Chapter 10 - Pyre

The Whitebeard Pirates had left the next morning after stocking up on any last minute supplies. The townspeople had been kind enough to provide them with a lot of them for free, though their Captain had insisted on giving them a small sum of money in return, simply so they weren't depleting their own supplies for nothing. Most of their stores on the ship were filled now, and it would last them for at least several weeks.

Once they had made way, Lyanna had gone below deck and made sure that she had packed all of her things together. It would only take until tomorrow morning for them to arrive at the next island where they were dropping her off. After that, her contact would take her onward for a time and she would make her own way from there. It was time for her to return back to reality.

Meanwhile, Ace pulled the knot as tightly as he could and he felt an arm over his shoulders. Marco gave him a smile, but his eyes seemed to give another message. Slowly, he led Ace to the front of the ship where they stood together in the breeze. Ace decided his best option was to stay very quiet in this scenario as he knew that Marco meant business. He could bet his life on what he wanted to discuss too.

"So...you and Lyanna." Marco's tone was calm, but stern. "Are you guys officially a thing now?"

"We...uh, haven't really talked about it, but she did say she would be back next year." Ace shrugged and watched Marco nod slowly, taking in the information.

"Fair enough." The First Division Commander had not changed his expression in the slightest and Ace tried to quash his nervousness. "Did you tell her how you feel?"

He shook his head with a frown. Although she probably knew by now that he liked her, he hadn't actually taken the time to tell her himself.

"I haven't. But I know I need to."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? You aren't going to see each other for a whole year."

Ace frowned deeper and looked at his friend and crewmate with widened eyes. Surely he wasn't telling him not to confess his feelings because he didn't want them to be together. He doubted that Marco was that petty and Lyanna would find out eventually and rage at him. She was rather frightening when she was angry and he wouldn't want to risk her wrath. Not only that, he knew that although Marco was basically interrogating him, that he didn't want to upset his friend. He understood that he just wanted to make sure that Lyanna was happy.

"I'm sure you aren't saying that because you don't want Lyanna to know." although he phrased it as a statement, the inflection he used at the end of his sentence suggested that he wanted confirmation.

"Of course not. I just don't want either of you moping around because you are sad about being separated." Marco retrieved his arm and crossed them over his chest.

"As hard as it will be, I understand. She can't stay because she owes the old man. I'll tell her that I will be here waiting for her and that's all." Ace crossed his arms as well, his brow knitted tightly together in a frown.

Marco just stared at him for a moment. "What if you meet someone else?"

"Yeah, cause I meet women like Lyanna all the time." he lolled his head to one side and smirked at his blond friend. Marco regarded him for another moment and huffed in satisfaction.

"What if she meets someone else?" Marco's tone was cautious, not wanting to worry Ace, but he knew that it was a realistic thing to consider.

"If she does, and she is happy, then...that's good for her. But I doubt she'll forget about me too quickly." he said with an arrogant smirk, but Marco saw right through his swagger.

"You mean, you hope she doesn't forget you." he replied with an eyebrow raised cynically and chuckled as his chin dropped to his chest and shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Yeah, basically." Ace looked back over to his friend and beamed at him. "She's pretty great."

When Marco began cracking up laughing, Ace stared at him silently in confusion for a moment.

"What? What's so funny?" he asked his friend, who was currently doubled over.

"You." he managed to splutter out and laughed for another solid 15 seconds before he finally began to catch his breath and continued. "You. I can't believe you are so ass over head for Lyanna. It's just," he put on a funny voice, "so cute!"

Ace groaned at him loudly before Marco ruffled his black hair, making him groan even louder. He only felt slightly embarrassed, but since he didn't really mind how obvious his infatuation with Lyanna was, it didn't worry him too much.

For another little while, they chatted about her, and how they had gotten so close and Marco told him a few stories from when he first met her as a kid, to when they ran into her being chased by people from her agency because she wanted to leave. Marco explained that Whitebeard had saved her life because she was barely able to survive since the information agency she had first worked with took such a large percentage of her income. When they had ran into each other, Whitebeard had recognised her immediately and told Marco to bring her aboard when he finally realised who she was.

They kept her safe on the Moby Dick while it was docked for three days until they figured out a way to stop them from harassing her. They ended up sending her into town to be used as bait, and when they captured her, the Whitebeard Pirates ambushed them and took them out. Whitebeard had ordered that one of them be kept alive and sent back to the agency to inform them that Lyanna was now working for him and they would incur his full wrath if they attempted to hurt or kill her again.

Lyanna had basically had her life saved not once, but twice by the Whitebeard Pirates, and Ace understood why she felt she had such a huge debt to the old man. If they had just helped her escape the agency, instead of basically employ her, they probably would have just kept hunting her down and eventually killed her. So in a roundabout way, they had saved her three times, ensuring that she wouldn't be hunted after the fact.

It made sense now why she was so determined to go back to her lonely life as a broker. She owed the old man her life several times over, and felt that there was no other way to repay her debt but do what she did best. Since she had started doing this three years ago, she was already a good liaison for the villages and islands that were under the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates and it would be hard for them to abruptly trust someone new.

While Marco and Ace chatted, Lyanna and the old man were chatting as they stood next to the mast. She was leaning against the large crate that the huge man had taken a seat on, but he was still much taller than her. At first, it was a normal conversation, talking about where she was heading off to first, but it momentarily went off-track when he began laughing at what seemed to be his own private joke.

"I hear you and Ace have been getting along well." he said in his deep voice, finally letting her in to get a glimpse of what he was thinking.

"Umm...you could say that." she raised a sculpted eyebrow at him when he laughed again, drawing attention from his crew.

"You aren't just toying with him, are you?" although he was still chuckling softly, she did hear a firm edge to his voice. She knew that if she said that he was, she would definitely be in trouble, but that wasn't the case.

"Of course not! He's…" she shrugged exaggeratedly, "nice."

The old man smiled like he was truly a father, happy to see his children growing up, making friends and falling in love. She held his gaze before she huffed and smiled delightedly. They shared a warm and pleasant laugh before he spoke again, voice serious once more.

"You could stay if you wanted to. You know that." he was quieter this time, but she knew that he wouldn't turn her away, regardless of how important her job was.

"Of course I know that, but you can't give me that choice. There is no one else who can do my job as well as I can. I owe you far too much to be so selfish." her expression sobered, and she stared at her feet and linked her hands together behind her back.

"...You wouldn't even stay for me?" he spoke as if he already knew the answer.

"No, not even for you. You're the reason that I'm still alive, and I do my job to repay your kindness. Besides, I know that you would take me in just because you want me to be happy, and as much as I appreciate it, I can't allow myself that."

"Not even for Marco?"

She made a 'tch' sound and shook her head. "Marco is fine without me."

"But what about Ace?"

"Ace?" she replied flatly.

"Yes."

"Not even for Ace. As I said my job is the reason that I'm alive as well as you. I cannot give up everything that I've worked for just to indulge temptations. I want to help you protect the huge family have created for yourself, especially because I am a part of it." she sighed sadly, "Don't give me the choice to stay. It's hard enough already to walk away from this ship every year." she rubbed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and pointer finger, scowling at her emotional weakness.

"He's really taken a shine to you."

"And that makes this all the more difficult. But nonetheless, he will be fine. He's strong, and he has all of you."

"You won't even stay for yourself so that you're happy." he narrowed his eyes at her, and his voice was one a father would use to scold his child.

"No. I am the lowest priority. Although my job is a quiet and lonely one, I still enjoy being useful to you. I know that I'm needed and valued and that's enough for me. Besides, I'll see you in next year and we will be in contact too." she shrugged with both her shoulders and raised her arms too.

"Well...if you're sure." he waited for her to nod then continued. "We will have to hold a feast for you tonight."

"Of course you will. You know how much I like a good send off."

They shared a grin and another laugh, and kept talking about their massive family for the next few hours until they started their farewell party for her. It was a great night, with plenty of food, drink and music and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely, even though they would be saying goodbye to one of their friends tomorrow. Until next year, at least.

Lyanna ensured that she spent plenty of time with the newer crew members, as well as all the Commanders, whom she loved dearly. Though she just wanted to go and see Ace, she had a feeling that she would see him in his quarters later and they would have their own goodbye. Now was the time to spend her last few minutes having fun with her old friends. She spent the last hour or so just sitting in quiet conversation with Marco, and everyone gave them some space.

She had always had a strong bond with Marco, since he did save her life twice. They always got along well and had been fast friends, even when her parents had been killed and she was distraught. He had been so kind to her and had done everything he could possibly do to look after her. She had stayed in his quarters for the few days it took for them to reach the island with her relatives, and he had made sure that it was clean and tidy, and always had everything she needed. Whether it was water, food, someone to make her laugh or just a shoulder to cry on.

Ace caught her eye as he was heading below deck and they shared a smile. Marco noticed immediately and began to relentlessly tease her about having feelings for the Second Division Commander. He put on his best girly voice and pretended that he was Lyanna.

"Oh, Ace. You're just so cute! Kiss me, my love!" he was doing a terrible job of sounding like a girl, but it still made her laugh.

"You're a shit girl, Marco. I hope that not how you talk to girls. No wonder you are still single." she teased right back, giving as good as she got.

"Ah, that's not for you to worry about." he smiled at her in his typical big-brother way. "Go on. He's waiting for you."

She held his gaze for a moment before she hugged him tightly. He returned the embrace and laughed softly at her sudden display of affection. He ruffled her hair when they released each other and she rolled her eyes as she strolled away.

Once she got downstairs, she stopped outside of Ace's door and froze in nervousness. What was she supposed to say or do? Though she wasn't exactly inexperienced, she certainly hadn't been in a situation like this before. Her experience had been with one of her contacts who was a gorgeous young man who couldn't keep his hands off her, but it was completely physical. The only other time was a one night stand, in which she ditched in the morning or she was going to miss her ride to the next island. This was different though. She actually liked Ace, and she was fairly certain that he liked her too.

The door swung open, and she flinched violently, forced to break her reverie. She stared at him with wide eyes for a moment, before he pursed his lips in an attempt to stop himself from laughing. When her expression changed to a curious one, he answered her silent question.

"I heard you pacing."

She made a soft 'Ah' sound in understanding, and walked in after he stepped back, gesturing for her to come in. The first thing that she noticed was how flawlessly tidy his room was. Marco's was always such a mess that it took her by surprise.

"You're very tidy." she blurted out without thinking about how lame it was to comment on the state of the man's room when that was clearly not what she was there for.

He snorted to repress his laughter from behind her. "Thank you." he said with exaggerated enthusiasm and snorted again when she turned to glare at him.

Before she could snap at him for being a pain in the ass, he pulled her into his arms, and she sighed softly at how warm he was. He held her tightly for at least two minutes before he loosened his grip, but only enough so that he could press his lips to her own delicately. It didn't take long for the intensity to increase, and hands began roaming over every inch of skin they could reach.

Gradually, she led him over to his bed where they collapsed with limbs tangled together, where they stayed for entire night...

###

The next morning, Lyanna woke up after Ace was getting dressed for the day. She sat up quietly and watched him for the minute that it took him to put his pants on and smiled cheekily when he noticed her. She got up and dressed as well, and they headed above deck where they received many cheers from the crew, making Lyanna want to be invisible. Ace didn't care and just put his hands on his hips and laughed loudly until she punched his arm. His cheery expression made her laugh and she gave up on being cranky at him.

Lyanna wondered over the next few hours if everyone else was feeling anxious about her leaving them today, or if it was just her. Occasionally she would catch someone's eye and they would give her a smile or make a silly face and she tried her best to keep up, but she was struggling. It was always difficult, but the game had certainly changed this time with Ace and she presumed if things were still the same next year, it would only be more difficult.

Finally, they arrived on the large island where they would be dropping her off. A few of the newer crew members went to grab a few necessities that they were low on after last nights feast and farewell party while she said goodbye to her friends. The Commanders had lined up to wish her their best, and she would exchange a joke, give them a hug before she moved on. Jozu hoisted her off the ground and spun around, and put her back down when she was thoroughly dizzy and almost fell on Marco, who caught her flawlessly. She didn't need words with the blond, who would always her best friend, and just hugged him as tightly as she could. He ruffled her hair, like he had done since she was a kid and she smiled.

The old man was seated on a crate so that he was somewhat smaller, although she practically climbed up his leg to hug him. She wrapped her arms around as much of his neck as she could and he placed a huge hand on her back. He wished her well and told her to come back whenever she could, and to keep in contact. She nodded and told him that she would miss him before she hopped down.

Conveniently, Ace was standing next to the crate that his Captain was sitting on and was the last goodbye. It was a little awkward, but they hugged for as long as they could without it being weird for everyone else around. She pulled back first and gave him the brightest smile she could. He frowned for a moment and took a breath, before he smiled back, but he just wasn't as good as hiding his emotions as she was.

Turning away took a lot of the strength, but she finally did and picked up her pack before she walked down to the dock and gave her friends a wave before she started to stroll away.

Back on deck, Marco stormed over to Ace and smacked him upside the head with an open hand.

"What the fuck was that?" he hissed at him.

"What do you mean?" Ace replied as he shrunk back a little, unsure why he was in trouble.

"Is that how you say goodbye to the woman you love?" Marco stated blankly, as if it was bleedingly obvious and threw his hands up in dismay. "You're hopeless, mate."

Ace chewed the inside of his cheek in uncertainty, and glanced at Lyanna's back with a frown on his face.

Marco was right.

He dramatically leapt off the side of the ship and landed with a heavy thud on the dock and ran after her. She hadn't gotten far, but he called out to her in urgency to stop her from getting further away. This would be the last time he would see her for an entire year, and he should have thrown caution to the wind and give her a goodbye that would make sure she would be ready to come back to him when they saw each other next.

Just as she turned toward him, he took a hold of her and held her tightly. When he loosened his grip, he kept one hand on the small of her back, and brought the other up to tangle his fingers in her hair. He pressed his lips to hers with the same passion that had surprised her the night before and she smiled into their kiss.

When they finally separated, they leant their foreheads together and caught their breath.

"Lyanna...I…" he fumbled for the right words but she stopped him.

"It's okay. I know." she leant back to look at him fully and smiled.

"I'll miss you." he rubbed his thumb over her cheek and watched them flush with red at his admission.

"I'll miss you too." she beamed at him happily and he grinned just as brightly back at her.

As best he could, he committed her beautiful face to his memory, trying to burn it in there permanently before he finally kissed her cheek and let her go. He could see that she was finding it difficult to walk away, but steeled herself with a quick breath and began power-walking in the direction of the town.

For a minute, until she disappeared into the crowd of people, he watched her leave, and hoped dearly that it wasn't the last time he would see her…

###

Hours later, Lyanna had met with her contact and was now sitting alone in a room at the local inn. She desperately needed to bathe and have something to eat so she had grabbed some food on the way from her meeting and was finishing it off. When she was done, she leant back in her chair with a sigh.

After her quiet moment, she got up and rummaged through her pack for some clean clothes when she found a whole bunch of random stuff that wasn't in there before. There was money, snacks, and a small parcel. She smiled and shook her head, knowing that someone would have snuck these in before she left the Moby Dick today.

Sitting down on the bed, she putting the wrapping off the small parcel and it revealed a red and white striped bracelet. She had seen a similar one around before, but couldn't remember who wore it.

While she tried to jog her memory, she got up and went into the bathroom to bathe. After she had sat down and was soaking in the hot water, she recalled seeing the bracelet on Ace's wrist. Her jaw dropped and her eyes began to well up, despite her telling them not too.

She stayed in the bath, crying until long after the water had gone cold…