With different eyes

Off to Luffy

Lucia's POV

As Ace and I stand at the railing, we face a bunch of long-suffering faces. Even Marco doesn't look so enthusiastic. "We'll be back soon, I promise!" tries Ace to reassure the others. "Watch out for the ship demon!" says Marco, patting Ace on the back. I cross my arms, I don't need a babysitter! I wave at father and look at Ace. The latter listens to Marco's lecture, which nicely refers to not giving him any more trouble than usual. I'm already fidgeting restlessly, I want to get going or we'll miss the surprise guest. Marco finally lets go of Ace and puts his arm around my shoulder. I'm still grinning and Marco flicks me against the nose. "Hey!" I complain. "Watch the lighter and don't do anything stupid!" he says to me. I look at him with raised eyebrows. "You do know who you're talking to?" I ask sceptically. It doesn't take five minutes before Ace and I have already done something stupid again. Especially when we are on the road together.

Marco gives me a hug and then lets me go. I go to Ace, who takes me carefully in his arms. He waves to the others again and jumps onto the Striker. I sit down on the bow and Ace stands in the fire bowl. One last wave to the Moby and then we race across the sea. I don't know why, but on the Moby there is an Eternal Port to the island where Luffy is. But well they have a real collection of the things. I close my eyes and let the wind blow around my nose. "Are you looking forward to seeing Luffy?" I ask backwards to Ace. He grins broadly in response. I shake my head, please Garp grant my request. We sail further and further across the sea. Ace seems to enjoy the freedom, a satisfied feeling comes from him. "How are you going to tell your parents?" Ace suddenly asks me after a few hours of quietly gliding along. "I haven't the slightest idea! I'll probably come into the house and my mother will already know for some reason. The woman has a built-in should-I-don't-know sensor, even Marco would be impressed," I reply, annoyed. How do you explain to your parents that you're coming to visit them, from another world, because you're pregnant?

Ace laughs behind me. "What do you think she'll say about us having separate bodies now?" wonders Ace as we glide across the sea. "My mum probably won't let you go and feed you, knowing her," I reply to him. "Do you think they're mad?" he asks me. "Because of the pregnancy? No! But I bet the wedding question is coming!" I laugh. Ace turns white. "Lucia..." he starts. I just wave it off. "No! We're already together, I don't need a ring." I say and watch Ace exhale in relief. I giggle, Ace loves his freedom now and I don't care either. I drop onto my back and say, "We can train!" I'm slightly bored as I can't do anything. "And how are you going to do that?" he asks me amused. "Well we can train the bond, Rouge said that even without touching we can take each other's abilities." I say excitedly. Ace grins and asks, "And how are you going to do that?" I put my finger to my lips, considering. "Well, we can try touch first and then move further and further away!" I say cluelessly. Somehow it will work out, or at least I'll have something to do.

And that's what we do. During the day we sail across the sea while we train our band. Meanwhile, without a touch from Ace, I can access his fire skills and train. Funnily enough, we found out that a sea king is to blame for Ace being able to send his kings haki through the band, so that it is released on me. But I can't use it myself. In the evening we usually rest on an island and conserve our supplies by having Ace go hunting. Morning sickness has a firm grip on me and I can hardly eat anything in the morning. But I make up for it at lunchtime. So the week it takes us to get to the island where Luffy is training passes very quickly. I can already see it on the horizon.

"We'll be there soon!" I say excitedly and can feel Ace's joy through the bond. If he only knew! I fidget around on the front of the bow. "Lucia, be careful!" admonishes Ace as the Striker sways back and forth. "I am, I am!" I wave at him, still fidgeting. "One can almost believe you're more pleased than I am!" says Ace, amused. I just grin at him. It's only because I know more than he does. I wonder if Rayleigh is still on the island. I know he left after about a year. I fidget impatiently and look around. Nothing to see. With a jerk we land on the sandy beach that surrounds the island. But otherwise the island consists only of jungle. "What kind of island is this?" Ace asks me and I play the dictionary again. "This is the island where Luffy trains. There used to be people here, but now it's uninhabited. It has 48 seasons, which means the weather changes every week. There are also strong beasts here. Although I bet Luffy has already made friends with all of them." Ace looks at me. "Why didn't you tell me this before?" he asks me. "Would you have let me come?" I ask the counter question. "No!" he says immediately. I shrug and say, "There's your answer." Ace growls. I leave Striker before Ace even gets the idea to turn back around.