Aria's Pov
The sun was beginning its descent, painting the sky in strokes of orange and violet. For the moment, the only thing that existed was the warmth of Ace's skin against mine.
"You're thinking, it's strange." he murmured, his voice a low, soothing rumble as his thumbs drew slow circles on my bare stomach.
"Hey! I think a lot more than you do-," I sucked in a breath, my words catching in my throat as he leaned down, his lips trailing down my skin.
He took his time, his hands working my shorts down my legs with a patience that made my heart flutter. The evening air was cool on my newly bared skin, but the heat of his gaze was a furnace. He didn't rush; he simply looked, his dark eyes full of a soft hunger that made my breath catch.
"Always beautiful," he whispered, the words a warm puff of air against my inner thigh before he lowered his head. I gasped as his tongue licked up my folds, long and slow, tasting me like I was his favorite dessert. He hummed in appreciation, the vibration sending shockwaves through me, his hands gripping my thighs, holding me in place as he feasted.
When he focused on my clit, circling it with the tip of his tongue, sucking it gently into his mouth, I shattered, crying out his name, my fingers tangling in his hair, holding him to me as waves of pleasure crashed over me.
We'd gotten back to how we were before meeting the strawhats, travelling from island to the next, bickering, fucking and repeating every few days. Things were going well.
Too well.
We reached Banaro Island.
It was a gloomy place — wind-stripped trees, dusty air, and an energy that crawled beneath my skin like a bad omen. Even before Ace said anything, I knew something was off. He was too quiet, too focused.
When we stopped at the edge of a cliff overlooking the coast, he finally turned to me.
"This is where we part ways, Aria," he said.
I blinked. "Excuse me?"
He crossed his arms, the flame tattoos on his shoulders flexing as he sighed. "Teach is here."
The name hit me like a punch to the gut. "Teach," I repeated carefully, like maybe I'd misheard him. "As in Blackbeard Teach?"
"Yeah," he said simply, like he was talking about bad weather. "He killed Thatch. I have to make it right."
My blood turned to ice water in my veins. I hadn't misheard him. "Ace, no. Let's just go. Please. There's no need to walk into this." The words tumbled out, desperate and clumsy. I cursed myself, my own willful blindness. I'd been so intoxicated by the butterflies, by the feeling of his worshipful mouth on my skin, that I'd let him sail us directly into the storm.
He offered a small, strained smile, mistaking my terror for simple fear. "It'll be fine. But this place is too dangerous for you. You need to leave."
"You're underestimating him!" I begged, my voice cracking. The truth was a corrosive acid on my tongue. Telling Ace that Blackbeard as a darkness fruit will change nothing. I also didn't want to risk anything else going wrong because I revealed what shouldn't be known yet.
Instead, I grabbed his hand. "Please, Ace. Just… don't go. You don't need to prove anything. Not to Whitebeard, not to Thatch, not to anyone."
He brushed his thumb over my knuckles, gaze softening. "You're sweet, Aria. But you can't stop me. Use your devil fruit and get out of here. I don't want you caught in this."
I could feel the tears prickling behind my eyes, but I forced a shaky smile. "If you die, I'm going to be so mad at you."
He grinned, that familiar cocky curve of his lips. "Guess I'll just have to stay alive, then."
Then, because he couldn't resist, he leaned in and added, "And try not to jump on the next guy who saves your life, yeah?"
I punched him in the chest. "Screw you."
"You already did," he said, laughing as I shoved him away.
It wasn't fair how easily he could make me smile even when my heart was sinking into my stomach.
He walked off into the forest not long after. I should've teleported away. I told myself to — over and over. But every step he took away from me felt like it was dragging me by the throat.
So I followed.
Quietly. Pathetically. Like a lovesick idiot stalking her doomed boyfriend through a cursed island.
The trees thinned out near the coastline. I crouched behind a boulder, watching as Ace approached a group of men standing in the open — Blackbeard and his crew.
They talked — or rather, argued. I couldn't hear every word, but I caught bits. "Join me." "Never." "For the sake of the new age."
Then, the darkness came.
I'd seen Devil Fruits do wild things before, but this was different. Teach's power wasn't just dark — it was devouring. Like the world itself was being sucked into a black hole around him.
Ace launched his flames — bright, beautiful, furious — but the darkness swallowed them whole.
My nails dug into the dirt as I bit my tongue to stop from yelling. If I interfered, if I revealed myself — I'd ruin everything. I'd change the future in ways I couldn't control.
But watching him bleed? Watching that monster laugh while Ace struggled to stand? It broke something inside me.
They clashed again — light and dark, flame and void — and for a moment, it was like the whole island couldn't decide which side to belong to. Then the explosion came. A burst of force so huge it sent ash and fire into the sky.
When the smoke cleared, Ace was on the ground.
Teach's laugh echoed across the ruined terrain. His men cheered.
I pressed a trembling hand to my mouth. I wanted to run to him, to pull him up, to scream his name until he opened his eyes. But I didn't move. Couldn't.
Because I knew how this had to end.
I watched as they dragged him toward their ship — limp, bloodied, but still faintly smirking, because of course he'd find a way to look cocky even in defeat.
My heart felt like it was being wrung out.
I waited until they were gone, until the island was silent again, before I stepped out from behind the rocks. The air still smelled like burnt metal and ash. The ground was cratered, torn open like it had been punched by a god.
I crouched where Ace had fallen, brushing my fingers over a small scorch mark. It was still warm.
"Idiot," I whispered. My throat ached. "You absolute, stupid, infuriating idiot."
I tilted my head toward the horizon where Teach's ship was disappearing into the distance. Impel Down, my brain supplied automatically, the knowledge heavy and hollow in my chest.
I stood there for a long time, caught between every possible choice. Follow them? Get help? Try to change what I knew was coming?
For the first time since I'd arrived in this world, I had no idea what to wish for.