Summary: after (Y/N)'s older brother is murdered in cold blood she traverses the cold mountains of her island in an attempt to escape, only to be saved by some unsuspecting heroes.
I am re-posting this on my new account. This is my work! Im having to build my blog from scratch because my old one was hacked
The cold bit into my skin as I do my best to remain awake. Despite being raised in such a cold climate and learning how to live with it I found myself being caught unawares and unprepared. Trudging through the cold windy mountains with nothing on my feet to protect them from the snow and ice. I couldn't feel my toes anymore, my feet starting to turn blue.
My hair no longer blew in the wind, frozen to my skull along with my tears. I shiver violently as my body tries to warm me up. I turned to look behind me, even from the mountain side through the snow that was whipping around me I could see my village in flames. My vision was so blurry it almost looked like the sun was rising, but I knew I wasn't that lucky.
I tried desperately to make it to the other side of the island, hoping that I could find a way off it and away from all the carnage and death as I thought about how I got here.
It was definitely a rude awakening when I was suddenly shaken awake by my older brother, yanking me out of bed and out the back door as we began trudging through the snow towards the mountains with no explanation as to why, but once I was outside, seeing the fresh warm blood melting what was once pristine white snow. The ground riddles with cannonballs and bullets while some were still flying in every which way I suddenly understood why we didn't have time to put on our shoes.
Houses were burning to the ground as families screamed inside trying to find a way out. And for those who had made it out they were too busy trying to stop the bleeding of loved ones.
Even though we had only been outside for a few moments I could already feel myself shivering in my light sleeping clothes. My brother holds me tightly by my hand as he drags me around as fast as he can, probably bruising it. We were weaving through small alleyways and streets trying to avoid whoever was attacking, but with all the snow falling you couldn't see three feet in front of you. That being said, it had been made very clear it was pirates. Despite living in the new world we didn't fall under any Emperor's protection, and we almost never saw marines aside from the occasional ship doing to re-supply. But for the most part, If any ship ever ended up here they are almost always off course. We were very close to the calm belt and pretty close to the red line, hence we are pretty out of the way.
Being a small winter island in an out of the way corner of the world came with many benefits. We almost never saw pirates, our island wasn't anywhere on the way to the final island so there wasn't a point to coming here, and the lack of pirates meant a blatant lack of Marines, we were never in danger so it was never needed. At least never needed until now.
I was panting heavily from running around our small little village but trying my damndest to be quiet so we wouldn't be caught. I could hear loud laughing when suddenly my brother stopped just as we were about to leave an ally causing me to run into his back.
I gasped quietly as I stood behind him. I couldn't clearly make out what I was seeing, but from the sound of pained screams and cruel laughing I figured I didn't really want to know.
I hid my face in my brother's back avoiding whatever he was staring at, not wanting to witness the death of my friends. I could feel him start to shiver as he slowly crouched down, leading me down with him till I was on my knees, but I knew he wasn't shivering from the cold, he was shivering from pure unbridled fear.
"(Y/N), we need to be quiet and we need to be fast. We have to sneak by them and get to the mountains, once we get past them we will be able to find a boat on the other side and run. Do you understand me?"
I quietly nodded into his back, wanting to avoid making any sound that could get us found.
Slowly, while still being crouched down we moved out of the dark alley. The carnage was now clearly in my line of sight but I stared at the wall of the building we were crouching beside. The last thing I wanted to see was the corpses of my friends. The thought brought tears to my eyes.
"We're almost there, just a little more."
I try to quiet my sniffles. The fires that had been spreading started to illuminate the village as if it were broad daylight, and the soft crunch of the snow under my numb feet seemed louder than ever while we were trying to sneak around unnoticed. Unsuccessfully
"HEY!!!!!"
My brother whipped his head around looking behind us. He froze for a few seconds before looking down at me with panic all over his face and fear in his eyes. Like he knew something I didn't.
"RUN!!"
We bolt off as fast as our legs would carry us into the tree that surrounds the mountains. In a brief moment of bravery I turned back to try and get a look at who was chasing us and for a split second it looked like a girl with long, half up hair in some kind of robe, pointing a gun at us. But I couldn't make out any proper details.
Just as I turn back around and run with my brother I hear the shot of her pistol.
"ARGGGGGGGGH"
My brother screams as the bullet narrowly misses me and hits his left shoulder blade. He released my hand from his crushing grip as he collapsed on the ground, clutching his shoulder in pain.
I'm about to get down beside him and help before he yanks me in front of him.
"RUN (Y/N), DON'T LOOK BACK JUST RUN!!!!"
Tears pour down my cheeks as I feel my brother's warm blood stain the snow and caress my bare feet, warming them but sending a chill up my spine.
"No, I d-don't want to l-leave you."
My voice was choked with sobs, as I looked past him and saw the shooter calling over more of her crew.
"You need to go. Find the boat on the other side of the mountains and run, don't stop till you find the marines and trust no one."
"I can't!!!"
I couldn't stop the hiccups that came out as I begged him to get up and come with me, to hold on and run with me.
My heart was beating a mile a minute. I swear it was about to explode.
"Please (Y/N), I can't watch you die, run. Live for me, find peace for me."
His voice cracked as he begged me to run. I could slowly see that light fading from his eyes. The blood poured out of his shoulder like a waterfall. The bullet had clearly hit an artery. I sobbed loudly as I clung to him begging him not to leave me and to get up.
"HE'S DOWN, GRAB HER!!!"
I look up to see several of the pirates making their way over to me and my brother, the woman no longer pointing her guns but still holding them. Now she was accompanied by three incredibly tall and muscular men, all coming out of the town and making their way over to us. But now that she was closer, her voice sounded more like a man's.
I looked down at my brother again, seeing his pale skin and his dark lifeless eyes grow cold as ice. I gently kissed his forehead with shaky lips before getting up and running as fast as I could, regardless of my gut reaching sobs and hiccups.
I could hear them chasing after me, yelling and telling me to stop. Once I was in the tree line I started to zig zag through the trees, trying to be as quiet as possible while also avoiding being shot but as I ran I didn't hear any shots being fired, probably trying to conserve bullets. Once I was a ways up the ridge I looked back to see the flames engulfing my home had grown exponentially.
I no longer heard the yells of the pirates chasing me but I didn't want to risk it, they could have gone quiet to try and sneak up on me, so I continued up the mountain as cold rocks and ice cut into the souls of my feet. I was clearly making bloody footprints making it easy to follow but if I'm lucky I'll make it to the boats quickly. The trail would be useless once I'm out to sea.
I continue hiking up the mountain shivering like a scared lamb, all alone while my consciousness begins to fade. Black spots started to appear in my vision, fading and reappearing. Between my fading vision and the darkness of the woods at the dead of night I could feel myself fading bit by bit.
It couldn't have been more than another minute before I collapsed into the cold snow like a boulder in the sea.
"N-no….. I-I can't… d-di-e.. h-here~"
My voice faded into a whisper as I black out, unable to move any further. But before I had completely passed out I saw a brilliant bright light of blue and gold.
Maybe this was the end of me. I could feel my last tear fall, sad I couldn't fulfill my promise to my brother, I guess now I could apologize in person.
—————————————
Consciousness came to me slowly, my body felt numb like it was full of pins and needles all over my body, my extremities especially. I tried to move, lifting my hand only for it to feel like lead. I tried to open my eyes, only to shut them just as quickly from the brightness of the room I was in.
I groaned in pain, even just trying to move a little bit hurt. Warm tears moved down my cheeks. Small sobs escaped my throat. I felt something small hop up on my bed, I felt what seemed like a small paws brush on my thighs over and over. Normally I would find it comforting but instead it hurt with every swipe of the little paw. A quiet whine came from what I now assumed was a small dog.
On one hand I was glad I wasn't dead, but on the other hand I didn't know it was possible to be in this much pain while alive.
Through my small sobs and the whines from the dog I didn't hear the creak of a door opening or the gentle footsteps coming closer to the bed. It wasn't until I heard the dog by my side bark and growl a little at the new stranger I even noticed someone was in the room.
"Quit it Stefan."
It wasn't until I felt the bed dip from the man sitting down beside me that I tried to open my eyes to see who was there but it was all still too bright. Soft hiccups left my lips now as I cried and tried to speak to this stranger.
"Shhhh, pretty girl. It's ok. Deep breaths."
The man above me gently cooed as he gently ran his fingers through my hair, giving my scalp a light massage. I tried to do what he suggested and took a deep breath, holding it for a second and letting it out again.
"There we go, atta girl~."
After a few more deep breaths I tried to open my eyes again, I did it slowly and kept my eyes squinted, I could make out tan skin and an orange, what I assumed to be a hat, on the man's head.
"Ohh, it's too bright isn't it, here, gimme a sec."
The weight was lifted off the bed and the dog gave another little bark at the man. I heard the sound of shades being drawn and the light shining through my eyelids diminishes.
The man walks over and sits beside me again. I felt his unusually warm hand being pressed to my cheek.
"Lets try opening those lovely eyes again, huh?"
I slowly started to open my eyes again, after a second of adjustment and waiting for my tears to slow. Now that the shades had been drawn and the room was just lit by a few candles I looked up to see a handsome man with a big grin looking down at me.
Now that I could see him properly I saw his incredibly toned skin, skin that just so happened to not have a shirt on it. He had a dark red beaded necklace around his neck and an orange hat on top of soft black locks. Looking over to the paws on my legs I saw a little white dog with a crescent moon mustache.
Looking back over to the handsome man I tried to ask him where I was and what had happened. The last thing I remember was seeing a bright light before passing out in the snow. But when I tried to speak all that came out was sad little whimpers that hurt my throat. It was like I had razor blades inside of my throat.
More hot tears fell from my eyes at the pain, I tried to lift my hand up to my throat but it also wouldn't move.
"Ohhh, Shhhhhh sweet girl, it's ok, it's ok. Just breathe, I'm going to go get someone who can help you, ok?
I nodded as much as I could as my head fell back onto the pillow as I closed my eyes again, trying to manage with the pain as much as I could. I could hear his footsteps walk out and the quiet latching of the door being shut again as I tried to comprehend what was happening and how I got here in the first place.
As the sobs left my body I faintly heard the dog the man called Stefan whine a little as he crawled over to my face, resting his little head on my pillow and licking away my tears for me. I close my eyes, hoping to fall asleep and wake up in my own bed and realise it was all a really bad dream.
After a few minutes I opened my eyes again when I heard footsteps outside my room before the door began to creak open. The shirtless man came back but this time he wasn't alone. Another man with blonde hair and an open button up shirt and a blue tattoo on his chest…… a tattoo I recognized.
When the other man closed the door I saw the large purple tattoo on his back, the mark of Whitebeard. I was with pirates.
I began to thrash around as much as I could, which really wasn't much but it was enough to have Stefan jump off of the bed. My breathing was uneven as I started to hyperventilate as I tried to get up to run away but all I was really able to do was to push the blanket off of me a little before the blonde instructed the other man, who he called Ace to hold me down.
Ace ran over to me moving in behind me so I was leaning against his back as his two strong hands held onto my wrists. The blonde instructed him to move me into a sitting position that was less than comfortable but it wasn't as bad as when I finally saw why I was in so much pain.
My fingers, toes and parts of my legs and arms were purple, a clear sign of serious frostbite. No wonder I was in so much pain. but what was I expecting? Passing out on a snowy mountain in your PJ's was bound to do some serious damage. Tears continued to fall as I 'thrashed' to get out of his grip which was really more like a weak fish flopping around on land then thrashing.
I knew there was no point, my meager strength was nothing compared to a seasoned pirate, but there was no way I wouldn't try.
"Marco, do something!"
I saw the blonde 'Marco' walk over to me with a syringe filled with some kind of liquid, making me try and ‘thrash’ around even more. As he got closer Ace pinned down one of my arms to the bed. I began shaking my head back and forth as much as I could, begging them to stop. Speaking through the pain.
"....N-no, please….. n-o."
I could barely get the words out as I begged them not to do anything.
"Shhhhh, Baby Bird. You're ok. We aren't going to hurt you."
I couldn't help my body trembling as he motioned for Ace to hand him my arm.
"Deep breath, Firefly, just take some deep breaths with me."
I could feel Ace's chest rise and fall as he took some deep breaths, encouraging me to do the same.
At first I refused, keeping my eyes trained on Marco and the syringe in his hand, waiting for him to stick me with it, wondering what it would do.
But after a minute or two of him staring calmly into my eyes, massaging my wrist with his hand with a feather light touch so as not to do any more damage, I couldn't help but calm down as Ace helped me breathe. Partially because what little energy I had, had been exhausted.
"There we go, Little Bird~. This is just gonna help you sleep a little so I can fix you up a little more."
Ace began to gently rock me back and forth in his arms as Marco managed my wrist, slowly bringing the syringe closer and closer.
Ace nudged my cheek with his, pushing my head to look away from Marco.
"It's ok, Firefly. It's just gonna help you nap a little, you'll be up before supper."
Before I could even whimper, I felt a slight pinch in my arm before everything went black second later.
—————————————
Waking up a second time was a little less painful than before, if not a little more panicked. I was able to sit up by myself after a few minutes of struggling. Once I was up I looked down to see my hands. They were wrapped in bandages that went up most of my arms, the same bandages going up my legs, I could also feel them wrapped around my middle. I was so distracted with my contention I didn't hear anyone come in.
"Good to see ya finally up. We didn't think the dose Marco gave you would last too long but we were clearly wrong. You musta just been really tired, not that anyone would blame you."
I gasp as I look up and see a tall man with brown hair that was styled into a very exaggerated pompadour, a goatee, a large scar by his eye and wearing chef's clothes with a yellow bandana around his neck.
"The name’s Thatch. I'm Whitebeard's fourth division commander, I also just so happen to be the cook here on the Moby Dick."
My mouth hung open as I tried to figure something out to say, I couldn't help the trembling as another member of the Whitebeard Pirates sat in front of me. Talking to me as if we were friends.
I looked down at my hands again, not knowing what to say to him. All I could do was fiddle with the bandages only for a large hand to engulf both of mine, making me look back up at Thatch.
"Better not, Marco would have my head if I let you take off your bandages. He did his best to heal you but couldn't heal all of it, your frostbite was super extensive especially on your poor little feet. He applied some kind of cream all over the parts he couldn't fix right away before he applied the bandages. It would be best to just let it soak in and let it work its magic."
He gave me a little wink before I slowly nodded at him, trying to subtly pull my hands away from him.
His one hand completely eclipses both of mine but he didn't let me pull away, instead he held a little tighter not letting me go while giving me a little smirk when I looked back up at him.
"Come on, Buttercup, we better get some food into ya, you can't heal with an empty belly."
Once he mentioned food I realized how hungry I actually was, not just hungry but really thirsty too. I nodded a little, keeping my head down as I tried to swing my legs over the edge of the bed to stand up only for Thatch to let go of my hands to wrap his arm around my shoulders and one under my knees.
I flinched and yelped a little as he hosted me into his arms, my back was fine but my legs and sides throbbed with pain.
He cringed a little at the sound I made when he picked me up.
"Sorry, Buttercup, I know it hurts but trust me, having you walk right now would be a hundred times worse."
I begrudgingly nodded my head. As much as I didn't like being carried around, especially by a pirate on their ship, if just being picked up hurt this bad I didn't want to know how much it would hurt to actually attempt to walk around.
Thatch smiled down at me and started to walk to the door, the second he opened it after adjusting me a little I heard barking.
I looked down to see the little dog Stefan jumping up at me, his front paws resting on Thatchs legs.
I could feel the rumble of Thatches chest as he laughed at the little dog's antics.
"We had to keep him out of your room because he kept trying to take your bandages off, he really doesn't like them for some reason. But he's been guarding your room ever since we kicked him out."
Thatch walked down the long corridor and up a down flight of stairs. Stefan follows close behind. As he walked up onto the main deck I had to squint my eyes. I didn't recognize where I was but I wasn't too surprised considering I was on a ship in the middle of the new world. But I did know one thing, I was nowhere near my home.
You could see nothing but sea from all angles, no land for miles most likely. \The sun had dispersed now and the moon shone brightly, the sea reflecting the light from it and the stars.
"Hey, Firefly! You're awake!"
Ace jumped off the railing of the ship and ran over to us like a bat out of hell. I flinched back as he came closer and reached his hand out to touch me before his face flashed with concern, looking over to Thatch.
"What did you expect, Fire Fist?"
He rolled his eyes but before he could say anything someone cut him off.
"She's hurt, in a new place and surrounded and being carried by new people. Slow it down Ace."
Thatch turned slightly and I was just able to see over his shoulder, Marco was walking over to us.
Ace nodded sheepishly. Marco walked in front of me, hunching over so that we were face to face, not giving me a whole lot of breathing room considering his last statement.
"How are you feeling, Baby Bird? Woozy, dizzy, nauseous, any really bad pain?"
I tried to turn my face away, almost nuzzling into Thatches chest but Marco cupped my cheek with his hand, gently forcing me to look at him. He lifted his other hand to my face, cupping it entirely and slowly turning my head side to side ever so slightly. His eyes clinically examined every inch of my face.
He raised his eyebrow a little once he was done examining, now looking me dead in the eye waiting for me to respond to his question. Thatch gave me a little nudge, silently encouraging me to answer him.
"I.... I feel…. f-fine."
My voice was barely above a whisper. Marco tilted his head at me, clearly waiting for me to say more. After a few more seconds of silence Thatch decided to speak up.
"Come on Marco, like you said, she's scared. I bet she'll feel more talkative once she gets some food in her system."
He signed but nodded, backing up a little, releasing my cheeks from his palms after giving them a few strokes with his thumbs.
Thatch smiled down at me as I curled into myself as much as I could while being held and without hurting myself too much. It was uncomfortable being so close to so many dangerous and world renowned pirates.
Thatch walked over to a pair of double doors, flipped around and pushed them open with his back and walked down a small flight of stars and into a Galley, but not before shooing Stefan away, saying no dogs were allowed.
Thatch walked through the large galley with Marco and Ace following close behind once down I took a look around. The Galley was completely empty. It made sense, with it being dark, everyone would have had dinner by now probably winding down and doing some last minute chores before bed.
Thatch went through another pair of doors leading to a beautiful kitchen. He walked over to a countertop, gently setting me down on top of it before he turned and started to cook.
I shivered as the cold counter touched the part of my bare thighs that wasn't covered in bandages. Ace and Marco stepped into the kitchen not too long after us.
Ace quickly noticed the goosebumps that had spread all over my skin almost instantly.
"Well that just won't do."
He hopped up onto the counter beside me and grabbed my waist, hoisting me to sit on his lap. I yelped loudly, partly in pain and partly in shock, making Thatch look over his shoulder from his cooking only to smirk and look back once he knew I was 'safe'. At least in his terms anyway. On my terms on the other hand, this was less than ideal.
I adjusted myself in his lap a little but with his strong arms wrapped tightly around my stomach there wasn't much I could do. He rested his chin on my shoulder lightly.
He felt warm, almost too warm, as if he had a fever. His body heat began to smother away the cold from the room.
After a minute small flames appeared all over his arms. It took me a second to notice, and when I did I didn't believe it for a second, it must have been some kind of stress induced hallucination. But when they didn't go away I quickly realized that Ace was in fact on fire and I screamed bloody murder causing Marco who was leaning against the counter to look over to me from the clipboard I didn't even notice he had and Thatch who was still making me food to look over at us as well.
As I panic, screaming for him to let me go and trying to get out of his arms while simultaneously trying to avoid the flames before I get burned.
I could hear Thatch laugh at my poor attempt to get away. I was clearly weaker than Ace but the injuries and pain from the jerky, aggressive movement didn't help my struggle.
I didn't understand what was so funny. One of his cremates had just erupted into flames with me held in a vice grip and he was laughing. If I wasn't so scared and badly injured I would try to smack him, pirate or not.
Marco was much more sympathetic to my fear but still didn't give the reaction this kind of situation clearly warranted.. He stepped in front of me, holding my hands that had been trying to shove Ace's arms away from me, bringing my knuckles to his lips despite my harsh yanking.
"Shhhhh, Baby Bird. You're ok. Calm down."
"L-Let me g-go!!!!"
Ace leaned his head back to my shoulder after he had pulled it away when I started struggling, pressing his lips into my ear and whispering softly.
"It's ok, Firefly, just calm down for a second. Focus on Marcos hands, on my voice."
After another second of panic I calmed down a little, my eyes blurred with tears. Thought it was less me calming down and more me losing what little stamina and energy I still had.
Marco and Ace kept talking to me softly, coaxing me into relaxing as much as they could.
"See, Firefly? It's not burning you. We would never let anything happen to you."
I whimpered softly as they both held me close, keeping me from thrashing around. But at this point I don't think I could even pull away if I wanted to. After a few minutes of Marco coxing me to take some deep breaths, Ace spoke up again.
"Do you know what a Devil Fruit is, Firefly?"
I nod stiffly.
Thatch came to stand beside us. A bowl of warm food in his hands. I stared at it longingly until Marco gripped my chin making me look at him again as Ace continued.
"Tell me what you know?"
Ace continued to pry. After I took a few more deep breaths I was able to squeak out a reply.
"T-they ar-e ma-magical fru-its t-that give whoever e-eats them pow-powers, but the-y can't s-swim anymore."
I could feel Ace nodding, his soft hair brushing my ear and his lips pressing into my cheek as Marco gave me a smile.
"Anything else?"
I shake my head. While I knew what devil fruits were I was never interested enough to actually learn anything in detail. And considering their rarity I figured I'd never come in contact with the fruit, nonetheless a user.
"Well, Baby Bird, there are a lot of different kinds of Devil Fruits. Some give you powers like super strength, some let you turn into animals and some like Ace can control elements, even becoming them if he wanted too.
I look back down at Ace's arms, the little flames still there.
"I can control the heat of my flames, Firefly. I could use them to burn my enemies, or warm up those I care about."
Ace lifted one of his hands and covered it completely in fire. Marco took one of my hands he was holding and placed it in Aces despite my resistance. Ace linked our fingers together as I panicked before I realized that the flame wasn't burning me. Just surrounding and warming my hand.
"See, Buttercup? We wouldn't do anything to hurt you."
Thatch nudged Marco out of the way, causing him to let go of my other hand. Marco's hand being replaced with a warm bowl of soup while Ace still refused to let go of my other hand.
"Now eat up, you can ask all the questions you want once you are done."
—————————————
I had to 'force' Ace to let go of my hand so I could pick up the spoon with my shaky hands. I found myself fighting through the pain of holding the spoon to feed myself. But it was the bowl that was really hurting my marred hand. I could barely hold back my tears from the pain but my hunger outweighed my pain.
It had taken me a while to finish my food, it was delicious and I would normally want to savor it but this time I was just fighting to keep the spoon in my grasp so I prioritized getting as much food in my body as fast as I could.
When I was finally finished Thatch had taken the bowl and washed it, Marco taking his previous spot in front of me again. I looked up at him. Not knowing what to do next.
He looks down at my arms and legs, before looking back into my eyes.
"Before anything else I should check on your wounds and change your bandages. It's only been a few hours but I'd rather be safe than sorry."
I nodded at him, keeping my eyes down. It wasn't like I could say ‘no’. They had already proved several times how much stronger they were compared to me. As sweet as they all had been to me so far they were all more than a little intimidating.
Marco huffed a soft sigh as he picked me up and started walking out of the kitchen much to Ace's displeasure and my shock.
The second I was out of Ace's arms the room seemed even colder than it was before making the goosebumps coming back with a vengeance. Once Marco noticed he leaned down and whispered into my ear.
"Don't worry, I'll warm you up soon enough~."
As he walked up the stairs to the main deck I shivered even more when my skin came in contact with the brisk night air. It always got colder at night but it seemed especially worse out at sea. I couldn't help but nuzzle into him a little trying to absorb some of his body heat. As scared as I was, being surrounded by unknowns, none of them had really hurt me….. yet. And I didn't really have any option anyway being in the middle of the ocean on their ship and what not.
Walking across the massive deck to a door Marco opened it to what I assumed was a med bay/clinic. It was really big all things considered. Not something I thought would have been on a ship but considering how big the ship was and how many crew members were aboard it made sense.
Marco set me down on a cot closest to what I assumed was his desk. Behind it were several cabinets that lined the entire wall. Some of the doors had locks on them, others didn't. He walked over to one of the cabinet doors and opened it pulling out a small canister and some more bandages.
He came over and knelt in front of me, taking one of my calves into his hand, looking up at me for permission. After all that had happened he didn't seem like the person to ask permission but I felt a little better knowing he wanted to make sure I was ok with him going any farther.
I nodded after a second. He smiled up at me before turning his attention back to my leg, focusing on the task in front of him.
He slowly started to unwind the bandages, letting me see the damage again. I couldn't help but gasp at the sight of my mutilated legs.
He examined my calf for a second before his hands erupted in blur and gold and blue flames making me scream for the umpteenth time today.
Marco looked at me with a sympathetic smile. Well, at least he felt a little bad.
"It's ok, Baby Bird, I have a devil fruit too. It lets me heal any injury on myself, it also lets me heal others but it doesn't work as well and is considerably draining."
His voice was low and calm as he explained his abilities to me before a realization dawned on me.
I looked at him with wide eyes. Tears filling them at a rapid pace.
"....I-it was…… y-you."
Marco glanced up at me for a second. Staring with an intensity I didn't know existed before focusing on my leg again, humming in a questioning tone. Clearly wanting me to clarify.
Tears fell down my cheeks onto my thighs Marco stood up immediately once he noticed, taking my cheeks in his hands.
"What's wrong, Baby Bird? What hurts?"
He began to look at me all over before I shook my head as much as his hands would let me.
"O-on th-the mount–ain…b-before I pa-passed o-ut and when y-ou put me t-to sleep."
I looked into his eyes but I couldn't really see anything through my tears.
"I saw these same flames."
He smiled at me and pressed his forehead to mine.
"Yes, Baby Bird, I was the one who found you."
A sob escaped my throat as I tried to compose myself, I needed answers and he was the one who had them.
"W-what…happened?"
He sighs again.
"You're Island had been attacked by Pirates, we had happened to be nearby when we saw flames in the distance. Once we got there it had been too late, the town was in flames with hundreds dead. We were fighting the pirates and looking for any survivors when I saw a trace of blood leading to the mountains, that's where I had found you collapsed in the snow. I rushed you to the ship and started treating you as best I could but your wounds are very extensive. I wasn't able to do much. "
I couldn't help the choked sob that came from me before I was finally able to say anything.
".....S-survivors?"
Marco gave me a solemn look, before shaking his head. I couldn't stop my tears once he confirmed everyone else was dead but I had to be sure, I needed to know he was sure.
"A-are you-u su-sure?"
I could barely get the words out through my sobs.
"I'm so sorry, Baby Bird."
I collapsed into his arms, feeling him hold me tightly as I sobbed into his chest, his tattoo glistening with my tears. I was nearly unable to breathe as my grief ripped through my chest, it felt like it was stabbing my heart..
"Don't worry, Baby, we aren't going to let anything happen to you."
But little did I know about the horrifying smirk on his face.
silently staring at the void blackbeard literally hurt two people close to luffy, starting with ace. using him as a pawn to secure the warlord position just so he can invade impel down and recruit the level six prisoners as his crew. led to the paramount war that marked a significant change in the great pirate era at the cost of ace and whitebeard's life. taunting luffy even in impel down that he was responsible for it. luffy going through the grief of losing a brother and realizing that he's still too weak to protect anyone.
next, blackbeard attacked law for the road poneglyphs. law, the pirate surgeon that physically put luffy's heart together after akainu's fist burned through his chest. the person who isn't part of the strawhats yet luffy called nakama way back in dressrosa. the one who witnessed and heard luffy's heartbreaking scream in amazon lily as soon as he woke up after the war. those two bonded through shared understanding of grief, having to witness their respective moments of weakness and vulnerability. small chances of seeing luffy's reaction in canon but I hope he'll punch blackbeard so hard.
Genre/Tags: Fluff, Light Angst, Slight NSFW at the start and end, Suggestive, Established Relationship, kinda crack/silly
Summary: Ace falls asleep in the middle of your first time having sex together.
A/n: I have had this idea for a while but, there were multiple factors I had to consider before I wrote it. So, fair warning, I have no clue how actual narcolepsy works. It would be best if you read this as a silly fic based on his gag. Secondly, I have never written sex or sex adjacent scenes so, really sorry if this is awkward ;-; Other than that, I hope you enjoy reading this !!
also available on ao3!
"You better fuck me hard, commander," you whispered into Ace's ear. His grip under your thighs tightened at the words and he lightly growled, holding you even closer against him. You tightened your arms around his neck when he started walking back to his room with you in his arms. "Fuck, Ace, that's…"
You trailed off, cheeks burning at how hot it was that Ace could pick you up like you weighed nothing. Like yes, you knew he had to be crazy strong considering he's the second division commander, but having him actually pick you up was enough to give you butterflies in the stomach. Even the wolf whistles and jeers behind you only fuelled to make you flush harder, the arousal pooling in your gut.
Ace slammed the door shut with his foot when you finally reached and up close, you could make out his pupils dilated with lust as he gently placed you on the bed. You crawled backwards to give him space and Ace immediately hovered over you on all fours, trapping you underneath him.
"You don't know how long I've waited to have you underneath me like this," he looked equally flushed. In fact, Ace's eyes seemed to have a quality to them that said that he couldn't quite believe he actually had you.
"Mm, I think I have an idea," you teased him, hand reaching up to card through the bottom most hair.
"You will be the death of me," he groaned and sat up, straddling your waist just so that his weight wasn't on you. "Don't you think it's unfair that I'm the only one who's half naked here?"
"You're always half naked, though?" You laughed even as you removed the form fitting top you had worn solely for the purpose of enticing Ace into having sex with you. "Not that I'm complaining. It's just my luck that I get blessed by the sight of your abs every day without having to do anything for it."
"Returning the favour every now and then seems like a fair deal," Ace's eyes were trained on your body intensely. It made you squirm and blush harder but you focused on throwing your shirt over to the chair a distance away. (You missed but that was a problem for later, right?) "God, you are beautiful."
Without waiting for a response (not that you had one other than to feel pleased at his words), Ace dived right at your neck, pressing open, wet kisses at the juncture of your neck and shoulders. Every part of him was so much warmer and hotter than you expected and it felt like his lips were leaving a trail of fire. You keened at the feeling, back arching as he marked the way down to your chest and over the nipples.
"Ace–" you exhaled shakily, fingers automatically tightening in his hair. He went lower and lower, down your stomach and then suddenly, you felt him drop on top of you. His weight trapped your legs, his face poking into your stomach. The sudden sensation startled you and you propped yourself up on your elbows to look at Ace. "Ace?"
To your surprise, he had fallen asleep. Of course, you were aware of Ace's sudden bouts of sleep and found them endearing at times, but right now, you could only stare at his calm, sleeping face for all of two seconds before you burst into giggles.
He really fell asleep in the middle of your first time. You smiled softly at him as you scrambled to pull him up and settled him beside you in his bed. Although someone else might have been upset, you were too in love with this fiery idiot to not find it cute and hilarious. You gently pressed a kiss on top of his forehead and leaned over to turn off the light after you put on your shirt.
Curling up next to Ace's warm body, you fell asleep.
•
When you woke up, the bed was empty. It was just you and the crumpled up sheets that you had thrown off yourself after Ace made you sweat all night with his insanely high body heat. You sleepily sat up and looked around but it looked like Ace had already left.
He was a division commander, so he was busy a lot of the time. You didn't think too much about it and trudged back to your room and freshened up with a nice bath. It was normal to even miss him at breakfasts sometimes so you didn't realise until half the day had passed that Ace was avoiding you.
Unbeknownst to you, Ace had woken up and remembered what happened last night. He was mortified and embarrassed and didn't know how to face you after that. He fell asleep in the middle of sex?!! How could he have fallen asleep in the middle of the one thing he had wanted to do so desperately for months now? And you had even gone all out yesterday, dressing to seduce him (not that you needed it, but it sure had helped speed things up) so for him to fall asleep like that… You must be so upset with him!
Ace just ran out and started on his work, avoiding everyone else as much as he could. The other commanders were giving him suggestive looks or asking him how it was and all Ace could stammer out were nervous lies. There was no way he could let anyone find out what had actually happened. They would never let him live it down.
Of course, he already knew that he couldn't hide it forever. After all, you were definitely upset with him and might even break-up with him and then everyone would know what had happened the night before. And then Ace would have to jump off the Moby Dick in mortification and also as an apology to you.
"You're not being very subtle," Marco's comment made Ace freeze. The two of them were currently going through some data compiled by the recent investigation team. Outside, the sun was starting to dip beneath the horizon. "Did something happen with (y/n)?"
"Uh, no, why would you think that?" Ace didn't think he was this bad at lying. Maybe he was just terrible when it came to things related to you. Even he knew that his nervous smile at Marco wasn't convincing anyone, not even himself.
"Avoiding your lover after you finally have sex with them, for one," Marco said pointedly without looking up, "is a sure sign that something's not right. What is it? Was it bad? Did you have a fight?"
"I kinda wish it was that," Ace admitted, giving up on the papers in front of him and also on trying to hide what happened. Marco could see through him a bit too much.
"That bad?" Marco finally looked up with a raised eyebrow. "I'm curious what could make you say that but, regardless of whether you want to tell me or not, I'd say you better figure it out soon. (Y/n) is looking really upset, you know."
"I…" Ace sighed and buried his face in his hands. You were the best thing to happen to him. He had liked you for so, so long and when you accepted his confession (that had been a complete disaster too, what with a bar set on fire, his bloody knuckles and the bloody tooth you had found in your hair), it had felt a lot like a dream. You liked him back too and said yes even though he fucked up the confession. But now he had gone and fucked up again. You deserved better than all this, right? "I need to fix this. But I don't know if I can, or how to even."
"You could start by apologising for whatever you did wrong," Marco suggested.
"How do you know it was my mistake?" Ace pouted. Marco just smiled in amusement as he looked back to his papers again.
"Doesn't take a genius to figure out it wasn't (y/n)," he answered. "An apology and your honest feelings would help. I don't know anyone who would accept and forgive you as easily and quickly as (y/n) does."
Ace sat there in silence for a few seconds, thinking over the words. You deserved better, yes, but all that meant was that he had to better himself. It's not like he would just give you up. After all that time he had spent on trying to get you to like him back, he sure as hell wasn't giving you up without fighting for it. He would beg on his knees if that's what you needed, but he would get you to stay.
"Um, Marco?" Your voice startled Ace and his head snapped towards the door where you were standing nervously. "Could I borrow Ace for a few minutes?"
"Of course," the first division commander flashed you an easy smile. "Just make sure he comes back. He still has quite a bit to finish."
"I'll do it," Ace grumbled as he got up. You had come to him. You had made the first move. A part of him was sure that you were going to suggest a break-up but he told himself that he was jumping to conclusions. You wouldn't do that… right? "Let's go to my room to talk?"
"I was going to suggest that," you smiled weakly at Ace. The two of you walked in awkward silence; it was so unnatural and Ace hated it. Your relationship stood on the basis of your friendship and the ease with which you treated each other.
Once inside the room, Ace closed the door behind him and gestured for you to sit on his bed. You did so and Ace settled down next to you. Silence rang in the room for a few more seconds.
"Did–"
"Are–"
The two of you abruptly cut-off.
"You go first," Ace said hurriedly. You worried your lower lip between your teeth before you spoke again.
"Did I do something wrong?" Your voice was small. Ace had never heard you speak in such an unsure manner. You were fidgeting, playing with your fingers nervously. "You've been avoiding me all day, Ace…"
"I'm…!" Ace reddened in embarrassment. Rubbing the back of his neck, he turned to face you properly before he spoke. "I'm the one who made a mistake. I have been avoiding you out of embarrassment but, you deserve better than that. You deserve a proper apology for last night–"
"Apology?" You were confused. "For last night?"
"Yeah, I," Ace was confused by your confusion. Weren't you upset with him?
"There's nothing you need to apologise for last night, though?" You tilted your head in question. "An apology for avoiding me today would make sense but… why are you apologising for yesterday?"
"Aren't… you upset?" Ace flushed, looking down at his own lap. "That I fell asleep in the middle of our… y'know."
There was silence for a few seconds before you burst out laughing. Ace looked up in surprise, finding you laughing through watery eyes.
"You thought I was upset about that?" You were giggling and Ace didn't really understand it but it didn't look like you were upset about it. "Here I was, worried that I did something wrong and that you didn't want me anymore and you were avoiding me because you thought I was upset you fell asleep?"
"So, you aren't upset?" Ace asked, bewildered at your reaction. You beamed at him and shook your head then folded up your legs to inch closer to him. You straddled him and sat yourself on his lap and Ace automatically wrapped his arms around you so that you wouldn't fall.
"Why would I be upset, silly?" You smiled at him, eyes soft and full of love. "I admit that it was shocking but it honestly just made me laugh. It was unexpected but it's nothing so bad that you need to hide from me, Portgas D. Ace. I knew what I was signing up for when we started dating. Honestly, I'm just glad you fall asleep in moments like these instead of on the battlefield."
"Hey!" Ace weakly protested but it died down the moment you cupped his cheeks in your palms and kissed the tip of his nose. You were smiling so happily at him and suddenly, all his embarrassment and mortification from before felt silly. "Does this mean I get a second chance to prove myself?"
"I wouldn't be against a redo of last night," you trailed a finger down his chest as you spoke, "but don't you have some work to finish, commander–oof!"
Ace didn't wait to hear you finish speaking before he toppled you onto your back, his frame hovering over yours just like last night. You didn't resist and pulled him in for a kiss. Only after a few minutes of making out did you look up at him slyly, flush and with spit-slicked cherry red lips.
"I guess it can wait for later, hm?"
°•❀•°
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One Piece Omegaverse with Omega Ace would be so, so good if only for the distress all the Whitebeards would be in when he first starts attacking their captain.
This little (comparatively to all these huge ass pirates) omega who reeks like anger and anxiety and stress and -- worst of all -- like loneliness. It isn't that he's unmated, it's that he's unmarked. He doesn't have a pack-scent. There is a faint whiff of some other smell on him, something like sea salt and sunflowers sunk deep enough into his skin to know that at least he's connected with someone, but the bitter, cloying stench of unbonded, unmarked, unclaimed, lone omega has two thirds of the Whitebeard crew damn near climbing the walls with the urge to get this kid to a safe place and pile him with food and nesting supplies and make soothing noises at him until his scent goes pleased-safe-happy and the tension bleeds from his shoulders.
Instead, Whitebeard accepts the kid's challenge and then FLINGS HIM OFF THE SHIP.
The crew is all like god Pops please at least stop yeeting him into the abyss think of our blood pressure we can't take this and Whitebeard, also an Omega, is like "Skill issue" and backhands Ace overboard again.
By pure coincidence most of the omegas onboard happen to be mostly older and veteran pirates, they're pop's nurses, they can tell this kid is not ready to join the pack and god knows none of them would ever let some overbearing alphas and betas convince them to stay somewhere they didn't want to, so while everybody else is tearing their hair out because POPS PLEASE LOOK AT HIM HE'S JUST A BABY HE'S SO SAD AND LONELY AND SOPPING WET Whitebeard and the other omegas on board are like lol. Lmao, even. Get good or get dunked.
plz picture all of the non-omega crew members going crazy with all kinds of instincts and damn near staging a mutiny because pops keeps hurting the sad damp kitten. Ace, of course, sees all of this happening and just gets even more murderous.
Deep down in Impel Down Ace sat chained. He and Jimbei whispered about old times. It wouldn't be long until a war broke out to save Ace. And it pained him deeply. The thought of getting executed was even worse since the soulmate he never met would meet the same end. "This sucks. My soulmate is gonna die because of my recklessness," Ace whispered.
"It's easy to go out and risk your life when you never met them, but when you sit here, you sure feel guilty," Jimbei answered with a frown evident on his face. "I don't think my soulmate would like me," Ace said out of nowhere. "And why is that?" Jimbei asked. "A lot hate, having a pirate as a soulmate, but I have one more card that would make them hate me even more." Ace simply explained, thinking of the devil's blood inside of him.
Time skip
Ace sat worried in his chains for Luffy. He was in Impel Down, and he was currently getting exported to Marineford. "YOU'RE KIDDING!!!!!" The marine responsible for the ship yelled. He smashed the den den mushi and angrily stomped away. Was it news about his brother or Pops?
Something's wrong. We should have been at Marineford a long time ago. And why are they all looking at me like that?
Fire Fist Ace died before execution. For unknown reasons. "We don't know what happened he just died." Everyone turned their attention to Luffy, Ace was dead, and they hadn't even reached Marineford yet. The den den mushi on their stolen ship had sent out the news so every Marine would know. "I want you all to continue the plan anyway. This is a good chance to take down Whitebeard." After that sentence, the den den mushi lay up.
Luffy fell to his knees. 'No,' Echoed in his head. It felt like time paused, and the world around him became blurry. Luffy couldn't hear the scream he let out. He couldn't hear anything. All the memories he had of Ace flowed like a river in his mind. He had lost the only brother he had. He had nothing. Ivan watched in horror as Luffy began destroying stuff and hitting himself. He gave himself wounds. His cry and pain affected everyone on the ship.
Jimbei had talked some sense into Luffy, and now he stood next to Whitebeard in Marineford. "Did you get the news?" Luffy asked. "What news?" Edward asked. "Ace is, . . . . Ace is, . . . . . He's dead." Luffy pressed out of him. Whitebeard's eyes widened. He had thought it was weird that Ace wasn't on the execution platform. But the damn Marines refused to tell them where he was.
"Jimbei stepped up and told how they had received the news." It was not often, but sometimes people died out of the blue simply because their soulmate had.
It was a dark war. It felt empty and pointless. But everyone fought. When the red-haired pirates arrived, it finally ended. But it was already too late. The news of Luffy being Dragon's son had made it almost impossible for Luffy to escape since he was the main target. He got away thanks to Jimbei, but not without a wound, a painful reminder of his meaningless efforts.
It wasn't long until everybody knew just what a horrible war it had been, the Revolutionary Army, Kaido, Big Mom, Dawn Island, the other pirates of the first generation, and Luffy's crew. The war of the best was a tragedy, Whitebeard's last words had made the pirate era grow.
