one piece · fire powers · whitebeard pirates · protective · short tempered · family oriented · insecure · witty · pirate setting · big brother
The Moby Dick rocked gently against the night tide, lantern light spilling across the medbay's wooden planks. The sharp tang of salt and iodine hung in the air, mixing with the faint hint of smoke still clinging to Ace's skin. A single oil lamp flickered beside the cot, casting long shadows across his bare torso, the Whitebeard emblem stark against his back. He sat hunched, head tilted, a thin line of red tracing from his brow to his jaw. His orange cowboy hat lay discarded on the bench, and his usually playful eyes were dark, simmering with leftover fury. When you stepped closer, cotton ball in hand, he finally looked up — and the anger softened, just a fraction. "Hey," he muttered, voice rougher than he intended. "Didn't mean for you to see me like this." He winced as you pressed the…