PELAGIC - Ace x Reader x Law

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX: Burn Me Alive

"I told you, Marco asked me to go grab some kind of herb for the infirmary, and when I got back they were gone."

Now, having heard Ace's side of things, I was positive we had been deliberately set up. I was mad, but not as much as I should have been. At least not now, mostly naked and nervous, sitting a few feet away from Ace, who was even more naked.

Clutching the thin blanket to cover my chest, I puffed out a breath, watching it cloud and disappear before my eyes.
"I'll kick their asses. First Thatch's, then Marco's..." I muttered bitterly, choosing a bland section of the wooden floor to stare at instead of risking a look in his direction.

The strong silence seemed even heavier thanks to the roaring storm outside, but it didn't last long. A bright glow from my side caused me to steal a glance, and I was beyond relieved that I couldn't see anything thanks to the way Ace was sitting. He was holding his hand out towards me, and it was alight, the warmth calling me in closer.

"Don't try and tell me to quit it. We both know you're freezing." He said firmly, and he was right. I couldn't deny it, so I shifted a touch closer, the heat of his flame a relief for my icy body.
"Thanks..." I murmured in response, turning back to look at my boring section of floor.

We need to talk, but I don't know how to word any of it...

"Ace, I-"
"I'm gonna stop you right there. I already know what you're gonna say." He cut me off, his tone flat and very unlike the him I knew now. "Things are complicated. I still love the Flamingo. I need time. I get it."

Narrowing my eyes, I resisted the urge to whip my head around to aim them at him.
"That's because they are complicated. The longest I've ever been my own person before has been a couple of months, as a kid. I need time to find out who I can be without...his influence. You know I care about you, so why can't you just wait?"

There it was. That biting spark that had always been alive between us, and I could feel his sharp glare piercing the side of my skull.
"I can wait! It's the fact that you decided to avoid me instead of talk to me about it! That's the problem!" His voice raised, so I amped mine to match, finally turning my glare to his face.

"See, this is why! You ways end up turning things into a fight!" I snapped, watching the once small flame begin to lick up his arm towards his shoulder.
"I'm arguing because you didn't!" He laughed loudly in a sarcastic, agitated way. "Wow, for someone who came from a crew called the Donquixote Family, you sure are selfish! Didn't even think how I would feel about it!"

He didn't really just say that?!

Jumping to my feet, I threw the blanket that had been covering my chest at his face, his flames poofing into nothingness as I stormed off.
"How dare you bring that up, you asshole! I don't know how to deal with crap like this, okay?! I'm sorry it's not as easy for me as it seems to be for you!"

I heard him stand up and follow for a few paces, the heat filling the room tipping me off to how pissed off he was.
"You think this is easy for me?! You kissed me several times, and I was more than willing to wait, but you wouldn't even look me in the eye! Anything would have been better than that! All I wanted was an explanation! Why do you have to act like such a bitch?!"

In an instant I spun around and marched right up to the ravonet, finger jabbing hard against his bare chest, lips curled back into a snarl.
"Need I remind you that you and your overgrown chicken buddy plucked me out of my comfort zone and held me hostage?! And you're calling me the bitch?!"

It's really getting hot in here...

Seizing my wrist, Ace's teeth bared to mirror my expression, and I could see his internal flames dancing behind his eyes.
"We saved your ass and you know it!" He barked back, the temperature of his hand sending a jolt deep into my bones.