Bon Voyage! [Ace x Reader x Law]

[𝖘𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓.❺]

A flower.

Upon strolling the capital, it was the only thing that had actually caught his interest. A single hibiscus striving in the cold weather of North Blue. The sight of the ruins behind the flower completely contrasted the serenity of the flower. Like a lone beauty.

Unsurprisingly, the capital was much well-kempt. It was disparately different from how the Pleasure Town looked like. Reliving his recent experience with the guards from the watchtower who judged his appearance, it strongly reminded him of Goa Island.

Just as he was nearing the border guardpost, he spotted you, strolling not far ahead from where he was. It intrigued him when he saw you took a turn to a pathless passageway.

He was initially not planning to hide his presence as he stalked you. However, the way you carefully walked while cautiously glancing to left and right somewhat told him that he should probably discreetly observe what you were trying to do before making his presence known to you.

With whatever limited vision the darkness allowed him, he saw you were pulling something vine-like plants from a bark, that he guessed you had hidden beforehand. You didn't stop surprising him when he realised that you were climbing another tree and tied the vines to one of the branches. Were you trying to use the vine to go over the wall?

His speculation was spot on when you took a leap forward. But you did only try as the sound of something snapped caught his ears and his eyes found your falling form. He quickly morphed into fire to transport himself to where your body might land and just caught you in time. It was not the time and place to think about it but,

You being in his arms felt oddly right.

It seemed like you didn't realise that he managed to catch you as your eyes were still shut and you looked like you were ready to embrace the pain. With the fleeting moonlight, he appreciated your features visible from your bonnet that had come slightly off due to the fall.

"You're okay now," he said, trying his best not to chuckle. Your eyes flew open at his words, and finally meeting your eyes stirred a weird sensation in him. That did not go for long as you immediately broke the gaze to look around yourself.

"Who's there?"

The voice of the guard alerted you as he could feel your body flinching in his embrace. Without thinking twice, he quickly pulled you even more towards his chest and quickly hid the both of you in the bushes nearby.

The two of you were silent as the two guards were walking about with lowered awareness. His mind had been on the conversation that the two guards had about cats before his train of thoughts stilled and his mind blanked.

What's wrong with him? He racked his brain for answers as his heartbeat quickened at each breath you silently exhaled to his exposed chest. He too, breathed in a puff of air only to inhale a whiff of a sweet scent from your hair. And imagine having to hold that breathe. To hold that scent from exiting his nostrils. He tightened his hold of you unconsciously.

After it sounded like that the guards had left, he left the bushes before exhaling a long sigh of relief. He could also feel you sigh too and it made him wonder about why you couldn't just cross the walls normally.

"That's actually very nerve-wracking," he whispered to your ears, trying to strike up a conversation out of his curiosity.

And as your face once again turned towards him, he instantly felt the same sensation filling him. It doesn't help that the silvery glow of the moon accentuated the way your irises glinted in the dark.

Hibiscus.

The way you looked then had somehow reminded him of the lone hibiscus he had seen earlier.

"I have to leave," you finally opened your mouth. The words leaving your lips came as no surprise to him but,

A serene but lone hibiscus.

"Ah right. Sorry," he supposed it might have to do with many questions around the stranger beauty being left unanswered, but he wanted to know about you more. However, before he could express that, he heard your voice once again.

"Your arm..," he saw you point to one of his arms which he quickly noticed was slightly bleeding from a scratch. It might have probably been due to the sudden friction from when they were hiding in the bushes. Weird, even unconsciously, he would activate his Logia abilities to avoid that scratch. He must have had his thoughts somewhere else when they were trying to hide from the guards, he mentally concluded.

"Oh.. don't mind it. I was usually careful but that felt pretty thrilling, I must not have paid attention...," he immediately reassured you, but it seemed you didn't really take that well as you became perturbedly concerned. The scratch is really nothing to him though..

Nonetheless, it somehow made him happy, knowing that you still cared.

"Does it hurt?" You said to no one and your hand reached out to lightly feel his injury. The touch tingled and also soothing to him. It is as if her touch is cooling his scratch. That does not last long since you immediately retract your hand.

"You're... not from here?" You eventually asked him, probably because he stood out with his clothing.

"Ah yes, I am not from here. Was just stopping by on this island for supplies but then I got curious about what's on the other side so here I am. Don't know why but this place kinda reminds me of my home island," he calmly replied. The last part unconsciously actually escaped from his lips.

"Umm.. you must have found it weird to see someone try to cross the border discreetly but believe me I have my reas-" clearly, you were nervous with how you tried to reason about the suspicious things you did. He could see that your hand fidgeted about the vine that you were still holding. And for some reason, he no longer cared about why you did it in the first place.

"I know, that's why we are hiding right?" He interrupted you and laughed it off, hoping it would ease you a bit.

"I am really sorry but you cannot tell anyone that you have seen me," you said as you took your scarf off and tied it to cover his wound. The action had caught him in surprise but he let you as your hands went around his wounded arm to cover the injury with your silky scarf.

"Please get that treated," you quickly added before you walked off to the other direction which startled him even more. He didn't understand why but he knew inside that he could not merely let you go. He had to see you again. He had to know why he felt those feelings when your eyes met.

"Can I see you again?" He immediately took one of your hand, stopping you. You turned your head towards him in response, and he could see a glint of surprise in your eyes. But your gaze quickly drooped as you removed your hand from his.

"It's not possible."

But that answer was not enough to stop him, as his dropped hand once again flailed to take your hand again.

"I'll find you," he firmly said, yet gently tightening the hold of your hand in his. You looked at your connecting hands, your puzzled look was painted sombre. Your other hand quietly travelled to the fingers that were holding your hand and slowly unwrapped them one by one to completely break the hold.

"Then find me," you eventually looked at him again, your eyes fleetingly glimmered with.. hope? before they dulled again to impassiveness.

And since then he could never forget your hued orbs that reflected the moonlight on that night. The way your fingers glided to remove his hand was forever etched in his senses. He wondered how you would look if you smiled. Just the mere thought sent him butterflies.

He vowed to see you again.