Chapter Text
You had felt sick the past few days. Not like anything serious, but you noticed how you were out of breath after light activities that should not pose a problem to you. Or how you became nauseous on heavy sea. Or being constantly tired and sleeping more. Or managing only half your regular portion while eating…
Things like that.
Maybe you should have taken it easier, you thought. In retrospect, you really should have.
But it was time for another adventure, an expedition on a new island. Whitebeard had sent Ace to deliver something to one of the islands under his wings.
And as you were part of the Whitebeard Pirates Second Division, formerly known as Spade Pirates, you had to be of the party.
It was one of those summer islands. Spring and Autumn islands were more to your liking, the extremes were too… extreme.
At least it’s not a desert, only a savanna, you thought to yourself. Your head was already swimming from the heat. Deuce, arguably the only one with more than three braincells on the ship, had noticed you were feeling a little under the weather lately. While packing for the expedition, he approached you.
“Are you sure you’re up for the task?”
Your eyes wandered to Ace. There was this gleam in his eyes. He was excited. If you were to admit you were sick, he would only worry, probably even postpone the delivery.
Come on, it wasn’t so bad, right?
“Yeah.”, you said.
Pride doesn’t look good on you.
All went well the first day. Even though your four-head-count group, consisting of Ace, Deuce, Kotatsu and you, had been hiking in the heat most day, you felt relatively fine.
In the evening, as you sat down at the impromptu campfire, you felt drained and fell asleep without dinner. Some time later, Ace woke you up for a bowl of stew. He looked worried but didn’t say anything. You wondered if Deuce had said something or if Ace had connected the dots himself.
Immediately after your dinner, you laid again. You caught how Deuce and Ace shot each other a look. That confirmed they had talked, alright.
As you woke up in the some time in the night, Deuce was keeping watch, sitting on a boulder not too far away. The blanket Kotatsu usually slept on was loosely draped over your form. You searched the grounds for the lynx – close to the glimmering remains of the campfire – and Ace – sound asleep directly beside you.
The night was warm enough to sleep under the stars, but as you felt the constant heat emitted from the fire boy, you felt nothing but grateful.
As you shifted back into a sleeping position, a pair of eyes fluttered open. Both of you stared at each other, still half asleep.
“How are you feeling?”
You groaned. The role of caring captain didn’t suit him. The role of daring captain was much better.
“Don’t start, Ace. Please.”
“You and Deuce will go back to the ship tomorrow. I will continue with Kotatsu.”
“You will get lost without Deuce. And the village is closer than the ship.”
“Then we will stay in the village until you are better.”
“I’m fine, Ace. Really.”
“Captain’s order.”
A protest started to form on your lips. The c word was Ace’s ultima ratio. Normally your bickering would have lasted longer until he unpacked his ‘I have the last word on this’. He was taking this way more serious than you had imagined.
“For the love of Davy Jones, Y/N. Just accept it.” Deuce said from the boulder, no scope left.
“I’m sure nobody loves Davy Jones, thanks for eavesdropping, Deuce!” You raised your voice a little more than you had wanted to. Kotatsu woke up as well. The fire was almost non-existent at this point, so the lynx stood up and snuggled your empty side.
Sandwiched between a big kitty cat and a walking burning man, you fell asleep again. There was no point in arguing.
The next morning came around eventually.
The hike started well. Though, it was significantly slower than the day before and all three of your companions watched your every move. Each stumble of yours was met with hands shooting out protectively to catch you.
It was annoying as hell. Endearing, yes, but you didn’t like this kind of attention. As a fierce pirate, you wanted to be strong.
Your group just climbed a hill, a tree generously granted you shade, when you saw the village rise on the horizon, the destination was within reach.
That’s where your knees finally gave out.
“We can’t stay here.” It was Deuce’s voice. He was not too far away, but not in your line of sight either.
“What should we do then?” Ace.
You were lying in a soft bed. Apparently, you had reached the village or some kind of house.
“Look, you can’t piggyback them back to the ship. I know you’re strong, but you saw how their condition worsened. I think it’s because of their lungs. It won’t get better.”
Kotatsu was purring softly. He was snuggling close to you, taking up half of the bed.
“You studied medicine! Do something!”
It was odd that Ace raised his voice.
“Well, I wasn’t very good at that and you know it!”
Poor Deuce. You knew that his past was his weakness.
“You’re better at this than I am!”
Oh, Ace.
“Being better than zero doesn’t mean that I can just miracle them better!”
That’s below the belt, Deuce. Come on, you’re better than that.
“Okay, Ace, look. This exceeds my medical knowledge. We can’t move them, there’s no help here, we have to get help to us. If we can get a signal to the Den Den Mushi on the Piece of Spadille, they can contact the Moby Dick and get Marco here. The main ship is over at Sphinx. If luck is on our side, Marco could be here by tomorrow morning.”
“That’s a great idea! That’s the reason why you’re my first mate.”
You could practically hear the smile on your captain’s face.
“I will take care of the communications, you stay here. With these bounty hunters this close, be careful.”
They did their trademark handshake. The door opened and Ace entered. You had your eyes closed, but the room was suddenly half a degree hotter, so it had to be your fire boy.
“Y/N”, he asked softly. When there was no answer from you, he let himself fall on a chair at your bedside. Kotatsu shifted at that, licking Ace’s hand. With the big cat moving, you had an excuse to be woken up.
You said his name. It was intended to be soft but came out weak.
There was a frown on his face. “You’re shivering.” His eyes searched the room for a blanket and found none.
Kotatsu, the traitor, understood and jumped off the bed. With the spot on your side now free, Ace didn’t hesitate to climb into bed next to you. He sometimes forgot personal space like that.
“What if I’m contagious?”, you asked. Breathing was a strain. You were exhausted from being awake for a few minutes.
Ace was pleasantly warm and soft. Without hearing his answer, you fell back asleep.