A Fire spirits rekindling!

Brothers bond

Marco was surprised to see Ace following the captain. The day before Ace was giving him the cold shoulder. Marco felt himself sigh in relief, it felt like an invisible weight was lifted from his shoulders. Thatch looked from his spot in the kitchen and back at Marco, "Does this mean Ace isn't going to fight pops?" Marco frowned, "Does this mean you were betting on it?" Thatch shook his head suspiciously quick before he began preoccupying himself with something else.

Izou seemed happy about it, Marco really needs to talk to him about Ace. He can't help but feel confused about... well just Ace in general.

Whitebeard sat at the table in his usual spot while Ace sat at the end of the table. Everyone who was at the table seemed equally surprised Ace was there, but didn't say anything. They didn't know if Ace would make himself scarce if they did anything he didn't like.

Haruta, however, does not care for things like that.

"So, you know how we call everyone here brothers and sisters and pops, is well, pops?" Haruta said with a massive grin.

Namur visibly frowned.

Ace rested his head on his hand. "I mean, I've heard about it, don't know much about why." Haruta nodded accepting the answer.

"We see each other as family, when no one could, pops would fill that space." Haruta said her grin went from maniacal to solemn.

Ace grunted in reply. "I won't see anyone as my father." Haruta nodded, from the time they knew Ace whenever his father came up, well, he seemed to hate the dude.

"I can see what you get at, not being blood related and all." This time Thatch nodded, "Right your brothers! You aren't actually related to them, right?" Ace nodded in response. "Yea."

"When we talked a few days ago, you said your brother was in the revolutionary army." Jozu said. Everyone at the table looked at Ace. "What a great attention getter." Ace thought with a sigh. "Yea."

"So you know Dragon and got a brother working under him?" Vista said with an incredulous look. Ace shrugged in response. "My brother doesn't want me talking about it." Marco looked at Ace suspiciously. "Why?" Ace hummed in response. "I did stuff with the revolutionaries here and there, I know better than to tell."

Thatch started coughing before looking at Ace by standing up. "So your a revolutionary?" Marco managed to mumble something about D's.

"Didn't like the work, stop bothering me about revolutionaries." Ace said with a huff, he could feel the stares from the commanders, but over the course of lunch it died down.

Some would call Ace, a sore loser. He almost had him too, he's the one who went and left Luffy with good for nothing Garp, and was left to be raised by a bunch of bandits who'd starve him if Ace wasn't there to teach him to hunt.

Dragon had it coming, he's a good guy with what he's doing and all, but he's just a horrible father, something Sabo and himself know all too well.

"Hey, Ace, we should be submerging underwater at around midnight tonight." Thatch shook his shoulder. Ace looked around groggily, there was hardly anyone in here anymore, he must have fallen asleep.

"Oh? To Fish-man island right?" Thatch nodded. He pulled something out of his pocket, a cigarette and lit it.

"You know Ace, when I first met you, I didn't think you'd be as much of an enigma as you are." Ace shrugged.

Thatch grunted as he sat down next to Ace.

"It's been in the back of my mind, ever since you said it." Ace pushed himself off the table and looked at Thatch. "When we talked, remember when you said you wouldn't have been offered much." Ace sighed before looking back at the table.

"I'm not going to stop bothering you about it, Ace." Ace nodded, "I figured as much." Thatch let out a puff of smoke.

"I don't want you spitting this, to anyone." Thatch looked at Ace with furrowed eyebrows.

The look in Ace's eyes looked like resignation.

"The marines... They want me bad, the last thing I need is more people on my ass." Ace looked at Thatch.

Thatch put out his cigarette.

"Gol. D Roger. You know him, hell, you've met him." Thatch furrowed his eyebrows, "Yea, only once though, Marco, Izou and Jozu been on this ship longer than me."

"He was funny from what I heard, but I only met him when he was intent on fighting, not to be a nice guy." Ace nodded slowly.

"He was deemed the pirate king, he was a hell of a guy." Thatch finally finished.

"Then you realize just how fucked and wanted his kid is?" Thatch stopped fiddling with his cigarette and looked at Ace. "What do you mean?" Ace looked away from Thatch and back down at the table. "The marines know, wouldn't have been much different if I were alive."

Thatch looked at Ace for a moment. "They found out, and would have, no, they tried, to kill me the moment they heard. But luckily for me, I was a spirit, already dead."

"Ace." Thatch stopped himself from continuing. "Hell do you mean they tried?" Ace looked at Thatch again, "I was put into a prison for a while, torture, basically."

Thatch looked at Ace with wide eyes. "The marines... Tortured you?" Ace looked down again.

"The events on the Baterilla, they managed to find out my mom's relations with Roger, killed her on the spot. Since I wasn't even born yet, I went down with her."

Thatch looked away from Ace, deep in thought.

"Then..." Thatch trailed off. Ace looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You know, I was thinking about starting up another prank war."  Ace looked at Thatch with a confused glare.

"Haruta, I just know he's been cooking up some good ones, it's always funny watching Marco get mad."

"Sure... You'll have to show me the ropes." Ace said with a smile. Thatch smiled, "I've got some free time before I have to start prepping dinner." Thatch said standing up.

"I bet we can squeeze in a couple classics before we get to the complicated stuff." Thatch said as he ran out of the galley, Ace followed not far behind.