Ace x reader: Come with me!

Chapter 5: Talking

A few days later, somewhere on the border of the Icy Seas...

"Okay, are you ready?!" Ace cheered in your ear. No. Not all. Here you where, in the kitchen with a Snailphone in front of you. Ace on your left side. And sweat sliding down your face. "No. Not at all." You replied, shaking your head. Ace laughed, and dailed the phone. "Sounds like you are~! It's okay, (y/n), it's just my brother Marco!" He reassured you as the Snail tried to connect to Marco's.

Pereperepere...
Pereperepere...
Perepere-
Gotcha!

"Oi Ace! It's been too damn long? Where have ya been-yoi?" Another voice said. You immediately tensed up and Ace noticed, placing a hand on your shoulder. "Ey Marco! I've been good! I made a friend, her name's (y/n)! Say hi, (y/n)~" Ace grinned, bringing the phone closer to you. You gulped, took a deep breath and said: "... Hi." in the quitest and softest voice a human could probably master. It's not your fault, you just aren't used to talk to others... especially pirates. And as if it was a miracle, that Marco person understood you. "Ooh, hello there little lady! Is Ace a lot of trouble-yoi? Hahaha!" Marco laughed. The freckled man immediately glared down at the Snailphone that looked quite a bit like a pineapple. "Oi. There's a reason I called ya. See, (y/n) here isn't used to talk to people so I figured she could practice with you! Smart, ain't it?" Ace said, earning a kick from you. Marco chuckled. "Shy girl, eh? Sure, Pops doesn't have anything for me, I can help out. Do I just have to talk-yoi?" He asked. Ace hummed and you were getting more stressed every second. "I'm gonna leave now, do your best (y/n)~!" Ace stated and left the kitchen as fast as possible. You were about to call after him, but got interrupted. "Don't bother, that's how he is-yoi. (Y/n), wasn't it? What do ya wanna talk about?" Marco said. You focused on his voice and thought. "... I prefer listening... over talking..." you reply softly once again. "Not gonna happen. Ace wants ya to talk, and that's what you're gonna do!" He scolded you. You sighed. Why you?

After an awkward silence of several minutes, he broke the ice. "... How about you tell me 'bout your interests?" He proposed. Since you weren't able to miss this one out, you hummed and thought about possible subjects. Algebra? History? Geography? Photosyntesis? What were you supposed to talk about? Wait. Marco, wasn't it? That must be Marco the Phoenix! The one who ate the Mythical Zoan Type Model Phoenix! Perhaps...?

"... Do you wish to hear about the, uh, origins of the phoenix?" You ask, forcing yourselves to talk a bit louder. "Oh? Let's hear it-yoi!" He said and based on the phone, smiled.

"... And finally, after the previous stages, the Phoenix returns to its original form and still exists somewhere in this world." You ended your explanation. Wow. You never thought you could talk so easily and swiftly to someone else being so calm. Each time you felt like stopping, you felt a presence near you. It was Ace, who was giving you thumbs ups and mouthed "Go for it!" and "Carry on!" repeatedly. Quite an experience. Something to add to your research. "Whoa. You know a lot don't you?" Marco said, clearly impressed. "Naturally. I know everything within and out this world, all except... how to feel." You said ashamed. "You'll learn it. Especially with Ace. Well, maybe you won't, but most people do." He said. You raised an eyebrow.  "What do you mean?" You ask. What an unusual thing to say. Perhaps he meant to feel friendship? Or to feel happy? Is that it? You had the basic written knowledge on emotions, but that was all. "Ah, forget it. Anyways, I think you did great. Maybe 'cause it was about a subject ya know stuff about. Try to practice on stuff you don't know things about. Small talk." He advised you. You nodded. "Noted." You said and were about to take your notebook, but a glare from Ace forced you to leave the notebook in peace. "I mean: I will." You corrected yourself. 'Noted' might be a weird thing to say if you aren't really writing it down...

"I gotta go now, we got a birthday to celebrate apparently and a certain someone's not happy we forgot... talk to ya later Ace! And you too, (y/n). You have a lovely voice by the way-yoi. See ya!" The male said and disconnected. You smiled and were proud of yourselves. One step closer. To what, you didn't know yet, but you were getting closer to something.

And something else was getting closer too.

"(Y/n)!!! Well done, I'm proud of you!" Ace cheered loudly as he crushed you in a 'hug'. You gasped for air, patting his back and hoping he would let go soon. He eventually did, allowing you to breathe again. "Really, you did well." He said a lot calmer this time. You nodded and gave him a smile. His eyes widened as he messed up your hair with his fingers. "What an adorable smile... you should do that more often..." he said, giving you a smile of his own, and pulling you closer. Rather surprised, you stared blanky at his. He suddenly placed his hat on your head, but due to it being to big it fell over your eyes. Ace laughed and tipped the hat up a bit, looking at you with a wide smile.

"Next time, I want to hear you laugh."