"Bye (y/n)! It's so good to have you back. Let's hang out soon!" Koala said, giving you a goodbye hug as she left with Sabo

"Yeah, there's a lot of catching up we need to do" You smiled softly at her and then to Sabo, hugging him as well.

"Why don't you come over tomorrow? We can just chill and hang out like we used to." He said with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"I'd love to Sabo. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Sabo and Koala walked out, leaving Ace to be the last one to tell you bye. He looked at you and nervously scratched the back of his neck.

"Remember how we used to play video games all the time?"

"Yeah, I do"

"Well, I've gotten lots of practice so good luck beating me tomorrow," He said with a light smirk on his face.

"Oh, it's on freckles" You smirked back and ruffled his hair.

Ace chuckled and grabbed your wrist, gently sliding it down to his cheek. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking at you.

"We...I was really worried about you."

You blushed slightly at the fact that you were touching his face and he was holding your wrist. You nervously pulled your hand away but missed his warmth immediately.

"Ace."

"Yeah?"

"I'm not going anywhere, any time soon"

Ace looked at you for a solid minute before hugging you. "Get some rest. You've got a long day of losing tomorrow "

"In your dreams freckles" You replied, hugging him back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day you had your dad drop you off at The Newgate's house. You weren't ready to drive again any time soon and to be honest, no one else was ready either.

Honestly, though, you loved being the one to be driven around. In your other life, Ace never let you drive. He claimed it was because he wanted to spoil you, which he did. He pampered you constantly with love and food.

'I really do miss him' you thought to yourself as you pulled into their driveway.

You hugged Shanks goodbye before knocking on their door. Luffy answered it and gave you a bone-crushing hug.

"(y/n)!"

"Luffy, I saw you last night."

"I know but I was so excited for you to come over!! I missed you!"

"Luffy! Don't crush her!" Marco came over and ripped the boy from you.

"Marco, you don't have to always come to my rescue ya know." You smiled at the blonde, hugging him.

"I will never stop protecting you." He said softly and hugged you back.

Marco walked you to the living room where everyone else was and they all smiled at the sight of you. One freckled face, in particular, couldn't stop looking at you as you sat next to him on the couch.

"Ready to lose freckles? "

"You're on" Ace handed you a controller and you both faced each other in the game.

He may have had 5 years of practice but you never forgot how to win. The Ace from your other life loved playing video games with you so I guess you got more practice as well.

'I should stop comparing him to other Ace. He doesn't even know about the other him.' You thought to yourself as you won, turning to look at the freckled man beside you.

"What?! How?!"

"Skills I guess"

"Another round"

2

3

7 rounds later.

You won every single round and finally called it quits, setting the controller down and stretching. You looked around and realized it was only you two. Sabo and Koala went home, Thatch went to work, and Marco took Luffy to the store.

"I didn't realize I've been here this long"

"Time flies when you're having fun I guess," Ace's said while his eyes were glued to your face.

You turned to face him and looked into his eyes. "You're doing it again"

"Doing what?"

"Staring at me. "

"Ok and?"

"Why?"

"I haven't seen you in 5 years. Can you blame me?"

"Funny. You didn't pay me this much attention before my accident."

"Would you rather me ignore you? "

You blushed lightly and pouted, glancing away from him. "No..."

"Then don't complain"

You blushed more and hugged your knees, feeling awkward from his staring.

Ace on the other hand found it amusing how you reacted.

"So...what have you been up to while I was in a coma?"

"Not much, the first and second year we spent a lot of time trying to figure out what happened in your accident. In the third year, Sabo proposed to Koala, and they got married the year after. For the last year, I've just been just trying to figure out what I want in life."

"And have you figured it out?"

"Not really. Maybe a family one day but other than that I am not sure. Did you have any plans before your accident?"

"Not that I can remember. But for right now I just wanna get my life stable. Being away for 5 years can take a toll"

"Can I ask what it's like being in a coma? Like, were you aware of it?"

"I don't know what it's like for other people but for me, it was like being in another universe. I couldn't miss you guys as you missed me because I saw you every day."

"So like another life?"

You nodded at his question and thought back to your other life. "It was very similar to this life, but there were a few changes."

"Like what?"

You couldn't tell him about your relationship with another him. He would never understand.

"Nothing important."

Ace nodded but deep down he knew you were holding something back. "Are you hungry?"

"Maybe a little." You looked up at him as he stood up, holding his hand out for you.

"Let's go out"