The next few months went something like that second day and the first day squashed together. We didn't make many stops at islands and if we did we didn't stick around for long. The marines seemed to keep away from Pops; they seemed to leave him alone which was great.
Every morning I'd wake up, eat something light, find a commander, mainly Marco and practiced combat. Izo helped me with target training and handling guns and pistols but that wasn't too often and only if he felt like it. Vista helped me almost daily for an hour or so with my sword training. I'm proud to say that I had been upgraded from a normal sword to my mom's weapons, which I had started wearing. One on each hip. I was rather weak when it came to punching and kicking but I was fast and good at dodging.
I had also picked out an outfit that not only did Ace seem to like better, but an outfit that satisfied Cole and didn't make me look so innocent. Black cargo pants that reached my ankles with ties at the bottom and pockets in the middle of each leg paired with tank tops of different colors. I still wore sandals but those were now black as well.
The crew had taken to calling me Kiddo instead of Willow or newbie, which for the last one I was grateful for.
Ace had been sent away for a few days to a week at a time and during those times I was forced to interact with the rest of the crew and talk and stuff. There was definitely a difference between the way I interacted with Ace and the way I interacted with the rest of the crew. I was still more reserved around them, minus Cole. But around Ace, he had seen just about everything, the good the bad and I tried to keep the ugly out of sight of anyone, even Ace.
Marco was like my go to guy, like a diary that I could tell almost anything to. He was a great listener and he actually had good advice for whatever I needed advice about. He was almost like a really close uncle or some family member like that but wasn't quite a father. Even Pops wasn't quite a father though he was certainly a father figure. Maybe he was an adopted father or something.
But today I didn't feel like the talking, laughing or drinking with the rest of the crew. I planned on eating then going to train a bit by myself and try and improve my unarmed skills by myself.
I was so close to the door, so close to making it, to being in the clear when a voice shouted, "Yo girlie get your ass over here. Where do ya think you're going?"
I weighed my options before slowly turning and heading over to the table that Cole sat at. Haruta sat on her left, Teach sat a few seats down and a few other people sat with her, a contrast to the usual empty table she sat at. I put my food down and sat across from her.
She smiled at me and said, "Cheers girlie. You've survived your first few months as a Whitebeard pirate, of being a part of the family."
The people surrounding her smiled as well and lifted their glasses, empty, half empty or full and shouted, "Cheers!" Before clinking their glasses together, the contents sloshing out and onto their hands and onto the table but no one seemed to mind.
"So when are you going to get Pops mark?" Someone asked.
I wasn't too fond of getting a tattoo, even though I loved what I symbolized. It was like a brank, more than just ink in flesh. It was like Pops claim to us, that we were his sons and daughters. And it was our claim to him that our loyalty was to him and each other. It loved it but it didn't stop me from being afraid of actually getting a tattoo.
"I expect it to be soon girlie. You're a part of the family, we'd all live, sweat, bleed, fight and die for you and we know that you'd do the same for us. So what are you waiting for?" Cole said making me feel a bit guilty. I mean I wanted to but the fear was what was stopping me. And if they knew it they'd all blow off my fear as if it were nothing.
"How 'bout this Willow." The owner of the voice paused and waited until he knew that he had at least snagged a tiny bit of my curiosity, which I don't think was too hard of a thing to do.
The owner of the said voice was one of the newbies who was older than me, who had been here longer than me. I believe his name was Izanagi. He had skin that for some reason had a purplish hue to it, his jaw was hard and his eyes sharp, black and glowing.
"Why don't we have a little contest. If I win you get it here and now. And if you win then you can weasel your way out of getting Pops mark for a bit longer."
Ok. That didn't sound too bad. "What kind of contest?" I suppose the answer should have been obvious. We were a crew of pirates and we were currently gathered in the galley for dinner. But I hadn't felt like playing the guessing game and obviously wasn't thinking too hard or connecting the dots.
"A drinking contest of course." He proposed but as I was about to refuse he added, "Unless you can't do that, you being a girl and all." That jab got him a hard punch from Cole, who had crawled across the table and down closer to Teach before she could actually reach him, and an even meaner glare from her. "Perhaps you're too soft, too good for a good old fashioned drinking contest." He tried another taunt, one that wouldn't offend Cole this time.
"I am no better or worse then you." I coolly replied, still uneasy about drinking. I knew first-hand what it did to people or what people claimed it did to them. I usually sat back and sipped at the drinks I had, letting fools be fools watching as they stumble around drunk. After all I didn't want to have any of the experiences they had told me about.
-Ace-
It was a few hours past dark when the soles of my boots touched the familiar and nearly abandon deck of the Moby Dick.
I was back! I thought with a smile.
Despite the lack of light it was only about seven or so. The stars were out and twinkling merrily and the moon was out and shining with its borrowed light. The deck was deserted except for the look out and a few select few, meaning that everyone was in the galley and I was not only missing food but a good time!
But before I could take a step in the direction of the galley the door suddenly slammed open, disturbing the cool silky silence with a giggle and the word 'oopsie'. Well that right there narrowed the options of who it could possibly be to about five or six people at the most.
However when the person walked out onto t deck not only did I have to do a double take but I had to rub at my eyes to make sure that I wasn't seeing things incorrectly. And when that didn't change who was before me I pinched my arm but that didn't wake me up so I accepted that I was seeing right.
But before I could say anything her fluttering, not focusing on anything that I could tell attention landed and locked on me before she let out a squeal that my name instantly followed.
The first time I had left the ship the crew had played a prank on her, telling her that I had quit and left the Whitebeard Pirates. And since she had been gullible enough to believe a group of pirates looking for a bit of entertainment she had been absolutely ecstatic to see me when I returned from whatever had made me leave in the first place.
Every time after that, after she had learned her lesson, Willow would more or less drop whatever and run up to me with his big smile on her face then she'd stop just shot of me, blush deeply and then give me a tentative hug. Actually she did the same thing with Thatch and Marco and sometimes Izo and Cole but with them she kept her emotion more in check, she wouldn't run up to them and they had to be the ones to hug her, not the other way around.
She could hold her emotions in for them but not for me.
And that made me feel special, like I was needed and wanted just a bit more.
However, now her usual walk was not only off balance but she was just all over the place as she walked even though I'm pretty sure I was her intended destination. She swayed and tripped over absolutely nothing, only confirming my suspicions as she staggered towards me.
"Heeey Acesh." She slurred as she tripped into my chest with wildly flailing arms and a dazed and confused expression, as if she didn't understand how she had crashed into my chest.
Acesh? I couldn't help but chuckle. Since when did my name have a sh attached to the end of it? Haha well at this point she was obviously well past no return.
"Hello Willow." I greeted as though she were sober.
"Didja have a fun trip?" she asked using one hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear while the fingertips of her other hand slipped down my chest from where they had conveniently landed after tripping into me. I did what she usually did and nodded as I collected her wrists in one hand, in a loose grasp that she easily escaped from.
And this time instead of running her fingers down my chest she reached up and slipped her hands through my hair, yanking through a few knots as she did so. She began twisting strands around her fingers and lightly playing with my hair, which I suppose was ok. It certainly wasn't near as dangerous as her slipping her hands down my chest.
Willow smiled at me and just when I was about to smile back and tell her to go to bed, to sleep it off and to get me in the morning- no doubt she'd have a hangover, a bad one- when my face was firmly grabbed between two small hands and a pair of soft, strongly tasting of alcohol tasting lips crushed into mine.
Was this really happening? I wondered briefly until my lips were lightly bitten. Pulling away quickly I managed to say very little, just the words, "Willow you shouldn't-" Before her mouth found mine again. Now of course her hands had slid back into my hair and had pushed my still clinging to my head, hat off and I felt it fall to my back where the strings kept it there.
Shit! She was that type of drunk!
Shit shit shit! I mentally cursed. I mean I knew she was drunk from the moment she walked out onto the deck but I hadn't realized that she was this type of drunk.
Suddenly though she pulled away, withdrawing her clumsy, rum tasting tongue from my mouth and hooked her thumbs through the belt loops of my pants with a smile and the words, "Welcome home." At that moment her quiet voice had chosen to go rough and slightly husky, which wasn't helping me at all.
"Thank you. I want you-"
"I wantchu too." She slurred interrupting me mid-sentence. "I wantchu reeeeeeaaaaalllllyyyy badly." She whined to me.
"No." I grumbled grabbing her wrists and handing her wondering hands back to her. A frown tugged down the corners of her moth. I thought we had already been through this- different circumstances of course- but I have morals- which I remember saying aloud. If she were sober and in her right mind, I wouldn't mind this half as much. But I didn't want to take advantage of her, not like this. Plus the morning would be a nightmare with a bad hang over, probably some tears and lots of regrets. And I'd rather avoid both tears and regrets if I could.
After all I tried my best to live life without regrets. So far so good for the most part.
"No?" she questioned.
"That's right. Now go to bed."
"Come wid me." Willow pleaded in a whiney, baby sounding voice. This was soooo not willow. She was so far gone that it wasn't even funny. Maybe she saw my reluctance because she added, "We'll just lie down, alright?"
For a second I wondered if she were sobering up but before I could make up my mind, or respond to her, to tell her that no sleep would be had if she kept tempting me so, she stole another kiss. Her hands in my hair tugging on it as her fingers tightly knotted in it.
If I really wanted to get away there were numerous things I could do to do so. But deepening the kiss was not one of those things. Running my tongue across her slightly parted lips wasn't helping me get away either. It wasn't sending the right message. I wasn't telling her to go to sleep to sleep it off but instead I was encouraging her.
Pulling away Willow smiled again and said, "Cawwy mee."
Before haphazardly jumping into my arms and wrapping her legs around my bare torso. Thank god she had taken to wearing long pants that reached her ankles and tank tops over that first outfit she had tried on the second day of her being a pirate. Thankfully for her I caught her and as I started walking she reached behind my back, grabbed my hat, pulled it off and then put it on her own head before she began peppering my face and neck with a variety of kisses.
She wasn't making it any easier to say no.
When I reached the door of her room she spoke up again. "Nah-ah-ah. Let's go to yooourrr roooom Mr." So I stepped back closing her door and went to mine.
Looks like my bed wasn't waiting for me any longer. Looks like I wasn't going to get a good meal either. I thought as I tried to put Willow down. But she clung to me, pulling me down on top of her.
"Do yooouuu want mee ash bad ach I want chu?" she slurred breathlessly.
"Yeah. But not like this." I told her pinning each wrist on either side of her head to stop them from wandering.
Willow pouted for a moment before stretching up and giving me yet another kiss as her legs stayed wrapped around my waist, tightening a bit.
There was a lot of skin on skin contact and I could see the drunken lust in her eyes and I could not only feel her breath, the rise and fall of her small chest but also feel her erratic heartbeat.
This was going to be a long, oh so painfully long night.
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