Hello everyone, here is the next chapter
This is a bit short, but I hope it is good
Hope you enjoy
Read and relax
Ace took a breath as he moved towards the main deck, knowing Pops was out as Marco had said so, just meeting him as he walked out. And when he got there, Pops gave a look to him. "Ace, son, what brings you out so late?" It was late, closing in on midnight, and most were inside as it was chilly outside, having their own party. Ace took another breath. "I just… I could… I would like to speak with you." Pops nodded. "Of course, son. Want to do it in private?" Ace nodded, he would like that. Pops nodded too. "That's fine, let's head to my room." Ace nodded and headed after Pops, heading to his room. When they got there, Pops sat down in his chair, while Ace sat down in a smaller chair, not that far away from Pops.
When they were seated, Pops looked at him. "Now, son. You wanted to speak with me?" Ace nodded. He did, and he needed to find a way to find his words. He was still scared to tell Pops, but he hoped, and tried to tell himself, that it would go fine. "Y-yes. It's about why I ran away earlier…" He had done that earlier today, he knew he wasn't supposed to run away, but it gave him the opportunity to speak with Marco, which he needed too. It had felt good to speak with Marco. Ace shook his head a bit, he needed to fokus. Pops gave a look to him. "Why did you run away, son? You've never run away like that. You didn't do it to have fun. I hope nothing bad happened to make it happen." Ace sighed. Here goes. "It's just, people got a bit overbearing. They meant nice, they really did, but it just… got too much." Pops nodded. "I get it. A few can be like that. Why did it get overbearing? Why did you need to run away? Run away from us?" Ace let out a breath. "I didn't mean to run away, I just… needed a break from everything. And my room… I would have run there, but it had changed." His room was back to normal now having spoken with Vista earlier, who apologized multiple times for what he did, but it was fine. He only meant well. "Why did your room change, son?" Asked Pops, making Ace sigh. "It was Vista, he filled it with flowers. He did it since…" Ace wasn't sure if he could say it. Pops moved a hand to his leg. "Because of what? I know Vista is fond of flowers." Ace sighed again. Here goes.
"When I was younger, I didn't have it easy. Not that everyone does. But… things were hard for me, and I needed a way to deal with it. And I found a way…" Ace stopped for a second, needing to take a deep breath, Pops sitting silent as he did. "That was… it was to… harm myself. I don't know why it helped, but it did." Pops nodded slowly, a worried look on his face. "How did you harm yourself?" Ace took a deep breath. "I- I used to cut myself." Pops nodded. "I see. How does this connect to Vista and you running away? You have stopped this, I hope." Ace nodded. "I have, I promise. But, Vista found out- I told him- same with Izou, and Vista gave me all these flowers, and Izou gave me all these clothes, and kept hugging me. It just got too much… then Marco yelled at me..." Pops frowned. "Why did he yell at you?" Ace sighed. "He thought I messed with his paperwork. It wasn't me. We've spoken about it. I also told Marco about the…" Pops nodded. "That's good. I'm glad you told me, son. Is this why you always wear a sweater?" Ace nodded. "Y-yeah. I have a lot of scars." Pops nodded. "I get it. May I see? I want to see that you are fine." Ace nodded. He should show Pops, he deserved to see, he was his father after all. Ace moved to take his sleeve up, showing the mass of scars to Pops, who had a worried frown, before a hand moved to trace one of the butterflies. "What is this? I didn't know you had a tattoo, or tattoos." Ace nodded. "I do. It's from my brothers, the ones I grew up with. They placed them on my arm and told me to not kill them."
Whitebeard nodded, and his finger moved to a butterfly that was killed, making Ace let out a breath. "I killed a few… when… Sabo, my brother, died when I was young." Pops gave a comforting look. "I see. I am sorry you lost your brother. But know we are all here for you, and love you, even though you have your scars. It doesn't change what we feel about you." Ace nodded. "I know. Or I try and tell it to myself. I just feel… ashamed." Ace moved his head down with that, and it wasn't long before a finger came and lifted it so he could look at Pops face. "Don't feel ashamed. You have nothing to be ashamed for. You have scars, everyone does. You got yours doing a thing you shouldn't do again, I would much rather you come to one of us, be it night or day. We don't want you to hurt yourself." Ace nodded. "I won't do it again, I am done with it. I just don't like the scars." Pops nodded. "That's good. And the scars are a part of you. Don't be ashamed of that." Ace sighed. He knew he should, but he felt awful for having done what he did, and lowered his head a bit. But it was soon lifted again as Pops moved a finger under his chin, lifting his head. "Know you never need to be ashamed of past mistakes. It is the past, we need to look at the future now, not the past." Ace nodded, feeling a smile grace his lips. Pops knew what to say to make him feel better.
He then sat and spoke with Pops a bit more, before he left to get some shut eye, and as he was walking to his room, he met Marco again, who gave a hum to him. "How did it go?" Ace nodded. "It went fine. We had a nice chat." Marco nodded. "Good good. Who are you thinking of telling next?" Ace sighed. "I don't know. There's so many here." Marco nodded. "I know, but know we all care for you." Ace nodded, feeling a sheepish smile go on his face. "I know. That's what makes this so hard. I feel bad about this." Marco nodded. "And I get it. But we would never judge you for past mistakes or action, yoi." Ace nodded, he knew that, and Pops had said the same. "I know, and I will try my best. It is just a lot to take in." Marco nodded. "I get it. I do. But know we would never think any less of you, yoi." Ace nodded, that was what he was scared of, to be thought less off. But he trusted Marco, and he knew everyone cared. He just needed to find out who to tell next and work his way around. He spoke a bit more with Marco, before he left to his room, feeling well. He had managed to speak with Pops, which was everything.
And that's the chapter, hope you enjoyed
This was a bit short, but I hope it was good. And I wondered,if you guys have any wishes of who to be next? Please leave a comment if you have someone in mind and I will do my best
If you have any scenes you would like to see, don't be afraid to leave a comment
And I love feedback too; it is what keeps me going!
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