"Great practice everyone! I think we'll be the stars of the Freedom festival! So many people cheering my name~~ doesn't it sound lovely (y/n)" Liv sighed dreamily beside me.

"Uh... yeah sure it does Liv" you laughed nervously whilst you adjusted the bag on your shoulder.

'Why did it suddenly change from we to my' you sweat-dropped.

You'd just finished practicing with the other performers for the festival, and you had so many mixed feelings. You did enjoy dancing, almost as much as you enjoyed baking, but you weren't really ready for the public attention. Just the thought of it gave you Goosebumps. Alivia on the other hand loved the idea of fame.

"I honestly don't know how you can deal with it Liv? All that attention on you 24/7, you sure you can handle it?" you asked

"Of course I can (y/n)! And it's not like you're a complete stranger to it either. You've been proposed to 5 times now" Liv giggled when she heard you sigh.

Alivia was the lead dancer and main performer for the festival but you knew her from beforehand. She's the best businesswoman for the island and helped you to make many trade deals for your bakery. She was naturally tall, beautiful, fiery and on the island she was known as the 'ideal independent woman.' This woman had no interest in relationships, and it's probably because she's Amazonian. That's right! However she was kidnapped on a mission. Her guess is that the Amazons think she's dead, so she decided to start a new life.

"Have you got your kimono ready? I can't wait to see you in it! You'll be so cute!!!" Liv began jumping up in excitement

'I sure hope not all the Amazons are like this'

"Yeah I've got it, although I'm gonna have to practise walking in those shoes properly. To think I'll have to wear the whole night!" You sulked

"You'll be fine (y/n)! And you know if you fall there will be plenty of men willing to catch you" she winked

"Alivia behave!" You scolded and you both laughed.

"Well it's almost lunch time so I'm gonna head home to shower and make a few calls. Will you be ok?" She looked at you with concern. " This place becoming more popular, and it may attract some unwanted attention..."

"I'll be fine Liv. I promise to go straight home ok?" You reassured her "Now come on! let's go!"

"Alright alright, I'll see you on stage (y/n)" she waved as she locked up the equipment.

You waved back and made your way home. The weather was very nice today, a bit windy but nice. You were wearing your (f/c) skinny jeans which complemented your natural curves and a white shoulder-less top. The whole outfit radiating simple beauty.

"More unwanted attention huh..." You muttered to yourself and smiled. "I bet Law, Luffy and Ace come under that category."

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You'd were walking through the woods now along the well worn path to hour house. Flowers were in full bloom along the path, displaying its vibrant colours. Wind rushed through the trees and your hair danced with it. The both sound of your bracelet jingling and the leaves rustling put you at ease.

Being surrounded by nature always reminded you of the better time. Times when you lived in the treehouse with your most crazy people. It's probably why you loved your home. Another strong gust of wind rushed through the trees and your hair. But it somehow ripped out your origami flower in the process and started carrying it away.

"Ahh! No!" You screamed as you dropped your bag and broke into a sprint after it.

'No no no no! no! this can't be happening! If that paper lands in a navy base...there's too many peoples lives connected to that paper! I need to get it back!' You internally screamed as you strayed further from the path. 'I can't believe I have to do this in jeans too!'

You ran past multiple trees and hopped over many roots but you still couldn't reach the white flower. It was as if every time you reached for it the wind would miraculously pull it out of your grasp.

'OH COME ON! REALLY!?'

You're breath was becoming ragged, your (h/c) hair flowing behind you as you ran. Through the dense trees you could make out the beach from which you'd said your goodbyes to Law.

'I am not letting that paper make it to the beach!' Your mind raced.

You pushed yourself harder, jumped and snatched the paper from the air. You landed just two trees away from the secluded beach

'I GOT IT!' You cheered.

You clutched the paper to your chest and leaned on the tree for support to catch your breath. You were panting heavily, and the adrenaline was coursing throughly your veins.

'Almost a decade, and I almost lost my purpose to the wind!' A slight irritation swept over you as you collected yourself. 'Now I have to find my bag on the path.'

You took a deep breath, turned, and started walking back to the path. Your grip on your flower loosened and in that moment you froze.

It was moving. It was moving in the palm of your hand towards the beach.

'What on earth! Why is it moving? It shouldn't move... It's never moved... but it is... towards the sea...' you turned back to peer at the secluded beach.

And that's when you heard it. Voices. They weren't even discrete but they were making their way towards you. Curiosity got the better of you as you strained your ears to listen.

"Dude how long are we gonna have to follow this piece of paper-yoi!"

"As long as we need to! I still don't see why you guys had to come! Pops must've been out of his mind"

"Pops probably would've brought the entire allegiance from the way you were carrying on. I have to find her! She's waiting for me! Please let me go and find her!" The two voices laughed.

"You're right Thatch! That's exactly how you sounded-yoi!"

"Oh shut up Marco!"

You walked closer to the beach.

'Can this really be happening? Right now?' You covered your mouth in disbelief.

"Look man. We only came here to support you. We've never seen you take any interest in a girl before. We're here to help if anything goes wrong."

"That and find something to tease you about for the rest of your life-yoi." He laughed.

"Dude this is serious!... I haven't seen her in years... she may not even want to-" He stopped.

You hadn't realised it but you'd stepped onto the beach in front of these three men. Correction. Three handsome men with bodies sculpted by the gods themselves. The one to the right had an extremely impressive pompadour and a bright yellow necktie. His attire reminded you of a cook. On the right was a man with a small patch of blonde hair. He wore an open purple shirt along with some blue jeans. His chest displayed a tattoo that resembled a blue cross and a crescent moon?

But your attention was completely focused on him. His raven locks, fiery gaze and the unmistakable freckles that were scattered across his cheeks. He was clutching onto a small piece of paper.

You were still quite far away. But now he was staring at you. They all were.

"(Y-y/n)...." he whispered.

Your other hand shot up to also cover your mouth and hold back the sob that was practically clawing its way up your throat. The only reason you knew he'd said your was from his lips pronounced it. A small nod was all you could manage. The head movement alone causing tears to spill from your glossy (e/c) eyes.

He took a cautious step forward, as if the motion itself may cause you to disappear. He took another, and then another. Then he broke into a full sprint towards you. Once again your body had acted on your own and you were already running towards him. You basically threw yourself at him and he caught you hand held you up. Without a second thought he spun you around in a tight embrace. Your arms around his neck and and his just below your waist. Both of you were clutching into the pieces of paper that brought you together.

"(Y/n)... (Y/n)... (Y/n)!" He cried into the crook of your neck like a broken record as he held you tighter.

"Ace? Oh my gosh Ace is it really you?" The tears were now splashing onto his face as he looked up into your dazzling eyes.

"...It's me... It's really me..." he said as he started to wipe the tears from your face, his own now spilling.

"I-I don't even know where to begin? H-How to begin... I... when you were taken... then the fire... Luffy... Sabo..." he was clearly struggling to form a proper sentence. "I-I shouldn't have let them take you! I should've come for you sooner! I'm so sorry (Y/n)! I'm so so sorry!" he cried into your neck.

You were speechless. You only did what came naturally and started running your hands through his dark hair in a soothing manner. It worked almost instantly. Oh how he'd missed your gentle touch, you constantly fiddling with his hair, when you thought he was asleep. He missed you too much.

'All this time Ace... you were blaming yourself for what happened?' The thought broke your heart.

"Ace... I never once blamed you for what happened... we couldn't do anything... we were just kids..." you stroked him. "I'm so glad that you survived. You, Sabo and Luffy are the reason I'm still here. And I know what happened to Sabo... I was there... but it didn't change the fact that I still love you guys." You whispered into his ear.

Ace had stopped crying at this point, instead he was all red, but he didn't protest like he used to. His face was still buried in your neck, nodding occasionally to show you that he'd listened and understood. Squeezing you tighter and tighter until it hurt. Honestly it was definitely the best kind of pain you'd ever experienced cause you were just happy that it was Ace, your Ace. You were finally reunited.

"Ace you're really late... Welcome home..."

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