I'm booored." I whined. I was half hanging off of Willows bed, watching her draw from a strange angle. She had her back to the side of her bed with her legs drawn up and her sketchpad propped against her knees. The furious scratching of her pencil against the paper was the only sound in the otherwise silent room.
"Well I'm not." She said pausing and looking over at me with a small smile before her green eyes and her attention went back to her drawing.
I frowned. The only reason she wasn't bored was because she was having her fun sketching. So before she could fight back or even know what had hit her I reached over and snatched both the pencil and the sketchpad out of her hands. When she looked up I flashed her a playful grin and said, "Ha! Now you've got nothing to do either."
"Ace drop it before you burn it!" she demanded pushing herself to her feet and reaching to get it away from me and my famous fire fists. She looked scared not for herself but for her sketchpad, as if I'd destroy something that meant so much to her.
I just continued smiling as I got comfortable, crossing my legs and began flipping through her remarkable drawings. With a huff of defeat she stopped struggling against the hand that held her at bay and sat on the edge of her bed and watched me look through her art, watching my face instead of the pages.
When I was done I glanced up at Willow and then tossed it over my shoulder in a flutter of noise and pages. Now I was bored again. "Occupy me." I grumbled at her flopping across her bed once again. I had taken away her only form of entertainment so now she had to occupy herself too.
"Ok. But I'm so not helping you with any of those bird themed pranks you play on Marco."
"What bird pranks?" I asked trying to pull off innocent as well as Willow could. Even after all this time she could still play innocent with the best of them.
"Like crafting eggs with birds in them and swapping Marco's bed with a bird nest or trying to feed him birdseed Ace." She reminded me of the pranks that she was talking. "I'm not helping you with any of that stuff." Willow firmly told me what she wasn't going to do.
I laughed. "That's all old stuff. But if you don't want to do that why don't we go check out that island?"
"No."
"Why not?" We could take care of ourselves. Well me more than Willow but that training was certainly helping her. Not only that but I could protect her if I had to, no problem.
"Pops' orders." Was all she said as if she thought that was all she needed to say, as if that was a good enough reason to not go, to not explore that island.
"You're a bad entertainer you know that?" I asked Willow unsure if she was aware of the fact.
"My deepest apologies. Why don't we waste time in the training room?" she suggested.
"Oooooor why don't we take a peek at that island Pops told us not to go on?" I was absolutely dying to do so.
"No."
"But I don't wanna kill time i the training room. I don't need any training." I told her knowing full well that it was her who needed it, who it might be beneficial for. But we could train any time we wanted, in fact I'd be more than happy to train her later, after we go explore that island, the one that we didn't have permission to step foot on. In fact someone had told me not to even look or think about it. But I couldn't help but think about it, not when my body ached to get off this ship and to the shores of that shiny island.
I could just hear it calling out to me, begging me to step foot on it and explore it, if only a little bit. Not only that but it was all shiny and reflective, just like Jozu's diamonds in the sun.
"Come oooon. We'll be back before Pops can get back." We didn't exactly have an option if we didn't want to get in trouble.
"Ace." Willow sternly said my name. "We both know that the only reason you want to go is because Pops orders are denying you access, denying you the permission to go."
"Exactly. Let's go."
"But I'm sure he had his reasons. We really shouldn't go." She tried again.
Just like she could act innocent, she was still more or less of a good girl. I was no longer the odd man out, using manners and stuff. Really she hadn't changed at all even though she had changed so much since having joined the crew. She had warmed up to the crew and had opened up a bit but that was about it.
"Trust me, it'll be fun. And besides there's nothing to do here."
"I'm sure there is if we look."
"But I don't wanna look." Willow opened her mouth and began saying something but I cut her off saying, "Come one, you should just stop trying. You're not going to change my mind." Everyone knew how hard it was to change my mind once it was made up. And right now it was made up, I was just trying to convince her to come with me before I threw her over my shoulder and she no longer had a choice.
"You're so stubborn." She muttered with a shake of her head.
"Does that mean I don't have to drag you along with me and that you're coming with me willingly?" I couldn't help that my tone sounded as hopeful as I knew that I was.
"What if we get in trouble?"
"We'll worry about that later." I told her reaching for her hand. But she moved it just out of my reach. So I tried again, but again she moved out of my reach, preventing me from grabbing her and dragging her along. Finally after a few minutes of this little game of hers I succeeded in grabbing ahold of her hand. Once I managed that I began pulling her towards the door of her room.
"Whydon'twerearrangethecommandersclosets?" She rushed out in a single breath as I began pulling her through the threshold of her bedroom doorway.
I stopped and looked back at her trying to figure out if I had heard her correctly. But after replaying the words that were still ringing in the air around us a few times in my head I felt a grin break out across my face. "Now that's a good idea my friend." I clapped her on her back. The look of surprise on her face was priceless.
"I-I wasn't being-"
"Serious? Yes you were. And besides we're just going to swap their clothing and blame it on the clothing fairy. Nothing harmful to anyone. And if that clothing fairy doesn't work then we can blame it on the clear-clear fruit user. . ." I racked my brain for a name and the first one that came to mind was the first name that flew out of my mouth. ", Bob!"
"Bob?" Willow dubiously asked in a tone that asked me if I could have chosen a better name. Then she added, "The clothing fairy? Ace, no one's going to believe that."
"Luffy did." He believed all of the stories I told him. Some of course took more convincing on my part. But he believed that it was the fairies, the elves, woodland creatures and other things that did things or took his stuff when Sabo, Dadan and I all knew it was me. But Dadan never did anything about it.
When I said that Willow hung her head. "Ace, we're not dealing with Luffy."
"Weeellll that's true I suppose. But if we swap out closets they won't suspect a thing!" I exclaimed dropping her hand. "Now act unsuspicious!" I hissed at her grabbing ahold of her hand again and pulling her to my room.
Before we could enter a voice from behind us asked, "What the hell are you up to Ace?"
"What? Why do you think I'm guilty of anything?" That was hardly fair. Willow was out there in the hallway with me, she was holding my hand and it had been her idea to swap t clothing in the commander's closets in the first place.
"Because it's written all over your face Ace." Marco said looking the two of us over. "Not Willow's. You know it's probably about time you stopped dragging her around everywhere you want her to go. You know she's a big girl and is hardly a newbie anymore. She's perfectly capable of being independent."
I held up our hands and said, "I'm not dragging her anywhere. If I were-"
"What Ace is trying to say is that we were just heading to his room. I'm going willingly." Willow twisted out hands to show that I was in fact not forcing her to do anything against her will, that she wanted to accompany me wherever.
Marco eyes Willow suspiciously and then said, "Keep Fire Fist in line for me would you?"
I looked at Willow, watching to see how well she'd pull this off. She forced a smile and a nervous sounding, "Y-yeah. I-I'll try my best. He's quite the stubborn one though you know."
"I'm well aware. Just don't encourage him too much. I'd rather not have to clean up any of his messes." Marco spoke as though I wasn't standing right here, attached to Willow.
"Hey!" I protested. "I haven't left the ship now have I?" I really wanted to though. There was no way I couldn't handle whatever that island held. Though from all of the noise that Pops was making over there maybe it was smarter to just stay on the ship . . . But I was still so curious, smart or not. Every bone in my body itched to go do a little exploring, to see it up close and personal.
Marco's snorting brought my attention out of my head and back to the situation at hand. "That wouldn't be because of Willow now would it?"
"Of course it-" I began to loudly protest only to realize that his words were indeed true. So I lifted my free hand and scratched the back of my head. "-is." I admitted though from the look on Marco's face I was only admitting this to myself.
"Well have a good rest of the day or something." Willow said with a nod to Marco. "We'll just be on our way, into Ace's room to plan no-"
I clamped my hand over her mouth and said a quick 'bye' before pulling her into my room and closing the door behind me with a little too much force, a little too roughly with my foot.
Somehow Willow wasn't a good liar, which was kind of cute, because usually her face would turn red and she'd stutter worse than usual. But you'd think she'd be better at it by now.
"How is it that you can play a mean game of poker but you still can't lie worth shit?" I asked her removing my hand from her mouth.
She shrugged and said, "So are we really going to do this?"
"Of course. I can't wait to see everyone's reactions." Really I couldn't wait. This was going to be tame compared to the things we've done before but it was still going to be fun and get a rise out of the crew, which was always quite fun.
"I think we should plan whose things we're going to swap with whose. And that includes ours as not to look suspicious as you said. More so then you already are." She fixed a pointed look at me but its effects were canceled with the smile on her lips.
"Hey wait why am I the only suspicious one here?" I asked.
"Because Ace, everyone knows that I'm your get out of trouble free card. Plus I don't do things like this." Willow said as though she thought she had a good argument going for her.
"You help me with my pranks all the time." I argued with her before I began verbally listing the things we had done, what we had done to them and who we had done them to.
We had replaced Pops oxygen with helium- his voice had been so funny that neither of us had heard our punishment over our laughter. I reminded her of the times we told Thatch that he had a spider on his head just to watch him flail around and when he stopped believing us how we put a real one on him. I told her about all of the bird and or pineapple themed things we had done to Marco. I reminded her of the time we had spent all night doodling on the crew's faces.
And the time where we had prank called the other pirate ships- Willow was a surprisingly good voice actress though she was bright red in the face from the things I had her say to them. I wasn't about to let her forget about when we hid in the crow's nest and jumped down screaming 'death from above!' on everyone who passed, or when we started a crew wide pillow fight after spiking the crews coffee.
And I finished off the list of only a small fraction of the things we had done with the words, "See? You're like my partner in crime. It's about time you had an idea of your own." Then with a smile I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, grabbing my wrist in the middle of her chest, initiating the physical contact that she still wasn't too fond of. Like the first time I had put my arm around her, her body went rigid, as stiff as a board. But I ignored the reaction and turned and put my lips against the shell of her ear, just to bother her ever more and then said, "I think I've rubbed off on you." I also ignored how those words could be taken in a way different then what I meant them to be taken as.
"Ace." Willow said grabbing my hand and unlatching my arms from around her. "Stop being pervy."
"But." I began whining. Sometimes it was fun. Cole always played along with the crew's perverted ness until she found the perfect time to strike, laugh and leave you stunned even though you had been expecting that for the last thirty minutes. The nurses were usually no fun and I enjoyed playing- no messing- with Willow the most. I didn't have many other options.
"Ace, are we going to do this or not? The more time we waste the less we'll get done and the less entertaining it will be."
Oh right! "Then let's get going!" I could bother Willow with purvy-ness later.
"No. I want a plan as not to waste even more time."
"But." I began to complain. Planning almost ruined pranks since most of them were on impulses and whims and therefore were not very well thought out, or the consequences considered.
"It's nothing too difficult or complicated. We move the clothes down every other door. So yours goes to Marco's, Thatch's goes to yours, Jozu's goes to mine and so one and so forth. Got it?"
I nodded and couldn't help but ruffle her hair, feeling proud that not only had her plan been simple with no elaborate tables charts or drawings, but also that she was going this herself, without me forcing-well she have never really fought- her to do all of those pranks. "Then let's get swapping partner." She said with a smile.
I really wanted to make a perverted joke simply because I refrained most of the time but she must have read my mind because she rolled her green eyes hard and grumbled, "God Ace get that head of your out of the gutter."
"What?" I tried to pull off that innocent look with the puppy eyes that seemed to work so well.
Instead of giving me the look I had been expecting her to give me she smiled softly and had to use both hands to playfully push me, to get me to stumble back a few steps, saying, "You know what."
I realized that it wasn't working on her at all.
Almost instantly I dropped the innocent act. "So closets and drawers or just closets?" I questioned.
"Which one do you want to do?"
"Both!" I answered. Hands down. It would be so much more fun (and work) if we did both.
Again she smiled and we started at Haruta's room.
The chaos that was created that night was hilarious, though Willow and I had to hide in the crow's nest, careful to keep out of sight and therefore mind.
"High-five." I hissed at her holding out my open and waiting palm. She wordlessly obeyed the command and when the slightly too loud sound of our hands slapping together rang out I added, "Good job."
-Willow-
Ace was smiling broadly, occasionally mocking someone from the deck below wordlessly using only facial expressions and hand gestures. Occasionally he'd peek over the edge of the crow's-nest then duck down looking really worried- scaring me that someone had seen him, that we were about to get in trouble. But then he's smile and that in itself would assure me that we were fine, safe for another few minutes.
After congratulating me on a job well done he looked like he was about to say something rather serious but before he could utter a sound his head hung suddenly and he fell face first into my lap. I let out a chuckle and softly pat his wavy black hair like my mom used to do when I fell asleep with my head in her lap. Of course he would have a sleep attack now, of all the times today. Those things had such great timing. But at least he got to enjoy the aftermath of our prank; at least he got to see their reactions and had time to hide before it struck.
It was well into the morning before all the commotion died down. Closets and drawers had been semi fixed according to what I could make out from up here. The man hunt for Ace and I- mostly Ace- had been put on pause and people had been going to the barracks and probably sleep for a while now.
Unfortunately I was stuck up here, in a rather uncomfortably slouched position with Ace now clinging to me muttering incoherent things, having gone from sleeping attack to actually sleeping.
Lucky him.
I could make a few broken sentences and words out of the mess, Luffy's name was uttered quite a few times and there were even traces of a smile on his face as he dreamt.
At one point- I couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep but Ace reached up and tried closing my heavy with sleep, but open with reluctance eyelids, muttering that I should get some sleep, that I'm not fun without my sleep. After muttering the last word his arm fell limp and thumped heavily to the floor of the crow's-nest. Eventually I obeyed his command, lulled to sleep by the ever-present sound of the ocean and the sway of the ship as well as the warm body clinging to mine, snoring slightly but keeping me warmer than if I had been up here alone.
-Ace-
I woke up with something pressing down on my chest and when I opened my eyes to figure out how I should react, if I should freak out or not, whether or not I needed to torch anything. But it turns out that something was a peacefully sleeping Willow.
Unfortunately that wasn't what had woken me up. I looked up to see Marco's face looking at me, his arms crossed on the edge of the crow's-nest with a smirking half lidded, sleepy looking but expectant expression on his face.
"What?" I shortly asked, wanting to know why he was disturbing my sleep.
"Everyone knows you're hiding up here." He said.
"We're not hiding." I instantly denied. Then asked, "Why would we be hiding?" Seriously, what we did yesterday wasn't that bad.
Marco just let out a chuckle. "No one is too horrible upset and or harmed. Honestly we all expected you to decide to make a fort in the galley using all of our bedding, or make a bonfire in the middle of the deck or switching the shampoo or soaps with dye or something. Anything a bit more . . . not so tame."
"It was Willows idea." I informed him. Though those were some good ideas of things to do later. Oh how Marco was going to regret having given me ideas.
"We could tell. Now get down from here."
In case he couldn't see what was right below his nose I said, "She's sleeping."
"Pick her up and come down." He tried again.
"But you know I'm pretty comfortable right where I am."
"Just wake sleeping beauty up already if that's what you're so concerned about."
"Nah. I'm good." I smiled snaking one arm around her and stretching with the other one. One of her arms was wrapped around my waist; with a thumb hooked through a belt loop and her other hand was tucked under her cheek, which was on my chest.
"Well I bothered coming up here to inform you that we're approaching a ship and are preparing for a raid because we are all bored and I thought you'd like to join us."
"You thought wrong." I lied through the skin of my teeth. A raid sounded so good right about now. Especially after yesterday's torment of not being allowed to explore that shiny island that Pops had sortta ended up destroying by the sounds of it.
Marco snorted at my answer, obviously not believing me. "I doubt that. But if you want to stay up here with sleeping beauty more then you want to go on a raid then by all means do so. Have fun with your girlfriend."
And with that he disappeared, starting the climb down from the crow's-nest.
"Hey!" I hissed at him, moving the most that I could without disturbing Willow's sleep. "Come back here Marco!"
For a second I thought that he hadn't heard me, or was ignoring me when he reappeared and asked, "Yes?" in a tone that said 'I knew it.' But he was wrong. I wasn't moving till Willow woke up. But I did want to set something straight.
"She's not my girlfriend." I hissed at him. Not in a romantic kind of way. She was certainly a girl and she was more than my friend but she was not the compounded word, girlfriend. Girlfriends lead to a lot of things like regrets and that went against my live and die without regrets motto thing.
"Keep deluding yourself Ace." He said sounding like Cole who would push us into each other, trip each other into the other, move us closer, push us- mostly me- overboard so that the other over would have to save the person who had been pushed overboard, she locked us in nearly every room- though the galley had been an epic fail on her part. Cole wasn't subtle about her opinions about what Willow and I should be and now Marco was thinking just like her.
"I'm not deluding myself." I grumbled.
"You keep believing that Fire Fist." Now he sounded even more like Cole who enjoyed nicknames and mine just happened to be my epithet.
"I will." I huffed and with a muttered 'whatever' Marco disappeared and this time for good.
I mean I didn't have feelings for Willow and she didn't have them for me either. At least that what we kept telling people when they decided to make fun us and stuff. Plus I was only in love with adventure, meet, Luffy- in a brotherly way- and adventuring . . . though I suppose I could add Willow to the mix, I mean if she wanted to be added and if we actually have 'feelings' for each other, which I don't . . . I don't think. I'm pretty sure I don't.
But it was kind of nice laying here like this. And I could just imagine Willows reaction to waking up like this. Her face would be the color of Shanks hair and she'd be stuttering so much, trying to stammer out some kind of apology. And ever after I told her that it was fine and that I might have actually enjoyed it she'd calm down a bit but not meet my eyes. So then I'd make a joke and that would be that. Then we'd get breakfast.
At the mere thought of food my stomach growled. "Not until Willow wakes up." I whispered to my stomach, patting it lightly. It let out another growl, as if talking back at me about my decision.
So I slouched in the crow's-nest, listening to the sounds of the raid and the cheering after it, wishing that food would just float from the fridge and up here then into my mouth. Life would be so much easier if I could do that, if food could do that. I wouldn't even have to get up to get food, which would be awesome!
When the raid ended I went to watching the thin wispy clouds overhead and wondering about Luffy. I wondered how he was doing and how much of a crew he had managed to scrounged up and what he was doing on such a fine day.
Finally though Willow stirred and sat up. She looked around with s confused expression as she murmured, "Morning Ace."
"Mornin' sleeping beauty." I replied with a grin.
Her face flushed a light pink color and she asked, "Wh-what are we doing up here?"
Up here meant that she at least realized that we were in the crow's-nest. "Hiding remember?" Who cares what I told Marco, I had been lying, obviously.
"Are we still hiding?" She risked a peek over the side of the crow's-nest and down at the deck.
I shook my head. "Nope, they found us out a while ago."
"They why didn't you wake me?" I just shrugged, keeping my reasons to myself. "Well thanks for not. I suppose though you're hungry."
"Starving!" I exclaimed jumping to my feet glad that she seemed to have heard my stomachs cry for food. Either that or she just knew me that well.
"I'm sortta hungry myself." Willow quietly said to herself.
"TO THE KITCHEN!" I shouted reaching out and grabbing Willow around the waist before throwing her over my shoulder and jumping down from the crow's-nest. When I landed I paused just long enough to adjust Willow and my hat before racing off to the galley.
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A/N: The fic Second Division Prohibitions inspired a few of the things that Willow and Ace have done on the crew. (I just don't want people to yell at me cuz they notice a resemblance or something) (Ps. If you haven't checked out the fic, it's hilarious. An absolute riot.
Feedback. Thoughts. Opinions. Constructive criticism is all welcome and very greatly appreciated.