Luffy being the food lover raced himself towards the dining room while the others followed. Almost everyone are already in front of the dining table but only one figure was missing. Ever since the blushing incident later, they haven't seen their weapons master came out of her room.

"Ace-san can you call Sei-chan for breakfast?" Sanji suggested and he's quite sure that the Fire fist was sure to follow.

"Sure." Ace stood form his seat and went out.

"Hurry up Ace! I'm getting hungry!" Luffy whined, practically drooling over the table.

"Yeah yeah."

Before Ace could touch the doorknob, the door opened and hit Ace squarely on the face as it revealed the girl which they are waiting for. Noticing the unnatural impact on the door, Sei saw Luffy's brother kissing the wooden thing. Her brows raised in amusement. "Oh. Morning greetings?"

Everybody laughed at the scene. "Ace that was cool!"

"Shut up Luffy!" Growled Ace as he was holding his nose, hopefully wishing that it hadn't been broken.

Sei smiled apologetically realizing what truly happened. "I'm sorry about that."

"C'mon love birds, it's time to eat!" Sanji yelled form the back of the kitchen counter. It wasn't like he wasn't enjoying the show, but really breakfast is breakfast and it would help if they sit down and start their meal instead of creating a romantic atmosphere around them. (Not that they actually realize it.)

The meal went as normal as it could be including Luffy's food stealing. It had been lively as ever, filled with a lot of teasing and blackmail materials (courtesy of Nami) which Sei blatantly ignored. The group had planned on restocking on their supplies while waiting for their log pose to stay still. Apparently with the two bottomless pits D brothers on board caused their supplies to deplete faster than usual. Thank goodness that they had reached an island for if they had been contemplating on how to survive if they haven't found an island.

The captain being in his jovial mood would've run off towards the island without any preparations if not for Ace holding the lapel of Luffy's vest. Luffy pouted at Ace. "Hey, I wanna go on an adventure!"

"We'll be going there Luffy, but we need to prepare." Ace reprimanded.

"Ace is right, Luffy . We don't need you running around the whole island specially that your bounty increased again!" Nami facepalmed. How come that this captain of theirs never understood the meaning of the word 'caution'? And to think he is the captain and because of the recent events that he had been participating in, his name had been known throughout the sea. Heck, the eventful Marineford War shocked them all finding out Luffy had been creating ruckus there.

"Eh? Why? Adventure is fun!" Luffy remained oblivious to the point of his comrades.

"Yohohoho! Luffy-san is really energetic like always! Don't worry Luffy-san we are also the same. My heart bets fast with the sound of adventure awaiting us! Though I don't have a heart anymore." Brook piped in.

After a minutes of splitting the crew in groups, they started to walk around the island looking inside various shops. Luffy dashed off as he stepped out of the ship his nose already detecting the smell of meat, followed by the others who are already used to Luffy's attitude. Ace made sure to stick himself beside Sei who obviously tries to act normally around him despite the fact that she is obviously uncomfortable with the guy's presence since morning. The brew noticed the changes but didn't comment, well they would be more than happy to see the new reactions on their4 weapons master's face. Before the group reached the center of the town, the crew already started their own agendas. Nami dashed towards the store she saw at the entrance of the town, while Robin and Chopper stooped by the book store they saw on the way. Zoro absence went unnoticed, while Sanji started his skirt-chasing. Brook on the other hand had checked out the music store he saw on the way while Usopp marched off towards a random shop at the corner which leaves Sei and Ace together.

Sei, thinking that Ace also had some business to do decided to ignore the man's presence behind him as she walked towards the center of the town. She wanted to saw the types of weapons the town has to offer and if possible visit a blacksmith.

I guess I should've gone with Zoro. She thought but immediately rejected her own idea because both of them are hopeless with directions (she finally painfully admitted to herself).

Ace broke the silence. "So where do you want to go?" he grinned at the girl beside him who tried to avert her gaze form him.

"I—"

"What a pleasant surprise it is." A baritone voice spoke in front of them which almost made Sei jump.

N-No. I-It couldn't b-b-be..? She knew that voice. She knew that voice too well to mistake it for someone else. Even with no mirror she could tell she looked quite pale and Ace's reaction is a quite proof of that. Oh how she wanted to run away immediately but her feet seem like it was glued on the spot.

"Trafalgar Law." Ace greeted. He noticed Sei flinched at the name and hurriedly hid behind him, slightly peeking from his arms.

"Fire Fist Ace. Sei of the Ravensdale." Amusement obviously dancing in Law's eyes. Never did he imagine that he will find the two together. Yep, he had heard some news that the girl joined the Strawhats but he didn't expect that Fire Fist Ace is traveling with the crew.

"W-What are you d-doing here?!" Finally Sei managed to find her voice but not her courage. She still hid behind Ace who was looking at her with a slight grin on his face obviously amazed with the situation. Thank heavens that Ace didn't move from his spot and just let her hide she would bolt right away if she was alone and she doubted that she could get away from the man.

"Is it bad to visit one of my favorite specimens?" Said Law in a concerned voice.

Sei cringed and held Ace tighter.

(~pagebreak~)

Yayayay! Down with the third chapter..

Just going further with the clearing details..

-Marineford War occurred but not the 2 year gap. Ace was saved. Luffy reunited with his crew. Strawhats met Sei and later on joined the Strawhats. Ace visited the Luffy as his vacation. The rest is history…

Then in Sei's timeline…

-Sei met Law. Sei joined a band of pirates. Sei escaped the pirates. Sei met Luffy and joined Strawhats. Sei learned that he was engaged with Ace. Then the rest is history.. :D

More with the Law and Sei's past.. XDD More like uh… stupidity? Comical conversations.. I wonder how will Ace react to this 'closeness'?

Ravensdale- Thanks for Riku about this name for Sei's clan. I was actually bugging her about some inspirations and suggestion.. and some cheer ups whenever I feel like hitting my head on a wall.. XDD