[ON HIATUS] Bounded (Ghost!Ace x Reader) AU

Or not

"You sure you don't want me to just drive you there?" Franky scratched his head as he watched you pack your phone and wallet in a small bag.

"I'm fine. I'm just gonna meet up with a friend of mine from school." You told him and fixed your appearance before heading out the house. Franky, Robin, and Chopper watched you leave.

"Is she really okay?" Franky asked aloud.

Chopper shrugged, "She said she knew the way there, so I think it's fine."

He frowned and looked back to where you left. Although hesitant about leaving you unsupervised, he didn't want to butt in your personal affairs if you didn't want him to.

So you walked silently and kept your mind focused on that one place you could remember. 'What really happened that night?' You kept asking yourself as the answer had just been buried deep in your mind this whole time, locked away and forgotten.

Time seemed to move slowly as you thought about your missing memories. A burned down house filled with painful memories came into view as you stopped at what used to be the gates of your old home.

You stared at the ashes and charcoal-painted remnants of the building. The sound of footsteps caught your attention and you looked up to see an apparition of a memory. A sad smile graced your lips as you watched a young (Name) run out the doors, the sound of her voice making two boys grin as they see her make her way over to meet them.

The memory quickly faded as soon as a familiar face stepped into your view and stared at you in disbelief. His usual stoic expression was replaced by surprise, mouth hung open and speechless from what he was seeing in front of him.

"(Name)?"

You felt yourself smile as soon as you recognized him, "Hello, Marco..."

The confused blonde blinked numerous times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He glanced at the house before looking back at you and realizing why you were here.

"I just came to find the pendant for this-yoi." He explained and held up a silver chain from what you assumed to be from a necklace. You nod in understanding and let him go inside.

Marco spent over an hour or two searching through the soot. Seeing as he was starting to get tired, you tried to offer your help a few times but he instantly rejected them without a second thought.

His determination was what kept him driving forward in his search until he finally found what he was looking for.

"Is that it?" You ask curiously, eyeing the silver locket he was cleaning.

"Yeah... This was actually for you..." He mumbled and took your hand, gently opening it and placing the locket at the center of your palm.

Your eyes widened as you saw the words engraved into the cover: Happy Birthday, princess

"It's Ace's birthday gift-yoi," He said and reached out to pat your head, but stopped himself and pulled his hand away. You looked at him and saw the guilt in his face. It made you pity him since he had endured all the burdens on his own this entire time.

"Well then... Bye." He sighed and began to walk away. Giving you the present was all he came to do, so he didn't feel the need to be around someone he had hurt.

Marco had only taken three steps before he was pulled back by a trembling hand. Looking over his shoulder at you, he saw the loneliness in your eyes and he immediately froze in place.

"(Name), are you-?" He said slowly and peered down at you in slight panic.

You shook your head and tugged on his hand, pulling him into a tight embrace.