Just Like Fire (Ace x Reader)

Chapter 17: Revel

Marco, Luffy, and even Ace, worked with you late into the evening. By the end of it you could at least fully transform into a very large, very white bird, and then successfully transform back into yourself. It looked a little like a mix of a pigeon, peacock, and hawk, though it was entirely white.

"You'll start to notice more about it as time goes by, yoi." Marco says. "Until we know exactly what your curse is, it'd be hard to try and preemptively sort it out. Once you get more comfortable changing I can try to help you do partial transformations."

"Pájaro bonito. (pretty bird)" Ace says with a smile on his face.

"You shouldn't talk to her in a language she doesn't know." Marco admonishes.

You feel the heat in your face, and then you feel a strange shiver ripple along the top of your head. The other three look at you with their eyes wide.

"Was that...?" Luffy starts.

"It was white too..." Marco mutters.

Ace beams. "She understands it." He steps toward you and ruffles your hair a little. "You're going to have to try and keep your emotions in check, pajarita. (small birdie)"

"What – what was that?" You question, patting your own head for a second.

"White fire." Marco says. "Well, that'll make it easier to sort out your curse." His lazy smile turns into a serious expression. "Keep it in check though. I've never seen white fire before, which means it's a rare kind of curse. Rare curses come with their own set of problems, and those are usually best avoided."

"How do I find out more about it?" You question hesitantly. "I mean, how do I research what curse this is?"

"You don't." Marco asserts, pointing toward your heart. "Keep your senses turned in so you can learn control. Leave the research up to me and the guys at the station. We have ways of gathering information that won't draw attention."

You nod. "Alright, and... thank you for all your help."

You thanked Marco for his help a couple more times as you walked him out of the house. He promised to let you know what he could find out, and then told Ace to take a few more days off.

"I don't need that much time off." Ace huffs.

Marco jabs him in the chest. "You made some promises down there, yoi. Keep. Them."

"Ah – I ... need time to plan." Ace's shoulders slump.

"You're a bright boy, hot stuff, I'm sure you'll pull something together." Marco says teasingly. You can see the lines of Ace's shoulders shiver and you realize he's suppressing his fire as much as he can. Marco looks over to you with a smile. "Torment the hell out of him." He says with a wink before leaving.

You offer Marco a smile and a wave, as you step up beside Ace. You brush your arm against his, nudging him a little.

"It doesn't have to be perfect." You say quietly. "It just needs to be you and me." You reach out for his hand and stop short. It wasn't that you didn't want to hold his hand, but it felt like if you touched him right now things would go a little too fast.

"I'm, um, going to go to bed." You say a little awkwardly. "It's been a lo-long day, after all."

Ace seems to have composed himself after Marco's teasing and he smiles down at you, before leaning down and kissing the top of your head. "Rest well, (Y/N)."

He heads toward the backyard, and you nearly follow him. The exhaustion of the day, and the almost loopy feeling in your head from how tired you were, were the only things that stopped you. It didn't matter that you wanted to spend more time with him, even if just a moment, but you were honestly more likely to fall asleep on him.