Author: Okay, I actually have an excuse for not uploading. One: I live in a freakin' third world country where internet is not a 24/7 thing. Lately, I'm ecstatic when I come home from school and there's an internet connection. Two: My finals are coming up, and I'm studying and everything, plus homework leaves very little free time. And three: I just got obsessed with a new anime (Hetalia Axis Powers O3O) and I wrote a 26-page first chapter, 12K words, and it's not even complete v – v But, here I am, uploading! I do apologize, but I have excuses . This chapter is long, and I think you'll like it~ hehe~

Review Reply's:

Yuzuki – Yay :D Yes they are indeed, Ace is 20, so of course he'd want to sort of move on pretty quickly. I actually have up until chapter 48 or something written out, and there's gonna be more than that. But, it's probably not going to go over a hundred chapters… So, I don't have a clue as to how long this is going to be. There are going to be more complications, and as to the end, I don't wanna give away a thing xD

Star-sister – I'm glad you loved it! I love this couple too :P I have tons written, I just need to upload it ^.^; Paulina is a total bitch, but she has her reasons. I won't go into them though, she isn't coming back into the story. Hope you like this chapter!

Ace walked into town, the clunk of his boots resounding through the town. The tattoos gave him an aura of danger, and everybody stayed away from us. Either Ace didn't notice, or he just didn't care. I want to ask him about them, as the Whitebeard's Jolly Roger on his back is bigger than anyone else's, and then the one on his arm is misspelled. Was it on purpose, or did he do it for a reason? Realizing I was getting behind, I walked a bit faster.

"Now, I'm hungry." Ace announced.

"But we just ate!" I said.

In answer, his stomach grumbled loudly.

"Okay… Let's go then." I sighed.

"Sailing makes me hungry." He grinned.

We walked into a bar, where Ace promptly ordered the entire menu. Soon it came, and Ace started stuffing his face, while I just watched. I got full just from watching him. But then I noticed the cherries on one of his plates, some dessert he ordered. I adored cherries, a rare treat we sometimes got in my old home. Without thinking, I grabbed a handful and started eating them.

"Hey! That's my food."

"I love cherries." I pouted.

"Eat them then." Ace smirked; grabbing one I was just going to eat.

I stuck my tongue out at him, and ate the rest quickly.

"Say Ace, do we have enough money to pay for all this?" I asked him.

"Nope, c'mon, we gotta run!" Ace said, grabbing my hand and running out of the restaurant.

However, I couldn't keep up, and thus Ace threw me over his back and ran as quickly as he could.

'The restaurant owner is coming!" I shrieked.

Finally, we got him off of our tails, and Ace put me down. He was panting from the long sprint, and then he grabbed something from his bag.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you this." He panted, passing a newspaper into my hands.

As I looked I saw an old picture of me, and the headline Girl Missing. They were offering a big reward to whomever found me.

"Only now, huh. I've been gone for over a month, and now they're offering a reward." I bitterly said.

Ace searchingly looked at me. I smiled at him, and took his hand. I didn't want to go back there. In Whitebeard's crew, I was making friends and I felt like I belonged and they truly liked me. Even though they knew… they didn't care. Nobody treated me any differently. And Ace didn't care either, he likes me. But as I looked up the sky had turned dark and gray, and the sun was blocked out.

"It's gonna rain." Ace said with a disappointed tone. He was about to walk out of the alley we were in when he saw the angry restaurant owner. Pressing himself and I against a wall, we patiently waited for the guy to go away. Small raindrops started falling, and the man left, probably to get back to his restaurant. As we started running to get under some kind of cover, it started pouring out of the sky. In a matter of seconds, we were soaked. And then to top it all off, a cart, driving fast through a puddle soaked us in mud.

"Ew." I complained, as I dripped brownish water.

"Aw shit, and the ship hasn't even arrived yet." Ace cursed.

I started shivering, as there still was no sun, and the rain had been replaced by wind.

"Let's try and find a bathhouse." He said, and we started walking. His boots sloshed with the water inside.

"But Ace, I can't go in a communal bath." I blushed.

"Oh. Well, we'll see."

After five minutes, we finally spotted one.

"How can I be of service?" The lady asked us with a slight smile.

"We need one private bath, and one communal one." Ace quickly said, taking out some crumpled bills.

"That will be 5,450 Beli." The attendant said.

"Sorry Vignette, I don't have enough for both. Either we both go in the communal one or…" He whispered, not finishing his sentence.

"We can take turns then." I whispered back.

"Can you take a bath in thirty minutes and dry your clothes?"

"Well… no."

"We'll have to share. I've seen most of you already anyway. And if you want, I won't look."

"Okay."

"We'll just take the private bath." Ace told the lady, who looked annoyed at our whispering.

We paid, and put our shoes in the racks. The attendant led us to the private bath, with only one changing room. While clearing his throat, Ace turned around, and promptly dropped his pants. The knife he always carried clattered loudly on the floor. Shyly, hoping he wasn't looking like he said he would, I shrugged off my shirt and my pants. The sliding door was opened, and Ace had entered. Quickly I took off my underwear and wrapped a towel around me.

Shivering, I entered the hot bathing room. You could barely see anything because of the steam, and I only saw Ace's faint shadow, rinsing off the mud from his body. Keeping the towel close to the faucet I was using, I quickly washed myself, trying to get the clumps of mud out of my hair. I knew I hadn't really succeeded, but nevertheless I stepped into the bath.

Ace was already inside, his head thrown back. His cheeks were flushed because of the heat, and his hair was curling even more than usual. Even though his eyes were closed, I was afraid to drop my towel.

"I told you I wouldn't look. You can trust me you know." Ace suddenly said, looking silly, with his eyes closed and a slight grin on his face.

I dropped my towel, feeling exposed. With my hands covering myself, I stepped in. The water was scalding hot, and around Ace it was even boiling. Soon I relaxed, even though I was naked with Ace in the same room. How easily he could try something. But Ace looked… so good, with beads of sweat on the skin that wasn't in the water, and his flushed cheeks.

"Ace?" I called out, hoping that the heat would conceal my blush.

"Mm?"

"Why is your tattoo misspelled?"

"You mean this one?" He asked, opening his eyes and sitting up straight. He flexed the bicep the ASCE tattoo was on.

"Yeah."

"I did it as a homage to my brother."

"Luffy?" I asked, confused.

"No… Sabo. He died when I was ten. Didn't protect him properly. This is the S of his Jolly Roger." He looked sad as he talked about him.

"Does getting a tattoo hurt?" I asked quickly, trying to change the subject to a more comfortable one.

"Why you asking? Thinking of getting one yourself?"

"No reason really."

"It hurts like hell." He chuckled. "The one on my back took days. And for weeks afterward it hurt. But it was worth it. It's my pride and joy."

Ace got up without warning, and I averted my eyes. Again he got under the shower, washing himself. I got up too, and with my towel I walked back to the faucet, hoping to get truly clean now. But my arms couldn't reach my back, and I had to resolve to asking Ace for help.

"Ace, could you… wash my back for me?" I embarrassedly asked.

I could almost feel him grinning. Shyly I lowered the towel to my hips, and sat on one of the stools, with my back facing Ace. His footsteps came closer, and soon he was gently scrubbing my back. It was pleasurable feeling, his movements gentle. I thought back at the previous night, when Ace had… He was now softly getting all the mud out of my hair. His fingers massaged my scalp softly, and then he stopped.

Ace was now with his back turned to me. Turning around, I slowly washed his back. The tattoo was slightly raised from the rest of the skin, as if it was a big scar. His back muscles were hard, even though the skin was soft. Nothing sexual about this. Unless you want it to be. Did I want this to turn sexual? I could easily make it, by perhaps sliding my hands down to his hips, and then go lower. Kiss my way down his back. I even contemplated doing so. Probably Ace would reciprocate my actions. As my fingers slid in his hair, I was afraid. Even so, I slid my hands along his slick shoulders, and down his sides.

What was he thinking? Was he inwardly laughing at my foolish actions? Ace let out a sigh. He was going to scold me. I stopped, and stood up. Feeling strangely bold, I let my towel drop as I walked, and rinsed off the soap. Was Ace still going to say something? He still hadn't gotten up, or done anything but sigh. My former braveness had disappeared, and I now grabbed my towel and quickly got in the changing room.

As I looked in a mirror, my breath halted. Ace was standing behind me. I bit my lip, and clutched my towel tighter. His hands were on my shoulders, and he leaned down, looking at me in the mirror. I was afraid for what he was going to say. Nervously I sucked in my breath, and stared at him. His chin rested on my collarbone, and I felt his body against mine.

"Don't tease." He whispered, and then he walked away.

I didn't get it. Had I done something wrong? Nothing I did was really out of line… I glanced at Ace, who had just stepped in his boxers. The two slight indents from his hips were showing, and his vertebrae stood out as he bent over to step into his pants again. While his pants were black, and didn't show the mud, the top I had been wearing, had been white and was now muddy.

Standing there in my underwear, I hesitated to ask him, afraid I would make him even angrier. A shirt was thrown to me. It had short sleeves, and buttons. My voice caught in my throat, and I buttoned it closed. Since Ace was much taller than me, the shirt was like a dress. It smelled like him too.

"Thanks." I said, my voice cracking.

He didn't reply, he just put the knife back on his belt and walked out. My eyes got watery, and I furiously rubbed them. I'd ruined his good mood. I softly walked out, and put my sandals back on, and trailed after Ace. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I grabbed his hand with mine. He stopped walking. Standing on my toes, I whispered in his ear.

"I'm sorry for being a tease Ace. Don't be angry."

I didn't get what I'd done wrong, but I didn't want him to angry. Looking at my feet, I didn't want to see his reaction. What if I'd made him angrier?

"I'm not angry at you." Ace sighed yet again.

"Cheer up then. You're scary when you're angry." I confessed.

He grinned at me and squeezed my hand. "Better?"

I nodded, and we walked back to Striker and back to the ship. As I was on his back, I leaned with my chin on his shoulder, and kissed him on his cheek. Smiling contently, we returned to the Moby Dick.