A/N: Hi guys! I know I said 2 days! But I couldn't help myself! Here's chapter 5 and there is a lot more dialogue in this one! But here is the sad part... I, unfortunately, have final papers and exams coming up, so I will not be posting for 2 weeks. But as soon as break comes, I promise I will be right back to updating this story! Sorry! I'll try to get a couple chapters in during the break so there'll be plenty to read! :) There's more Robin and Ace interactions in this one, so I hope you guys like! Please review! Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece nor the characters.

Chapter 5: By the Fire

The campfire flickered a soft orange hue and sent bits of warmth blowing towards the quiet raven haired girl. Robin sat on her knees staring at the flames. Holding an apple with two delicate hands, she slowly took a small bite. Ace hadn't taken his eyes off her since the moment when she finally pulled out of his embrace. Neither of them had said anything. They only sat quietly by the fire eating the fruits Ace had gathered. Although, he hadn't felt it at the time when he had Robin in his arm, he was now feeling a little embarrassed for pulling her into an such an intimate embrace, and the stony silence between them wasn't helping to calm his nerves.

"I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble," Robin spoke looking down at her apple. Ace hadn't expected her to speak first, let alone hear an apology. If anything, he felt like he should be the one to apologize, but as to what exactly… He wasn't sure.

"You're never trouble."

"I make it a thing to not have to depend on anyone. You've been following me around, looking out for me, catching me when I fell, treating my wounds, and even… comforting me when…." She trailed off turning her head away slightly, hiding her blushing face.

Ace didn't move from his spot. He wanted to go to her, but it felt like each time he got closer, she seemed more out of reach than before.

"Why do you fight?" Robin asked suddenly.

She had asked this question to her own Captain when she saved Luffy from suffocating in sand before she joined his crew, still working as a spy/assassin under Crocodile. She had never seen Ace fight like she had Luffy, but she had heard enough stories of the fearsome Fire Fist Ace to know that he fought with just as much determination and maybe a little bit more intensity than her Captain. There was just something about that resolve and willpower that Robin couldn't quite figure out.

"Huh?" Ace tilted his head, slightly confused and startled by her question.

She faced him now. "I was able to spot you in the dark because you're hand changed to fire. That means you were about to jump out and fight that raven. Why are you so ready to fight battles that are not your own?"

"Who says it wasn't my battle?"

"It attacked me not you, which meant its my fight."

"If the girl I like gets attacked then I'm going to protect her."

Ace stared at her with bold intensity. He'd been slightly surprised to hear those words come out of his mouth, but it was too late to take them back. So Ace just went with it, trying his best not to look away, embarrassed.

Robin couldn't look away from those eyes that bore into her with such force. He…likes me? She was at a complete loss for words and her brain could do nothing but replay the sound of his voice repeating that very sentence that just came out of his mouth, over and over until that was the only thing that lasted. Her eyes had widened slightly, lips parted as she tried to scrape up a response, her face uttering total astonishment. Her hand moved to her torso, where she felt the ripped cloth from her skirt pressing the herbs Ace gathered to treat her wound. She felt the tight knot he had tied on the fabric, holding everything together and she thought of how he has been the one holding her together all night; being there when she needed help the most but had been too stubborn to admit it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so forward…" Ace spoke when he saw she didn't have a response, "How's your wound?" Ace asked trying to break tension.

"Uh.. It's… It's better. Thank you, Ace. For everything."

Robin finally collected her words. She was glad that he changed the subject saving her from having to respond. It wasn't like she didn't like Ace. She actually found him quite cute, and way he'd been so adamant about coming along to make sure she was okay had provoked some funny feelings she wasn't quite use to having. He really didn't seem like any of the things that she had heard about him, but maybe that's because all the stories she'd heard were all told by men or Luffy. Robin could hardly imagine her captain thinking of Ace the same way she's thinking of him now.

"That's good to hear." Ace paused.

There was little warmth to be felt now as the silence returned and the campfire dwindled into a tiny flame. Drafts of wind came and blew about faintly. Ace took another log and placed it in the flames to stoke the fire. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Robin rubbing the side of her arms shivering slightly. With a deep breath and a bit of resolve, Ace walked over and sat down behind her. Then he lifted Robin up from behind and placed her closer to him, her back leaning against his chest. Slowly and hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. His body became like a barricade, blocking the breeze and preventing the cold air from reaching her.

Ace's body heat radiated into her, Robin's skin feeling instantly warm. She was grateful for the warmth and the gesture, though she felt a little uneasy as they were now sitting in quite an intimate position. She tilted her head downward, nervous at how close they were, but she made no motion to move out of his embrace or leave his warmth. She remembered back at the ship when she first saw Ace and how odd it was that he was the only pirate there who didn't wear a shirt. She had thought he would feel cold as ice, but now she knew that was not the case. Ace's skin was hot… like fire. Matches him well, Robin thought.

"Is this better?" Ace whispered. His breath felt hot against her ear. He had leaned his head forward placing it on her shoulder, both their cheeks barely touching.

"It is. Your devil fruit is quite handy" Robin's face heated up as she sensed how close he had gotten. She was thankful for her bangs that still obscured his view of her red cheeks.

"Yeah, but not as 'handy' as yours,"

"So the commander has jokes?"

"I'm quite a funny person you know. It's just hard to tell since my little brother hogs all the laughs"

"Captain-san is quite the humorous one"

"He is," Ace chuckled, sending soft reverberations through his chest into Robin's back. Then his tone softened as he continued, "Robin, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Will you tell me what you were dreaming about earlier?"

Robin paused for a moment… After everything Ace had done for her, Robin knew he was a caring person. But the years of secrecy and emotional independence had build the walls inside her so high that she didn't know how to climb over or knock them down. She wanted to trust Ace, but her dreams about her childhood, her mother, her inheritance, were just things too painful to face. Luffy and the crew know a little about her background, but she didn't have to be the one to tell them. They only know that her mother had been wanted by the government, her home was destroyed by the buster call, and that she had been on the run since she was eight looking for the Rio Poneglyph, because Admiral Akoji showed up that one day and spat out her secrets. Robin never had to share any of her fears, her pain, or any other details regarding her backstory. But now someone was asking… And it was someone that made feel Robin feel safe and secure, someone who had been taking care of her all night, someone who she'd been curious about since the moment she saw him with his confidence smile, winning that arm wrestling match up on the deck of Whitebeard's ship.

"I just had a nightmare," Robin stated faintly, a distant look on her face as she gazed into the flickering orange flames in front of her.

"Do they come often?"

"Once and a while… Maybe a little more recently."

"Do you always wake up screaming?"

"Not always"

"What do you see when you dream?"

"Home."

Her answer sounded soft and final. This was the most she had talked about her nightmares to anybody, including the Strawhats. Robin didn't want to go into detail, but she thought this was a start, and she trusted Ace enough to tell him that much about her nightly displeasures. And even though Robin didn't give out much information, Ace was glad she was at least willing to say something. To him, this meant a whole lot. She wasn't trusting him completely, but she was starting to open up a little bit. Plus, Ace understood a little something about fearing the past. Ace had plenty of things to run away from himself, mostly his father's lineage. Whatever Robin's nightmares are about, its definitely because of some past trauma and pain.

"I understand," he stated with a faint air of finality, telling her he would drop the questions for now. Then continuing, "Robin, I don't know what you're planning to do next, but I think it's best we head back to the ship."

Robin had barely thought about what she was going to do, she had been so distracted with her new feelings, Ace's embrace, and thinking about her past. It hadn't occurred to her that she wouldn't be able to complete her mission of finding the poneglyph, seeing as she had started the journey with such determination.

"I can't go back. Not yet." Robin's voice was firm

"The herbs I treated you with won't cure the infection completely. You need a real doctor, and Chopper is back at the ship."

Robin knew Ace was right because though the hallucinations had disappeared and her temperature had dropped after waking up, her wound still throbbed severely. But she started thinking about her dreams, her home burning down, her mother who died at the government's hands, and the more she thought the more she wanted to continue her journey. She has live up to her mother's legacy and fulfill her dream of finding the Rio Poneglyph.

"I have to do this Ace"

"Why? Why is this… thing… so important? What are you looking for?"

"I can't tell you" she sighed

Ace didn't want to push her to tell him anything if she didn't want to. He was the one who told her she didn't have to trust him with her secret, even though he really wished she would. But he knew her barriers were up and they weren't going to be easy to break down. But he wasn't going to let her continue in the state that she's in. Robin was strong and smart, but she can't fight like this. He was going to get her back to the ship no matter what. As he thought these things, the breeze came again, a little harder. Ace tightened his arms around Robin. One, to keep her warm and out of the wind's reach. Two, because he couldn't help but feel she might slip away out of his arms at any minute because he had mentioned abandoning the journey. He wanted nothing more that to keep her close to him now that they didn't act like strangers anymore.

"Okay, you can't tell me. But you mentioned that someone was threatening to destroy this thing you're looking for. Doesn't that mean you're going to have to fight this guy when you do find it? I'll be signing your death sentence if I let you keep going."

Being the most sensible one in the Strawhat crew, Robin really didn't like how right she knew Ace was. Being stubborn, Robin was ready to argue with him. But as she gathered her words, Robin realized that she had lost sight of the narrow road she was suppose to follow to her destination. Looking around, Robin now saw that all the trees stuck randomly out of the ground with no clear path anywhere to be seen. Since she had been unconscious when Ace brought her here, she didn't know which direction he came from to get here. Ace probably knew which direction the ship laid, and he easily had her trapped and can force her to go any direction he wants. So why did he speak like I even had a choice in the matter of continuing or not?

"The path is gone," Robin stated.

"I guess it is" Ace didn't even look around to pretend he hadn't noticed.

"And since you want me to go back with you to the ship, I'm guessing you're not going to tell me direction you took to get here from the path"

"Bingo"

"So if you're just going to trap me into following you back to the ship, then why even make it seem like I had a choice."

"Because I rather convince you to come back with me than force you to."

There was a slight pause. He didn't want to jump straight to force. He wanted me to have a choice first…

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For letting me choose what I wanted to do. Even though you technically didn't give me a choice."

"Wow. I've never had someone thank me for deceiving them before."

"Don't get use to it. And if you ever trap me into doing something again, I'll break your neck"

"I wouldn't doubt it"

Ace took a deep breath, a grin plastered on his face. Robin wasn't mad at him and she seemed okay with going back with him. Maybe she's just too tired to argue, he thought. Robin smiled to herself too, glad that Ace cared so much. But still the note from the stranger stayed nudged in the back of her brain like a bug that you just can't fling off your shirt. She knew she'd have to come back to search for the poneglyph again. She just hope that when she has the opportunity to, it won't be too late. If the stranger is using the poneglyph as leverage to get to her, then she's sure that they'll keep it unharmed for now.

"I know we have to go back to the ship. But I really don't want to move." Robin breathe and leaned her head to the side, her face touching Ace's cheek.

"Me neither" Ace breathed.

Back at the ship…

"Hey guys, what's going on here?"

Marco noticed that the Strawhats were huddle together discussing something. Luffy was unusually quiet and Marco felt the tension.

"Robin's missing," Nami answered his question

"That's odd. You know, I can't seem to find Ace anywhere either," Marco stated

"Maybe they're off somewhere together," Zoro smirked crossing his arms together

"SHUT UP MOSSHEAD! That can't be true!" Sanji starting pouting his lips and a river a tears poured out of his eyes as he clomped to the ground dramatically.

"Don't be stupid, Robin hasn't even been introduced to Ace yet" Nami said, but there was doubt in her voice. She had been drunk at the time, but she was sure she saw Robin take a few glances at Ace throughout the night.

"Well… I may have asked her to do me a small favor regarding Ace…" Marco scratched the back of his head.

"What do you mean small favor?" Usopp asked a bit suspicious.

"If you asked my sweet Robin-chwan to do anything dirty I will stomp on you, squid-head!" Sanji had fire blazing in his eyes.

"You guys have nothing to worry about! I only ask her to talk to him."

"Why do you need Robin to talk to Ace?" Chopper asked in an innocent and child-like voice.

"Well… I think Ace likes her," Marco stated plainly.

"OOOOH. Nico-san has herself a SUUUPER admirer"

Zoro and Nami merely quirked their eyebrows up in slight surprised. Sanji, however, was enraged.

"What?! How dare that Fire-brain try to seduce my fragile flower! AND YOU HELPED HIM!" Sanji grabbed Marco's collar and started shaking him violently. The Whitebeard pirate just let Sanji shake him out and gave him an apologetic smile accompanied by a sweat drop.

"If Robin's with Ace, then that means she's safe right?" Nami asked

"Ace is strong." It was the first time Luffy spoke throughout the entire conversation. Then beaming gleefully, Luffy said, "She'll be fine."

Then leaving his nakama, Luffy jumped off the ship.

"Where are you going!?" Usopped called after the captain.

"Don't worry! You guys stay and enjoy the rest of the party! I'll be back!"

With that, Luffy walked along the beach into the dark away from Whitebeard's ship.