Hello, i am bored and has writer's block. Also, i just saw some fanarts of nurse Ace and my interest and creative sensibilities (pfft) are ignited.

"If you look down at my chest one more time, i will jam this thermometer up where the sun don't shine and trust me, i can make it hurt,"

Jadd clicked his jaw shut and snapped his head up so fast both of them made multiple cracking noises. Nurse Ann might be half his size but that glare is deadly, her pooling stormy orbs promising pain with the device she held high in one hand, and only a fool with no sense of survival would dare underestimate her.

Also, he heard about what happened to Pequod. Everyone heard about what happened to poor Pequod and his less than stellar reflexes.

Seconds passed, and she finally scoffed, turning her attention to the thermometer in her hand while his eyes wandered back to the spot he had been watching earlier. It was a glorious sight, don't get him wrong; there's a hidden list somewhere in barrack #805 that predicted them to be at least C cup bordering on a D, which means they're only the second largest pair on board, right behind the utterly bodacious Nurse Cotton that tended to Pops directly.

Some men has all the luck.

Anyway.

That's not exactly what he was focusing on right now.

But before he can mention it, Nurse Ann spoke and with a jolt of fear he looked away again, immediately making him dizzy, "Yeah, your fever's pretty high. It's probably the same virus from the last island we're in," she pushed some of her hair back behind her ear before writing down her clipboard, probably making notes of her diagnosis and whatnot, "I'll prescribe you with some medicines and make a report to your division commander to have you off duty. What division are you from?"

"6th," he answered hoarsely, glancing down again while she was distracted. He should probably say something right about now, if just to prevent misunderstanding.

"Alright, i'll tell Commander Blamenco," before he can say anything she swivelled away towards the medicine cabinet, short dark hair bobbing along with the motion.

"U-um, Nurse Ann—"

She turned back to him, eyebrows raised, but before he can say anything he was once again interrupted when the infirmary door was opened with a loud creak, distracting the raven haired nurse away.

"I need some aspirin," As someone with the highly convenient power of healing, Commander Marco the Phoenix should have no business being down in the infirmary, and yet there he was, striding in with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a clipboard, probably filled with commander related duties, "or something else to lessen a headache, preferably something that can knock someone out for the entire day. If i have to hear Thatch whine about his cold one more time, i will actually throw him to the icy waters,"

Nurse Ann snickered, tilting her head up to the tallest row on the cabinet, "Good timing, i was about to give Jadd over there something similar," she reached up, fingers barely grazing the top row on the first try, so she stood up on her tiptoes. Though she could reach better, she was still unable to get her hands on whichever pill bottle she was aiming for, "Who the hell refilled this shit, i swear, they always had to put the important stuff on the top cabinet,"

Without any hesitation, Commander Marco walked over behind her, leaning close and effortlessly reached for one of the bottles. Blinking hard, Jadd could see one of his hands placed on the side of her shapely hips as support, "This one?"

"Nope, the brown one— To your left," the blonde's hand moved to said direction, "No, your other left,"

Marco stilled for a moment before sniggering, "…You mean my right?"

Nurse Ann clicked her tongue in annoyance, what little silhouette of her that was not covered by the blonde commander wiggling slightly, "Ugh, will you just get it?"

"Don't get mad at me, you're the one who forgot the word 'right' existed there for a second," the commander snickered before yelping, and a quick cursory look downward told him that Nurse Ann's thankfully flat heels dug into his front toe, "Alright, alright, here's your medicine,"

Under her breath, Nurse Ann murmured something that Jadd couldn't quite catch but Commander Marco certainly could, because he snorted in amusement after handing the short haired nurse the medicine bottle. She grabbed it and twisted the cap open, peering inside briefly before tilting the bottle on her hand to shake out a couple of pills, "We need to stock up on non-prescription medicines, by the way. I'll make the report later to give to you. Paracetamols, Cod— What are you looking at?"

With the bravery of a man who does not fear death and pain - which, considering his ability, he probably doesn't - Commander Marco kept his eyes trained on a particular spot lower than where the Nurse Ann's face was. On the cot, where he had been sitting and witnessing this entire proceeding, Jadd braced himself as the commander, eyes still trained down the nurse's cleavage casually and with a blank expression, remarked, "You got food stuck in your bra,"

The 6th division crew member tried not to let his jaw drop when instead of blowing up on him and made threats the way she did him, Nurse Ann simply glanced down to her own shirt, even tugging and unbuttoning the first button to get a clearer view. All while Commander Marco was still staring down the same spot, "Oh," she voiced, raising her other hand behind her uniform and picking up a dried piece of meat, the very same thing that got his attention earlier and she had mistaken to be his trying to look down her shirt.

"Must be from breakfast," she hummed, and with a shrug, she tossed the meat into her mouth.

"Classy,"

"I'm in a pirate ship. I've seen you men do worse things than eating 'tits-bits'," there's a pause, and the nurse pointed down to her breast with a raised brow, "Get it? Bits that falls on the tits while eating? 'Tits bits'? It sounds like tidbits,"

"Yes, i get it the first time. Clever," Commander Marco snorted, "Some would argue that's not very ladylike, though,"

"Good thing i don't care about being a lady then," Nurse Ann swallowed, before narrowing her eyes, "Do you?"

The commander shrugged, "I think you're fine just the way you are, Nurse. 'Tits bits' and all,"

"Smooth, Commander," her tone sounds mocking, but the smile on her face shows that she's actually pleased.

As they continue to talk, Jadd could only watch forlornly, feeling forgotten and certainly envious at the fact that it seemed that Nurse Ann had forgotten to button up her uniform again throughout their conversation.

He sighed, and laid down on the bed, "Some guys really have all the luck,"

If Sabo can see her now, he'd definitely laugh, because the last thing he'd expected someone like Ann, who hurts herself more often than anyone in the world, is now a nurse who helped heal people.

Ann didn't think this is what she'll be doing either years ago. She had wanted to see the world, to roam the seas and claim her freedom. Back then, when it was only the two of them and before Luffy came into their lives, Sabo had wanted to be a pirate in order to claim that freedom, and he and Ann would often debate who between the two of them would be the captain.

But then of course, Sabo died trying to make his dream come true. Luffy, stubborn boy that he is, wanted to sail when he's old enough, to bring Sabo's dream with him. This is something he told Ann during the weeks that they mourned their lost brother, the only family they had. Luffy would not stop claiming that he was going to be a pirate, no, even the King of Pirates. If Ann wanted, he'd tell her, she can come along, just wait for him to grow up and they can set sail together.

But between the loss of Sabo and the truth of her parentage, Ann decided then and there is she is done with anything that has to do with pirates. Nothing good was ever associated with it, not when it condemns her in the eyes of the world, and took away the one of the most important people in her life. She can never stop Luffy even if she wanted to - and she doesn't, it's his dream - but she herself wanted nothing to do with it.

But of course, like the truth of the blood coursing through her veins, she can never truly escape it.

"Out here by yourself?"

She had heard the footsteps approaching so she was hardly surprised that someone had found her, but it was upon hearing the voice of the newcomer that she felt at ease. Her hair blows against her cheeks, even pushed back against her ear, when she turned to face the intruder, "Not anymore," she said with a wry smile, but moved slightly to the side to show that his arrival was not completely unwelcome, "Got enough of the party?"

Marco let out a hefty sigh as he took the spot she vacated, leaning his back against the railing, while Ann leaned on it with her front. From the corner of her eyes, she can see a new unopened bottle in his hand, although she was pretty sure he had several before, "Got too rowdy for my taste. It's always like that when over half of them got drunk,"

As if on cue, there's loud cheering and yelling coming from the main deck area, followed by something heavy crashing down. Pops' booming and distinguishing laughter instantly drowned the rest of the voices, which is good. The more rambunctious the old captain is, the healthier he is. It will become even more raucous as the night slips by, she knew, and two people slipping out of that would not be missed.

"Today marks 1 year," she heard spoken to her side, taking her attention away from the noises. Marco was looking down at her, smiling slightly, "Since you first boarded this ship,"

Ann blinked, not expecting that, and during her distraction, the commander raised the bottle in his hand and used his incisors to bit and pop the foam lid. He spat it out to the floor - he had an aversion to throwing things to the ocean, she remembered, something about littering - before handing the greenish tinted bottle to her, "Happy 1 year with us?"

Gingerly, the raven haired woman took the offered bottle, and just from the brief whiff she managed to get, Ann can already tell that this was not the same drink served nonstop at the party. It was a lot more decadent and sweet, and it was the kind only acquired in a particular island in Paradise. She would know, because it was one of her favorite, and it was a brand that brought back fond memories of home, of Foosha, "Where'd you get this?"

Marco smiled even more, his eyes forming half moon shape, and he looked almost fond at her confusion and bewilderment, "From where it all began,"

It was a vague answer at best, and yet, she knew.

The bottle was chugged down to three quarters of it, bubbly liquid caressing her tongue and the coolness of the alcohol contrasting with the warmth that settled in her stomach. With a hiss, Ann put the bottle down on the rails, eyes closed and oblivious to the pair of eyes staring at her. She missed that, the taste, the reminder, she missed all of it.

"Can i ask you something?" the question made Ann open her eyes, stormy grey finding elusive light blue even through the haze of alcohol settling in her system, "Why did you rejected the offer to join back then? I know it's mostly because of being kidnapped, but i always felt like there's something more with your refusal,"

At the question, her eyes became glazed, and she turned away to the far away distance, much further from this ship and her companion.

Before she became a nurse in a Yonko ship, she had been a waitress in a small tavern in Foosha, helping out Makino in running the bar during the times she wasn't doing hard labour with Dadan and even training with Luffy. It was a mundane life, but it had been safe, and it was far from the sea. Far from the reminder of the cruel blue seas that took away Sabo and the life that robbed her of a normal life. Just like sailors and traders, pirates comes and goes, but most had been a benevolent crew looking for respite in their quiet little town.

Most of them were, until exactly one year ago, when a band of pirates decided to cause trouble, after Ann had rejected one of the men's advances. The small group that was in the tavern itself was nothing for her to take care of, but they return with vengeance the next day, causing destruction on their wake.

At least, they would've, if another, much bigger pirate crew hadn't arrived that same moment and destroyed them, ship and all. The announcement that Whitebeard Pirates has arrived struck more fear to the troublemaking pirates than the townspeople, especially when men bearing the mark of the famous Yonko showed their intent to protect the defenseless citizen than causing even more destruction around. A noble deed from a supposedly despicable group of men that they hadn't seen ever since Red Haired Shanks arrived years ago and saved Vice Admiral Garp's grandson's life.

Yet, while everyone had celebrated, Ann was distraught by the sight of the man who stepped in front of her to take a bullet that was originally meant for her. She had insisted to take care of him, despite the crew's reassurance that a gunshot wound was no big deal and that they have their own medical team, and even fought her way on to the ship to make sure that she can thank the man directly and take responsibility over the gunshot wound.

Thatch, the man who saved her turned out to be one of the commanders, and was the one who first gave her the offer, during the last days of his recovery, "You're really good at this. What do you say about joining our crew? We're always in need of doctors and nurses,"

She declined, of course, though never giving the reason why. And perhaps that was her mistake, because they ended up kidnapping her; the second her narcolepsy hits and she cannot struggle, they set sail.

It took her over 100 days of trying to defeat their captain so that she can go back home, all the while insulting them that they're no better than the men who attacked Foosha. Thatch, who quickly lost her favours after the entire matter, told her that they are, after all, pirates. They took what they wanted without permission, and what they wanted was for Ann to be one of them. To be a part of their family.

And that had been such a foreign concept for her. She never had a family aside from Luffy, nobody ever wanted her to be a part of their life. She was the unwanted child the world think shouldn't exist, and for so long, she decided that she'd do the world a favour and stay away from them, isolating herself in some sleepy little island in Paradise. She wanted that isolation back, but suddenly comes this pirates, the very people she hated because of whose blood runs inside of her, and they told her they wanted her to be a part of them.

Then as if that wasn't enough, comes in this man before her now, tending to her wounds instead of the other way around, telling her the wonders of a life as a stray who found their purpose again under one man. To become free, to be a part of something. He gave her those words alone with a bowl of soup and a pat to the head, and after all of that, told her that in the end, it was her decision. They'll change route if they have to, he offered, return her back to that life back in Foosha. Where nothing ever happened in her life but awaiting Luffy's journey to become the Pirate King and disappear.

Ann will never tell anyone, but the thought of it had been her breaking point.

(And along the way, she found one other person to know who she really is, and still accept her with a warm smile and fatherly hug. That alone she owes Whitebeard, and what cemented her loyalty to him)

"Because i hate pirates," she decided to say in the end, taking a much more careful sip from the bottle in her hand, "They're associated with too many bad things in my life,"

That will raise more questions, she knew, but Marco didn't ask further. She didn't know if she should be glad or not, because right now, with only him as the listener, she'd probably answer just about everything. Especially when it's him, "And yet, in the end, you stayed amongst them. Taking care of them, even,"

She can say that 'you didn't give me much choice', but then, that'll be a lie.

Not that she needed to, it was something that never quite left her mind, and so does the final answer for this particular dilemma. No, she considered the man next to her, judging whether or not he should know her reasons, why she had stayed despite her deep seated revulsion to anything that has to do with her parentage. She turned back, and when she still found Marco's patient gaze focused on her, the words tumbled out, "You gave me freedom. At the very least, i owe you that,"

The bottle was now down to half of it, and her head was buzzing due to the influence. Behind them, the party was still running wild, filled with laughters, crashing and shouts, all that became nothing but white noise in the comfortable silence that descended between them.

A silence that was broken, when she heard moving next to her and found that Marco had moved closer, so close that their arms are touching, "Freedom suits you," he said in a voice barely above a whisper, so close, even intimate, "If that's the only thing we can give you in return, then i'm glad,"

When she looked up, their faces were close, their noses almost bumping and she could smell the alcohol in his breath, and she's sure he could smell hers. Somehow, Ann felt even more drunk by it, her lips loose and her mind foggy, though she knew she said nothing but the truth, "You gave me something else,"

She wondered if Marco knew what she meant by 'you', if he knew she wasn't talking about the ship as a whole. Because she doesn't.

His eyes flickered, his pupils dilating that she can see her own reflection on them. Perhaps he did understand, "And that is?"

The word left her with a whisper, a word that run close to what she wanted to say in truth, but she know she can't, "Trust,"

(It wasn't long until she began to sway on her feet and her consciousness slowly faded away, when she was captured in warm embrace that she knew with absolute conviction won't let her fall down and will carry her someplace safe.

Ann fell asleep with a smile on her lips, knowing that she had been proven right)

For a long time, there's a rumour on board that Ann and Marco are dating, or at the very least, were regularly fucking. It was due to how close they were most of the time, based on people's observation of their interaction, and really, Ann couldn't blame them. She wouldn't call their relationship purely platonic either.

Marco doesn't remember for each one of the crew that it has been a year since someone joined their ship and took painstaking effort to buy their favorite liquor full of meaning and nostalgia attached to it. He's not even a touchy man, unlike Thatch or Izou, and there are times he would reach out for Ann, just a small gesture and stay there in a barely there graze that he can easily took it back if she ever objected. There's dozens of other nurses on board, but he always look for her for anything medically related, and because he himself cannot be afflicted by sickness or wound, it was always under the guise for someone else.

Likewise, Ann was wary of contact, and yet she let those calloused hands rest on her, and sometimes, after a long day filled with fight or worries about Pops's health, she'd let him sleep on her shoulder, or rest his head on her lap. The men on board knows to keep their hands and eyes to themselves - most of the time, but they'd learn with her - but she had little reservation to pass out around Marco like that night, knowing that she'd wake up on her bed fully clothed. She trusted him with so many things, and vice versa.

Still, a rumour is a rumour, but when someone spread the story about them kissing, well, that's another matter entirely.

Thatch had been the one who had done it, she knew, because the man himself confessed after a very close encounter between his balls and her heels, "I thought i saw you two kissing!" he had explained while pleading for the safety of his manhood, "On the corner by yourselves, standing so close in the shadows, what am i supposed to think?!"

"You're not supposed to think anything," the giant bird on top of the sobbing chef's head crooned, pitch higher than his human form but no less menacing, "And you definitely shouldn't be spreading things you didn't even know was true or not,"

So after a pitiful and tearful correction given out during dinner, the story was proven untrue. It did nothing to kill the rumour, of course - if anything, it probably stoked it further with something stupid like 'secret relationship' - and Ann deeply wish that they can all mind their own businesses.

Because even though they didn't mean it, the rumour was a hurtful reminder that a relationship is not something they can have.

Marco is a commander, the ship's first mate, and even though no one dared to voice it, he will be the one people will turn to when Whitebeard finally passed away. That was a phantom burden that always weighs him down, the responsibility on top of the inevitable loss of his captain, and she knew he didn't want to involve her in that. He'd ask to lean on her sometimes, when that burden becomes too heavy, but the way he never shared the reason for his heavy sighs and gaunt expression was telling enough.

As for her, it was because despite her personal feelings, in the end, Marco is a pirate, first and foremost.

The last person she knew was in a relationship with a pirate was her mother, and everyone knew how that went. Though she knows Marco is a good man, Ann refused to end up like her mother, refused to give another child a life like hers.

That doesn't mean there aren't times she doesn't gaze at him with the thought of 'what if', and felt through the small touches on her waist or arm that he's thinking the same thing.

This is just basically me sharing what i think would've led fem!Ace to be a nurse on board Moby instead of a commander, and though it is against his characteristic, what would happen if he decided to not be a pirate all at once. A story i read recently ended up having him as a marine due to the same decision, but i still want him (well, her in this fic) to end up on Moby so here it is.

And yes, i know, it doesn't have any resolution, but tbh, it's just supposed to be a really short ficlet our of boredom and what little free time i have and i don't know how to properly end it. Look, when i get the appropriate muse (and if people liked this headcanon, because tbh, the more i read it the more i kinda wanna explore it a bit more) maybe i'll continue? What do you think?

Sorry for the rambling, and sorry too if you think this is a waste of time. I got a comment before that my oneshot that at least ended up with a kiss was a waste of time, and i'm a bit worried what you'll think when the fic is now much shorter and basically ended like this, so yeah, i'm trying to avoid anyone feeling like that again haha.

Anyway! Thank you for reading and hope you liked it!