Portgas D. Ace X Reader - The boy from the church

20

Really important a/n: Although I've described death in my book before, I want to give a warning for this chapter. It doesn't have any gore or any violent imagery attached to it, but it gets very dark towards the end, so I'm sorry if it makes anyone uncomfortable. Please read at your own risk!

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When Ace woke up from his nap in the kitchen, everyone else in Luffy's house were all tensed up, worrying about Mihawk's situation. His operation was the key to Ace's safety, and if he, somehow, loses, you knew you had to pay for it. Luffy was watching everything from the side, as he talked to Sabo on the phone, telling him everything that was going on. The blonde man repeatedly said that he wished he was there to support you, but he couldn't break his code, or else he would risk being seen by one of his supervisors.

Ace shook his head and immediately headed to the bathroom, where he cooled down by pouring some cold water over himself. He didn't usually do cold water showers, but he was so stressed out that it was literally increasing his body temperature. He looked in the mirror and noticed on his face some remains of the make up that you used to do for him, in order to be able to leave the house, and it reminded himself of how lucky he was to have found an alternative to living a miserable life. He was surrounded by people who supported him, he was backed up by the best assassin he knew, and also, the only one he knew, but still, he was still filled with a lot of anxiety, because he didn't know if he'd reach the next day or not. Ace felt like he needed to live every day to its full potential, and never miss out on any detail, until it was too late. For as many people who were standing by his side, just as many people wanted him dead and that thought creeped through his mind too much than he wanted to admit.

These past few days were absolutely filled up with crazy experiences, from finding out about his long lost brother, to meeting him in real life, to the amazing sensations from last night with his girlfriend. All he wanted to do was to secure your life together and to finally break free from all the false accusations against him, giving you the best life you had ever wished for... But that path seemed to be long ahead, and he had to face a lot of life threatening obstacles on the way. However, his negative gut feeling was eating him up from the inside. No matter how much he tried to stay positive, he couldn't ignore the anticipation that he could die any moment if Mihawk fails his operation; and as much as he wanted it to succeed, he couldn't accept the fact that he had to expect it to go horribly wrong.

Once he was done showering, he came out of the bathroom greeted by you and your concern for him.

"Are you okay? You barely spoke today." you reached out for a hug.

"Yeah, I just wanted to reinvigorate myself." he stepped in his room, where he grabbed some fresh clothes.

You shyly told him about Mihawk's issues with his plan and that Shanks suggested it was best for him to leave, before it was too late. You followed him along to his room, where he was standing naked, deciding what clothes he should put on. Ace frowned as he folded away his bathrobe, shaking his head in silence, signaling that he didn't agree with Shanks' plan.

"Hey buddy", Shanks came upstairs, behind you. "We don't have much time left."

"Can't you just leave me alone for a second? And why are you all so worried about Mihawk, anyways? Plus, he trusted you with his car, and now you can't even trust him back?!" Ace shouted at him, as he quickly covered his body with the clothes.

Both you and the red haired man looked at each other in confusion. "I'm sorry I didn't knock..." he whispered in response. "And I understand that you're... mad, and you're just hoping for the best outcome, but I need to make sure that you're prepared to leave. Heck, I'd even suggest you to leave right now, just to make sure. Then, if everything turns out right, you can just come back, and we'll get you your new ID's from Sabo and you'll be able to start over-" Shanks explained.