Just Like Fire (Ace x Reader)

Chapter 13: Building Collapse

"Yeah. Look, run it by Marco." Ace says into the phone after some back and forth with Luffy. Even though you're on the roof, he's had you wearing the oxygen mask. "Oh hey, been listening in already? That makes it easier."

Ace gives you a reassuring smile, holding onto your hand while he talks.

"Yeah, that would be a little safer, but you'd be on camera." Ace responds to something Marco had said and there was a moment of silence before you heard the conversation resume. "Fair and valid, but I'm just fire, I'm not --." He goes silent and you can hear Marco's aggravation through the phone.

"It's the best we have. We don't have a 21-story ladder. There's smoke coming up and out of the stairwell, I can't back down that way. I felt the shift.

"Wait, that's it! The building isn't structurally sound! Evacuate everyone a block back." Ace says. "Yeah it'll take some time, but if I stay connected to Luffy we can coordinate inside of a couple seconds, that's enough... Perfect."

"Hey Luff. No, you can't talk to her right now, her voice is shot to shit for one." Ace lets go of your hand and stands up. He's moving around the roof, looking over the edges, and checking things again. It's the third time he's done it since you got up on the roof. "She's on oxygen. Let Sabo know she's unhurt before he pops a vein."

Ace moves the speaker away from his mouth as he crouches down by you. He puts his hand against your forehead for the second time, and returns the smile you give him at the gesture.

"It's gonna be okay." He says, brushing your hair back. "We'll get you – oh, crap." He puts the phone back to his mouth. "Luffy! Luffy! Hey, yeah, put Sabo on... Hey, call that guy, we're going to have to take her to the hospital per procedure. He's gotta be there. Right, yeah, okay." Ace lets out a sigh of relief and then smiles at you.

"So, it's not illegal to use our abilities," he starts to explain. "But, well, there's a lot of shit around it, right? So even though people might know someone is cursed, they can go their whole lives without knowing how. Even if someone's abilities come to light, they still avoid using them unless they have to. Just the way things have worked out." He adds, seeing the distressed look on your face.

"They're going to push the civilians back. I'm going to put you over my shoulders, they call it a fireman's carry," he grins. "And then comes the hard part."

"You're going to jump off the roof." You say evenly, pulling the mask down to be sure you're heard.

Ace almost laughs. "I knew you were going to know. Yeah. I can't fly, but I can slow our descent. Luffy's going to catch us. You've barely seen what he can do, but trust me-."

"I do." You look away despite your answer, but it's more because it's embarrassing to say. "I trust both of you as much as I do Sabo." You look back toward him, seeing his face dusted pink. "Will... you be okay?"

"Yeah. Out of everyone involved in this plan, I'll be safest." He says it a little guiltily, but you visibly relax at the declaration. "Look, I have really good control of my fire, but it is still fire."

"You... turn into fire. You don't produce it?"

"Ah, both. I mean, where there's fuel to burn – oxygen or whatever else – I can ignite it and use it. The W.G. gets nervous when I use my curse, considering I could effectively burn the world."

"I can't say it wouldn't be deserved." You admit, coughing a little. You're talking too much and so you lean back, putting the mask back on for now.

Ace smirks at you. "Sabo says the same thing. Yeah, I'm here Lu, what's up?"

"Alright. Yeah. The alley-side? No, that makes sense... Smoker, huh? Really? That's great news! Yeah, okay – I'll listen for it, I have to hang up anyway to do my part. Hey, one for – yeah, okay, you got it."

Ace ends the call and lets you tuck the phone back into your pocket. You look at him curiously.

"When Luffy's ready they're gonna sound the truck horn. One honk means he'll be where I expect him to be. Two honks mean he'll be on a different side, three for the other side. Also, we're getting an assist from the only local marine I'd ever dare to trust, so there's less likelihood someone will see me turn to fire."

Ace crouches down in front of you. "We'll have to leave the oxygen behind." He nudges the backs of his knuckles against your cheek and gives you a sheepish smile. "If you throw up on me, I'll forgive you, so don't panic, okay?"

Ace gives you another few moments with the oxygen before taking it away. He talks you through a fireman's carry, and gets you draped over his shoulders.

"Just relax, try and stay as comfortable as you can." He says as he walks closer to the roof's edge. "Let me do all the work."

You try to say okay, but you end up coughing for so long that Ace adjusts you so you're more upright for a moment until it passes. You settle with patting him on the back as you slump back into him.

Another minute passes and you hear the unmistakable sound of the firetruck's horn. You hadn't doubted that Ace would hear it, so far up, but you were surprised how loud it still sounded.

After a beat, there was only one honk, and Ace ran a couple steps before leaping over the roof's edge. The takeoff was a little rough from your perspective, but you held onto his fire jacket and hid your face in his sleeve.

Maybe one day you'd have the desire to watch the skyline as you were hurled off a building, but today was not that day.

Wind battered you both, but then you heard – more than felt – the roar of Ace's feet and legs turning into fire. You imagined he was concentrating the flames the way he had when he melted the lock, making as close to rocket thrusters as he could get.

The roar of the fire was almost as loud as the wind that was tearing past you as you descended. You could feel him moving and adjusting as you fell in the most surreal mix of controlled, and completely uncontrolled, descent ever. His grip on you stayed constant, but you could feel his body tensing and twisting as he adjusted and maneuvered.

You know he says something at one point, but you can only feel the rumble of his voice from your position against him. Whatever meaning was in the words was lost on you, and thankfully, you didn't need to do anything.

There was a flicker of light and for a split-second Ace was gone, but in the time it took your eyes to open, he was already grabbing hold of you again. He lands into what looks like a giant tan balloon. You hear him grunt from the impact as the two of you sink deep enough that everything goes dark before you're thrown back into the air.

Ace doesn't let go.

"Couple more times!" He yells as you fall back into the massive soft balloon.

Your brain catches up to everything the second time you go back into the air, and you realize the massive balloon is Luffy. He's deflating a little each time you land on him, slowly bringing you and Ace down to the street level carefully.

Once he's small enough and you've stopped bouncing, Ace slides off his brother's stomach and onto the ground. "Thanks, Luffy!"

Ace has you in his arms in a cradle carry, and you're shaking. "You alright?"

You nod, but the shivering doesn't subside. You aren't convulsing, and you don't feel cold, but your whole body's trembling. You were already exhausted, but the shivering was making it worse. Your senses start to go fuzzy, and you can't manage much more than holding onto the collar of Ace's uniform. You can feel the vibrations of him talking, you're sure of it, and somewhere Sabo's voice slips along the edges of your comprehension, but you can't clearly hold onto any of it.

You're beyond overloaded, and way past your limits. You weren't even sure how you were still conscious. You were safe, and alive, and Ace was okay too. He started to set you down at one point and you grabbed onto him out of reflex.

Some part of you was convinced you'd end up back in the burning building if you let go of him.

He said something, you weren't sure what, and his warm hand against the side of your face helped you relax a little. The warm kiss on your forehead, like a magic spell, broke all the fears inside you, and without the tension to keep you awake you passed out.