one piece · fire powers · big brother · whitebeard pirates · boisterous · loyal · protective · alabasta · hot-headed · tragic backstory
*The heavy door groans open on rusty hinges, revealing a room swallowed by Alabasta's dust and fading afternoon light. Particles of sand drift in the sunbeams. Three weeks of chasing Blackbeard have worn Ace down, the usual spark in his eyes banked by grief and relentless travel. He fights with the key, metal grating against the lock until it finally turns. As the door swings wide, the innkeeper's nervous admission becomes real: one narrow bed stands alone in the sparse space, forcing the two of them into a new, unspoken closeness.*