~A~

"It's been kind of quiet without Thatch around..." I mused. A couple of days ago went out on another job. I wouldn't say its been boring, but it hasn't been quite as eventful. No Thatch meant no Rory causing a ruckus going after him.

"Yeah. It was kind of nice at first, but he's my favorite target..." Rory said. Right as she said it, she loosed on of her suction cup arrows. It hit the guy who was teasing her. I chuckled. "He's gonna be back today, right?" she asked.

"Yeah. Unless he got into trouble." I replied. "Have you gotten any psychic readings?"

"I'm not psychic, Ace..." she said. I still didn't buy it. "And no. I haven't. All is good."

"Then he should be back soon." I said. I had mixed feelings about Thatch's return. I missed the guy, of course. He's fun to hang out with. (Except when he's getting me into trouble.) He's a best friend. But ever since the last party, I've found that I rather liked Rory's company. And since Thatch has been away, its easier for me to keep her attention. I like having her attention. I'd keep her all to myself, if I could...

"Ace?" I blinked and noticed I'd been staring at her. "You okay? You're spacing out." she said.

"Just thinking." I've been doing a lot of that. Especially before I go to sleep. Needless to say, its hard to get to sleep when you're thinking about someone. It's a wonder I haven't had a narcolepsy fit.

"About what?" Rory asked.

"Uh, nothing." I replied. "Just what I want to eat later..." I lied.

"Right...Speaking of which, I'm hungry." she said. "I'm getting something to eat."

"Okay." I replied. Oddly enough, I was not hungry. Hard to believe, right? Even I'm a little surprised at that. I stayed where I was and watched Rory walk away.

"What's wrong with me?" I murmured to myself. I wasn't always hungry anymore. Don't get me wrong. I still eat as much as I can during a meal. I just don't eat quite as often. I didn't randomly fall asleep as much as before. Somehow my thoughts always ended up circling around Rory. Those are not necessarily bad things, but I have to admit it felt weird. I would say it was weird in a good way, but a couple of times my imagination got away from me, and I found myself in need of...privacy. Rory didn't seem to notice those awkward moments, much to my relief. However it doesn't help that she looks so cute all the damn time.

"Oi, Ace!"

I blinked and looked at Marco. I realized I've been spacing out again.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked.

"I don't know..." I sighed.

"It has to do with Rory, doesn't it?"

I looked at him, startled. How did he know that?

Marco read my expression flawlessly. "Everyone knows it." he said. That really didn't make me feel better. "Jeez, you've got it really bad..."

I blushed. "Got what-"

"Don't play dumb." he cut me off. "I'm getting kinda tired of you being so clueless."

I looked away. The truth is I'm not completely clueless. Not anymore. I'm just not sure I want to face the truth.

"Anyway, this isn't what I came to talk about." Marco changed the subject. "Thatch is back."

"He is?" I asked.

"Yep." Marco nodded for me to follow. "Come on." I followed him another section of of the ship.

I spotted Thatch right away. He was surrounded by some of the crew, and it looked like some cargo was being brought aboard. "It was great! I found some treasure while I was there!" he said. I saw Rory standing nearby. She looked interested in Thatch's story, which made some tiny part of me turn sour. "But the best part is I found this!" Thatch held up a purple, swirly fruit. A devil fruit.

~R~

I had that feeling again. The one that told me something bad was going to happen. It started to eat at me as soon as Thatch got back. It felt even worse than last time, which made me incredibly uneasy. Like last time, I started sorting through the faces of everyone on the ship. As soon as I thought about Thatch, warning bells rang. What's with that? Why does he seem to have such bad luck?

There's something else that made fear grip at my chest. It wasn't just the fact that Thatch might be in trouble again.

"What's wrong, Rory?" Ace Asked.

"I don't like this... You know how I got that feeling when Thatch was in trouble before?" I asked.

"Yeah..." he said slowly.

"Is something gonna happen?" Marco asked.

"I think so." I replied. "And its gonna happen to Thatch again."

"Again?" Marco shook his head. "I'd sooner expect Ace to bring home trouble..."

"Oi..." Ace shot a slight glare at him. He looked at me. "But how could anything bad happen here? We're in the safest place you can be."

"I don't know if I'd call a pirate ship the safest place you can be..." I joked lightly. It got a smile out of them. "But you're right. I don't know what could happen."

"We'll keep our eye on things." Marco said. "Don't sweat it too much, okay?"

"Okay..." I replied.

I tried not to let it bother me, I really did. I spent the evening keeping an eye out for trouble, nonetheless. I didn't see anything. I only saw the faces of people I trusted. I only saw the enthusiastic celebration of the crew. Among the usual chatting and drinking, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I couldn't even imagine what could go wrong.

Ace tried to get my mind off of it by poking fun at me. It worked for a little while and I managed to enjoy myself a little, but my attention was inevitably drawn towards Thatch. I got the feeling Ace didn't like that, but he didn't say anything. I didn't mention it either. I was too busy being afraid for my friend's safety.

~...~

Later that night, after the festivities came to an end, I managed to get Thatch on his own. People where on their way to bed for the night, or they were already passed out on the deck where the party had took place.

"Hey, Thatch? Can I talk to you?" I asked.

"What's up?" he asked.

"You're on the night watch tonight, right?" I asked. "Please be careful."

"Oh yeah, Marco said you got a psychic vibe like last time..."

"I'm not psychic..." I muttered. It's not like I got visions. Just feelings. "Still, watch you're back, okay?"

Thatch smiled. "You're worried about me! That's so cute!"

"Thatch!" I snapped. "Please!"

He picked up on the urgency I felt, thankfully, and held up his hands. "Okay! Okay..." he put his hand on my shoulder and turned me turned me away. "I'll be careful..." He said softly. "Go get some rest, alright? You're too tense." I nodded and looked back at Thatch once. He smiled reassuringly at me, easing the tension in my shoulders slightly, and then I began walking toward my room.

A feeling of dread settled in the pit of my stomach as I walked away.