PELAGIC - Ace x Reader x Law

CHAPTER FORTY: Selflessly Selfish

***ACE POV***

It was dark.

I didn't know what day it was.

How long had I been here?

I had so many questions swirling around my withering mind, but one was far more important than all the others. A scream amidst the whispers.

Is she safe?

There was no way for me to know. One moment I had been fighting Teach, then the next I was being chained to the wall, in the deepest depths of Impel Down.

I knew what I had awaiting me.

The fate I had always been so sure I deserved.

The same fate as my father.

A public execution.

I could accept that. It had been on my mind from the moment I knew how to comprehend my lineage. Despite that, I wanted just one final thing. Something I knew I could never even dare ask for.

"Fire Fist, are you alright?" I had recognised Jinbe, the Son of the Sea, when I had first been thrown down here. He was intimidating in looks, but he exuded a very kind, calm aura that put me at ease. Well, as much ease as one could feel in such a situation.

"No..." My voice was hoarse, throat dried out and scratching with each word. "...I don't know if my wife made it out alive..." I heard the fishman shift in place, but I continued to stare at the dirty stone floor.

"I wasn't aware you were married. I'm sorry...Was she with you when you were captured?" He asked me softly, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to answer. Talking may have helped, but I knew that if I started there was little chance of stopping me.

"Sh..She was on the island, yeah...but there was a huge blast. I don't know if she was caught up in it..." Somehow, I hung my head lower, ignoring the strain on my neck. "She's strong, but if she got knocked back into the water..."

It would be my fault...

"No, Fire Fist, I'm sure she made it out unharmed. You can't be thinking the worst." Jinbe tried to reassure me, but unless I was able to see her for myself, it wasn't going to work.
"The rookie punk tied the knot, huh? To a Devil Fruit user at that? I guess you brats rush into more than just fights, huh?"

I couldn't make out who had spoken, aside from a faint glint in a cell across the room, but I couldn't argue. We had rushed into things, but the only thing I would have changed was letting (Y/N) follow me in my pursuit of Teach.

"Hold your tongue, Crocodile." Jinbe warned the other prisoner, sighing as he rested against the wall. "Ace, you need to keep hold of your spirit. They want you to break. You can't give them that satisfaction."

I think it's too late for that...

Closing my eyes, I pictured (Y/N)'s beautiful face. Those fiery (E/C) eyes, creasing at the edges as she smiled at me, the way her (H/C) hair tickled at my nose when I nuzzled into her, the coolness of her hand against mine, fingers interlocked.

Had I really thrown a whole life with her away over some petty revenge?

No, it wasn't petty, but it was still just that. Revenge. There was very little chance I would ever see her again, if she had even managed to make it off of the island with her life.

"She always called me an idiot...Said I was reckless, and stubborn...She wasn't wrong. Hell, even as kids, I was ready to fight the damn king of Dressrosa to keep her by my side...I really should have listened to her..."

It wasn't fair of me to unload all of this onto the ex Warlord, but he didn't seem to be bothered by it. If he was, he was too polite to say as much.
"You've made it a long way, boy. I doubt a true idiot would have survived even half as long as you have."

You have no idea...

Finally, I leaned back, my shackles rattling with my sluggish movement. I met the fishman's eyes and struggled to keep my emotions in check.
"I've been nothing but trouble since I could crawl. I dragged her into all of my shit knowing full well what was bound to happen...but the worst part..?"

Looking up towards the cracked, dripping ceiling of our cell, I prayed they the lone, solitary tear that rolled down my cheek would go unnoticed.

"...I don't regret a damn thing...Now that's selfish, huh..?"

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***Much shorter crappy chapter to check in with Ace.

Next Time: You Can't Stop Me***