~A~

I sighed against the table, pulling my hat up to cover my head as the old man teased me, Marco and Thatch. It's been a week since Rory finished pranking all three of us. "Boy, she got you guys good, huh?" Whitebeard chuckled. "It still hasn't gotten old."

"Ah, shut it Pops..." Marco sighed.

The teasing seemed relentless. It's gotten to the point where the three of his have debated whether or not to get her back. We decided against it though. I brought up the point that whatever we did, she would return the favor tenfold, no doubt about it. That quelled our desire for revenge.

"You know, Ace, you don't have it that bad." Thatch said suddenly.

"How so?" I lifted my head off the table to look at him.

"Well, the guys are mostly just teasing you because you keep denying the rumors." he replied.

"But there's really nothing going on!" I stated.

"I know! But if you go along with it, they'll back off." Thatch said.

"Why?" I asked.

"They think its funny that you're trying to keep things a secret when everyone 'knows.' " Thatch replied, making air quotes with his fingers. "Even I think its funny."

"It is pretty funny." Marco added. "And we know nothing's going on."

"So, if I go along with it, they'll stop?" I asked. I don't know how I feel about that.

"Yep. Well, most likely." Thatch said.

"Normally I wouldn't condone lying about something like that, but since Rory did it, then by all means, go ahead." Marco stated.

"She's getting way too much enjoyment out of our torment. You can get out though! Save yourself! Take away a third of her entertainment!" Thatch said. I thought he sounded a little over dramatic, but I saw his point.

"I'll give it a try..." I decided. I really hate to give people the wrong idea. And if it didn't work, it would just make things worse.

~...~

You know, sometimes Thatch does have some good ideas. I didn't think it would work, but 'admitting' to my relationship made things quiet down for me. I could relax without any suggestive teasing now. Of course that also means people really do think Rory and I have something going on. I wonder how she'll react to that.

I guess I didn't have to wonder for long. She came to find me, looking suspicious. "So, I've noticed no one's bugging you anymore." she said. "I'm curious. How did you get the guys off your back?"

"I started going along with what they were saying." I replied. "It was Thatch's idea." I added, just in case she got angry.

"Drat! That guy is smarter than I thought." Rory said. "Oh well." she sighed. "I guess you're off the hook." she said.

"Heh, yeah." I said grinning slightly. "But now everyone thinks we're...you know..."

"Eh, whatever." Rory replied. "That's not so bad."

"Really? It doesn't bother you?" I asked.

"No. Why would it?" she asked curiously.

"I dunno..." I replied.

"Does it bother you?" she asked.

"No!" I said quickly.

"You sure? I mean, if it does, I'm sorry. I kind of started the whole thing."

"It's not such a big deal." I said sheepishly. "Besides, wasn't the point of your prank to make me uncomfortable? How come you're worrying about how I feel now?"

"That's..." Her cheeks turned pink and she crossed her arms, scowling. "That's none of your business..."

"Oh no?" I leaned toward her, feeling a grin form on my face. "Didn't you do all this cause we were keeping something from you? Now look who's keeping secrets..." I thought it was cute when her blush deepened.

"This is different!" she insisted.

~R~

"Aw, c'mon Rory! Tell me!" Ace said.

"There's nothing to tell!" I replied. "Like I said, this is different! I pranked you 'cause you guys didn't tell me something that had to do with me!"

"Well, this has to do with me, doesn't it?" Ace said.

My face heated up. Darn, he's right! "It's still different." I said stubbornly. "Don't use my logic against me!"

"No its not! You're a hypocrite..." Ace teased. He chuckled. "I'll tickle it out of you..." he said.

My eyes widened. "You wouldn't..."

"I won't if you tell me." Ace replied, smirking. He knew I didn't like being tickled. Well, most of the time I didn't. Last time I kind of had fun, I'll admit.

We stared at each other in a silent battle of wills, and then I took off with him on my heels. This brought back the memory of when Ace first found out I was ticklish, but now I knew my way around the ship. A few sharp turns and found myself below deck using the maze of corridors to my advantage. I managed to lose Ace for the time being, but he was around there somewhere. We'd run into each other if I wasn't careful.

I slowed to a walk, and made sure to look down every hallway before going through them. It was pretty quiet, so I guess Ace was using the same strategy as me. Jeez, its like a game of cat and mouse. And I'm the mouse, unfortunately.

"What are you up to now?"

I ducked behind a corner and cautiously peeked out when I heard Marco.

"I'm looking for Rory." Ace replied. He was doing the same thing as me. Sneaking around, being cautious. Trying to sneak up on me.

"Why?"

"I wanna know why she's giving me special treatment." said Ace.

Marco sighed. "You're blind as a bat..." he muttered. "You can ask anyone on this ship, and you'll get the answer." I blushed. Was it that obvious? Well, I guess I haven't been trying to hide it.

"What does that mean?"

"It mean's you're the only one here who doesn't know why Rory goes easy on you!"

"Well why don't you tell me?" Ace asked.

"How about you figure yourself out first before wondering about her?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just think about it, Ace! I know you're not stupid. You'll get it if you think hard enough." Marco left it at that and walked away, leaving Ace looking thoughtful.

Then he spotted me, and his original mission came back into play. I squeaked and bolted down the hall. However I wasn't as fast as he was. Just like last time, I felt him grab my waist and I came to a stop. I went into a fit of giggles once he started tickling me. I turned face him, seeing his amused grin, and tried to stop him. "Quit it, Ace!" I laughed. I wrapped one leg around the back of his knee and pushed against his chest. I successfully got him off balance and he toppled to the floor. Unfortunately, I fell along with him, and he was my cushion. I put my hands on the floor on either side of his head, lifting myself up. We stared at each other and then I scrambled to my feet to get away while he was down. I felt his hand latch onto my ankle, and I fell again, but Ace had pretty quick reflexes. He somehow managed twist me so that I was facing him and got his arms around me to soften my fall.

I looked up at up, feeling my body heat up. Whether that was from embarrassment because of our position, or due to Ace' higher than average body temperature, or even something else, I didn't know. I was seated on the ground, and Ace was kneeling above with his knee between mine. He held my left wrist gently and had his arm around my waist. My free hand rested absently on his bicep.

We heard footsteps. Ace and I looked over his shoulder. Souji walked by, noticed us, and looked away. "I didn't see anything." he said as he continued on his way.

There was a moment of silence and then Ace leaned back slightly, the arm around my waist slackening. "Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to trip you like that..." he said sheepishly.

"I-It's alright." I cursed myself for stuttering. "I pushed you first..." I said. To be honest, I was reluctant to pull away. I noticed Ace seemed the same way.

"That's okay." he replied. He smiled a little and stood up. He held out his hand to help me up, and I let him. "So, let's go get dinner?" he suggested.

I smiled a little, unable to help my amusement when I noticed he was holding my hand. I squeezed it, and he blushed as he pulled his hand away. Just like I thought, he hadn't even realized he was doing it, just like when he put his head on my lap the other day. "Yeah, dinner sounds good." I replied with a smile. Will he ever realize?