Ace had made his way down the steps before lunchtime. He was surprised at how good it felt to wake up early. He felt like he could get much more done in the day, and didn't mind it so much now. He had been coming downstairs early to talk with Sora while she worked. They had lunch together yesterday – waking up early was definitely worth it.

Tonight, however, was their date. For the first time in his life, Ace was actually a little nervous. He had been on a couple dates before, but not any with women he actually cared about. And around Sora, Ace seemed to have developed a habit in which he would say something that upset her. But it wasn't like he could not talk to her while on a date – it would just be boring and there was no possible way he could get her to agree to another one. But then if he said something that made her angry, there was also no possible way to get her to agree to another one.

This morning, Ace expected to see the woman at the bar, filling drinks or grabbing food, but instead she was tossing off her apron as though finished with work. "Hey, where are you going?" Ace asked.

Sora looked up and smiled at Ace. "Good morning, studly. Sorry I can't chat today, I'm heading out with Marco."

Ace chewed on the inside of his bottom lip. When Sora went out with Marco, apparently they spent the whole day together. Tonight they were supposed to go to the wandering carnival that stopped by. Ace had spent most of yesterday being excited and nervous at the same time; this was a buzz kill. "Oh, I see."

Sora laughed, slapping his chest playfully. She seemed to hear the underlying tone in his voice. "Don't worry, I didn't forget about tonight. I'll try my best not to flake out," she teased.

Ace frowned, sighing. "Come on, Sora. We had a deal."

She waved him off. "Yeah, I'll be there. I just have something with Marco first."

"If you're going to the carnival with Marco now before coming with me tonight, I might kill myself," Ace told her.

Sora laughed. She moved past him, slinging a little bag over her shoulder. "I'm not, silly. Don't worry. You trust me, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then I'll see you tonight at seven, then." She held out her pinky. "I promise."

Ace linked his pinky with hers, creating the binding contract. He grinned at her, Sora's smile draining the doubt from his body. "Alright then. Have fun with Marco today, because we are going to have so much fun tonight that every other day of your life is going to be completely mediocre compared to our date."

Sora giggled. "We'll see about that, studly."

"Be excited," Ace called after her as she headed out of the bar. "It'll be fun!"

"Bye, Ace," Sora said back, waving as she pushed open the door.

Ace remembered all of this, continuing to have faith that Sora would pull through – that Kohaku would not be right about Sora ditching out on him. This was an actual, real date, not just a dinner, a date. Ace breathed in deeply. The sun had set and still, Sora was nowhere in sight. He had worn a watch for this purpose, and glanced at it.

7:18.

He exhaled exasperatedly, rubbing his eyes. She said seven, but she still wasn't here. The carnival was behind him, the acre of land brimming with music and laughter and chatter, and he was just standing outside the gate, waiting. He leaned against a streetlight, shutting his eyes. They had a deal, and she couldn't even keep that, how much more effort did he need to put into this to show her that—

"Hey, sorry I'm late," said a voice, and Ace opened his eyes to see Sora standing in front of him, slightly out of breath. She was dressed in a t-shirt and jacket, and her shorts, of course, and sneakers, a different outfit from what she had been wearing this morning. She coughed slightly, brushing the hair from her face. She started making motions with her hands as though this would help explain. "Things with Marco ran late today, and, yeah, I mean, it's no excuse, but—"

"It's okay," Ace interrupted, shaking his head. "I'm just glad you came."

Sora seemed to smile out of relief. "Okay, well, uh, let's get this over with because I hate the carnival."

Ace chuckled. "Remember that it's not going to be that easy. But before we go, I bought you this," he brought out something from behind his back. It was a block of cheese, still wrapped in plastic, of course, with a ribbon on it. Ace grinned at Sora's surprised expression. "I know you don't like flowers, but I remembered that you do like cheese."

The woman giggled, and to Ace's surprise, took the large block of cheese. "That was nice of you. Didn't know I had to buy you something."

"It's a replacement for flowers," Ace said, laughing. "The girl gets the flowers."

"Ah, then I probably should have bought some for you," Sora teased, sticking her tongue out at him as they headed through the gate.

"Oh, ha, ha," Ace replied sarcastically as Sora handed the man at the booth some money for the entry fee.

"Scripts or a wristband?" he asked.

Sora started to speak. "Um, I kinda—"

"Wristbands," Ace told the man, and before Sora could object, the cashier looped a wristband around Sora's arm and Ace grinned as he held his forward to have one around him as well.

The cashier waved them off. "Thank you, and enjoy."

"Unlimited rides," Ace told Sora, holding the bright red wristband into her face. Sora pushed his arm out of the way and sighed.

"Alright, well what do you want to do first?" she asked, glancing around. The carnival was bursting with color and flashing lights. She could see overhead a little sky rail like ride that went through the entire carnival on wire lines, a Ferris wheel in the distance, and several small rollercoasters. There were many game tents lined up on the main road, as well as food vendors. How these people managed to set up over night was completely beyond Sora's comprehension.

"You can choose," Ace told her, smiling.

"I'd choose to go home," Sora said, laughing as Ace rolled his eyes.

"Okay, fine. Let's ride something." He started towards the rumbling sound of the rollercoaster, Sora following by his side. He glanced down at her. "So, what'd you and Marco do today?"

Sora answered quickly and nonchalantly. "Have sex."

"Shut up."

Sora laughed, shaking her head as she slapped Ace's arm playfully. "Why does it matter what we did?"

"Why are you acting like it's a big deal? I don't really care, I was just asking. Starting conversation, I don't know," Ace replied, shrugging.

"We just had lunch and went shopping, and then hung out with Izou and Michio and stuff. Is it bad that I like to hang out with Marco every once in a while?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow teasingly.

"Yes, because your 'once in a while' is like, every other day. You should be spending more time with me."

Sora snorted. "Well, I've never been on a date with Marco, so that doesn't matter, does it?"

Ace grinned, slinging his arm around her. "Nope. I'm the best."

She giggled. "Oh, because you forced me to come some place I don't even like instead of having a normal dinner date."

"Normal is boring," Ace told her. "That's why you're so exciting. You're like the most abnormal person I've ever met."

"Oh, I'm flattered," she said sarcastically. They reached the line for the rollercoaster and Sora swore she felt her stomach drop just from looking at it. It was much taller than it seemed from the entrance, and had a straight drop before the car sped into a loop-de-loop and raced around winding tracks. Screams echoed loudly, even at the farthest point from Sora and she shook her head. "Yeah, no way."

Ace kept his arm around her as she tried to walk away. "Come on, small boobs! This looks awesome."

"Terrifying," she corrected.

"What are you, like ten years old? You're a pirate, Sora, you can't be afraid of heights."

"What does being a pirate have to do with being afraid of heights? Which, you know, I'm not afraid of," she stated, sticking her tongue out at Ace.

"We are fearless!" Ace yelled loudly. Other people in line turned their heads a little at the source of the noise and Sora giggled.

She swatted at his arm. "Stop it, you're making a scene."

"Pirates are fearless, and therefore, you, de Belleville Sora, the Fuurin and former second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates should not be afraid of a rollercoaster!" Ace continued as loud as he possibly could, causing people around them to chuckle to themselves also.

"Stop," Sora laughed, pushing him.

Ace put his face right in front of Sora's, and took a deep breath, screaming as loud as he could, "NEVEEEEEEEEEER!"

Sora winced from the volume, still smiling as she rubbed her ears. "Okay, fine, I'll go with you. You're such a little kid."

Ace put his arm around her again, grinning. "I'm not a little kid. I'm the best."

"Alright, well, keep telling yourself that, I guess," she teased, crossing her arms over her chest. Being next to him like this wasn't as bad as Sora thought. She thought it might be awkward – they were going on a real date – and Sora was the least intimate person she knew. But with Ace, it was…comfortable. Not so much intimate than it felt right. The way the curve of his arm fit around her body and matched her height perfectly so that neither of them looked awkward, the feel of his body heat – it didn't make Sora feel awkward. It made Sora feel at home.

She squeezed her eyes a little and exhaled. She needed to stop thinking like this; she needed to not let him overrun her thoughts. With Marco today, all she could think about was Ace and their date tonight. Sora hadn't been on a date in so long, she had been afraid that she forgot how to be on one. And then she would shake the thought from her head, saying that it was only Ace. And then those thoughts would creep back in because it was Ace. He was different than other men she knew. He was genuine and he was real in exactly the way she needed.

Ace lifted his wrist and Sora's also, showing the ticket man, who just nodded and allowed them to get onto the car. Sora handed the man her cheese to hold. "First one," Ace told Sora, leading her towards the front of the car.

"Oh, no way! Back!" Sora tried to pull Ace in the other direction, but he wasn't even fazed by her movement, continuing towards the front. "Ace, no!"

Ace made an over exaggerated angry face at her, stretching his mouth out as wide as he could to show his teeth and creasing his brow inward so that his eyes were little tiny slits. "Stop being stubborn," he said through gritted teeth, making Sora laugh. Ace took that opportunity to gently push her into the cart and pull the bars over both of them. Sora tried to push them back up, but they had already clicked into place.

"I'm going to throw up," Sora told him.

"Turn that way," Ace replied, gesturing to the opposite direction of himself, grinning.

"Oh, no, I'm going to turn straight at you, and it'll be projectile." Sora made the hand motion as though vomit were indeed flying from her mouth, and Ace laughed.

"I'll catch all of it and shove it back down your throat."

Sora made a face. "Gross." There was a jerk and the car started moving, clicking loudly against the tracks. Ace laughed as Sora shrank into her seat, gripping the bars around her so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

"Small boobs, don't worry," Ace said, grinning at her. They shifted direction and were now headed upward.

"Don't worry? I'm going to die," Sora whimpered, making a face at Ace. To Sora's surprise, Ace took her hand in his own. He didn't lace their fingers together, he just held her hand, and then smiled at her.

"I'm right here," he assured her, squeezing her hand. He faced forward again – fortunately, for Sora, as she felt color tinting her cheeks – and then shouted, "Well get ready and scream really loud 'cause here it comes!"

Sora didn't even have time to reply as the car dropped straight down and she screamed, squeezing Ace's hand so hard she spent a total of one second worrying about whether or not she was going to shatter his bones, before her mind raced back to the present and the loop-de-loop. Her world spun upside down and she continued to scream, even hearing Ace laughing and whooping beside her, not at all fazed by the strength she was using to squeeze his hand to death. Because they were in the front, Sora could see everything coming, but it didn't make a difference – the world was still a messy blur and the only thing she could feel was the car throwing her body around, the wind crashing into her face and blowing her hair back. She could barely hear Ace laughing over the loud rumbling of the car on the tracks, but she tried her best to focus on his voice to distract her from the rollercoaster.

The car whizzed around a corner, and Ace noticed that Sora's screaming had stopped. But when he turned to look at her, she was chanting, "Oh, my God," really fast and was pressed against the back of her seat, frozen staring straight in front her. They dropped a little again and Sora let out a little squeal, shutting her eyes as they ripped around another corner. Ace couldn't help but laugh, grinning as they flew through another small loop. There was a sudden jerk and the car slowed down, signaling the end of the ride.

Sora was breathing heavily, her eyes wide and she looked horrified, needing to take deep breaths. The bars raised and Ace helped Sora out of the car, letting go of her hand and putting his arm around her again. "You okay, small boobs?" he asked, leaning his cheek against the top of her head.

"No more rollercoasters," Sora told him, shaking her head vigorously. She retrieved her block of cheese before heading down the steps with Ace.

Ace chuckled. "Okay, fine. We can play games and eat. Can we go on the Ferris wheel later?"

"Maybe later," Sora said, exhaling deeply. "I am not a big fan of rides."

"Weird because, I mean, you like to fly, and you did ride on a ship for like, three years," Ace teased.

"That's different."

"How?"

"It just is," Sora whined, making a face at Ace.

"Ah, you're so cute. Let's go play games," Ace said, moving ahead of her towards one of the tents. He stopped and turned back, holding his hand out. "Is it okay if we hold hands or no? I mean, we are on a date."

Sora put her hand behind her back and grinned sheepishly, shaking her head. Ace just smiled. "Okay, that's fine. How about this one?" He stopped in front of a hammer game, where the player would have to swing a large hammer and try to ring a bell at the top of a bar. Nearby were little stuffed animal prizes for winners.

Sora laughed. "Doubt you'll be able to ring that bell."

"Uh, I would destroy this game," Ace bragged, brushing imaginary dirt off his shoulder. Sora giggled as she paid the ticket man, who handed Ace a hammer.

Ace grabbed the hammer and immediately felt his strength drain from his arms. The hammer dropped to the dirt with a loud thud. "What the hell?" Ace mumbled, mustering all his strength to lift a thirty-pound hammer off the ground.

"Ah, a devil fruit user," the ticket man said, smiling at Ace. "The hammer is made of kairoseki to ensure that devil fruit users such as your self do not leave our carnival in ruins."

Sora giggled, having already known this. The stone in which the hammer was made of was kairoseki, sea stone that contained the essence of the ocean, and weakened those with devil fruit powers. Kairoseki handcuffs were a useful tool to the Marines allowing the weakening and suppression of devil fruit users who could otherwise have no trouble fleeing or defeating them. "Well, go ahead and ring that bell if you think you can, studly," Sora teased.

"Gladly," Ace grunted, having a little trouble lifting the mallet. He brought it over his head and then used his weight to bring the hammer down onto the switch, with a loud thump and the bell shot up, reaching a little over half before plummeting down sadly. "Seriously?" he breathed, running a hand through his hair.

Sora laughed. "Aw, I guess I'm going to go home sad and stuffed-animal-less."

Ace picked up the hammer again with a new determination. "Don't worry, small boobs. Daddy's gonna win you a prize."

Sora rolled her eyes at that, but just laughed again as Ace tried to ring the bell. It got closer this time, reaching right below the three-quarters mark. "Damn," he said, shaking his head. "I'd rather be handcuffed. Okay, one more time," he told Sora, and swung the hammer as hard as he possibly could as though his life depended on it. The meter flew up, hitting the bell with a quiet ding before dropping down again. He pumped his fist victoriously. He turned to the ticket man. "That totally counts!"

He chuckled and nodded. "Okay, well choose a prize," he said, waving over to his selection of stuffed animals. Ace grinned at Sora, picking out a fluffy white dog and handing it to the woman. She smiled from ear to ear as she took it.

"Thank you," she told Ace. "Even though technically, I paid for it."

"You're welcome," Ace replied, ignoring her last comment. "What now?"

"How about the dunking booth?" Sora asked, gesturing to the attraction nearby. There were a few people surrounding it, laughing and chatting as someone tried to drop their friend into a pool of water.

Ace scoffed. "As in, you're going to play? I don't think you will even be able to throw within a mile of that little button," he teased.

Sora's jaw pretended to drop. "Alright, let's go then," she said, pulling Ace to the game. When it was their turn, Sora paid the ticket woman as Ace stepped out of his docksides and climbed onto the platform. He tossed his shirt onto Sora's head, the material covering her face. When she pulled it off, Ace was holding his hands out confidently, smirking at her.

"Come on, small boobs." He beckoned at her with both hands. "Bring it."

Sora laughed, shaking her head as she tossed a baseball in her hand. Just for the game, she had to wear a beaded necklace made of kairoseki to cancel out her devil fruit powers, but it only weakened her slightly. It's main purpose was probably to null the her powers, rather than to undermine her strength. She stood behind a line. "How many tries do I get?" she asked Ace.

"I don't know, like, five? I doubt you'll be able to hit me even if you had a hundred," Ace mocked arrogantly, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

Sora whipped the first ball at the button, but missed by a good foot, causing Ace to laugh obnoxiously. Sora giggled. "Shut up." She threw the second ball, the baseball slamming against the wall with a dull thud and falling to the earth, Ace still laughing.

"Oy, I think I should let you pay for the hundred baseballs," he teased.

She threw her third baseball, grazing the silver button this time, but Ace didn't drop into the pool below. He swung his legs, his feet dangling about a meter above the water. "Two more, small boobs, then daddy's gonna have to teach you how to not throw like a girl."

"I hate you," Sora laughed, throwing her fourth ball and missing completely again. She tossed the last ball in the air a few times, taking a deep breath as though playing a championship game. She wound up and then threw it, hitting right above the button. Ace threw both fists in the air, cheering.

"It's okay, small boobs," he told her, not moving from the platform as Sora pulled off the necklace. "Maybe some other time."

Sora smirked at Ace and flicked her finger, sending a tiny ball of wind hurtling towards the button, strong enough to just press it inwards. Ace dropped into the pool with a huge splash, getting Sora a little wet as she laughed. He resurfaced, making a face at her. "That's not fair!"

"Life's not fair," Sora laughed as Ace pulled himself out of the water. The ticket woman handed him a towel and Ace wiped the water from his face, pushing Sora playfully as the woman giggled, holding onto his shirt. Ace gave the towel back to the woman and caught up with Sora. He put his arm around her again, not bothering to take his shirt back yet, as it would probably just get wet from the water droplets from his hair and his drenched shorts.

"I'm not winning you any more prizes," Ace told her, sticking his tongue out.

Sora feigned disappointment and sighed sadly. "Oh, well, then I guess it'll just be a sad day for me. So much for that awesome date you promised me," she said quietly, averting her eyes as though depressed.

"Oh, stop," Ace said, ruffling her hair. Sora laughed. "Fine, if you insist, daddy will win you more prizes."

"You've got to stop calling yourself that," she said as Ace leaded her under the row of tents, browsing the games. Ace just shrugged playfully, watching Sora scan through the different prize. He saw her eyes linger on a rather cute stuffed octopus and stopped, back stepping to the game. It was the game where the players competed against each other in a race by rolling balls into holes that made a dolphin swim depending on what number the ball rolled into.

They played numerous other games, Ace winning so many prizes for Sora that they needed to ask for a few bags to carry everything. He was rather proud, enjoying the smile that flashed across her face whenever he handed her a new prize. It was a simple gesture, but because it was such a small thing that made Sora smile, Ace couldn't help but find it unbearably cute.

Sora teased Ace before playing the games, but after he won prizes, she cheered and accepted whatever animal he chose for her excitedly. Despite saying that she hated the carnival, Sora seemed to be enjoying herself, and to put it simply, that made Ace happy. They didn't even really need to be on a date – if she could be happy like this on anything they did together, Ace was satisfied.

Although the fact that it was a date made it even better.

Sora handed Ace a stick of cotton candy. She had slipped away while he was playing a game and bought them both giant fluffs of sugar. "You totally read my mind!" He smiled at her, exchanging a rather large giraffe doll for the candy, and took a giant bite out of it. Sora peeled hers off nicely, plopping the sugar into her mouth happily. "Ready to go on the Ferris wheel?"

Sora nodded, letting Ace's arm go around her again. She tried to ignore the fact that her hand itched to be enveloped in his. "Thanks for all the prizes," she said, lifting her giant bag of stuffed animals.

Ace laughed, shrugging. "Yeah, I told you it was gonna be awesome."

"And the cheese."

"And the cheese," Ace said, smiling. They stood in line for the Ferris wheel. The sun had set a long, long time ago, and it was dark now, stars faded in comparison to the bright lights of the carnival. Ace had pulled his shirt back on now that his clothes and hair had dried. He had to admit that he was a little tired, though. Some of those games consisted of kairoseki equipment and meant he had to exert more strength than usual.

He looked down at the woman carefully peeling pink pieces of candy from a stick she could easy bite from, and smiled. It was worth it.

The flashed their wristbands and hopped into a car, just the two of them. Sora sat opposite of Ace, finishing of her cotton candy. Ace had devoured his some time ago. The woman seemed to glow in the dim light of the moon and the flashing lights below as the Ferris wheel began to rotate, lifting them into the air. Sora leaned her elbow against the window, turning her face so that she could get a nice view of the island. A small smile curled on her lips.

"You look really pretty," Ace blurted before he could stop himself.

Sora seemed surprised by his comment, turning to face him and blinking several times. Ace was going to apologize for being forward, but Sora just smiled kindly. "You look really nice, too."

Ace decided to play confident for a little longer, scoffing and shrugging as though her compliment were not a big deal. "When do I not look awesome?" Sora giggled, shaking her head. Ace's voice quieted. "Can I ask why you don't like carnivals?"

"I thought you'd ask that eventually," she sighed, smiling at Ace. "Yes."

Ace grinned back at her. "Alright, then. Why do you not like carnivals?"

"It's going to sound sad and pathetic and stuff, but I don't know, I feel like this is someplace where there are no worries. And I can't allow myself to feel that way. I have so many things to do and to take care of, even if it doesn't seem like it. Every day is a burden and coming here…it makes me forget. I can't afford to forget about why I'm alive – why I exist," she said, tasting the words as though this was the first time that she herself was saying them.

Ace just nodded, silent. What could he possibly say to that?

"But," she started again and Ace looked up, catching her gaze. Once again he was drowning in the blues of her eyes, illuminating like the stars. "Thank you for bringing me. It was…nice, I guess, to forget, even if just for a little while."

"I'm glad," Ace said, reaching over to take her hand again. Sora felt a warm feeling in her chest, as both of his hands grabbed hers, his thumb rubbing against her knuckles. Sora felt herself shy away a little as blush tinted her cheeks and Ace grinned. "You know, you're super cute when you actually act like a girl."

"Shut up," she said, still looking away as she took back one of her hands to run it through her hair. "Well, you're never cute. Marco is way cuter."

"Ouch," Ace laughed, knowing that she was joking. He moved so that he was now sitting next to her. He put one arm around her and kept the other hand holding hers. To his surprise, she actually leaned against him. "But you're not out with him tonight, are you?"

Sora shrugged. "I could be."

"But you're with me."

"Because we had a deal."

"Oh, come on, you know if we didn't have a deal you'd still be here with me."

Sora laughed, shaking her head. "No dice."

"That hurts me," Ace said, bringing both his hand and her own to his heart and pounding on his chest, making the woman laugh some more. Ace enjoyed the sound of her laughter, tinkling like wind chimes. He was glad that half the time they were together, she was laughing.

They sat together for the remainder of the ride, but when the car came to a stop, Sora gently took her hand back, but left Ace's arm around her as they left. He carried some of her bags while she held her block of cheese protectively. "Ready to call it a night?" Ace asked, noticing some booths starting to close.

Sora nodded and they left the carnival, flashing lights fading behind them. The streets were quiet, as it was already quite late. But surroundings didn't really seem to have any effect on Ace and Sora.

"I like this one the best," Sora said, pulling out the giraffe Ace had given her.

"Giraffe? That's lame. What about the dog?" he said, pointing at the little fluffy white dog at the bottom of the bag.

"Dogs are cute, but everyone likes dogs. I like octopi," she said, pulling out the other pink octopus. It actually only had six legs, and its eyes consisted of little dots while its mouth was a red "U". It smiled happily as though glad to have been chosen by Sora.

"You just said giraffe."

"I like octopi, too."

"What about snakes?" Ace asked, wrapping a stuffed serpent around Sora's shoulders. He wiggled its head, the forked tongue grazing Sora's cheek.

"Oh, yeah, snakes, too!"

"And bears!" Ace pulled out the giant blue bear he had won and placed it tummy-down on Sora's head.

"Bears are cute."

"And monkeys!" The younger man also brought out the monkey from the bag, its magnetic hands and legs clamping around her waist. Sora giggled, already seeing what he was doing. "And penguins! And unicorns! And lady bugs! And pandas!" With each animal he brought out the respective doll and stuffed it somewhere on Sora's body, in her arms or on top of the bear that was already on her head until all ten of the animals that Ace had won were out of the bag, burying Sora.

The woman tried her hardest not to laugh before all the stuffed animals fell to the ground and got dirty. "Ace," she said, giggling. "Ace, take them off!"

"Take what off?" Ace asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Sora couldn't slap him because then that would mean she would drop her precious animals.

"My dolls, please," Sora clarified, rolling her eyes.

"Please, what?" Ace asked, putting a hand to his ear.

Sora snorted. "Just please."

"You know what I want to hear."

"Ace!"

"And you can't cock tease me this time because your stuffed animals will plummet to their deaths."

"But, I—" Sora started, but Ace just crossed his arms over his chest, waiting. Sora groaned, rolling her eyes. "Fine, please. Daddy."

Ace threw both fists up in the air and marching around her in a circle. "That's RIIIIIIIIGHT!" he screamed in her face, making the woman laugh again.

"Ace, shut up, people are sleeping!"

"But…everyone should know that I'm your daddy," Ace reasoned, furrowing his brows as though this were a dilemma.

"Ace," Sora laughed, making a face at him. "Help, please."

"Oh, I was so distracted by your confirmation of being your daddy that I forgot," Ace teased, lifting the stuffed animals off her and placing them back into their bags. He put his arm around her again as the two of them began walking back to the bar. They were closer now, seeing the dim glow of the sign not too far away.

"Never again," Sora told him, rolling her eyes. "Never calling you that again."

"Say what you want now, de Belleville," Ace teased. He pushed open the door to the bar, surprised to see Marco and Thatch still awake. They were sipping from beer at the counter and turned when Ace and Sora came in. "Hey," Ace greeted with a grin. He expected Sora to squirm out from under his arm the way that she had when she had come in with Marco that time they came back together late, but she didn't.

"Hi, boys. What're you doing still up?" she asked with a smile.

"Making sure that our Sora is okay," Thatch teased, winking at her. "Had fun?"

"Ugh, no, it was terrible," she joked, receiving an eye roll from Ace. "I mean, I paid for like, everything. All these dolls? Yeah, I pretty much bought them."

"Oy, shut up," Ace said, pulling her into his arms and crushing her in an embrace as she giggled and tried to escape. He lifted her over his shoulder, and leaned backwards a bit to pick up the bags she dropped. "She's delusional. We had a great time. But now we're going to bed to end our date the right way," he added with a joking wink, receiving a punch in the back from Sora.

"Close up after you're done!" Sora called behind her, still laughing as Ace trudged up the stairs. She tried to grab onto the railings to stop him, but Ace just kept moving, not fazed at all. Marco and Thatch heard her laughter and squeals disappear up the steps.

Thatch had a crush on Sora for some time, but he knew that it wasn't as bad as Marco's feelings for Sora. He could tell just by looking at the man that it was a little painful to see her with someone else – again. But Marco, of course, was classy and respectful and would never dare say anything to Ace or Sora. As long as she was happy, then Marco didn't have a problem.

Ace kicked the door closed behind him, letting Sora down. He spun her around and pinned her to the door, the woman needing to blink several times to recover. Ace's body was close to hers, and she felt her breathing slow as he brushed hair from her face. "I'm going to sleep soon. I'm pretty tired," he said as though discussing the weather. His voice was low and velvety, sending shivers rippling Sora's body. "All that sea stone today was pretty draining."

"Oh, well, um, you should go to sleep then," Sora said, trying to press herself into the door as though hoping she would pass right through it and escape Ace's intoxicating energy. She lifted a thumb and tried to point outside. "I'm gonna go shower."

"I think I should get a good night kiss," Ace told her, smiling.

Sora pursed her lips together, a smile curling them upward a little. She looked up at him from under her eyelashes, almost making Ace falter. "Oh yeah?"

"I did good tonight. I should get a kiss."

Sora laughed, and said, "Okay."

Ace's eyes narrowed a bit, suspicious. "Really?"

The woman's arms wrapped around his neck and loosened a little, falling so that her hands were on his neck and face, her thumbs resting on his cheeks. Slowly, ever so slowly, she brought his face closer to hers. Ace hoped she couldn't hear his heartbeat, exploding rapidly in his chest as the distance between them closed. He moved a hand to cup her face, tilting her head upward to match his height. Then at the last second, she scrunched her face together, smiling as she rubbed her nose against his before ducking under his arm and skipping to her vanity. She began bordering her new stuffed animals around the mirror, and also placed some on her bed.

"What…what just happened?" Ace breathed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as Sora laughed.

"Eskimo kiss," Sora said, pulling clothes out of her vanity.

Ace sighed. "But we're pirates."

"I'm an Eskimo."

"No, you're not."

"We just kissed like Eskimos, so you're an Eskimo, too," she said, ignoring Ace while grinning at him at the same time.

"You make me so tired," Ace said, trudging over to his bed and flopping down onto it face first. She giggled, a cold hand ruffling his hair. Ace mumbled something into the mattress, stretching out his syllables.

"What was that?" Sora asked as she placed a hand on the doorknob.

"Why won't you just kiss meeeeeeeee?" Ace groaned, rolling over and making a face at her.

Sora laughed. "I'm not that easy, studly."

"But it's just a kiss."

The woman shook her head. "We both know it's more than that."

Ace groaned again, rolling over so that his back was facing her. She was right. No matter how badly Ace wanted to kiss her, he knew that if they kissed, something was going to happen. What if it wasn't all sparks and magic like he expected? What if it was? She meant something to him and if they kissed now, without him barely knowing a thing about her, what would that mean? Damn her for being right.

But at the same time, Ace really wanted to kiss her. Damn her again for not letting him.

Sora looked down at the doorknob for a moment. "Thanks, again, for tonight, Ace," she said, her voice becoming kinder. "I really…had a lot of fun."

Ace rolled to face her, flashing her a grin. "Glad you enjoyed yourself. I had a lot of fun, too. We should, ah, do it again sometime."

She turned to him and smiled a little, nodding slightly. "Yeah. Yeah, that'd be cool."

"As a date," Ace clarified, not sure he was hearing right.

Sora's nod was small, but Ace saw it. She seemed to be contemplating the idea. "Maybe."

Ace pumped his fist triumphantly. He was fairly certain he could turn that 'maybe' into a 'yes'. "Awesome."

The woman laughed. "Okay, well, I'm going to go shower."

"I'm going to black out."

Sora smiled as she pulled open the door. "Good night, Ace."