| The Saver | Portgas D Ace x Reader

Chapter 36: Worry

When I was a child, I read a book about greek gods and their children.

I always thought they were blessed.

Blessed to have a happy life, one full of fortune, love and luck. And I aimed to have such a life, with fervor and passion, I dreamed to have a happy ending. I dreamed that no matter what hardship I faced, I would reach an ounce of happiness that would accommodate all the pain I'd gone through.

-"Thatch you said you were leaving on a mission today right?"

-"Yeah?"

-"Would it be a problem if I joined along?"

I wanted to be a person blessed by the Gods.

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The dinner hall was as noisy as always with its screams and laughter that you had gotten used to in the one day that you had spent here. But now the noise seemed much quieter, reaching your ears almost in whispers, as if it couldn't reach you. You stared at Thatch with concentration as he packed up some food on the packet in his hand with lazy precision. Thanks to Thatch's inability to hold his drink, you were leaving for the mission towards mid-dinner rather than the morning.

-"Are you going to tell me what's on your mind, or are you going to continue to glare daggers at our precious food?" Thatch suddenly spoke up, gazing at your eyes filled with intensity you had not realized you had been carrying. A hand reached for a shiny apple on the counter:

-"Where's Teach?" Is he not coming by any chance?" you spoke up, trying to sound casual as you toyed around with the apple. Your vacant hand pressed to your throat for support. You could feel your hands shaking, your body was telling you there was something wrong with you. However the ache in your chest was enough to tell you that you were definitely not alright. The shaking fingers were only a fraction of the pain you currently felt. Thatch turned to look at you once again, taking the apple from your hand and placing it along the food he had been packing.

-"He is talking to pops about the mission before we leave. Why? You don't want him to come with us?" he asked, turning away from your face to look at the ladle placed next to you. "Could you hand me that?" he added, pointing towards the ladle.

-"I get the feeling you don't like him that much...Teach I mean." Thatch continued, adding a quick thank you as he took the utensil from your hands. "I know it may be scary to interact with everyone at first, especially loud guys like Teach, but- he is a nice guy, you know? We take care of each other here, you can trust me on that." You looked at him, taken aback by his sudden speech, not knowing what to say. You gripped your stomach out of reflex, fighting the pain.

-"Or... Maybe you're interested in me and want to spend some quality time?" He continued jokingly, placing a hand on the table and leaning towards you flirtingly.

You took a step back with a face devoid of emotion, too disoriented to come up with a witty response. You opened your mouth to answer, but before you could a crash next to you pulled you out of the conversation. You let out a sigh of relief, happy for the intervention.

-"Who threw that fucking apple?!" someone towards your left shouted, rising from his table in anger. Your eyes trailed after the green apple that slowly reeled your way and brushed against your shoes.

-"When I find who did it I'm gonna %&'/!=^^! and %&+&/1*!!" the bulky man shouted.

-"Whoah, too much detail." Thatch said, turning towards you as though he was contemplating whether to cover your ears. You smiled, happy that the conversation about Teach had been deterred and grateful for whoever threw the apple.