Author's Notes: Alright, we're back to Ace and his shenanigans. This clip sort of mixes in with the what-if chapters I had planned. Nothing extravagant. It's just a scenario for me mostly as in "what if Ace hadn't died and finally confessed to Nesi" or "what if Nesi had been involved a bit earlier". I don't show both options here, but I'll show you one of them. I did see the concept art and images of Ace as a full-grown adult in his early 40s. He looked cute! :3 I liked him in the coat with the longer hair. It looked good! *blushes* So, we'll let our Ace picture himself as that 40-year-old person in the future with the floor scrubber of the Spades.

Oh! Before I forget, I'm changing my OC's name from Deuce (so you won't confuse him with the Masked Deuce) to Trey. Sorry about my mess-up. I didn't know there was another character named Deuce. That's on me. I wasn't thorough enough in my research. I'll go back and correct everything when I come back to this.

~... Let That Man Dream! ...~

Nesi had just finished the laundry for the day and had no new sewing projects to do for a while. Her personal clock rang to alert her to her personal lunch hour, so she cleaned up the laundry room, removed her apron, and patted herself down to get any lingering dust off her. She decided to simply use the kitchen sink to wash her hands as she prepared a bigger lunch than usual for the day. Breakfast was cut short in favor of training since Ace decided to be an absolute menace for whatever reason. She was sure he hated her at this point. Dumping her on Sixis Island didn't seem to be enough as a ploy for revenge. Whatever. He could be immature if he wanted. She was going to eat a few sandwiches with roasted sweet potato fries and a nice juice. Baragon squawked at her before hopping onto his usual perch on her shoulders and nuzzled her cheek for a pat. He earned a chin scratch and a spot in the kitchen.

Banshee was still cleaning up from earlier, but she smiled when Nesi scuttled in to make her own lunch. At least she was neat in the mess hall. The mermaid auntie didn't worry about her much. In fact, she was curious about the brat's luncheon menu for the day. No one noticed the other presence hiding in the abyss of the shadows on the other side of the kitchen watching them.

"Guess it's time for me to split. You back on kitchen duty, brat?" Banshee asked in a joking manner.

"Hi, auntie!" Nesi greeted with a smile. "Didn't think laundry duty was going to take so long. Any crumbs left for me?"

"Well, your bread rolls are still here. You might can work some magic with the chicken scraps," Banshee informed.

"Hey, actually, I can make an old childhood treat with that. We'll make things a little more gourmet," Nesi said with a cheer. She rolled up her sleeves and started sharpening her personal kitchen knives.

"You're such a fancy-ass, brat! How'd you even survive as long as you did is beyond me," Banshee said, folding her arms.

"Well, you learn a lot when you're poor. Cooking gourmet food was not a birthright or a frou-frou way of life. It was a learned skill," Nesi replied, chuckling and blinking slowly simultaneously. "It was the only way I could pay back my debts anyway. Had to learn how to make something as common as a PB&J sandwich into a four- or five-star cuisine. Making a rare nut butter was a pain in the ass!"

"You can do that?" Banshee questioned, tilting her head slowly in disbelief.

"Did it twice. First time was on a whim, second time was for a catering order. Since you said we have chicken scraps, I will make some gourmet dino nuggets topped with a spicy sweet potato spread and some brie cheese for a savory thickness. Snookums can try a nice, little bread bowl with plenty of veggies and fruit!" Nesi cheered, earning some purring from Baragon.

Fascinated, Banshee watched Nesi prep everything and helped her in-between steps. The magic Nesi made for her small gourmet dishes was almost a therapeutic sight. She didn't make a mess while cooking and worked quickly, but she always had a smile on her face and would turn to a special page of notes in her personal cookbook. It was like she cheered and lit up whenever she read the words on the pages. This time, the floor scrubber was blushing at what had to have been a happy memory for her. As the girls were talking, Nesi explained certain steps to Banshee and the flavors she was looking for. When the cooks were complete, Nesi decorated the plates with a pretty design and placed them on the large table for the two to try. The floor scrubber wasn't quite through yet. She needed something that would pair well with the spiciness of the hot peppers in her sweet potato spread and the saltiness of the chicken nuggets shaped into... well, little Baragons. It couldn't be too thick because of the breading, but it also couldn't be too sweet or watery.

"A-ha! Coconut buttered rum!" Nesi suggested to herself. She started making a brown sugar syrup, used a small amount of rum, melted a bit of butter, but... all of a sudden, she couldn't find something. Searching through the cabinets, she gained Baragon's and Banshee's attention. "Hm... that's odd. I could've sworn I had coconut milk and coconut water in here."

"Didja check the jui - ?" Banshee started, stopped by an evil force glaring at her.

Gulp, gulp, gulp. Nesi questioned the noise and was nearly scared out of her skin by Ace just standing in the shadows and staring at her with malicious intent. Only, he had a big bottle in his hand that was attached to his mouth. It was the fabled coconut liquid.

Nesi snapped, "Portgas D. Ace, tell me that's not what the hell I think it is."

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

"ALL THE JUICE WE GOT ON THIS DAMN BOAT AND YOU'RE DRINKING THE ONE JUICE I HAVE TO USE! WHY!?" Nesi roared.

Gulp, gulp, gulp. CRASH!

"You evil man! Gimme my stuff back!" Nesi screamed, trying to snatch her coconut milk bottle from the captain.

He was not letting it go, even going so far as to push her face away from him and drink the milk faster. She was flailing her arms around and kicking at him to no avail. When the bottle was about an ounce full, he wiped his mouth dry, let out a big, satisfied sigh, slammed the bottle on a nearby crate of fruit and took off onto the deck without another word.

"YOU JERK!"

Welp, her lunch hour was practically ruined. Without the correct amount of coconut milk, her beverage was going to be too watery and probably too strong from the rum. Know what? She reasoned she was going to need it. The day was only halfway over until curfew. This was merely the beginning of a long day. For now, she would just enjoy her lunch with - wait. HOW?

"Did that little ass wipe just char my food?" Nesi questioned, seeing scorch marks on her nuggets. Banshee looked down, not having noticed the flames dancing on top of the food, and did a double take before panicking and blowing out the flames. She then spoke to herself, "Portgas D. Ace, I've let you get away with a lot of crap. I've even let you call me a bunch of crap. This is where I draw the goddamn line. What you're not gonna do is ruin my gourmet dino nuggets while I'm still alive. YOU ARE DEAD TO ME, PORTGAS D. ACE."

The rest of the day didn't get much better. By the end of it, Nesi was ready to trip Ace off the boat and watch him drown. As pissed off as Nesi was at him, however, she managed to have her dinner in her room/small living space with a calm atmosphere. She pretended that she was on a date with a charming, young man who didn't mind her baldness or the fact that she was turning into a Baragon. She put out a nice blanket, sprayed the room with perfume, poured wine into a small glass, lit candles, and wore nice pajamas. It may have just been a lacy, sheer robe, crop top, and pant combination, but it was just feminine enough to gain attention. Baragon was dressed in a nighttime jacket for pets and was happily eating his dessert. His bed now had a canopy made from tree branches to make him feel more at home. Nesi made doubly sure to make her dinner gourmet and opted for a marvelous German chocolate cheesecake to go with it. Banshee joined her for dinner again out of curiosity and took notice to how fancy Nesi could make things, but she got to wear a ladies' nightgown for a change. Ace was pacing angrily on the deck, thinking of other ways to claim revenge on the floor scrubber for screwing up their heist. Nesi was ignoring Ace entirely, no longer interested in plotting his death by drowning him.

"Man, I wish I could've bought that gramophone now!" Nesi complained.

"Why? It would've been destroyed on your trip down," Banshee said with a smirk. "You made the captain pretty mad, y'know. That was a lot of belly to turn down and a prison sentence we all could've got slammed with. What gives? Why stop us?"

"To be honest...," Nesi started, looking down at her knees. "It was what that man said about it that worried me. The cargo on that ship was worth way more than the currency you were so focused on. Even the marines on there were strong - way stronger than Ace took them for. If you had destroyed that ship or put a severe nick in that ship's route, you could've stopped hundreds to thousands of people from having homes."

"Homes? What the hell are you talking about?" Banshee asked.

"It was a lumber and housing ship. The cargo was equipment, materials, and tools for construction workers to build housing. I couldn't let you stop it! If the prize ship was just belly and jewels, I wouldn't have said anything but - ! I don't know. I... I couldn't let you do it. I'm sorry. Not if it effects other people like that. I was hoping to - "

"Yo, Nee-san!" Trey called, knocking on her door. "You got a letter from someone. It's marked with some kind of stamp. Are you with the World Government or something? A bat brought this letter."

"Huh?" Nesi questioned, shaking her head at the mere notion.

She stood up and opened the door to see Trey looking as confused as she was. She spotted the letter in his hand then looked to him with furrowed brows. Taking the letter into her hand, the bat flew in her room quickly and clung to the ceiling to watch her. She then saw why Trey had asked about her affiliation with the World Government. The envelope had the World Government's stamp on the back as a sealant, but there was another stamp on the front that caught her immediate attention. It was the same as that man's! How did he know she was on the Spadille in this direction? Opening the envelope quickly, she read through its contents and gasped.

"What is it?" Ace asked, disposition very gloomy and equally as angry.

Nesi jumped from the sound of his voice but continued to read through the letter until the very last line. She then said, "An update. That cargo ship you were trying to get really was a housing and lumber shipment to mainland territory. Construction started just last week. A couple of community housing groups were able to receive materials to improve the structures of low-income family homes! He was telling the truth! But..., I never got his name."

"It's not on the envelope?" Ace questioned angrily.

Nesi sighed with some frustration but replied, "No, it's just initials. Must be his, I guess. Who are you, mister?"

Ace was quiet, but he left once Nesi found other things in the envelope. It was a map and what sounded like a news article. Must've been more information about the cargo ship. It had to be! He didn't need to see the initials to know who the hell sent that letter. It was Pieter. He caught up to them! He's been following Nesi around ever since they met! How? He wanted to punch something, scream, rip the letter to shreds, anything to... stop her. Look at him... sounding like a complete hypocrite. Couldn't Nesi fulfill her dreams with them by her side? What was so wrong with her being a pirate? She's got the moxie to do it. She can survive on her own! She managed to outlive her stay on Sixis Island better than him and Deuce together! Wasn't that proof enough? What was so great about privateering? Just the money, status? They're government dogs just like those stupid warlords! Aren't they? He needed to be alone.

"You're angry, cap," Mihar stated, stopping Ace from entering his cabin.

"What're you talking about, Indoor?" Ace questioned.

"We know Nesi's not with the World Government. She doesn't like anyone from there, in particular, least of all if they're associated with the nobles who lived on her island. That letter is from someone else. Someone you know very well. Who was it from?" Mihar asked, folding his arms but giving Ace a patient look.

"I'll tell you inside. You may as well look at Nesi's studies. You can grade her papers if you want," Ace said, continuing his walk to the captain's cabin.

Inside, Mihar read over, checked, graded, and gave feedback for Nesi's work. She was an excellent student! Though Ace may loathe to accept or admit it, he was an impressive teacher. These advanced politics and philosophical studies went beyond the basic arithmetic and grammar and mechanics of language that he was used to. He knew Nesi's dream was to do away with the World Government as a ruling body, but he didn't think it required such intensive studying as this. What really was her dream then? To be a government figure herself? Wasn't Ace's dream to get rid of the World Government at some point? Was he raising his own enemy? However, regardless of all the questions he had, Ace was visibly upset at Pieter van der Does following them for so long. From what Mihar understood, Pieter had been interested in training Nesi since they disembarked on an island he was on. The lord, or wealthy man, had revealed that the devil fruit he told them to get was actually not a devil fruit at all. It was something else entirely. He made them go after this fake devil fruit, or the lizard peach, to see if Nesi was worthy of undergoing his tutelage. She was. While that wouldn't bother Mihar, Ace's explanation of how Nesi became bald and how her haki had been enhanced did raise one singular question.

"She's learning a lot. It's no wonder her speech has become more refined," Mihar offered, watching Ace's body language. "Even the duties you've given her make a lot of sense. We did notice that she went from a softspoken girl to a strong-willed woman. I thought it was just because she was around you and us. I didn't think it was because she was undergoing training. So, this Pieter guy has been following us just to train Nesi?"

"Yeah..."

"Why don't you want her to go with him? He knows what her dream is and how to help her fulfill it. Why aren't you letting her go?" Mihar asked.

It took Ace a while to answer but he finally said, "She's a pirate. Not some government dog or toy for them to use. She deserves to exist on her own like me! Like anyone! Like us! People out there deserve to learn about the world. You're good at teaching! I know you can make a difference to a lot of people, not just kids but adults who didn't get much growing up."

"Did you tell her any of that?" Mihar asked, smiling with some amusement. He wasn't mocking his captain. It just made more sense as to why he didn't go very far if Nesi was thrown off the ship. It made more sense as to why he wanted Nesi to join in for his birthday party. It made more sense as to why he didn't want Nesi to advance too much in her fighting capabilities. It was just a matter of when he was going to admit it for himself. Mihar then offered, "She obviously cares about you the way we do. You're normally supportive of everyone's dreams. Why not let her go?"

"I hate when she cooks fancy food sometimes," Ace replied, diverting from the question. "That's why I burn it. It's like a reminder that she's getting closer."

"Closer?" Mihar questioned, perking up at this. Wait... "You mean to her dreams?"

Ace clutched his fists and then hissed to himself, "You're a pirate, Nesi! We can overthrow the government together as long as you stay here! Don't you get it? They watched your parents die one by one! You don't owe them anything! Make a name for yourself without them! Why do you think we found each other?"

As Mihar watched Ace talk to himself, it became infinitely clearer as to why he was refusing to let Nesi go. It wasn't just a crush. He needed her to help him fight for the right to live. Forget the Revolutionary Army, forget the World Government, forget the One Piece. This was about what it meant to exist, to have been given the mercy of existing, and what you were going to do with the gift of life. Progression versus destruction. Which would win? When music cued up, Mihar heard cheering and the sounds of dancing on the deck. The crew was celebrating something. Even though Mihar hated the outside, Ace needed a pick-me-up.

So, he asked, "Well, that's not like you! You celebrate when someone's closer to their dreams. Nesi's out there dancing right now. Don't know why. We've been torturing her all day with gross chores. Why don't you drink with her? Dance around a bit? That's more like a pirate. Give her something to regret if she leaves us. Make her miss all the chores and your pranks. If all of this went away, if there was a free life to live, if there were no consequences to breaking the foundation of the universe down, what kind of life would you like to live? What about all of the friends you made? How would you like us to live in our old ages? What about you? How would Portgas D. Ace like to spend his days in old age?"

Ace just turned to his crewmate and looked at his smile...

Twenty years later...

"Daddy!" a little girl would cheer.

He would name her Camellia, the child born of perfect love. She would have icy blue hair, or maybe midnight blue because of his black tresses, and little dimples on her cheeks. She would wear a cute little dress and shoes, be as sweet as can be, and maybe have a big plushie in her arms. His boys would be hell on wheels, respectively. One tearing something up and the other running from a spanking. To which, a shoe would boomerang from inside of the house and knock the goofy out of the oldest brother.

"Ack!"

"What have I told you about leaving your toys on the floor? You could hurt yourself or someone else!" the strong voice of his beloved would roar.

He would laugh, remembering how small his wife was when they met. He would take his little girl in his arms and ask, "Hey, my little Lia. Say hi to Uncle Deuce!"

"Uncle!" Camellia would cheer, reaching out to hug Deuce.

"Oh, she's so cute!" Deuce would say, blushing at the girl's charm.

"Keystone, dad's home!" the youngest son would cheer with a snack in his mouth. He would twirl around on his foot and run up to hug Ace's leg. He would be the most like Luffy. In fact, the little one would probably ask about him all the time. "Is Uncle Luffy coming for dinner again?"

"I'm sure the Pirate King could spare a moment to see his nephew, twerp," Ace would reply, giving the boy a noogie. "We have two One Piece's now. Found you a necklace on my trip. Where's your mother?"

"In the kitchen making dessert. I ate some!" the boy cheered with a big smile. For someone so innocent and sweet, he could get into trouble in as little as thirty seconds.

"Angel!"

"Eep! Save me uncle!" Angel would say, hiding behind Deuce.

Ace would grin wide before heading up to his home. It'd be nice because his wife wouldn't allow for anything less than cozy or extravagant. Her garden had to be fully loaded with cooking herbs and flourishing crops of fruits and vegetables. No dead ingredients. At least 75% freshness at all times. Her kitchen had to be in the style of a master chef's and the dining room had to be styled like a restaurant. He would argue that he wanted a family setting to which she would comply... after physical activities of a sort. His wife would be found picking up clothes or blankets from the playroom floor while his most rambunctious son, Keystone (or Stony), was picking up toys after a proper spanking. The pink worm, Baragon, would be much larger but just as cute. He'd probably have his own shack or stable outside. His cute squawking would probably be hisses or proper roars for an aged lizard. Deuce would have his own wife running up to him for a kiss and a daughter of his own. Maybe he'd have that random reveal to his wife's identity. Maybe it'd be Isuka? She was nice and that would surprise everyone... except Ace.

"Mom! Dad's home!" Stony would say.

"Oh? Then maybe you'd like to explain to the captain why you've been misbehaving all week," his wife would say, lecturing the boy. "Professor Mihar was not impressed."

"BUT!" Stony would try, earning a glare from Ace. "I just wanted to hear dad's name on the radio... They were talking about him all week..."

"Brat!" Ace said with a bright smile. "Quit torturin' your mother and schoolteacher. You'll ruin my rep!"

"M-hm. Dinner's almost ready. Let your dad wash up, kids," his wife would say, wiping her hands on her apron.

He wasn't sure what would happen to her hair by then, but he pictured Nesi having some of her hair back. It wouldn't be as long, but it would still be that icy blue mess of curls and waves. Her scales would still decorate her skin and her eyes may even keep their silvery reptilian quality. He would still regret not preventing the loss of her finger, but he would never regret the day he finally confessed his feelings for her. On that day, she stayed by his side and they started their family all while remaining pirates. Though Nesi worked legitimate jobs to earn a steady keep, he was able to spoil her with unclaimed goods lost at sea. His pansy princess. He found some jewels for her this time.

"Squaw!" Baragon would greet, earning a smirk from him.

"Still plottin' my demise, worm?"

"Leave my snookums be!" Nesi lectured, throwing her hand at him. "Go wash up, captain. Is the cake ready, Isuka?"

"Yup. It's in the glass cabinet now. Rice is cooking now."

"You do know that rice only takes up to 20 mins, depending on the amount, yes?" Nesi asked, earning pure silence before the Deuce family scrambled about.

"Shoot!" Isuka screeched, running to the kitchen.

Before Nesi could follow her, Ace would take his wife's hand, pull her to him, and place a kiss on her lips. He would probably say something cheesy like, "I missed you."

"So does Schooner and Vangra. You haven't been at the Seafaring Husbands Club for weeks!" Nesi responding, earning a huff and more kisses. "Welcome home, captain."

"Babe," Ace said firmly, wanting to hear his real name.

"I missed you, too, my Ace. I love you..." Nesi would whisper sweetly with a light blush at their proximity.