Chapter Text
Throat clear, and a falsetto, “Oh my love, when will you return into my embrace?”
An even higher falsetto continues, “The world seems bleak without you here, by my side, where no one can replace,”
A small gleeful giggling turned into an even further exaggerated high pitched voice, “Return to me! For only a while we are apart, but i already fear i may forget your face!”
There’s a pause, hidden underneath juvenile snickering, and the last person in the group was nudged by sharp elbows, “Keep it going!”
“Uh,” another pause, followed by a defeated sigh, “I can’t think of other words that rhymes with Ace,”
The very moment Jozu stepped inside of the dining area to see Haruta, Thatch, Izou and Namur huddled together in a conspiratorial manner amongst a sizeable amount of onlookers, he knew the ship is in a dire situation. Not from the threat of mutiny - because he liked to believe that everyone around him would sooner take their own head off than go against Pops - but for the threat of losing the existing peace and quiet.
To make sure it won’t happen, he stepped quietly behind them and asked, “What are you doing?”
On the very left, Haruta let out a startled squeak and would’ve fallen down on his behind if Jozu hadn’t been quick enough to catch him. Next to him, Thatch gazed up to his fellow commander sheepishly and Izou still in the middle of scolding Namur about breaking the flow of their joke.
Thatch stood up abruptly to stand on his side, looping one arm around his back - and only ending around his spine - while grinning, “We, my dear friend,” he began, making a flourish hand gesture towards a vague direction, “are bird watching,”
From his seat and once again sitting up properly, Haruta snickered, “Love-bird watching,”
“Does the pun ‘lovebird’ still works if the person who made up the bird part of that pun is not around?”
“My lovebird pun will always work, Namur, stop being a party pooper!”
“I’m just saying—!“
“Anyway,” In between the two younger pirates, Izou shook his head in exasperation, “We’re making fun of Ace. Wanna join in?”
The Paramecia user glanced up to where they had been staring, precisely the direction Thatch was still pointing towards. Sure enough, he found Ace sitting on the corner of the table all by himself, a mountain of food in front of him. It was a usual sight in the short of a year he had been here, the only difference being that this time around, there was no crowd of people around him, and the mountain of food remained untouched.
(Also, this sight lacked a hovering blonde man clad in purple and blue somewhere in the background, putting so much effort into making sure nobody noticed what he was doing. It worked, but only to the person he was hovering around, and not much on anyone else)
“And what exactly has he done to warrant being made fun of by horrible poems?” It doesn’t look like Ace was even aware that he was the topic of conversation of the group just a few feet away from him. In the few seconds that Jozu kept his eyes on the raven, silently sitting behind the mountain of food that he barely even seem to notice, let alone touch or consume. It was honestly quite a bizarre sight coming from someone who was known to be a ravenous eater.
In fact, he seems to be focusing his entire attention on something hidden behind the mound of food, though Jozu couldn’t for the life of him get a good look.
Izou scoffed, and a light smack from a paper fan brought Jozu’s attention to him, “First of all, how dare you call my poems horrible. I’ll have you know that i am a proper artist,” by his own admission, surely, because the entirety of the ship has seen Izou’s work of art in various forms and not even Pops seems to be able to generate something good to say about any of them, “And well, just see for yourself,”
Right on cue, as soon as Izou finished speaking, Ace lifted the item that he had been staring, which Jozu could now see was a thick tome of sorts. The title, half obstructed by the firestarter’s hand revealed that it was an encyclopaedia for all sorts of Devil Fruit, a rare book possessed only by a small amount of people in the world and only one person in this entire ship own. Jozu watched as Ace sighed heftily and laid his head down on top of the book in a manner that could only be described as adorably upset.
“Ah,” was all he could say, as another information from earlier that day entered his mind, an official business that suddenly felt a lot less formal when placed in this setting, “Marco left today to scout ahead, didn’t he?”
Next to him, Thatch let out an exaggerated sigh, “Not even a full day and they’re already acting like this. I feel like i’m living as a side character in a modern age love story,”
Despite not wanting to stoop to these nosy people’s level, Jozu has to agree with Thatch. He had been on the platform overlooking the deck earlier, waiting for Ballen, the navigator placed in charge in Marco’s absence to finish his discussion with the Zoan user when he caught sight of Ace approaching. Even after the navigator left, a sense of curiousity kept Jozu in that secluded spot, watching the quiet yet seemingly comfortable conversation between Marco and Ace.
He left as soon as Marco went airborne, but he stayed long enough to catch Ace shouting something at the man and the devastated look on his face afterwards.
Looking at Ace again, he supposed this is the aftermath of that interaction.
Haruta and Namur’s bickering attracted plenty of attention, added with Thatch fuelling the fire and Izou trying and filing to diffuse the situation. Jozu used this opportunity to slip away - as much as a man of his build can, but Haruta can screech loud enough to make sure no one pay him any mind - and walked over to where Ace sat.
Even as he sat down and felt the long bench creaking down under his weight, Ace didn’t even look up to see him. The book underneath him was open on a certain page, and from what little Jozu could see, the pages were filled with plenty of ink strokes. He peer down in curiosity, and almost widened his eyes when he recognize the pattern created by those ink, “Those symbols…,”
It was only quick reflex that prevented Ace from hitting his jaw - and possibly breaking his skull - but he hardly seems to notice the close brush, staring up at Jozu with wide eyes, “You know them?!”
With dark hair and appendage out of the way, he is sure that yes, he does recognize them, “Yeah, of course i do,” he hasn’t seen them in years, but there is no mistaking what they are, “It’s Marco’s native language. He taught only a handful of us during the crew’s early years to use it as a secret code and confidentiality purposes,”
“I knew it,” Ace murmured, glancing down to the book before raising it up, nearly shoving the open page to Jozu’s face, “So, you can read them then? Can you tell me what he’s written?”
There’s urgency both in Ace’s tone and the way his arms shook from how tightly he was holding the book. From the corner of his eyes, the large Devil Fruit user can see that his outburst had attracted some attention, inviting who he would guess to be the quartet from earlier to come closer. Jozu squinted, trying to make sense of the shaky words that he wasn’t sure he still remembered.
The page that was opened contained information of a Paramecia fruit, he noticed, called as Truth-Truth Fruit by the header, which effect he could only guess from the name. The question of why would Marco write on the margin of one of his beloved books seems to grow insignificant the more he decipher the long forgotten symbols.
In the 20 years Jozu knew him, Marco’s handwriting for Common language was always crisp and blocky, forming large clear words that leaves no room for misinterpretation. For documents and paperworks, things that other people would have to see and Pops would have to read, as if deliberately accomodating to all sorts of reader.
It was done on purpose, he knew, because every other time, his writing was cursive and sharp, looking more like a chain of barbs than actual letters. Even the language used was less formal, perhaps only because it was something he himself will read. They’re curt and precise, contrasting with the formal tone all over the ship’s notice board.
But the way he wrote in his own language, it was like a painting. Unusual symbols and marks covered the margin of the Devil Fruit dictionary, so far different and foreign that Jozu knew he won’t be able to attain the same skill even for a lifetime. They had the same characteristic as Marco’s personal handwriting; informal and in a rush, but some of the words were larger than others, almost like it was a highlight of sorts.
But that’s not what caught the man’s attention. It was the way these symbols were written that intrigued him.
Thatch and co’s arrival stolen Ace’s attention from him with endless teasing - though Ace seems particularly clueless to everything they were saying. Jozu took the book away from him with little difficulty, and flipped from page to page and finding that the chaotic mess of words were only contain in certain pages . Most of them were notes, he recognized with a hint of nostalgia, similar to the ones he remembered from far back, and yet, it was far different.
Just from everything on this single page, all of Marco’s handwriting felt like it has taken two different and distinct path: some were written in thin ink or even hardly there, as if he had been distracted when he wrote it down, and some were bold with splotchy edges, as if Marco had been pressing his quill too hard on the paper. Frustration then, maybe even anger.
[not an answer]
[not an answer]
[i need an ANSWER]
[useless information]
(On the very bottom of that abused page, there’s a small, almost hidden writing, the first few words slashed through with thick ink until halfway as if it was a mistaken writing that in the end, Marco didn’t want to get rid of.
In the right light, he caught the entire sentence, [little fire is this how much you suffer])
The more he turn each page, the more the commander found that despite retaining the same characteristic, the words began to gain their own emotions. Excitement, determination…
[THIS IS IT]
[NOTE - SUMMARIZE THIS ENTIRE 3 PARAGRAPHS]
[NOTE - FIND REFERENCES MENTIONED!!!]
[SPECULATIONS OF THE DEVIL FRUIT - FIND THIS BOOK IN THE LIBRARY]
[ITS NOT PERMANENT THANK FUCK] [EVEN IF ITS SPECULATION I’LL TAKE THAT CHANCE]
…Affection…
[i wish you don’t have to play with chances and uncertainty like this little fire]
[stupid] [mark this down, might be useful in the future for this sort of situation]
[hopefully it wont be him again]
[i’ll make sure of it]
…and something else he couldn’t decipher, something that seems out of place, like a downer end to these note Marco probably didn’t mean for anyone else but his eyes to see. He probably didn’t even mean to write them down, not with how sloppy they are, almost indistinguishable from all the other times Jozu had seen these symbols.
Almost like pain, uncertainty…
[what if i can’t?]
[reckless] [stubborn]
[what if all of this was for naught?]
[what if i can’t keep my promise]
[what if he’s stuck like that]
..and in the end, just plain sadness. Written in wobbly, unsure stroke.
[why does he keep calling that name?]
(There’s a large ink splotch right underneath that line, as if done to hastily cover whatever it was written there. It did a good job on its own, but he could see that the first letter was not written in the same language, seeing that the beginning might be an ’S’ in Common language)
An arm hooked itself around his shoulder, again, barely making it all the way through. A glance to his side revealed to Jozu that it was Thatch, with Vista right behind him. There’s a couple more commander and ship crew gathered around them, each of them having their fun teasing Ace over his supposed lovesick behaviour. The freckled young man, on his part, kept asking what they’re talking about and was oddly sincere in his admitting that he missed Marco, even though he looked horrified by his own admission.
He looked painfully young with those deep flush on his cheeks, and Jozu could somewhat relate to Marco’s declaration of protection within the margins on this book.
Though the question is, what exactly did he mean by that?
“What are those? Words?” Thatch questioned, shoving his head forward. His pompadour droop a little to cover some of Jozu’s view of the book, and he nonchalantly pushed the carefully primped ‘do away. The cook let out an outraged yell, quickly moving away, while Vista moved in to the space he vacated.
Jozu saw a flair of recognition in the swordsman’s eyes, “Well now,” he hummed with the same level of bemusement in his voice as his fellow commander felt a moment ago, “Marco’s code. It’s been a while since i’ve seen them,”
These symbols, their crew’s code, was a convenient system to keep as they keep growing in number and gaining the attention of Marines and fellow pirates alike. Sensitive informations and locations were kept away with this system, a dead language from an island long destroyed and a tribe long slaughtered, leaving only a single survivor.
(Or so the story goes around their crew at the time. He knows a lot more about it, because he was told from the source himself, as the second and probably last person to know this aside from Pops. The first island Pops does not show benevolence or offer protection towards, a tribe who tortured a child for something he could not help, unable to die no matter how much he wanted to until a curious pirate came snooping around a suspicious village and took him away for a life worth living.
As he recall this, he gazed to a flustered figure in the middle of a slowly growing crowd, and wondered if one day, there will be a third person to know that tragic story.)
Of course, it was also a system long forgotten, after they discovered that no matter how secluded or rare a language can be, there will always be someone out there who can read them. The code was long forgotten, but once or twice, he would catch Marco muttering it to himself.
But still…
“So what does it say?” Ace’s voice broke through, and Jozu looked up to see that he, as well as everyone around him has turned their focus to Jozu. It was probably Thatch’s yell from earlier that reminded Ace of his earlier concern, “Jozu?”
Jozu stared at him for a while, considering. While everyone else held a healthy amount of curiousity in their eyes, Ace was nearly desperate for a reply. He looked back down to the book, to the pages he had flicked one by one, “Why do you need to know?”
With how close they are sitting, despite the crowd, the older man caught the way the younger’s breath hitched. Ace looked hesitant, and when he spoke, there’s great reluctance on his face that doesn’t match the level of honesty in his words, “Because I don’t get him at all. I don’t understand what’s happening between us, and i want to know. I want to know why he’s trying so hard, i want to know why he looked sad this morning, why he stayed and,” the raven took a deep breath, wringing his hand nervously, “and i want to know why it hurts when he left and told me that it was all a mistake,”
Silence descended amongst them, and Jozu finally noticed how suffocating the room felt. Every eyes were on Ace; some pitying, some sympathetic, and plenty of others, like Haruta, let out a shocked gasp, muttering ‘what, no’ in a disbelieving tone under his breath. Jozu was tempted to verbally agree.
Did whatever he witnessed earlier on the deck was not a loving goodbye as he had guessed, but a break up?
“But why?!” Izou screamed in anguish, as if it was his relationship that was just recently terminated, “You— He— Why?!”
“I don’t know!” Ace replied with a shook of his head - and probably part startled judging from the cautious way he’s looking at Izou, “He just said that it was all ‘a lapse of judgement’. I don’t—“
“He said what?!” the screech that came from Izou was nearly inhumane, as well as the sneer across his face so no one stopped the kimono-clad man as he stood up and stand much too close to Ace for comfort, gripping on to the poor lad’s naked shoulders. He kept screaming, even as the poor young man stammered out his previous reply like a broken and very scared Den-Den Mushi, “That’s it! The moment that absolutely idiotic, moron, birdbrain, pineapple head, chicken wuzz—“
“N-now, now, Izou—“
“Don’t you ‘now-now’ me, Thatch, and i swear if you don’t make our esteemed First Division Commander’s tail dinner the moment he comes back here, then i will!”
Whatever else threat Izou spouted to a bewildered Thatch was mostly drowned by the increasing murmurs around them. Commander and crew mates alike huddled amongst themselves with clicking tongues and disapproving head shakes.
“Did my ear cover deceive me or something? Hey Jiru, he did not just say that Marco broke it off with him,”
“Nope, he did, Curiel, he did,”
“Man, to think that Commander Marco…,”
“Why would he do that? I thought… i thought they’re happy together…,”
“So they’re… not together anymore?”
“Hmph, if i snagged someone like Commander Ace, i would’ve locked him up tighter than Impel Down, in a place no one can find,”
“Dude, Teach, that’s just wrong. And creepy. He’s right there,”
No, he’s not, Jozu thought to himself, turning his attention away from the whispering behind him to catch Ace slinking away unnoticed during the commotion. No one noticed even after he exited the dining room, and after a quick glance to his surrounding, he followed suit, Marco’s book held tightly in one hand.
When Jozu finally found him, Ace leaning against the railing overlooking the deck, just outside of the dining area’s exit. Whitebeard’s mark over sculpted back moved up and down slowly, as audible pants and low murmurs could be heard coming from the man it was etched on.
“—and he just left,” Ace let out a gasp, burying his face between his crossed arms over the wooden rails. He’s shaking slightly, Jozu can tell, and as he spoke, his breath hitched every now and then, “Oh no, oh no, oh no, it’s getting worse. I can’t stop it anymore. If they keep asking question, if this continues on, i won’t be able to stop talking, and then the fruit…it’ll…everything will…,”
Jozu gave the book in his hand a glance, remembering the brief snippets from the book passage from when he was silently deciphering Marco’s handwriting. A fruit that forces someone to tell the truth. It was rather odd that he would be writing only confined in one chapter, even odder still that he chose to write on a book at all. But between Marco’s words and Ace’s babbles, Jozu could only pull one conclusion.
“Ace,”
The raven haired male actually jumped, jittery and jumpy like a little cornered baby Lapin, “Jozu. You… followed me outside,”
“So i did,” he replied, approaching even closer and taking the spot right next to Ace, leaving enough space between them to make sure the younger won’t get spooked even further. It’s odd to behave around Ace, perhaps someone who proved himself to be one of the more approachable and friendly of his nakamas, like this.
Ace stared at him warily for a moment, before he straightened his posture and looked away, “Did you… read what’s written on that book?”
The larger man nodded, “I did. Both Marco’s writing, and what’s entailed in the chapter itself,”
No reply. From the corner of his eyes, Jozu can see Ace biting his lips nervously, “Ace, are you under the influence of a Devil Fruit?”
“Yes,” it was said in resignation, and from what he gathered, not entirely within Ace’s control, “The pirate captain from a few days back was the user, and somehow, the effect lasted this long. Now, i won’t be able to tell a lie, have to answer all sorts of question truthfully, and as of the late, even blurted out my thoughts no matter what it may be,”
“That sounds… inconvenient,”
Ace groaned, “Tell me about it. Marco’s been doing everything he can to look for a way to end it, and help me through it,”
“How so?”
Briefly, there’s an alarmed look on Ace’s face, and it took Jozu a second to realize what he had done wrong, “Oh shit, sorry—“
“He’s been doing research night after night, even making a report. He fends off everyone getting too close, observing me even though he’s acting like he isn’t, but i notice him always nearby, and has taken measures to make sure i won’t accidentally spill unwanted information to everyone,”
Jozu blinked, watching as Ace panted and turned slightly red. Well, that was quite intense.
He cleared his throat as awkward silence descend between them, “Sorry. I’ll be more careful next time,”
“It’s okay,” the Logia user sighed, but this time, it was a lot less exhausted and a bit more amused, fond even, as a smile bloom on his face, “You know, this is the kind of thing he’s been trying to prevent for days now by sticking close. And it actually works pretty well that i’m starting to rely on him running interference for me. To think that before this, i more or less told him that i found his constant hovering annoying. Now i’m relying on it, and i missed it now that he’s away,” the smile was chased away by a surprised look and he groaned, “Y-you know i didn’t mean to say that, right?”
“Not out loud, you mean,”
Another groan, “No, definitely not out loud,”
Jozu laughed, low under his breath.
In show of good humour, Ace laughed along with him, though it barely lasted, and his laughter died a sad death in the form of a slowly forming frown, “I shouldn’t have asked you to read that. If he purposefully wrote it down in a language no one can understand, that means he really didn’t want anyone to know, right?” he sighed, glancing down to the book in Jozu’s hand, “That he really didn’t want me to know,”
The larger man kept quiet, placing the book between them, “Besides, what did i expect? That he’s going to use one of his precious books as a diary of sorts? It’s probably notes to himself or something,” Ace let out a self-deprecating chuckle, shaking his head and making dark strands flew in the soothing night wind, “I guess i was just hoping that, if Marco won’t say something, i can at least try to understand from someplace else, you know?”
Thunder rolls on the distance, and if Jozu was a poetic man, he’d compare the rumble to the turmoil evident in Ace’s tone and expression. But he wasn’t, he left those sort of things to people like Vista or - to a lesser degree - Izou, and stay silent as Ace continued, “I feel like i… i just can’t pin him down sometimes. Like, what does he want from me? One minute, he’s everywhere i look, everywhere i went, following my every move that it’s almost suffocating, but if i ever mention that, he’s just.. gone. And that was before this whole truth telling fiasco happened,”
With a thud, Ace laid his entire weight on top of the railing, swaying slightly on his toe. His face was mostly covered from Jozu’s direction by his hair, though the larger man could see that he’s staring up to the dark and cloudy sky, almost lost in thought, “This fruit scares me the more i think about it. I’m scared of it getting out of control, and ended up making me confess something i really didn’t want anyone to know. Something big, something i can’t even face most of the time,”
He fell silent, and again, glanced at Jozu, this time a lot more cautious, fearful even. His jaw muscle tightened, as if he was bracing himself to say something - or rather, being forced to say something. Jozu would’ve laughed at the unnecessary reaction, if he didn’t feel sad and rather disappointed. No matter how carefree Ace had become as of the late, there are moments when he seems guarded amongst them, and it reminded him that it wasn’t always like that. Little acts like this serves to tell him that their job to make him feel welcomed as one of them was not done, probably not for a while.
(Marco once let out a drunken tirade about it, sea stone bracelet gleaming on his wrist under the moonlight and a tankard filled again with another douse of strong drink. Ace had revealed his tattoo to them earlier that day, proudly showing to the world that he’s one of Whitebeard’s men.
“I won’t question his loyalty to Pops,” the blonde had slurred out, eyes sharp despite the flush on his face and the way he stumbled a little on his feet standing still, “But he could give us the same amount of courtesy, you know? A kid that young shouldn’t be so full of distrust to everyone around him,”
And yet distrust and caution is a good quality to have as a pirate who wished to live long, as he should know best out of everyone. Jozu pointed this out, staring at Marco from over the rim of his own tankard, and added, “Or is it that by everyone, you meant yourself?”
Marco never gave him an answer, but his silence, along with the way he shifted his gaze away from Jozu had been enough.
The rumour of a possible one-sided romance between the First Division Commander and the new Logia recruit started weeks after that exchange. Out of everyone on the ship, Jozu was proud to say he might be the only one who saw it coming)
He settled with a huff, crossing his arms across his chest, “Don’t look at me like that, I’m not going to ask what it is,” he told the younger resolutely, “No one will. Everyone here has their own skeletons in their closets, and if you don’t want to share, then no one will force you to. No matter what, you’re our brother first and foremost. No secret is going to change that,”
There’s doubt in the way Ace looked at him, but even the furrowed brows and hard lines could hardly stop the fond, even hopeful glint in his eyes. It was subtle, but it was enough to make him want to pat himself on the back. Obviously, Ace won’t go around spilling whatever this dark secret he may have any time soon, but Jozu at least knew he had said the right thing.
“You know,” the younger muttered after quite a while, “Marco said the same thing after he found out. It comforted me, reassure me, and the way he said, it made me feel weird. Not in a bad way, but, more like, it makes it me feel… fluttery. Like uh, what do you call it, butterflies trapped inside of my stomach kind of weird,” he paused, shaking his head rapidly, “Ugh, i can’t believe that just came out of my mouth. It sounded like something my caretaker back home would secretly read and denied reading, i hate this fruit so bad,”
I don’t think that’s the fruit, buddy, Jozu wanted to say, but decided not to. The poor boy seems frustrated enough.
“It’s weird, because, hell, i went to Pops to tell him, and when he said more or less the same thing, i didn’t feel like this. I felt relieved, yeah, and i felt really, really grateful for him, but i didn’t feel anything like the way it did when Marco say that to me,”
And i am immensely grateful for that on Pops and Marco’s behalf, was what he wanted to say too, though he held himself back. The poor boy seems confused enough.
“I never felt this confused about anyone else before,“
“Seems to me that you need to stop trying to figure out about Marco, and start figuring out about yourself first,”
Ace faced with with furrowed brows, “Figure out… myself?”
“Yeah. If you leave it up to that guy, you’ll be our age before you get an honest word out of him,” he said with a light chuckle, “So why don’t you take the first step instead? Figure out what you truly felt and tell him, then maybe, you’d be able to continue on with this relationship of yours,”
In Jozu’s humble opinion, it was probably also easier that way. In the 2 decade that he has known Marco for, he knows that aside from the sea and sea stone, sorting out his feelings might be the man’s other weakness. He has a complex way of thinking, the balancing negative wave to Pops’ bright outlook, and though this is a good thing within the crew, it was less so when it comes to personal life.
It was also probably why this is the first time in 20 years he had ever seen him genuinely interested in someone.
Next to him, Ace’s eyes widened slightly, as he nearly exclaimed, “R-relationship?! W-what are you—“
The question was left hanging, and it was Jozu’s turn to be confused. It didn’t look like Ace was simply embarrassed by his implication, “Yeah, relationship. You know, Dating?” the more he continued, Jozu took slight amusement to the redness that began to creep up on Ace’s freckled cheeks, “Kissing? Uh, sex? Aren’t you two…?”
“N-no! Marco and i— No, what—What even gave you that idea?! We’re not dating!” he stammered, arms flailing as his face began to turn so unnaturally red that Jozu wondered if he’s going to pop anytime soon, “K-k-kiss and s-se— Is that what you were all talking about?! You thought we were dating?! Why the hell would you even think—“
“But you two kissed! During the truth or dare—“
“That’s because he was trying to protect me from spilling out my secret because of the Truth -Truth Fruit!”
Ace moaned painfully, burying his face while murmuring intelligibly to his hands. His flush had reached to the tip of his ears and even down his neck, fully looking like the embodiment of complete embarrassment. He doesn’t look like one of the most feared pirates on the seas like this, but more like a young, immature child that he is, still squirming and blushing at the mention of carnal pleasure and romance.
One half of Jozu’s mind felt guilty for bringing this up, while the other half wished he had a Den-Den Mushi with him now to take a picture.If he give this precious image presented right before him to Marco, maybe the man will consider owing him for years, maybe even several lifetime.
Oh well, if he can’t get Marco’s undying loyalty, then at the very least, he can take his bet money back from Thatch.
When the younger finally fell silent, he slowly lowered his enough to reveal the top half of his face. There’s still some light dusting of healthy flush across his face, complimenting the freckles on his cheeks, and his eyes were watery and dazed. Jozu expected him to go to another embarrassed outburst, but the look on Ace’s face was contemplative, almost melancholic, even, “Ace?”
“This morning,” Ace mumbled, word almost muffled by the position of his hands, but Jozu can hear him all the same, “I think he was about to kiss me,” The tip of his fingers moved, tracing his lower lips slightly as he said it, like he was reminiscing whatever did happened this morning, “And i was going to let him,”
Jozu stared, and finally sighed, “He’ll be back tomorrow. I suggest the two of you have some good, long talk, and figure out just what it is you wanted. Lock him up and tie him up if you have to,”
Ace gave him a small smile, as well as a good natured snort, “You know, according to Marco, another thing that this Devil Fruit made me do, is make me admit some truths that even i couldn’t figure out about myself. It wasn’t pleasant at all, to be honest, but maybe, i can use it for something good for once,”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. If this fruit is still in effect until tomorrow, then instead of me chasing for an answer out of him, i’m going to have him force an answer out of me,”
Jozu widened his eyes at his fellow Commander, shocked by the brazen idea and the cheeky smile on his face, a complete contrast to the flustered mess that he was just a moment ago. Kids always had too much energy for him to keep up with, “Ace, is that really a good idea? This fruit seems like too much of a bad news to be used like that—“
“Yeah, and that’s why i’m going to make it useful for me for once,” the grin dimmed down into something almost shy, as the flush on his cheeks appeared once more, “Besides, he promised that no matter what i have to say, he’s going to be there. Even if he dodged my question a lot, i know that if there’s one thing i can rely on Marco for, is that he won’t break his promise,”
This time, Jozu really wished he had a Den-Den Mushi in his hands to record this and show it to Marco. The amount of conviction and trust in Ace’s words made him realize that if Ace’s idea does not work, then friends for 20 years or not, he’s going to make sure Marco won’t let himself be the reason why the two of them can’t work out.
He glanced down to the Devil Fruit Dictionary still in between them, and smiled to himself.
Tomorrow really can’t come any sooner.
But Marco never came back the next day. Or the day after that.
After the third day, First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Marco the Phoenix, was pronounced missing.