"Hey, Sora," Ace greeted upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, as usual.

"Oh, hey, studly," she said, turning around upon recognizing the voice, but Ace was already walking away, heading to where the division commanders usually sat. He slid in next to Marco and asked for the menu without as much as a second glance in Sora's direction.

Sora blinked several times, her smile fading a little. For about a week and a half now, Ace had been a little distant. She thought that by telling him about Ken, they would become closer, as she had bared her heart and soul. Ken was something she never talked about and never bothered to talk about with anyone, but she had mustered the courage to fill Ace in. She thought it would strengthen her connection with Ace, but it seemed to be doing the opposite.

Last night, Ace had left the bar and come back late at night, when Sora was already asleep. She awoke with the sound of him shoving open the door and sat up to see Ace stumbling in, tripping over his own feet, obviously drunk. He struggled to kick off his boots. This had been going on for several nights already.

"Ace," Sora had said quietly, concerned.

He didn't respond, and just collapsed in his bed, too drunk to move. He was snoring in minutes, and Sora could only frown and go back to sleep.

What was even going on? Sora didn't have any idea. But she just sighed quietly and got back to work. Maybe he would just get over it and maybe tomorrow everything would be the same.

But it wasn't. Ace still greeted her when he came downstairs but Sora made it a point to notice the time and it was already late afternoon. He didn't wake up early and sit at the bar and chat with her like how they had been doing for the nearly two months that he had been here. He immediately sat with the division commanders and didn't even glance back at Sora once.

It was getting to her. Sora's chest tightened and her eyebrows furrowed slightly, confused. She placed down her tray and took off her apron. She looked at Kohaku, who was sitting at the bar, who was playing some game on a handheld device probably developed by the twins, and said, "Let's go to lunch."

Kohaku snapped his game shut and hopped off the chair, nodding excitedly. Sora took his hand but before leaving, approached the division commanders's table. "Hey, Kohaku and I are going to lunch. Do you want to come?" Sora asked Ace, smiling brightly.

Ace made eye contact and shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. I already ordered something from here."

The division commanders exchanged glances. Even they sensed something was wrong. Normally, Ace would have been ecstatic over an invite from Sora. She never invited him to go anywhere; she normally just went along with Ace after he persuaded her to leave work, or just assumed that they were having lunch together like how they did everyday. The division commanders knew that Sora actually making the effort to come over to the table and extend and invite to Ace was a rather large gesture. For him to decline was also a rather large gesture.

"Oh," Sora breathed and Ace looked back down at the menu – even though he said he already ordered – not saying another thing to her as though he wanted her to leave. "Okay. See you later, I guess."

"Yup," Ace said, and Sora turned and left. She was distraught, an empty feeling forming in her gut. She didn't understand. Had she done something wrong?

"Are you and Sora fighting?" Izou asked when the door closed behind her.

Ace raised his eyebrows and made a face like he was surprised Izou was asking such a thing. "No, we're not fighting," he chuckled, waving off the sixteenth division commander. "Why?"

"She invited you to lunch."

Ace laughed again. He needed to play this down. "Yeah, I know, I was there when it happened."

"Why'd you say no?"

The younger man shrugged. "I dunno, I said I ordered food from here already, right?"

"But you didn't."

"Well, I'm going to."

"But Sora asked you to lunch. Sora," Izou emphasized, making a motion with his hands.

"Yeah, so?"

This took all the division commanders by surprise. Izou raised an eyebrow. "What's up with that response?" he snapped, suddenly a little annoyed. "You spend all this time trying to win Sora over and when she finally invites you out on her own accord, you basically slap her in the face."

"I didn't slap her in the face," Ace retorted, obviously trying not to show his irritation. Why was Izou getting all pissy? "I just want to eat here, okay?"

"Don't think that just because you're the second division commander, you can do whatever you please to whomever you please. If you hurt Sora, you're going to answer to me. Don't fucking do anything stupid."

"I'm not doing shit," Ace snapped, annoyed that Izou was cursing at him now.

"You know she trusts you, right? That's why she told you about Ken?"

It seemed like Sora had told Izou about her field trip with Ace to her dead husband's grave. Ace smiled dryly, sipping from his water. "Yeah, okay, if you say so."

Izou just shook his head and turned away, not wanting to talk to Ace any further. Whatever, Ace thought, rolling his eyes angrily. No one would understand.

"Kohaku, has Ace said anything to you?" she asked quietly, leading Kohaku through the town.

Kohaku tilted his head, looking confused. "No, why?"

Sora swallowed a lump in her throat. "Really? Nothing? He hasn't said anything?"

Kohaku shook his head. "Nothing in particular. I mean, he takes me to the beach and everything is okay. Why, is there something wrong with you and Aniki?" Kohaku asked, sounding alarmed.

Sora smiled and shook her head. "No, we're fine," she said, and she wasn't even sure who she was trying to convince, herself or Kohaku. She knew that Kohaku wasn't a naïve kid; of course he sensed that something was wrong between Ace and Sora, but he just didn't want to make Sora feel uncomfortable, especially since he knew that Sora had just told Ace about Ken.

Sora knocked on Michio's door several times, and Akio answered, grinning up. "Yo, Aneki," he greeted, pulling open the door to allow Sora and Kohaku inside.

"Aneki, Kohaku!" Haruo greeted, popping his head in from the living room. Sora noticed a small bruise on his forehead. "We have something to show you, Kohaku! It's finished!"

Sora forced herself to smile and patted Kohaku on the head. "Go play with them. I'll help Michio set up lunch."

Kohaku nodded and bounded happily into the living room to see what kind of new invention the twins concocted. Sora stepped into the kitchen, where Michio was cleaning. "Hey," Sora greeted, and Michio turned and smiled.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He glanced around and raised an eyebrow. Sora was alone today. "Where's Ace?"

Sora shrugged. "He didn't want to come today."

Michio's brows creased inwards. It wasn't only Sora that thought Ace's behavior was weird, so she knew she wasn't imagining it. "That's odd."

Sora forced herself to smile and shrug like she didn't care. She wondered why she had started to care so much in the first place. He always paid a lot of attention to her; it was weird now that he didn't seem to care she existed. She trusted Ace. And he was just ignoring her? Sora didn't understand what was going on.

"He's, ah, been acting a little weird, but it's okay, I'm sure it's just nothing," Sora said, shrugging as she plopped down into one of the chairs. She chatted with Michio about other things, but Ace was still on her mind. She forced herself to forget about it. If something was wrong, he would just come talk to her. And since he hadn't, then there was nothing wrong.

Right?

"Aneki, look!" Akio called, and he, Haruo, and Kohaku pounded into the room. Sora made a face, looking at Kohaku. They had strapped a mechanical arm over Kohaku's flesh, wires and metals incasing the full length of Kohaku's arm. He moved his fingers and the metal shell moved with him, flexing the metal.

"You guys made that?" Sora asked. She was impressed that a pair of twelve-year-old kids had the intelligence to basically create a robot. She thought that maybe perhaps they could work under Vegapunk. But that would make them marines, wouldn't it?

"Ace helped us with some of the metal stuff," Haruo said.

"Ace and I have been coming everyday," Kohaku informed Sora, grinning. "Isn't this awesome?"

"Oh, and watch this," Akio said, handing Kohaku a small piece of steel that Kohaku could fit in his hand. Kohaku squeezed his fist together and when he opened it again, the steel was compressed into a tiny crinkled ball, crushed as though it was paper. "It's super durable!"

"Wow, this is pretty neat," Sora said, poking the metal. "Don't hurt yourself," she warned Kohaku.

"It kind of has a mind of its own sometimes," Haruo admitted, scratching his head. "It kind of punched me in the face the other day. That's how I got this bruise."

Akio and Kohaku snickered and Haruo made a face at them. "Why don't you guys work on prosthetic stuff?" Sora suggested, smiling. She wondered if Michio was okay with her encouraging them to tinker with scrap metal and wires and whatnot. But he didn't say anything, letting Sora speak, as the boys looked a little confused. "Yeah, like, for people who have lost limbs or something. You boys could make a lot from it if you were successful. You'd be pretty famous."

Akio and Haruo exchanged glances and nodded excitedly. "Yeah, we should totally do that!"

"Is that hard to do?"

Sora laughed and shrugged. "I don't know, I don't have that kind of expertise. But you guys do. How about you let me know when it's done and I will come and help test it out?"

Akio looked horrified. "Does that mean we have to cut off your arms?"

Sora burst out laughing, shaking her head. "No, dummie, I can just try it on and help fix it so it doesn't punch people in the face."

"Ace can come, too, right?" Haruo asked.

"Sure," Sora said, smiling.

Haruo and Akio high fived and then bounded back into the living room, Kohaku in tow. Sora watched them leave, smiling. She decided she would occupy her mind with other things besides Ace. What did it matter that they weren't speaking much? She always told him he was bothering her, right? They had lunch everyday because he didn't like eating by himself, and he invited himself to eat with Sora. That was it, right? This is what she wanted in the first place. Peace.

She realized she didn't want Ace to leave her alone anymore, the same way that she realized she didn't want the little silver key to the storage room that day aboard the Moby Dick.

Sora spent the rest of the afternoon with Michio, chatting with his sons and Kohaku. Ace really had been here everyday. He stayed all day until sundown, had dinner with them, and then left for some bar across town and stayed there for the rest of the night. They informed her that sometimes he met up with Coral and had dessert at her shop before going to the bar. Did he talk about Coral a lot? Sora was beginning to wonder if perhaps she hadn't tested him and teased him about sleeping with Coral. What if he actually did?

Not like she cared. They were friends, he could sleep with whomever he wanted to sleep with and Sora shouldn't care. But she did. She did care who Ace was with and where he was and hearing these stories from Michio and the boys about how Ace got drunk every night worried her. Sora knew it probably took a lot of liquor to actually get him drunk, and he had been stumbling in, intoxicated, every night for the past week and a half. He stayed in his own bed and barely said a word to Sora at all. Sora slept in the cold, figuring she might be out stepping her boundaries if she asked Ace to stay with her to keep her warm. It bothered her, like an itch she couldn't reach. She just wanted to know if she had done anything wrong and how she could fix it so she could stop thinking about him.

Sora thought that maybe if she could confront him, he would tell her what was on his mind. So, at dinnertime, she headed back to the bar. Maybe she would be able to catch him for a meal.

"Where's Ace?" Sora asked the division commanders. She was dressed in a tight fitted black shirt and shorts with a pair of monochrome sneakers. She looked ready to go out for a casual dinner, clutching a bright blue wallet in her hand.

Thatch shrugged. "I dunno. He disappeared earlier."

Sora forced her composure to remain neutral, despite the empty feeling in her gut swelling and crushing her, a black hole of worry that would expand and consume her. "Oh, did he say where he was going?"

"Nope," Thatch answered, and Sora looked to the other division commanders for confirmation, and they all either nodded in agreement, or shrugged. "He's, ah, been acting a little weird lately, don't you think?"

Sora raised her eyebrows, looking confused. "I, um, haven't noticed anything. Maybe he's just tired, is all. Anyway, have a nice dinner. I guess I'll work tonight," she said, and headed behind the bar. She placed her wallet somewhere safe and tied on an apron. The Sky Pub was bustling with business tonight, and normally Sora would dread working that hard, but she needed to take her mind off Ace.

For a few hours, the only thoughts on Sora's mind regarded the bar that Ken had left in her care. He and his family had built it before he left for the marines to give them something to do and to give Ken someplace to come home to, and Ken had decided to name it after Sora – the Sky Pub. Then, she had pretended like she hated it, but she had loved that Ken thought of her. His parents were fine with that as well, even though they did move out after Ken died, leaving the bar to Sora for somewhere she could live when she returned. Sometimes, it was just painful to work here or even be here in general, just because she remembered Ken and the thought of him destroyed her.

When Sora looked up again, she saw that everyone had left. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sora," Eiichi said, and his bag was slung around his shoulders. He waved to her as he left the bar, the bell jingling behind him.

"Oh, okay, bye," Sora said, even though he was already gone. How much time had elapsed? Sora felt numb. She leaned against the bar, resting on her elbows and rubbing her eyes, trying to rid herself of the weight that pressed against her back. She let out a sigh and untied her apron, tossing it into a bin.

The bar was quiet now, the only sound from the low buzz of the lights overhead. Sora shifted her feet. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, despite being physically exhausted. Her mind was a jumble; she would just be lying awake and staring at the ceiling. She needed to walk, she needed to move and be somewhere to clear her mind.

She left the bar, closing the door behind her. She didn't lock it in case Ace came stumbling back early. She could only assume that it was about two in the morning; she figured the average time that Ace came back was around four or five A.M. The wind was chilly tonight, blowing Sora's hair around, so she held it down as she walked, goosebumps appearing over her bare legs and arms. Perhaps she should have brought a jacket.

She breathed in the mid September air and made her way up the hill to the training grounds. It was the place she and Ken used to sit at after a spar. They would watch the sea from here, talking about becoming marines and seeing the world. It was a place that she treasured, despite its lumpy ground and uprooted grass.

To her surprise, there was someone up here already, watching the way the moon sparkled on the ocean. He had his hand up slightly, little lights floating out around him, moving off the edge of the cliff and continuing on out towards the sea.

"Ace," Sora said, and he turned at the sound of his name, all the lights extinguishing at once. She could still make out his muscular figure even in the dark, though. The moon was enough light for her to know that it was, indeed, him.

"Hey," he said, not moving.

Sora approached him, stepping over the little hills in the ground. She noticed that around him, there were patches of grass that were completely burned up, blackening the dirt and coloring the grass around it with ash. Those weren't there before. "What're you doing up here?"

He shrugged, and turned back to the ocean. "Couldn't sleep. You?"

"Same," Sora said, standing beside him. They stood in silence, something that has never happened between the two of them. Ace was never quiet when Sora was around. Sure, Sora had to admit that sometimes he didn't exactly say the right things, but there wasn't one occasion where he was at a loss for words. Even when she had told him about Ken, he offered his condolences. Sora hadn't expected him to really be able to say something then, as she knew it was a difficult topic, but he had, and she appreciated that.

Now, though, she felt like he didn't even want her to be here.

"What's wrong?"

Sora's soft words seemed to surprise him, but he just shrugged and shook his head at the same time. "Nothing."

Sora turned to face him. Ace had to force his eyes to keep forward. Avoid staring her in the face. Avoid looking into her eyes. Avoid her. Avoid her! "I know something is wrong," she said, and out of the corner of his eye Ace could see worry tainting her normally happy features. "Please tell me."

Ace exhaled. "Nah, it's okay. You'll think it's stupid."

"No," Sora said immediately, almost pleading. "I won't. I just want to know what's been bothering you. You've been acting weird this whole week."

Ace paused for a long time, and then took a deep breath. It was better now than never. He spoke slowly, unsure of his own words. "My whole life I always wondered: why was I born? Did I deserve to exist? Did I deserve to live? I have the blood of a demon running through my veins. Did a no-good piece of trash like me deserve the privilege of life? I asked myself over and over and I've been searching everywhere for the answers. It seems like such a simple question, doesn't it? It's either a yes or a no. But I couldn't find even a hint of what my answer was supposed to be.

"I thought that by becoming a pirate and killing the infamous Whitebeard – the strongest man in the world – I would be able to make my mark and find out that true reason. By becoming strong, I would be able to make a name for myself that would erase Roger's. Instead, I found a family. And you know, I thought, hey, they are one of the reasons why I am still here. But it wasn't enough. I mean, of course it was. They're my nakama; my crew means everything to me. But they weren't enough to really be the only answer to my question and I thought that maybe I should just forget about it. Maybe I should stop searching for the answer because I wouldn't be able to find it. Maybe there was none.

"And then I met you," Ace said, looking down at Sora. "And I realized that I like being around you. More than I like being around any other person. I don't just like being around you, I like being with you. Making you smile and laugh – making you happy. It's all I wanted to do. And I thought to myself: she's a reason. She is one of the reasons I exist; I exist to always keep her smiling. You said you didn't want to hold hands? So, what? I didn't care. You said you didn't want to kiss me? I didn't mind waiting. But then you said that every time you look at me, it destroys you." Ace looked away, letting out a breath. "I know it sounds selfish, or silly, but it kind of sucks that you feel that way when we're together. That you feel…destroyed, when all I want to do is make you happy.

"Worthless. I thought about that word a lot this past week and a half or so and I really thought about what that meant. And honestly, Sora, my whole life, that one word described me. I was just some punk that ended up being a pirate. And instead of making a name for myself, I'm just following in my old man's footsteps. I'm a worthless person – expendable. I know that already. I just never…really thought that you, of all people, could make me feel that way."

Sora looked down. "So, are you mad at me?"

Ace smiled at Sora and shook his head. "No, I'm not mad. Nothing you said back then made me mad. I don't know, I guess I was just…hurt."

Sora could have sworn that in that moment, she felt her heart crack, like a chip in a piece of glass. Hurt? Why couldn't he just be mad at her? Thinking back, she could see how Ace would feel after hearing something like that, but why couldn't he just be mad? The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. This confident man who always put a smile on Sora's face was hurt?

Ace took another breath. "I need to ask you a favor," he said, and Sora was quiet, allowing him to speak. "Well, I guess it's not really a favor. I was going to go talk to you about it tomorrow anyway, but I mean, you're here now, so I'll just say it so we don't really have to go through this again tomorrow." He took a deep breath and said his next words slowly. "I don't…think we should be friends anymore."

Sora froze. What was he saying? Her mind filled with panic, racing as she attempted to force herself to keep her composure, trying not to make her voice shake. "What?"

Ace held up his hands in defense. "Oh, no, I mean, I still want to be friends and everything. But I don't think it'd be too great if we stayed this close, you know? It's not fair for both of us. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, Sora. I don't want you to have crappy feelings just looking at me and hanging out together and stuff, so that's not fair to you. Ken sounds like a really amazing person, and I know he really meant a lot to you. I just can't live up to that; I can't have you look at me and see another man. And it's not fair for me because well, yeah, I don't want to have to retell that long speech I just did," Ace said with a grin and Sora could feel a little of his normal self returning. "I, um, already made arrangements with Coral to stay with her and her parents for the remainder of the time that we're here, however long that may be. I'll be moving my things tomorrow."

Sora was speechless. Just as Ace expected, she didn't have anything to say. Of course she didn't. It didn't matter to her whether or not he was there – whether or not he existed. He was just a substitute for Ken, a placeholder for the person she really cared about. He didn't understand why she couldn't just admit that instead of reeling him in with some bullshit about trusting him and just let Ace move on with his life. He felt like she told him about Ken partly because she felt guilty. She felt guilty for only seeing Ken when Ace couldn't ever be able to live up to that person.

Those angry feelings that consumed him early on in the week and had continued to plague him late into the night. He drank at the bar across town because he didn't want Sora to see him weak. He drank and drank and drank until all his thoughts were just little flecks in his mind and he didn't have to worry about them. He couldn't even remember how he hobbled back to the Sky Pub half the time. Her sweet words that day didn't mean anything. Her little soliloquy at the end was just another way to tell Ken that she had found a replacement and that was it. It wasn't about trust. It was about pity. She pitied him and that was what made him so angry, so hateful.

And then he stopped being upset, and he started to just accept it. So what if he cared about Sora? None of that really mattered now, did it? The only reason why Sora continued to hang out with him was because he looked like the man she used to love and for Ace, that wasn't enough. Hell, any man wouldn't put up with that.

Despite this, though, Ace wanted to. He wanted to be with her and make her see that although he couldn't be Ken, he was Ace and he could be just as good for her. But he couldn't. A lot of it had to do with the fact that he didn't even know when he was leaving Arashi Island. The last thing Ace wanted was Sora to finally see him, and then he would have to leave, no questions asked. That would crush him. It would crush her. And Ace couldn't do that. No, not to Sora. She was too precious.

This was the only thing he could do, then. He needed to cut off connections with her, no matter how much it hurt. No matter how much it would suck not to be able to see her smiling face in the morning, Ace needed to do it. He needed to protect her from a second heartache, which he knew she would only experience if he let things between them go any further. He wanted to take her on more dates, but he knew that he couldn't. He couldn't keep on living in this fantasy thinking that Sora actually saw him, when all she really noticed was the shadow of Takamune Kenjiro.

Ace turned to leave, as Sora didn't say anything. And of course, she was going to let him leave. Maybe she wanted this, too. He shoved his hands in his pocket and made his way down the hill, trying to force out the crushing feeling of leaving his heart behind. He couldn't be feeling this way. No, he had to have conviction. He needed to play confident as usual; act like it didn't affect him.

"Ace," Sora said, and he felt her cold hands duck between his arms and wrap around his stomach, pressing her forehead to his back. She wasn't holding him tightly. All he needed to do was step forward. Just step forward and she would let him leave.

But he couldn't. His legs remained frozen beneath him and wouldn't move, no matter how much he screamed at them to budge, to take one step forward.

"I never meant to make you feel that way," she said quietly. "I never wanted to hurt you. I'm sorry that I said that in that way. I didn't – I don't know, I—" she struggled for her words but Ace remained patient against his will. He didn't want to hear the breaks of regret in her voice. No, she wasn't supposed to feel that way. What's done was done and Ace just wanted to step forward and move on with his life.

But, he couldn't. Not when there was the slightest chance that she could walk with him.

"I've already lost someone important to me," Sora said and Ace could tell by her breathing that she was crying slightly. "I don't want to lose another. Please, Ace."

Ace just stood still. What could he say?

"What about your promise?" she asked softly. "You promised. You promised you would never leave me. That you'll stay with me, even if we're apart. But I'm still right here – I'm right next to you. You can't leave me when I'm right here," she said, and Ace could feel some of her tears dropping onto his back. "I'm sorry that you felt that way about what I said. I didn't mean to hurt you. I wanted to tell you the truth and the truth was that at first, yes, I did see Ken in you, but not anymore. You mean a lot to me, as Portgas D. Ace, as Hiken no Ace, as you. I never meant to make you feel worthless, Ace, I promise. I need you to live. I need you to exist. I need you. I'm sorry it took so long for me to say it. I know I broke my promise and I haven't been telling you every day but I'll keep it, if you keep yours. I'll tell you every day," she paused, and let her arms slide out from around him. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I don't know if I can ever make up for making you feel that way but I want to try. But if that's really not enough, then I understand."

Ace was silent for a long time, keeping his back to her, and Sora thought that he might actually walk away. What would she do then? What would she do if he walked away while she was in tears? How could she look at him again? "So," Ace said finally, and Sora braced herself for the worst. "You kinda like me, huh?"

Sora laughed slightly, wiping more of her tears. "I guess you could call it something like that."

Ace whirled around and pulled her into a tight embrace. He couldn't. He couldn't walk away from Sora and it was foolish to believe that he could. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," he said, pulling away for a moment to kiss her forehead. He made a face and then shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess I'll stay with you," he sighed, pretending to complain.

"You're the one that made the promise," Sora teased back, and Ace lifted a thumb to wipe her tear.

"Well, here's another one: I promise I'm never going to make you cry ever again," he said, smiling gently. "As long as you tell me that you need me every single day, like you promised."

Sora giggled quietly, feeling her body loosen. "Okay."

Ace pumped his fist in victory and Sora laughed. He cupped her face in his hands and sighed. "Aggghhhhhhh, you drive me nuts!" he said, shaking her head slightly, and Sora giggled again, swatting his hands away. Ace was back and Sora couldn't be happier, her entire body swelling with joy. "It's getting late. Do you wanna try and get some sleep? I miss sleeping in your bed."

Sora let Ace keep his arm around her as they strolled down the hill. A warm feeling settled in her chest. Sora had returned home.

A/N: Exams are done, so I plan on finishing this story soon...ish. When I have time to write. :) Reviews are appreciated, thanks for reading!