Disclaimer : I claim no rights to the anime One Piece.

Current Show : Shining Ray - Justin Houston.

"Imagine a captain of a ship the moment a shift of direction must be made; then he may be able to say: I can do either this or that. But if he is not a mediocre captain he will also be aware that during all this the ship is ploughing ahead with its ordinary velocity, and thus there is but a single moment when it is inconsequential whether he does this or does that. So also with a person-if he forgets to take into account the velocity-there eventually comes a moment where it is no longer a matter of an Either/Or, not because he has chosen, but because he has refrained from it, which also can be expressed by saying: Because others have chosen for him-or because he has lost himself." - Soren Kierkegaard.

Chapter Fourteen : Overbearing Waves.

Let it be known that you should never barge into another's room; no matter what the emergency is. But in Antaeus' case, this classified as an emergency. So, without further ado, he burst into Ace's room panting and trying to regain his breath not yet noticing that the man was in the processing of taking off his pants, his shirt was on the floor, sweaty and dirty from the day's events. Ace had his back turned to the door; his tattoo displayed proudly and the pirate king was humming a song that he failed to recognize.

Finally able to get some air into his burning lungs, Antaeus looked up and froze at the sight of his husband who had by now took off his pants and was wearing nothing but a pair of tight, black boxers which strongly accented his thighs. This was not a situation he imagined himself in, but he found himself not in the least bit scandalized as he thought he would be. Being Ace's husband, this was not be the first nor would it be the last time he saw the pirate without any clothing and the idea of that caused a shiver to run down his spine.

Quickly balancing himself against the door, he coughed in an attempt to gain Ace's attention and was granted his husband's full attention when Ace turned around and pinned him down with a searching look that caused a blush to heat his cheeks. He didn't know how he stood being under such a look, but something inside told him that he never did feel comfortable under it. Stepping further into the room, he kept his head down and quickly explained the reason why he had come into the room so abruptly.

His words were quickly halted when he felt Ace's rough hand grab his chin and force his face upwards and he found himself staring into Ace's fury filled gaze. Okay. This was something that Ace didn't like talking about. He would remember that in the future-

"Akainu."

"What?"

"Akainu." Ace repeated, releasing his chin and taking a step closer to Antaeus, his breath mingling with Antaeus' own. "He was an admiral in the marines."

"Was? What happened to him?" Antaeus shivered heavily as Ace brushed his lips against his, he could briefly taste wine and the beef they had for dinner. It was such a pleasant taste that he found himself leaning forward and pressing his lips more firmly against the pirate's, whimpering when Ace licked his lips playfully before pulling away. Blushing in mortification at his bold action, he took a wary step back so that he was able to look his husband in the eye directly.

"Ace? What happened to him?" Antaeus repeated, absently licking his lips trying to memorize the taste and wanting nothing more than to dive back in and continue, but he had more important matters to attend to at the moment.

"He's dead, by my hand." Ace murmured, his black eyes flashing dangerously. "He was the reason why you ended up in Baterilla. He was the reason why you lost your memory. If I had the chance then I would bring him back from the dead so that I could take his life again."

"Why? Did we do something wrong?"

"No, the marines attacked us without provocation and we were well within our rights to defend ourselves." Ace replied, leaning in close and burying his face into Antaeus hair, breathing in deeply as the scent of the sea surrounded him. "You do not know how helpless I felt when I found out you had been knocked off the ship you had been working on. It took everything I had not to go and destroy every marine I could find."

"I'm sorry that I worried you." Antaeus closed his eyes and leaned against Ace's bare chest forcing himself to actually comprehend, to understand Ace's feelings. Of how helpless and scared Ace must have felt when he found out that he had been missing, most likely dead.

"Don't apologize. It wasn't your fault." Ace placed a kiss on his forehead and directed him towards the bed. "I'm just happy that you're getting your memories back. More quickly than I anticipated actually."

"That's a good thing, right?" Antaeus huffed playfully. "You don't want me to remain oblivious do you?"

"Of course not, but you know what I want don't you? Besides getting your memories back." Ace ruffled his hair gently, allowing his hand to slide down Antaeus face and cupping his cheek gently. "I figured it would be obvious."

"You want to call me Luffy."

"And?"

"You want me to leave this island with you." Antaeus continued, taking a careful step away from Ace. "I don't know about that."

"You don't want to come back?" Ace jerked his head in the direction of the window which was currently open and showing a view of the beach. "You want to stay on Baterilla with Drake, Sabo and Robin?"

"I didn't say that." Antaeus rushed to say, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "It's true that I have regained a good portion of my memory, but I don't think I'm ready to leave yet."

"When do you think you'll be able to leave?" Ace questioned, folding his arms. "How long are you going to make me wait?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Ace repeated wearily. "I love you, Luffy, you know that, but I can't sit on my laurels and wait for you to get over you insecurities. I can't stay here for much longer."

"It's only been a couple of days, Ace." Antaeus murmured, feeling a surge of anger at how impatient Ace was suddenly being. "What's the matter with you?"

"It's-nothing, nothing's wrong." Ace plopped down on the bed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"I-It's okay," Antaeus rubbed his arm and chewed on his lips. "I know you're ready to go back home and to take me with you." he didn't want to say that he wasn't really ready to leave nor did he want to say he didn't want to go. He had no real idea of what the pirate life was like and spending endless days, weeks and years on the sea didn't seem as appealing as it once did.

"Do you want to back?" Ace asked. "Honestly? Do you want to go back?"

Antaeus slid on the bed next to Ace, laying his head on the broad shoulder. "Living out on the seas and doing what we pleased sounds good and all, but I don't feel the same way I did about it before, you know? I know you said you wouldn't leave the island without me, but I won't hold it against you if you did."

"I can't leave without you. I refuse to leave without you. I want you to come home, Luffy."

"Ace-"

"You can fall in love with the sea again, it's just a matter of time before you do." Ace reached for and grabbed Antaeus' arms and shook him gently. "You're my husband, Luffy, and you haven't even tried to go back to your old life. You're feelings can and will change if you just give it a chance."

"Stop it." Antaeus pushed the pirate away and rose from the bed in an effort to put some space between them. "You can't do this! You're backing me into a corner and forcing me to decide-"

"Because you need to!" Ace interrupted roughly. "Do you honestly think that you can stay like this forever? Live with Robin and work at the library without a care in the world? What about us? What about the Spade Pirates -our family- everyone is worried about you and they miss you."

"I'm fine where I am." Antaeus blurted out before he could stop himself. "I don't need to go back out the seas where we are mercilessly chased day in and day out by marines. I don't need a husband who is the most wanted man in the world."

As soon as those words left his mouth, he instantly regretted them for Ace's features became dark and closed off. Reaching for the pirate's arm, he was roughly pushed away and he couldn't find himself to be angry when Ace turned his back to him showing off his tattoo and a set of stiff shoulders.

"If you want to stay then I won't stop you." Ace stated blankly. "If this is what your life to be then I won't stay in your way."

"Ace-"

"No," Ace shook his head sharply. "You made your decision and your thoughts about coming back with me loud and clear. I will be leaving in two days time."

"Two days? But-"

"Go back to bed, Antaeus." Ace turned and gently, but firmly guided him back to the open door. "We have nothing else to say."

Antaeus didn't have the chance to speak for the door was gently closed in his face leaving him in the darkness of the cool hallway. Disappointed, he returned to his bedroom and climbed under the heavy blankets to lick at his wounds and it was as he closing his eyes that he realized that Ace didn't call him Luffy as he always did, but Antaeus. He clenched his eyes shut and ignored the tears sliding down his cheeks at the realization. It would do little to cry at this point, espically when he was at fault for the situation he was in now.

Antaeus woke with the sun the next morning feeling no better than he did the previous night. Instead of staring out the window and enjoying how the sun made the sea gleam brightly, he buried his head under the blankets and ran the conversation he had with Ace in his head. How stupid was he saying those things to the person who was his husband? Ace would have never spoken so cruelly to him, no matter how angry he was.

"I'm leaving in two days time."

Antaeus clenched his eyes and quickly pushed those cold words away. There was nothing he could do about it and frankly there was nothing that could be done. Ace made his decision and so did he, but then, why did he feel so torn about it? This is what he had decided wasn't it? To stay here with Sabo, Drake and Robin in Baterilla and yet he had a feeling Robin wasn't going to be too happy with him.

The sound of the door creaking open caused him to startle and peak his head from underneath the blanket. There standing in the doorway was Ace who reminded Antaeus of a wounded puppy that had been kicked one too many times. Blinking his eyes to make sure that what he was staring at wasn't some realistic illusion, Antaeus sat up and lifted his hand, waving the older man over doing it once more when Ace remained frozen.

"I'm sorry." Ace took a step in his direction, stopping once he was eye to eye with the younger man. "I shouldn't have said those things to you."

"I'm sorry too." Antaeus reached out a hand and cupped Ace's cheek. "But Ace, my answer remains the same about staying here-" he pressed his thumb to Ace's lips before the pirate could protest and continued. "Until I am ready to leave. What I said was wrong, but like I said, my decision remains the same."

He expected Ace to nod his head in agreement to his words, but he didn't expect for the man to open his mouth and suck on his thumb. Antaeus yelped as his thumb was licked and nipped on playfully before being released.

"I will wait for you, but not too much longer. For as I said, I will not wait any longer." Ace pressed a kiss to his hand and slid into bed next to him. "I want you to think hard about what and who you want, Luffy."

"I don't know-"

"You do know." Ace interrupted swiftly. "You know what you want, but I think you refuse to face it. So, I want you to sit here and think about it."

"But, Ace-"

"No buts, not this time." Ace rose from the bed and headed towards the door. "And Luffy?"

"Yes?"

"I haven't changed my mind about the two days."

"Don't do this, Ace! Don't pressure me into this!" Antaeus scrambled out of bed as Ace continued moving towards the door, only to fall to the ground in a tangle of bed sheets and limbs. He watched helplessly as Ace shut door with finality. Antaeus slumped in the sheets and closed his eyes, feeling weary of the situation.

This was not how he saw this situation going, but he damned if Ace was going to get the last word in.

A/N : Two days left! What's Luffy going to do with two days? Stay tuned to find out!

Thanks for reading.