PELAGIC - Ace x Reader x Law

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN: Set Up

It had been a while since I had felt so immensely pissed off.

Things had been a lot less awkward than I had expected the morning after Ace and I opened our feelings - and our bodies - to each other, and we even spent a while talking in the early hours of the morning, my head upon his chest and his fingers combing through my hair.

Once we had redressed and dropped the key back to the generous shopkeeper, we set off to track down The Moby Dick, launching off from the shore in the Striker. I was a lot more comfortable acting as Ace's sentient backpack now, arms and legs curled tight around him so I couldn't get burned by the flames whipping from his feet.

However, my mood began to change when Ace took out Marco's vivre card. It had been pointing back towards the island. Confused, we mutually decided to circle around instead of landing again, just in case we had missed something.

We had.

On the Northern shore, opposite to where it had been anchored the day prior, was the Moby Dick in all its glory, waiting for us to return. The moment I saw Thatch, Deuce and Marco leaning over the starboard edge, I felt like I was burning more than Ace was.

"Oops, did we forget to tell you we were moving the ship? Totally our fault!" Thatch called out, lowering the ramp for us whilst Ace reattached the Striker to the tow-line. Up I marched, throwing the bag of plums in his face before I even made it the whole way up.

"So, how did you and Acey-Boy enjoy your evening together? How convenient that the grocer had a spare room for you two, yoi!" Marco chuckled, only to burst out in hysterics when I grabbed him by the collar, threatening him with my fist.

"Oh, you sons of bitches..! The whole thing was a set-up?!" I backed him further onto the deck, still holding his shirt tightly when I turned to jab a finger towards the wheezing cook, who was busy picking up stray plums that had flown from the bag. "You thought that was funny?!"

Duece stepped between me and Thatch, holding his hands up in a feeble attempt to calm me down.
"Easy, (Y/N)...They insisted that it was a necessary course of action-"
"Which just so happened to be hilarious!" Marco added, earning him a harsh shove which knocked him flat on his ass.

Ace joined us on the deck, grunting as he pulled the ramp back up to sit in its usual spot.
"Seriously, guys, that was overkill. Sure, it helped, but a little warning would've been nice." Groaning, I raked a hand down my face, slumping my body into a very poor posture to show my frustration.
"Don't encourage them!"

Standing and brushing himself off with a limp wrist, Marco was still chortling, gnawing away at my patience.
"Oh, so it helped, did it, yoi? Knew it would! Did you two finally jump each other's bones and get together?"

I'm going to flay him alive. I really am.

Again grabbing Marco's shirt, this time by the sleeve, I began to drag him off, willing away the urge to remove my boot and slap him across the face with it.
"Shut up and come with me. I need to talk to you. In private..." I muttered through clenched teeth, glad that he decided to zip his lips.

I lead him all the way to the infirmary without saying a word, making sure the door was locked and nobody else was around before I released him, moving to sit down on the nearest bed.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing for a moment. What's up, missy?" He pulled up his wheelie chair and sat backwards, scooting closer and folding his arms across the headrest.

"You're technically a doctor, right?" I asked, my hands already wringing the material of my shirt nervously. He noticed immediately, quirking a brow but not mentioning it aloud.
"If you drop the technically, yes. Did you get hurt during the storm? Falling branch? Slipped and fell, yoi?"