Hey guys, another chapter for you, I hope you like it. Thanks to Aerle and Thérèse for betaíng! :D

I've got two little things though: one, the next chapter will probably take a while again, I'm sorry, but I need to focus on the Halloween fic that I'm writing, this month, so probably won't have time to work on this story before Halloween.

Second, I have a poll on my profile, concerning other versions of Alabastan Nights, with other pairings. I would love to hear your opinion, so please take a minute to go to my profile and vote in the poll (it's on top of my profile). Also, you don't have to worry that those versions will interfere with this one ;)

Now, enjoy!

Chapter 6:

Shirts are overrated

Izo looked into the street that led towards the palace. After a few seconds, he nodded. "Clear."

I followed him out of the alley we had met in. It was almost dark outside and there weren't many people around in the streets anymore at this time of the day. Without meeting anyone, we reached the wall that surrounded the palace.

"I think it must be somewhere around here," I said quietly. "Though, the thing about fire is that it doesn't only warm up the air, but also lights up the dark. So... we will probably attract some attention, especially inside the wall, if we aren't careful enough."

"Well, I wasn't planning on not being careful enough," Izo responded with a roll of his eyes.

"Good. We'll land on top of the wall for a moment, watch it, it's narrow and you can easily fall off," I warned him. Not giving him time to make another sarcastic comment, I continued, "From there we can orientate a bit better."

The crossdresser nodded. "Right. So, take me in your strong arms and let's go up." He laid one of his arms around my neck.

"You are aware of the fact that you are a bit touchy?" I asked with raised eyebrow.

Izo smiled. "Yes, but do you mind it, is the question."

"A little." Wrapping my arm around him, I let my fire burn at the minimum that was necessary to get us on top of the wall.

We landed safely and I let go of my fellow thief. He didn't let go of me, but I was too busy trying not to fall off, that I didn't try to change it. Izo took a short look around and then nodded. "Let's meet up again in an hour at that tree?" He pointed at the tree that was barely visible in the quickly darkening sky.

I gave it a moment of thought. An hour wasn't very long for me, if I got into a serious conversation with the princess, but on the other hand, if that conversation died after five minutes, it would be a very long hour. So I nodded. "Sounds fair, but what do we do when one of us has to get away sooner or has to stay longer?"

He looked at me. "How much I hate to be dependable, I can't leave without you."

I smirked. That was true and it gave me some sort of feeling of security. At least he couldn't walk away from this deal between us. Because I still didn't fully trust him. "Alright, so we just wait at the tree until the other shows up. Got it." Before he knew what was going on, I grabbed him again and jumped down at a place I had seen no guard nearby.

"Okay, good luck," Izo whispered and he took off. I went right, towards the tower of which I was almost sure the princess' chamber was in. I saw a guard strolling along the tower wall and was able to hide behind a tree just in time. I waited about a minute, listening carefully at the footsteps of the man that slowly died away.

I jumped when I heard another sound from the other side of me, right beside my ear. A sigh escaped my lips when I realized it was a just a bird. Getting my heartbeat back under control, I cautiously looked around the three, just seeing the guard go around the corner of the palace. After that, I could walk to the tower without any problems.

Looking up, I was pretty sure I saw the same curtains in the window of the second floor as I had seen in Vivi's room. I let my hand slide along the stone of the palace wall, but it was not very climbable, so I took one last look around me to make sure no one was around, and then shot up as quickly as possible.

I put out my fire as soon as I had grabbed the edge of the balcony. It really was a pain that my powers stood out so much at night. Lifting myself up with my arms the last bit, I threw my body over the edge and landed with my feet on the balcony floor. I waited in silence for a moment, just listening if I heard any sound that wasn't supposed to be there. After not hearing anything unusual, I saw that the window towards the balcony was slightly opened. Just far enough to let a hand through.

My fingers slipped around the side of the window and pulled it further open, as slowly and quietly as possible.

Suddenly, the curtains were pushed aside, scaring me out of my concentration.

"You could just knock, you know," Vivi chuckled.

I let out the breath I had been holding. "I didn't know for sure this was your room! Besides, there could be some guard or servant inside!"

"Yeah, or I could just have been changing clothes when you walked in," the princess looked accusing at me.

I smirked. "Yeah, that was what I was trying to do, peek at you while you were undressing," I said, shaking my head. "If we would believe that Marco guy."

"Well… you never know," she stepped aside so I could come in. "I barely know you. He could be right."

I stopped and raised an eyebrow. "You really believe that?"

She looked down and I noticed she was already wearing her nightgown. One that left quite a lot to the imagination, but I couldn't help but wonder if that was all she wore, if she was naked underneath that. I tried to shake that thought off. No need to give her a reason to believe her servant.

She shrugged. "I don't think you're that kind of person. But like I said, I don't really know you, so…"

Well, that was true, I couldn't blame her for not fully trusting me. I was a thief after all. "You're right. But you don't need to worry, that's not why I'm here."

She pointed to the sofa in a gesture that I could sit there, while she said, "Then why exactly are you here? Just to listen to my ramblings? I mean, what is in it for you?"

"I'm… just here to talk," was my answer as I made myself comfortable. "You know… I don't really have people with whom I can just chat about things."

"You don't have friends?" she asked, pity evident in her voice. Well, I didn't need her pity.

So I shrugged. "Not really, no."

"How come?" The princess sat down as well.

"Just… I'm a thief, who wants to be friends with a thief?" I said, though of course that wasn't necessarily the reason.

She smiled. "Other thieves?"

"Thieves can't be trusted," I answered her.

"So I can't trust you?" She sounded a little disappointed.

"I'm an exception."

She smiled. "Yeah, sure. Then tell me something about yourself," she commanded. "You said your parents were dead, so where did you grow up?"

I thought about it for a moment. Why would I tell my whole life story to a stranger, a princess, no less. I didn't want to get the few people I cared about in trouble. But then why did it feel so natural and safe to talk to Vivi?

A sigh escaped my lips. "As a baby I was brought to a woman and her 'family', which is actually just a bunch of shady coffeemakers. Anyway, they raised me. I've known from the beginning that they weren't my real family, but they still didn't do too bad a job, I guess." I shrugged. "So that's where I grew up."

"Who brought you there?" Vivi asked. "And what's so shady about coffeemakers? Do they poison it?"

"Of course not! Coffee is just not the only thing they're dealing, that's all you need to know." I shouldn't get too specific, just in case she told someone. "And how should I know who brought me to them? I was just a baby, I don't really have memories from back then. It was probably someone my mother knew well."

The princess was quiet for a moment. "And… you've never had a friend?"

"Oh, I had one, once, when I was about ten. He died," I said bitterly. It was just one more reason to hate the government. It was their fault after all. They had murdered him.

"I-I'm sorry…" she apologized.

Shaking my head, I replied, "It's okay. It's been a few years already." I decided it was time to change the topic of our conversation. "So what about you? How did you grow up?"

It appeared she grew up very rich with all kinds of people who wanted to be her friend. Most of them weren't really the friends she hoped for, though. However, she did have nice guardians, apparently, and met a boy in her youth who was a good friend. But since the current prime-minister got power, her father had become more strict and she couldn't see him anymore, since he lived in the city and that was where she wasn't allowed to go, from that day on. She thought the minister had something to do with it, since it was too coincidental for her liking.

Our chat went on for what felt like hours, when I realized Izo was probably already waiting for me. I sprang up, a little too suddenly. "I gotta go."

She looked a little confused. "Already? Why?"

"I…'ve got an appointment… I agreed to meet someone, so I'm sorry I can't stay longer," I tried to sound as casual as possible while I walked towards the balcony again.

"Oh… okay, will you come again?" she asked, and added, "I need to know more about what the city really is like and you barely told me anything about that today, so…"

I smiled. "Of course I'll come again." Because, to be honest, I didn't want to leave yet, but I had to.

The corners of her mouth curved up again. "Thank you, Ace." Before I realized what was happening, she had wrapped her arms around me and pressed her body against mine.

I froze in place, not exactly sure what was happening and what I should do. Okay, she was hugging me. But I never got hugged by anyone else than Dadan. So why was she hugging me? Slowly, I placed my right arm around her shoulder. That was the closest thing to hugging anyone back I had ever done and would do. "It… it's okay…" I mumbled, not sure if that was the right thing to say at this moment, but it was the best I could come up with.

She finally let go of me and gave me a push towards the balcony. "Now go, don't let your date wait."

"He's not my date!" Why was everyone saying that? It took me a little too long to realize that she was just joking.

"Oh, it's a 'he'?" she asked with a teasing tone to her voice.

I decided to ignore it and walked on, into the open air of the balcony. I heard some yelling and when I looked down, I saw a lot more guards than before. Some were running around, some were standing still, obviously looking for something or someone. Well, shit. I just hoped they weren't looking for Izo or me. In any case, I wouldn't be able to just go down the way I came.

I turned to face the princess again. "I think I've got a problem."

She came standing next to me and looked down as well. "Yeah, it seems so." Suddenly, one of the guards turned his head upwards and Vivi pushed me back. "Watch out!" she whispered. "Someone might see you."

"Nothing wrong, Your Highness!" the guard shouted when he saw her. "We thought we saw something running around in the garden, but we're on it, don't worry!"

"Okay, thank you!" she shouted back. When she turned away from the edge, she sighed relieved. "I don't think he saw you. It would probably be better if you left through the palace, the normal way. The hallways are only dimly illuminated at this time of the day and there are more guards outside than inside, so it shouldn't provide too much trouble for you."

"You sure? There isn't someone waiting at your door?" I was a little sceptic.

She shook her head. "I forbade them to do that. Besides, if they were, someone would already have barged in because they heard voices."

She might have a point there. So I quickly, but quietly, walked to the door of her room and opened it carefully. No one to be seen. "Alright, well, see you later then."

She smiled and I left the room, silently closing the door behind me. The hallway was indeed barely illuminated, but that made it easier for guards to hide too. They only had to stand in the right shadow. So I was very wary when I walked away from the princess' chamber. However, it seemed that she had been right, because there was no one lurking in the shadows of at least the first part of the way.

I was already getting a little less focused when I noticed a slightly brighter light coming from around the corner. It wasn't just one candle that could give such a light. I pressed my back against the wall and carefully peeked around the corner to find the source of the light.

A few yards past it stood a table with two big candle stands on it. Behind it on a chair, his feet on the table, sat the pineapple-head servant, or guard, or whatever his job was. He was reading a book in the light of the extra candles.

Crap. I really needed to turn this corner if I wanted to get back. Though, maybe this wasn't impossible. After all, Marco seemed to be absorbed by his book and only his side of the hallway was extra illuminated. Even if the light spread through a much bigger part, it could mean Marco wouldn't see me if he was focused on his readings. Well, it was pretty much the only option I had, so I would have to try it.

As quiet as possible, I turned the corner, staying close to the wall and walking slowly past the table, seeming to do fine. I had already set a few steps and – even though I was afraid to look at the pineapple directly – hadn't noticed any movement.

But then suddenly my body was slammed against the wall and my hands pushed together far above my head. "Thought you could sneak past me, yoi?" Marco's face was only about a feet away from mine, while his body made sure I couldn't move away from the wall.

I had to give it to the guy, he was fast. I hadn't even seen him move! "I… maybe?" He was strong too, I really couldn't move away, which surprised me a bit. Shouldn't the sea stone of his 'necklace' weaken his normal strength as well? But he held both my wrists with one hand too!

"I don't let intruders pass," Marco made clear. "What are you doing here?"

"Just walking around, enjoying the beautiful interior," I tried casually.

Marco cocked his head slightly, seeming to realize something. "You were with Vivi, yoi. You were the guy who was hiding in her closet two days ago."

So he had known exactly where I was that time. "And what if I am?" It wasn't like I was afraid of the man who had pressed me against the wall. Not at all. If I wanted, I could be out of here within a second. Still, my heart seemed to disagree by beating way faster than necessary. I was sure the guy holding my wrists could feel it too.

Marco kept looking into my eyes. "What are your intentions with the princess?"

"I don't have intentions," I said, I would be shrugging if my hands weren't caught above my head. "But I'm certainly not after her virginity. I'm not a pervert like you."

The blond raised his eyebrows. "Oh really now? Then why are you walking around bare-chested?"

"Because shirts are overrated." Yeah, when the sun was down, I didn't really need to protect my skin from it anymore. And my devil fruit powers made sure I never had to be cold, so why wear a shirt?

Then I realized I hadn't tried very hard to get away from this man, while he was holding me pressed against the wall for more than a whole minute already. And his closeness made me slightly uncomfortable, maybe that was why my heart was beating so fast. Marco began to speak again, while I let the fire in my wrists flare up.

"Aren't you co–" His eyes widened and after another moment he pulled back his hand and created a small distance between us. "You're Firefist Ace!" he said surprised, casting a look at the slightly red palm of his hand.

I cocked my head and even though I had the opportunity to run away from him, his way of acting had caught my interest. "And you used to be able to handle fire." It had taken him too long to withdraw his hand, as if he wasn't afraid the fire would hurt him. "You're a logia type then?"

"That's none of your business, yoi," Marco answered. However, his words had lost a little of their coldness and he looked kind of longingly at my hands as the flames slowly died.

"Ah come on, tell me," I tried again. "Which fruit did you eat? Obviously not the mera mera no mi, since that's mine, but at least it was a logia, right?"

"No." Marco's look hardened again. "As I said, it's not of your concern."

"Okay… then tell me why you gave it up. Does this job pay you that well?" It was something that bothered me a bit.

Marco frowned and grabbed my hand. I was about to get it back by turning it into fire again, but it didn't work and suddenly my energy seemed to fade away slightly. Marco had placed my hand in the crook of his neck, pressed against the sea stone ring that kept, now both, our powers in check. "Listen Ace, I'm giving you an opportunity to leave. Take it, instead of prying into my life."

"I just don't get it, that's all," I explained.

"My choices are my choices and I don't regret them. That's all you need to know." Marco let go of me. "Now go. And you'd do well not to come back again."

I did a few steps towards the exit. "I'll betcha I'll come back," I said smirking. Then I started to walk faster away from Marco, but cast one more look over my shoulders. "See ya!"

TBC~

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