Just Like Fire (Ace x Reader)

Chapter 24: Deluge

Digging through boxes when you got back to the house was turning into a thing of frustration. There wasn't a spare computer that you could find, and Sabo wasn't keen on letting anyone risk their primary device just to see what it was that Ichiji had graced you with. Virus aside, he was concerned that the small device would just explode and ruin whatever it was plugged into.

You wanted to tease him for his paranoia, but experience told you he wasn't as far off the mark as you'd prefer, so you let it drop.

The two of you were looking for listings of a cheap refurbished item when Ace interrupted you both. Marco had completed the research he needed to and wanted to meet with everyone. Ace had taken the initiative to ask, and learned that the station had a few old computers, so the three of you piled into Sabo's car again and were back on the road.

You slump a bit in the passenger seat, and can feel Sabo glancing at you.

"How're you holding up, lil' spark?"

"Well enough," you assure him, pushing yourself to a more upright position. "Camping, and an odd sleep schedule, plus helping out at the restaurant, and the stress of Ichiji, and it's barely lunch and I'm realizing none of us has eaten. I don't think I've ever done so much in a twenty-four hour span, and yet the kind of tired that I feel is almost... fake? I feel like I should be dead on my feet, but I'm sure I could go another eight hours easily. Cranky with hunger, perhaps, but nothing that would even begin to require medical attention."

"I'm impressed how much you've improved already." Sabo smiles.

"Well, catching fire an-." You catch yourself as the car swerves slightly.

"You. Caught. Fire?" Sabo's voice is more strained than you've heard it in years, and you can tell he is scrambling to keep his focus on the road.

"I'm okay, brother." You put a hand on his arm and repeat the words. "Sabo, I'm okay. I was completely unharmed by it, it's a side effect of the curse."

Sabo's hands tighten on the wheel and for a second you're worried he's going to shatter the steel in his hands before he relaxes. You keep speaking to him, quietly, answering the questions he asks as he comes back into focus. The last time Sabo had almost lost control of himself it was because you had nearly died at the hospital.

Neither of you knew back then that your mother was the cause of your "illness", but Sabo himself was only just recently fully recovered from the wounds your father had inflicted upon him. It was less your situation you thought, and more that he was finding himself back in the hospital. It was a hard place for either of you to be, and with luck it would be years before either of you needed to set foot in one.

"I'm sorry," you say finally, once everything is settled. "With everything else going on, I wasn't even thinking about it."

"S'alright, lil' spark." He says, his voice and smile strained. "I guess I should be relieved that you can't be burned. Makes the two of you quite the match."

You tense, feeling the heat rising to your face before you tucked yourself back into your seat. "Even if I was highly flammable, I'd trust Ace not to burn me."

"DON'T YOU DARE IGNITE IN MY CAR!" Sabo bellows suddenly, eyes on his rear view mirror. You didn't turn to look at Ace, it would've only made it worse, but you bit your lower lip to keep from laughing.

"I'm," smack. "Not! I'm not!"

"You're both going to be the death of me." Sabo grumbles, but you can hear the relief in his voice, and see the smile pulling at his lips.

The rest of the drive was fairly quiet. Ace was focusing on keeping his cool, and you were letting yourself doze a little bit. Sabo drove to relax, so it was the best thing he could be doing anyway. It didn't take that much longer to reach the station, and the three of you were greeted by Thatch.