Ace needed the sea.
It had provided him with everything he had ever hoped and dreamed for, and then some. The sand on the beach was soft, and the wind was cool, but sticky with salt, running through his hair and swirling around him, consuming him. The sun had set long ago and the beach was silent, save for the sound of the waves lapping on the shore, music to his ears. Even though he was on land, it was relaxing to be near the sea, and this beach was the best he had been at so far. It wasn't a mystery why Whitebeard came here every now and then.
Ace let his bright orange hat hang around his neck, letting the wind and spray of the ocean kiss his cheeks. He leaned back on his arms, breathing in deep the feeling of the ocean. The sea was where he belonged; it was his home.
"Hey," called a voice behind him.
Ace turned, recognizing that the voice belonged to Kohaku, the boy he had seen at the bar with Sora. "What's up?" Ace asked, grinning as he sat up straight.
The boy plopped down next to Ace on the sand, crossing his legs. His mop of shaggy blonde hair flopped around as he turned his head to look at the pirate. "What're you doing by yourself?"
Ace turned his eyes back to the horizon, the edge of the sea blending with the night sky, the light from the moon reflecting on the ocean fading into the stars. "Watching the sea."
Kohaku laughed a little, following Ace's eyes. "You're just like Aneki. She comes out here by herself sometimes and just stares at the ocean for hours." The younger boy shrugged his shoulders. "Sounds a little boring to me."
"Aneki?" Ace asked, a little confused.
"Sora?" Kohaku answered, raising his eyebrows as though Ace had just asked the silliest question in the world.
"She's your sister," Ace thought aloud, the mystery from earlier solved. He remembered that Sora's hair was black like night, while Kohaku's hair was blonde. He also noticed that Kohaku's eyes were green, while there was no mistaking that Sora's eyes were blue. "You don't look alike."
"Everyone says that, but I don't think that should matter. Family is family, right?" Kohaku asked, grinning.
Ace nodded, smiling back at the younger boy. There was no one that understood family more than Ace, no one that understood family more than any of the Whitebeard Pirates. It was a foundation of the entire crew; it was why Whitebeard was the strongest man in the world. "That's true."
"So," Kohaku said, exhaling as he spoke. "You're new, aren't you?"
Kohaku didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon. Ace glanced around, wondering if this was okay, as he saw how overprotective Sora had gotten back at the bar. She wasn't strict, but Ace could tell from her demeanor that she worried plenty about Kohaku, because Ace knew his displayed the same kind of behavior when around Luffy.
"Yeah, sort of. Newest commander, I guess," Ace answered, shrugging.
"I've seen your wanted poster," Kohaku said with a grin. "Impressive."
Ace brushed imaginary dust off his shoulder and raised his eyebrows, nodding as though he had won some kind of prize. "I try."
Kohaku laughed. "I'm not surprised that you're the second division commander. I think you have a pretty neat fruit."
"Wanna see something cool?" Ace asked, and without waiting for the boy's answer – because he knew that it was an irrevocable yes – Ace scooped some sand up with his hands. He faced his back to Kohaku for a moment, and his hands exploded into a raging fire. Kohaku could feel the heat from behind Ace, searing his skin. If Ace hadn't extinguished the flame immediately, Kohaku would have probably been burned. Ace opened his hands and moved his fingers quickly, turning back to Kohaku.
"Ta-dah!" He revealed a glass shell, steam still rising from it, the glass still red-hot. The younger boy reached out his hand to touch it, but Ace pulled his hands away quickly. "Woah, watch it. It's still super hot." Ace dropped the shell to the damp sand near his feet, hearing the cool temperature of the earth hiss against the newly made glass. Kohaku looked a little dejected, but Ace just laughed, messing up the boy's hair. "Don't worry, kid, you can keep it."
"You can melt sand," Kohaku breathed in amazement, his eyes shimmering. Ace suddenly felt like he was watching Luffy discover something new. "So cool!"
Ace found it refreshing to finally be interacting with someone that wasn't 'wanted – dead or alive' or a marine that was trying to capture him. Here, he was normal, and for once, he felt good about that fact. He didn't even know that a part of him had missed being 'normal'. Now he was a first-rate pirate aboard the ship of the strongest man alive, unable to swim in open seas because of a fruit he ate two years ago. How things have changed since he had been with Luffy back on Dawn Island.
Ace and Kohaku stayed out rather late, Ace having needed to light a fire with some old beach wood in order to keep the younger boy warm. The continued to talk, and Ace told Kohaku all about his adventures through the Grand Line, the younger boy listening with wide eyes.
"I think I want to be a pirate when I get older," Kohaku chimed in after Ace had finished a story about an island called Little Garden.
Ace held his hands up and shook his head. "No, no, don't do that just 'cause of me! It's a lot more dangerous than it seems." The last thing he wanted was to influence a young kid like Kohaku to become a pirate because of the stories he was telling. Ace didn't tell Kohaku about being tailed by the marines and brawling with other pirates. Though the sea was wondrous, it was also filled with death.
"Oh, don't worry, I already made up my mind about being a pirate a long time ago," Kohaku said, as though those were reassuring words. "I mean, I know it'd be cool to be a marine. They have really strong guys like the Admirals, too, but I feel like being a pirate is something I need to do. It's something I have to fulfill –I just feel it. It's a part of me, you know?"
Ace knew. As the son of Gol D. Roger, there was no way Ace could not become a pirate. No, not when his father was a world-class criminal. Even though the hero of the marines, Monkey D. Garp, had raised him, Ace couldn't imagine himself as a hero. It was in his blood to be a pirate.
But wait a second, who was Kohaku even referring to? Ace opened his mouth to ask, but was interrupted. "Kohaaaaaaaaku," called a voice from behind them. Sora was standing on the beach with her hands on her hips. She was making her way over to them.
"Oops," Kohaku whispered, grinning at Ace. He stood up to face Sora.
"What're you doing, buddy?" Sora asked, raising her eyebrows and playfully shoving her brother's face. "Do you know what time it is?"
"Nope," Kohaku answered, smiling innocently at her as though his big green eyes were going to pull him out of trouble. "And I was hanging out with Ace. Look what he made me!" Kohaku held out his hand, showing the glass shell that Ace had made from sand.
Sora picked it from his hands, shut an eye and looked through it with the other. She handed it back to the boy. "It's really pretty. I'm almost jealous," she added, laughing a little. She then sighed, bending down to look at Kohaku in the face. "Look, little man, you gotta tell me when you're going out, and you definitely shouldn't go out by yourself. The last thing I need is for you to go missing. You didn't even say anything to Oyajii when you left him."
"They were busy drinking anyway," Kohaku whined, sighing. Sora's tone never sharpened, but Kohaku could feel her disappointment, making his gut churn with guilt.
"Just be sure to tell me next time you go out okay? Don't just disappear by yourself."
"But I wasn't by myself. I was with Ace the whole time. Right?" Kohaku turned back to Ace for confirmation, as though doing so would make Sora stop scolding him.
Ace grinned and gave Sora the thumbs up. "Yup. We were talking about adventures at sea."
Ace saw her expression drop again the same way he had seen earlier that day. She froze for a moment, and then seemed to regain her composure, shaking her head and smiling as though snapping out of a trance. "Adventures at sea, huh?" she repeated quietly. Ace couldn't tell her emotions. Was she upset? No, that distant look in her eyes; it was nostalgia. But it was gone before Ace could say anything about it. She looked back at Kohaku, stood up and started for the village. "Come on, Kohaku, it's way past your bedtime."
"But I'm not even tired," Kohaku said, yawning and rubbing his eyes as he followed the woman back to the village.
Sora stopped for a moment and nodded her head towards Ace. "Say bye to Ace," she reminded Kohaku.
The little boy turned around and grinned. "Bye, Ace," he said with a grin.
"See ya," Ace said, shooting the boy a little salute as he followed his sister through the sand.
Sora and Kohaku had retreated to the village, but Ace decided to stay out a little longer, listening to the sea. He pulled off his boots and laid back into the sand, staring up at the stars for a brief moment. He inhaled deeply, breathing the salty air and exhaled as he closed his eyes once more, allowing himself to become one with the sounds of the ocean.
His mind floated back to the adventures that he had told Kohaku about. He had been to so many places within the last two years, after leaving Dawn Island when he was seventeen. He had found the Mera Mera no Mi, become a renowned pirate and even offered the position of Shichibukai. He had found his greatest hero in his worst enemy and now was a part of that family. And all of it was thanks to the sea. He couldn't think of anything that was more beautiful and more binding than the ocean. It made friends and family of people who once were enemies.
When he opened his eyes again, the fire had long since died, and the lights of the village had dimmed with most of its inhabitants going to sleep. He hopped up and dusted his back of sand, but still feeling the sand between his toes as he walked back to the town. Ace dusted off his legs, carrying his boots with him and walking barefoot through the streets until he reached Sora's bar, the Sky Pub. He smiled a little at the name, as "sora" did mean "sky".
Ace pushed open the doors quietly, noticing that most of the lights were out. Sora was still at the empty bar, wiping down the tables. She looked up and brushed the hair from her face. "Hey," she greeted, standing up straight.
Ace hopped onto a barstool, allowing it to spin around before facing her. He rested his elbow on the bar and cupped his face in his hand, flashing his most charming smile. "Wanna have a drink with me?"
She giggled and shook her head, immune. "Sorry, studly, maybe next time. I was just finishing up here." She untied her apron and tossed both the apron and the rag she'd been using into a basket behind the bar. Sora yawned, her whole body shivering with the motion. "I'm a little tired, so I'm gonna head upstairs to sleep."
"Oh, yeah, about that," Ace said, hopping off the barstool to catch her before she went up the stairs. "Where am I sleeping?"
"With me," she answered. Ace felt his face heat up slightly and he stifled a cough as an excuse to bring his hand to his face. Sora realized what she had said and shook her head, holding her hands up. Ace stole a glance at her and noticed that her face had also turned slightly pink. "No, I, ah, not like that. But I don't really, uh, have a lot of rooms and stuff, so not like, together, but you know, in the same room," she said, stumbling over words as she tried to explain herself.
Sora cleared her throat, also bringing her hand to her face to hide the color that had developed. "My, ah, room is next to the right of the stairs, so you can come up whenever you're tired. Close the front door and turn out the lights for me, too, would'ya?" she added with a wink, skipping up the stairs. Ace was about to ask where the shower was, but Sora called down to him. "Shower's down the hall."
The pounding of her footsteps against the hollow wood faded as she moved up the stairs and retreated to her room. The door closed quietly behind her. Ace decided that it was time to call it a night and probably should have just told Sora that before she left him with the responsibility of closing her bar. He snapped the lock on the door, and headed behind the counter to flick off the lights, hoping that was all he needed to do. The bar darkened, the only glow coming from the small light hovering by the stairs.
Ace yearned for a shower. The stairs creaked beneath his feet and he made a right at the top of the stairs, chuckling quietly to himself as the sounds of his nakama's snoring rumbled even through the doors.
The bathroom was a surprisingly large room, with a bathtub lined with jets and a shower nozzle the size of Ace's head perched on the ceiling. The floors were wooden and still damp from the other commanders having showered. Ace didn't think there was going to be a towel, but Sora had left him one on the sink. He sighed gratefully. The last thing he wanted was to have showered and realize that he had nothing to dry himself off with.
Ace twisted the nozzles, water shooting out of the showerhead. Ace allowed the room to steam up before stepping into the tub and letting the warm water wash over his body. Being at sea for a long time, while insurmountable in feeling, could get a little grimy sometimes. Ace was relieved whenever he had the chance to wash off all the salt from his skin.
His shower was quick and he snatched the towel off the sink, wiping his hair and dabbing off drops of water from his skin. He frowned at his black shorts. He wanted to wash those before wearing them again. He probably had something in his room; Marco had brought his bag. Ace was fairly certain that the other division commanders had asked about where Ace was going to stay, so he was hoping that his bag was already in Sora's room.
Tying the towel around his waist and grabbing his old clothes, Ace flicked off the lights and crossed the hall to Sora's room. He pushed it open, expecting the girl to have gone to sleep, and to have the room to himself so he could change.
But Sora was awake, sitting in bed with a pair of glasses on, her dark hair tied into a bun, loose strand falling into her face. She was dressed in a baggy shirt and pinstriped pajama pants. Ace froze, thinking that she would freak out since he was naked under the towel, but she just laughed, and pretended to check him out, running her eyes up and down his body, moving across his defined muscles, taking in the way the drops of water falling from his hair made his skin glisten. "If only we all looked that good before going to sleep, huh?" she teased, her eyes flicking back to her book as though she didn't care that there was a naked man in her room.
"You're pretty cute, but I don't know, your boobs are pretty nonexistent in that shirt," Ace joked back, and Sora rolled her eyes.
"And we're back at boobs," she laughed, and dog-eared her page, setting the book on the nightstand near her bed. She gestured to the bag on the ground. "You gonna put on some clothes or am I going to have to change my mind about having us room together? I hope you don't sleep naked."
Ace laughed and shook his head. "If you could not watch me, then I could put on pants."
"Okay, go," Sora said, covering her eyes with her hands. Ace kept his eyes fixed on her for a moment before quickly shedding his towel and pulling on a pair of cotton shorts. He tossed his towel onto his bed stand, glancing back at Sora, who still had her eyes covered. "Done?"
"Nope," Ace said, grinning as he hopped into bed, resting his arms behind his head. He normally slept without blankets – it got too hot, no matter where he was – so he didn't bother covering himself with them. Sora tried to spread her fingers for a peek but Ace caught her. "Don't look or you're gonna see my junk," he lied, laughing.
"Hurry up," she whined, her hands still covering her eyes. Ace just laughed and Sora squeezed a peek through her thin fingers, seeing Ace lying in his bed, clothed. She gasped, made a face at him and hurled her pillow his way. "You lied to me! Now our trust is broken forever."
"Oh, no, is there any way I can regain it?" Ace cried in fake desperation, playing along.
Sora pressed her lips together and shook her head sympathetically. "No, I'm sorry, but it can't be done."
The both shared a laugh and Ace tossed her pillow back. Ace smiled at her. "Hey, sorry about today."
"Sorry about what?" she asked, plopping down on her bed as she stuffed her pillow underneath her head.
"Kohaku, and everything. We really were at the beach the whole time. Didn't mean to make you worry."
Sora waved him off. "Nah, it's fine. I knew he was telling that truth. That boy knows better than to lie to me. Our trust would be broken forever," she joked, chuckling a bit.
Ace continued. "And about the pirate stories, I—"
"It's fine," she reassured Ace, smiling at the man. "I know that Kohaku's been wanting to be a pirate for forever. There's no helping him; he loves hearing pirate stories. He doesn't understand how dangerous it is," she shrugged. "But you can't hold a person back from their dreams."
"Being a pirate's not all that bad," Ace commented. Despite the dangers, if Ace could do it all over again, he wouldn't change anything.
Sora smiled at Ace. "I know." And didn't say anything else about it. She yawned, stretching her body out on the bed. "I'm pretty beat, so I'm gonna go to sleep," she told Ace, clicking off the lamp on the nightstand.
Ace smiled in the darkness. "Good night, Sora."