Can you please stop thinking about that pirate song? It really gets annoying after 4 days of non-stop ‘drink up me hearties.’
Sorry, sorry! We’re celebrating a new crew member, and…well, we tend to get carried away.
Oh, I can tell. But I’m trying to focus on work right now.
I’ll try to tone it down, since you asked nicely and all.
With a sigh, you shake your head a bit and bring your attention back to the bar. The rowdy crowd was already taking enough of your focus. The thoughts of your soulmate added on top of it really wasn’t helping.
You’d been able to hear each other’s thoughts since you were 18 and, being nearly 22, you were used to having his voice in your head at inopportune times. Still, when he did it on semi-purpose, you typically stepped in to stop it. He was a decent fellow, at least that you knew of, but he tended to play and tease whenever he could.
People thought you crazy that you didn’t know each other’s names, but it was an arrangement you’d both agreed on. Names, descriptions, and locations were never disclosed. He claimed it would make your eventual meeting even more special, which you thought was dramatic but acceptable. Hearing each other’s thoughts seemed a cheap and easy way of discovering who you were and where you were at in any given moment.
You knew he was a pirate, and he knew you were a lowly bartender, but past that you both chose to keep most information to yourself. Every once in awhile, something would slip, but you’d managed to keep the connection free of information that would give your identities away up to this point.
It was a nice little thrill, knowing anyone walking through that bar could be the man you were meant to be with. You weren’t sure if there would be some physical indication when you did finally see him face to face, but you certainly hoped so. Imagine, waiting all this time to meet, and you pass each other by without realizing it…
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life-
Ahem.
S-sorry!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Keep the drinks comin’!” A drunken fisherman hollered, banging his now-empty tankard on the bar’s counter. His companions laughed and joined him in the commotion. “I nearly died out there today! Need somethin’ to take the edge off!”
“Right away! Please be patient…” You say, scurrying to get them the requested drinks in time. At this rate they’d break your counter top, and you didn’t have enough beli to afford another one…
Even the pirate crew sitting in the corner of the bar at your largest table was less disruptive than the locals. But you supposed, given a moment’s notice, that might change as well.
Oh, what a night it was turning out to be…
Sounds like a rough day at work?
Great, just what you needed right now, your mystery soulmate interjecting themselves…
Jeez, sorry…just trying to help.
How could you possibly help right now?
I don’t know…figured I’d…talk to you? You know…help take the edge off?
You blinked, hearing the same phrase parroted back at you, but you didn’t let it phase you.
I appreciate the thought–literally–but it would help most if you just please stay quiet. I need to focus.
Suit yourself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To say the past few days had been eventful was…a severe understatement. You realized that the pirates who’d been partaking of your alcohol were, in fact, the Whitebeard Pirates. As in…the strongest man alive’s own crew. You’d heard stories of them…but seeing them was something altogether more spectacular.
They were much more well-mannered than you expected, Marco the Phoenix in particular being a very generous tipper. He tended to keep the others in check when things began to get loud, with a swift knock to the head typically taking care of the impending problem.
Haruta, as you’d learned his name was, appeared much too young to be drinking, but who were you to tell someone in his position what he could or couldn’t do? You weren’t that stupid.
The most rambunctious of the lot was definitely the man known as Portgas D. Ace. Fun-loving and loud, he was typically the one meeting Marco’s fist when he had too much to drink.
They were hard to look away from. Your nights at the bar while they were docked at your island’s port went by in a flash, but you never felt like you had a good footing. Like the ground under your feet was uneven and bumpy.
Especially when you realized that Ace kept looking your direction, too. You tried not to stare. Truly. But it was hard not to. The man had a way of drawing attention to himself.
So on the fifth night in a row they arrived to your bar, you tried your best to keep behind the counter, sending one of your coworkers in your place to fill their tankards with alcohol. It would be best to keep some distance. You didn’t want to get caught up with a dangerous pirate like that.
Perhaps your soulmate had heard of him, or even run into him before? Well, you didn’t want to ask.
You turned away from the bar for a moment to grab another barrel of rum, then nearly startled as you looked back to see the shirtless man standing there, waiting for you. You clutched at your chest, and he held up his hands in defense.
“Didn’t mean to scare you.” He said.
“That’s alright.” You say automatically, although something was telling you that you should…know something. Or realize something. But it wasn’t coming to you. Setting the barrel on the shelf and wiping your hands on your apron, you turn back to him and give a polite smile. “Can I get you something?”
“Hmm?” He cocked his head, then raised his brows in surprise. “Oh! Uh…yeah, I’ll…I’ll take another tankard of ale, please.”
“No problem, I’ll have Anna bring your table a round.”
“Actually…” He hesitated, frowning a little to himself. “I would prefer…to get it directly from you.”
“…oh.” You weren’t sure what else to say. You’d been flirted with before, but never by a pirate, or a man of such infamy. “Um…sure…Ace, right? I think I heard one of them call you that.”
“Yeah.” He perked up a bit, and even offered a leisurely smile. “Only fair I know your name too, though.”
Your own smile picks up a bit too. Obviously he wasn’t your soulmate, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t be polite. “I’m Y/N.”
“I like that name.” He said, giving a wink that was nothing but flirty.
Recovering quickly, but still feeling like there was something about him you should know, you turned and saw that the barrel of ale was also almost gone.
“We’re low up front here, so I’ll go get another barrel. Wait here for a second.” He nods, and you walk towards the stock room. It’s almost directly in his line of sight, so he’s able to see as you stoop to grab the one on the lowest shelf.
Damn…she is fine…
Excuse me?
You glance behind you, almost having been certain Ace had been there talking to you directly. But he was still sitting there at the counter, though looking a little flustered now. It was then that you realized your soulmate was the cause. Him and his impeccable timing, of course.
Huh? Did…did I send that to you? Sorry, that was…sorry, I didn’t mean to.
Making googly eyes at women?
You retrieve the barrel and turn back towards the bar, setting it in the appropriate place on your shelf. Ace tried not to look you directly in the eye. His cheeks were dusted with red. Perhaps the alcohol.
N-no! Obviously I’m destined to be with you, why would I do that?
Uh huh…
Swear on my life, it won’t happen again.
Right…It must be a pirate thing, because I’ve got my own creep staring at my ass.
You begin to fill the tankard, feeling Ace’s eyes still staring at your backside. You smile a bit. Honestly, if someone as attractive as Portgas D. Ace found you nice to look at in any way, then certainly your eventual soulmate might also think that way. It did a lot to boost your self-esteem.
What…did you say?
Hmm? Oh, I must have had a little slip up too. Sorry. Just musing to myself. Guess that makes us even.
Filling it to the brim, you hand Ace the new drink with a smile, trying your best to mask the fact that you were talking with someone in your head. “Here you go.”
“Thanks…” He muttered, looking at you with a strange expression, eyes flicking between yours thoughtfully.
“Something wrong?” You ask, sensing the change in his tone and expression. He’d gone suddenly serious. “I can get you something else if you don’t want-”
What’s the first thing you think of when I say sweet?
Huh?
Just…think. What’s the first thing you think of? Please, just do it.
Your soulmate really wasn’t making any sense today, and coupled with the fact that Ace was staring at you with such a strange expression, you were double weirded out.
Umm…ok…I think of-
“…strawberry jam, the kind your grandmother used to make.”
You blinked, realizing the words hadn’t come from inside your head…
…but from Ace’s own mouth.
“What?”
“We…I think we’re soulmates.” He said, awe lighting his eyes up in a way that you couldn’t look away from even if you tried.
The rest of the bar seemed to fade away, and you looked over the man before you with an appraising eye. He seemed even more handsome than before, his boyishly-charming looks and the light scatter of freckles on his nose and cheeks all the more appealing now that you were up close.
“Ace…” You muttered, trying out the name on your lips. It held so much more meaning now.
“Y/N…” He replied, and you savored the way your name fell from his mouth. So reverent and pleased. Time slowed, the both of you gazing into each other’s eyes-
“You have the most spectacular ass I’ve ever seen.” He muttered, stars still in his eyes.
And the moment was broken. Your eyes roll in exasperation.
SMACK!
“Ow!” He proclaimed, nursing his injured cheek. However, the grin you’d grown accustomed to seeing reappeared and he chuckled. “Ok, I deserved that one.”
ns 15.158.61.54da2
