Chapter 8
The Purpose Justifies The Means
Calypso carefully studied the faces of the many occupants in the room, growing more and more horrified when noticing the suspicion present in some of them. A quick glance at Ace told her that, even though he could see the same thing, he couldn't realize the possible complications it may have had for them. Feeling a sudden wave of helplessness washing over her she stood up and, throwing a meaningful glare at Shakky, ran to her room with Ebony close behind.
That last look didn't go unnoticed by the people in the bar who instantly turned to the barwoman, expecting an answer to an unvoiced question. Said barwoman simply ignored them and turned her attention to the remaining person sitting on the sofa, who seemed to look at her from under his hat with mischievous amusement in his shadowed eyes.
"What's wrong with Calypso?"
The finally voiced question coming from the green-haired girl got her attention away from the pirate who wasted no time standing up and making his way to them, stopping between the girl and the fishman, and giving the two cups to Shakky. Then he turned to the girl who kept looking at him with wide eyes.
"There's nothing wrong with Cal. She just doesn't like her love life being out in the open without her consent."
After he was sure that the girl believed him, he looked at Shakky.
"I'll go see if she's alright."
A nod from the woman, and he was casually walking towards the wooden door at the back of the building while whistling a cheerful tune.
Once inside the candlelit room, he looked for the witch. A bundle of blankets in the middle of the bed was an instant giveaway, so he grabbed the only chair lying around and placed it in front of the bed, the back of it facing the bundle. Sitting on it he crossed his arms on top of the chair's back and rested his chin on them.
"You alright?"
No answer came from the little mass of blankets and that caused him to sigh.
"Come on, Cal, answer me. Whatever you're mad about, you know it isn't my fault."
Even more silence.
"Calypso, I swear. If you don't say something, I'll come over there and cuddle you."
A muffled sound from inside the cocoon forced another sigh out of the boy.
"That's it. You asked for it."
With a swift move he was on top of the bed, tagging at blankets here and there in an attempt to open a way to the girl who seemed determined not to allow this to happen. Seeing that there was no other option, Ace allowed his fires to cover his fingertips and carefully brushed the blanket in front of him with them, watching how his flames were eating through the dark blue fabric to give him access to the lower layers. It didn't take long for the girl to throw the covers away and send him an accusatory glare.
"Stop that."
"Stop what?"
"Burning my blankets."
"Well, I was left with no other option."
She narrowed her eyes even more.
"Except burning them?"
"You could always be helpful and come out. Then no blankets would have been harmed."
She was now staring at him with a blank exception.
"Come out and let you cuddle me? No way."
He grinned.
"Why, what's so strange? We're a couple now. Couples are supposed to cuddle."
"Mister Portgas, we are by no means a couple."
His answer was a pout and a murmur.
"We could be..."
Silence.
"I couldn't hear what you said but I suspect it was something stupid. Anyway, can you, please, move away from me now? I need to see the extent of the damage you caused."
The still pouting pirate moved aside and crossed his legs. Meanwhile, Calypso was occupying herself with unfolding one blanket after another and moving her hands all over them. When she was done, she looked back at him again.
"You completely ruined my favorite blanket."
He looked away from her.
"I told you, you could have come out and no blankets would have been harmed."
"I never expected you'd burn them!"
He looked at her dead in the eyes, his own two burning orbs.
"And I never expected you to push me away again."
She looked down when she heard his answer, embarrassed and guilty.
"I'm sorry. I guess it's more difficult than I originally thought to trust someone."
He remained silent for a while.
"It's alright, I'm not mad at you or something. I know it's not easy, but I want you to try."
She looked up slowly.
"Can I make it up to you somehow?"
He thought for a moment and then grinned one of those huge grins of his that spelled more trouble for her.
"I am hesitant to ask what your little brain planned this time."
His grin grew even more.
"Get dressed. We're going out."
A slight blush covered her cheeks.
"I can't! You're in here!"
"I promise I won't look."
"As if that's reassuring enough..."
"Now you hurt me. Here, look at me. I'm taking this chair and going to sit over there on the desk with my back on you."
Ace did as he said and soon the only thing Calypso could see was his shirt and the back of his hat. Quickly the girl was on her feet and, throwing a last glance at the boy, she started getting rid of her pajamas. While on her underwear she looked behind her once more to make sure Ace was still not looking at her before moving to one of the purple fabrics falling beautifully from the ceiling, which she proceeded to push aside to reveal a wardrobe. Opening it, she grabbed a pair of black tight pants and her usual black corset that was leaving her stomach uncovered and she tied the little ribbons on the front so it was fitting her tightly too. Moving her hair to the side to ease her access to the ribbon in the back of her neck she looked at the mirror in the inside of the wardrobe's door and opted to keep them as they were. Smiling at her decision, she finger-combed her curls to untangle them, giving them a certain volume and making sure they'd remain in place, with the exception of some rebellious little curls that fell on her back to dance playfully with every move of her head. Pleased enough with the result, she took the deep red cloth that was hanging from one of the furniture's doors and placed it over her hips so that it was covering one side while being held in place by a knot on the other. Lastly, she wore her high-heeled boots with the red strands and her big circle earrings made from black gold which she stole from an old lady a few months ago. She was in the process of renewing her lipstick when she heard the cricking of the chair and looked back. Ace was still looking away from her.
"Are you ready?"
She quickly made sure everything was in place.
"Yes. Just give me a second to grab my cloak."
"No cloaks."
The pirate's voice sounded angry and that made her raise her eyes to see that he was now looking straight at her with a serious expression.
"No cloaks."
He repeated, his voice calmer now, but the demand still audible.
"Can I at least take my gloves with me?"
"You can take anything, except that cloak."
She smirked at him.
"You really hate that cloak, don't you?"
"It messes with my view, remember?"
She blushed.
"After all, you're too beautiful right now to ruin it with that cloak."
She blushed and glared at him.
"Let's just go, Ace. The sooner we go out, the sooner we'll be done with whatever it is you're planning."
He smiled, walking to her and grabbing her hand, causing a small yelp to escape her lips, then tagged her towards the door.
"Let's go."
Ebony, who had been watching them both all this time, flew to sit on Calypso's uncovered shoulder the moment Ace was opening the door.
When they entered the bar they both noticed that the people that were previously sitting on the bar stools were now scattered all over the place. Shakky was the first one to notice their entrance since she was the closest to the door and she turned to face them, her black eyes immediately falling on their joined hands. Smiling happily, she looked up and bent slightly to rest herself on her bar in a casual manner.
"Where are you two going?"
Before Calypso had any chance to answer, Ace turned to the woman and gave her a smile.
"We're going on a date."
His reply got the attention of everyone present and won Ace a soft smack on the back of his neck from the now fuming girl behind him. Laughing at the reaction he got from the witch, he continued his way through the bar and out to the warm sunny day of the Sabaody Archipelago.
••••••
They were a good distance away from Shakky's when he felt a tag on his arm, and he looked back only to see Calypso had slowed down her pace and was chewing on her bottom lip, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Ace slowed his own pace too and soon he was walking side by side with her. Noticing the new arrangement, the girl raised her eyes in question, causing the boy to chuckle.
"Just tell me what's on your mind, Cal."
"Why did you say we're going on a date?"
"Why, aren't we?"
She frowned.
"Ace, please."
"Fine, fine, I'll stop. I said that to mess with you. I told you before, you're fun to tease."
He smiled and she pushed her lips together.
"We're not going on a date then. Does this mean you're, perhaps, going to let my hand go soon?"
He looked down at their hands as if noticing them for the first time and felt the heat rising on his face at the sight. Quickly, he let her hand go and watched how she immediately used it to tag at a short curl that was falling on her cheek.
"Is it that bad to hold my hand?"
She bit her lips again.
"It just feels...strange."
"I see..."
They continued like this for a while, a comfortable silence around them, until Calypso talked again.
"Where are we going?"
He grinned.
"Shopping."
The girl looked at him surprised.
"Shopping?"
"I do owe you a blanket."
"You have no money Ace, how are you going to get me a blanket?"
He said nothing to answer her. He simply smiled.
"Fine, keep your secrets. Just know that since we're already going to the mall it's time for you to buy some more clothes."
It was his turn to be surprised. Surprised and horrified.
"I need no more clothes."
"Is Mister Portgas afraid of shopping?"
He paused for a moment.
"No."
"Then we're getting you some new clothes."
"Do you have something in mind?"
She smiled innocently.
"Maybe..."
"I think I'm in quite a lot of trouble right now."
"We shall see."
With this said she quickened her pace and walked ahead of him, her hands joined together behind her back. Ace was immediately after her, asking questions that were left unanswered since the girl was too busy humming a song only she seemed to know.
••••••
It was in that fashion that they arrived at the mall. Calypso was walking in the front, leading the way through the crowd, and Ace followed her, his eyes never leaving her back in fear of being separated from her.
Soon after they arrived at the huge building, Calypso stopped in front of a shop with its window filled with male mannequins dressed in modern clothes. Smiling a rare genuine smile, the thief turned to look at the pirate behind her.
"We're here. I'm sure you're going to find some things you'll like in this shop."
"You sound too sure."
Calypso simply pointed at one of the mannequins that was wearing a hat similar to his.
"Alright, maybe you have a reason to be sure."
"Shall we go in, then?"
They entered the shop and only then did Ace realize exactly how much trouble he was in. They just arrived and Calypso was already roaming around the many shelves, grabbing stuff from left and right and creating a well-balanced pile on top of her right hand. Ace was not stupid. He knew he'd be forced to try each and every one of the clothes and possibly also be forced to parade with them in front of Calypso so she could share her opinions. The only positive thing he could find in this scenario was that this was a pretty good chance to show off his good looks to her. This tempting idea made him smile enough for the girl to give him a suspicious look before shoving the clothes on his face and pointing to the very back of the shop.
"The fitting room is back there. Make sure you try everything and don't forget to come out so I can see too."
She started toward where she was pointing but stopped when she realized Ace was not following her. Huffing, she walked back and started shoving him and maneuvering him around the isles until they were standing in front of a white curtain. With a last shove, Ace found himself inside a very small space with mirrors in every wall and only the white curtain to separate him from the girl who seemed to enjoy torturing him a little bit too much if the happy tune she was humming had anything to do with the situation.
A flapping of wings above his head made him look up through the mirror and notice that Ebony had made himself comfortable on top of the rod the curtain was hanging from.
"Seems like I have no other choice, right bird?"
The bird simply cawed and unfolded one wing to point at the clothes in his arms.
"Don't worry. I will do whatever your Mistress wishes me to. There's no escaping it anyway with you watching over me."
This seemed to please the raven which proudly puffed its chest as if stating that it would indeed do anything the girl sitting on the other side of the curtain asked. The picture of Calypso sitting outside waiting suddenly caused an amusing idea to appear in the pirate's mind and a mischievous grin to appear on his face. Losing no time, he grabbed the first thing on his pile and tried it on. He was determined to make the pink-haired witch blush like she never had before.
Three hours and many arguments later the pirate, the thief and the raven left the shop with four bags filled with colorful shirts and trousers. To Ace's amusement, Calypso did end up blushing once or twice throughout the whole ordeal, but it was only for a moment and never too much. Most of the time they spent disagreeing about which shirts suited him better and if the trousers were the right length and shape. Their greatest argument, though, happened in front of the cash register since they were both too stubborn to let the other pay. In the end, Ebony had to peck their heads with his beak and caw angrily so they could come to an agreement to pay half and half.
Once they were done and out in the open again, Calypso noticed that they took more time than she had originally planned only in one shop, and so she sent Ace away with Ebony to buy her a new blanket because he kept reminding her for a while now. She herself left alone to buy something she needed and instructed they'd meet again at the entrance of the mall in one hour.
It was after an hour that Calypso arrived at the meeting place with a package under her arm and a small bag among the ones she was already carrying from the first shop. Ace and Ebony were waiting for her with a new, quite big, bag placed on top of a bench where the pirate and bird were resting. Well, Ebony was resting. Ace was actually fast asleep with his head dropped back and his hat over his face to block the light. Calypso sighed and coughed loudly in an attempt to wake him up without having to resort to more violent means. Another louder cough and the pirate was awake and looking up at her as if wondering when she got here. Shaking her head, Calypso used her head to point at the bag next to him.
"This thing is huge. What did you buy?"
"A blanket for two."
"Huh? Why two?"
"It was the only one both me and the bird agreed on."
She blinked, looking from Ace to Ebony and back.
"If you both agree, I have a feeling I won't have any complaints. Anyway, we shall go back before Shakky starts wondering why we're taking so long."
Ace smiled knowingly.
"I doubt she'll have a problem, but whatever. If you wish for us to go, then we shall go."
He bowed slightly and motioned to the door with his free hand. The girl just rolled her eyes at his antics but walked away anyway.
"Thank you, Mister Portgas. Although keep in mind that your courtesies are not necessary with me."
"This is only for me to decide."
His reply caused another argument to take place between them, this one more playful than any other they had until now.