Moda stared at the snoring chocolate haired man facedown on her kitchen table. Who in the world falls asleep while eating? She thought.

"You know," Ace said, waking suddenly from his slumber, continuing like nothing had happened, and stacking his empty plate on the steadily growing pile beside him, "I don't remember the last time I've eaten a meal and not had to run right after. So thank you." He took a drink from his cup. "You weren't lying when you said your family's milk is the best on the Grand Line."

Moda giggled. "Thanks! I guess you would be the best judge, since you definitely eat a lot. And you snore loud."

Ace laughed, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. "Well, excuse me. I didn't know you Terra Terra girls were rude."

Moda rolled her eyes at Ace's mock offense. "Excuse me, I'm a WOMAN. I'm seventeen. And you DO eat a lot." She stuck her tongue out and pointed at the climbing pile of plates. "You eat really proper too."

"You eat really properly." Ace corrected, sticking his fork and knife into another piece of meat. "And you're seventeen. You and my little brother are around the same age."

Eyes rolled. "Whatever. By the way, how did you end up in that river? I've never seen anyone flap their arms in water as desperately as you did and STILL sink like a dead Sea King."

"I made some new friends." Ace chuckled, his mind drifting off to earlier in the day. "I dined and dashed at a restaurant on the other side of the river. Punching Blackbeard didn't make your villagers any happier. Turns out he wasn't the guy I was looking for."

"What?!" Moda shrieked. "Why would you hit Dr. Blackbeard? He's the nicest man in our village!"

Ace looked down at his plate. "I'm looking for someone. Your village's doctor looked like him and shared the same name."

"The man you're looking for must have really done something for you to go up to someone you've never met and punch them in the face."

"He murdered one of my best friends." Moda sat up, wide-eyed with shock. Ace continued. "Blackbeard couldn't stand seeing Thatch have something he wanted, something Thatch got fair and square. He spat on the generous hand of my father, our captain, and he needs to be punished." Ace looked up at Moda, his whiskey colored eyes ablaze with rage.

"I'm sorry." Moda apologized.

Ace's face softened. "Hey. You have nothing to do with this."

"I know, but I just know how it is. I lost my best friend when I was little."

"What happened to her?"

"She drowned at sea. Some pirates attacked the ship her and her parents were on."

"Is that why you saved me?"

Moda nodded, staring at Ace for a long time. "I've been kind of curious. What's the deal with that tattoo on your back?"

Ace shot her a sympathetic look. "I figured you'd ask." He placed another morsel of food into his mouth, before Moda snatched the plate away from him, shooting him a dirty look. Ace sighed, wishing he could have eaten more. "It's the symbol of the Whitebeard Pirates."

"Whitebeard. Pirates." Moda reeled backwards in shock, her wide-eyes looking Ace up and down. How could a pirate be so well mannered? More well-mannered than her? Was she in danger?

Ace put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey." She looked up into his intently focused whiskey-brown eyes. "You don't have to fear me. Pops would never forgive me if I hurt a good-liking woman like you." Moda blushed embarrassingly.

"Oh and I'M the rude one?" Still, she couldn't deny the effect his compliment had had on her. Come to think of it, he is kind of cute. She caught herself too much attention to the boyish freckles on his tan, well-chiseled chin. He was more well-built than most of the other young men in the village Still he's a pirate. Daddy's always said you can never be too careful around them. "Pops, huh. So the Whitebeard, the Great Emperor of the Sea, is your father?"

"He's more than that. He made me his son when I was still a hothead on the seas."

"Mhm. I see." Moda said skeptically.

"Don't believe everything the World Government says. Not all pirates are the same."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"Whitebeard isn't like every other treasure-hungry pirate on the seas. He's from a different era, in a different class. He's a pirate, sure. But he's the one who taught me a real man will never stand by and do nothing when his friends need him. I've never seen him run from a fight. Ever."

"And what about my friend Lara?" Ace raised an eyebrow in intrigue. "It was pirates who killed her. Pirates who steal and murder and plunder and take what doesn't belong to them."

"The old man's not like that."

"So he's not a pirate?"

Ace cracked a wide smile. "No he is. The very best, the one I'm going to make Pirate King one day."

"So if Whitebeard's a pirate, isn't he just like the people who killed Lara? How do I know YOU aren't?"

"You don't."

"Well that makes me feel a whole lot better."

"Geez." Ace sighed. "Will you let me finish, or is sarcasm another trait of you rude Terra Terra girls."

Moda scowled. "I'm a WOMAN."

Ace ignored her. "Whether I'm like the pirates who killed your friend is something you're going to have to decide for yourself. But what I can say for sure is there's no way Pops is like that." Ace poured some more milk into his cup. "There was this one time, two years ago, when Kaido, another Great Emperor of the Sea, was angry at the Old Man. I forget why, though. He challenged Pops to a fight, the Moby Dick against his ship."

"So what happened?"

"The fight started, but Whitebeard stopped it because a ship carrying orphaned children went by."

"Really?!" Moda blurted in shock.

"Yeah. Pops always talks about how important family is. He's got a soft spot for kids."

"Whitebeard did that?!"

"Like I said, don't believe everything you read."

"So who won the sea battle?"

"It ended up being a draw. The old man just laughed really hard and told Kaido they'd have to fight some other time."

"WHAT?!"

"Mhm."

"And Kaido agreed just like that?"

Ace snickered. "He was livid. But he also knew how strong the old man was and what would happen if both of them went all out. After all, the talk of Pops being the Strongest Man in the World is no joke."

Moda smiled. "A pirate, huh."

Ace laughed. "Is that a problem? Do I need to find another place to eat?"

Moda frowned. "That'd be no fun."

"And why's that?"

"Because things on the farm just got a lot more interesting. I get to make a pirate help with chores."

Ace shook his head. "You sure are a rude gir – l mean woman." He caught himself after Moda shot him a dirty look.

"And you're a hungry freeloader. Now help me clean this mess up."