3rd person POV

Almost a full week had past and Aoi still hadn't woken up and Ace hadn't left her side, even to eat or sleep. He ate small amounts in her room, at her bedside, his eyes never leaving her face. When he slept, his head rested on her stomach so he could always feel her breathing even when he slept. His hand never left hers.

Until the day her heart stopped.

He had been watching her when her breathing slowed to a stop. He pressed his ear to her chest, but the sound of his racing heart deafened him to anything else. He pressed fingers to her throat, searching for a pulse and not finding one.

"Aoi? Aoi! No! Don't leave me!" Ace yelled and immediately began to pump her heart.

"Not her. I can't lose her. I love her too much!" Ace thought in a panic.

"Come on, Aoi! Stay with me! I can't lose you! Come back to me!" He yelled and continued to pump her heart. Tears building in his eyes.

"First I lose Sabo, now I'm losing Aoi? No! No! I can't lose Aoi! I love her! I can't lose her! Aoi! I love you! Please, don't die! Don't leave me!" Ace pleaded in his mind desperately.

A tight gasp passed Aoi's lips and Ace's heart soared with relief. He fell to his knees in relief. He rested his head on her shoulder as tears spilled down his cheeks in relief.

"Aoi... Thank god..." He breathed and cried silently for a bit. He calmed down and carefully returned the chair he knocked over him his panic to its original stance and sat back down. He rested his head on her stomach and held her hand, resting it on her chest. He slipped off in to sleep.

After a few moments of silence, Ace spoke in his sleep.

"Don't leave me, Aoi..." He murmured in his sleep.

Aoi's POV

My eyes opened and I stared at a blurry ceiling as my eyes adjusted to being open and in use after who knows how long.

"My name... Is Ocean D. Aoi now... Or I guess it always was according to everyone... The only way I'll be able to speak again is if Ace kisses me willingly with out me suprise attacking him... And I can use water as a weapon now... Am I a total badass or what?... Damn my body is sore as fuck..." I thought as my eyes focused. I looked down and I saw Ace sound asleep on my stomach, his large hand holding my significantly smaller hand to my chest. I smiled at the sight. Poor guy must have worn himself out worrying about me.

I raised my free hand and grimaced. I was weak as hell. How long have I been out? Any longer and I would have starved to death or something.

I forced myself to move my hand and stroked Ace's cheek gently. His lips rose in smirk in reaction to my touch, making my heart flutter. He was so cute.

The door opened and I turned my head to see Marco walk in. His eyes met mine and I saw relief and joy fill his eyes. He opened his mouth to say my name. I quickly rose my hand and pressed my finger to my lips, telling him to be quiet. I pointed to Ace, sound asleep on my stomach. Marco nodded and silently moved closer to me and Ace.

"Good morning sunshine. It's been a week." He whispered to me. I grinned at him. I turned my attention back to Ace as he slept peacefully on my stomach. I stroked his hair that fell in a mess around his face.

"He hasn't left your side since we got back, you know." Marco whispered to me. I looked over at him, then back to Ace.

"He hasn't left my side once?" I mouthed.

"Nope. He ate in here and slept in here, never leaving your side." Marco whispered. I stared at Ace in bewilderment.

"He never left my side... He was that worried about me..." I thought.

"He cares about you a lot. I've never seen him act this way for anyone else." Marco whispered. I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

I stroked Ace's cheek again, his lips pulling in to a smirk as a reaction to my touch. I felt my face heat up at how cute it was.

"You'd do the same for him wouldn't you?" Marco asked. I nodded with out a second's hesitation.

"I figured. I could tell just by the way you always look at him. He looks at you the same way." He whispered. My eyes stayed on Ace's face.

"Doubtful." I thought.

"Can you do me a favor, Aoi?" Marco whispered. I looked at him to see what his favor was.

"Keep an eye on this guy for me. He gets himself in trouble." Marco said. I smirked at him teasingly.

"Don't look at me like that. He's like my little brother. Can't help but worry about him from time to time." He said. I smiled and nudged his arm with my head to show him I understood since Ace was occupying both my hands.

"Your worry isn't for nothing, Marco. You guys have no idea what's waiting in two years." I thought, gently stroking Ace's cheek again, causing him to smirk in reaction to my touch causing my heart to flutter yet again. I smiled warmly at the man sleeping on my stomach.

"I'll leave you two alone now." Marco said. He reached forward to wake Ace. I caught his hand quickly, having to stop stroking Ace's cheek and hair to do so.

"Let him sleep. He's spent the last week worrying over me." I mouthed. Marco nodded and slipped out of the room. After he was gone, I returned my attention to Ace, still sleeping peacefully on my stomach. I released a content sigh.

"You are too cute for you're own good, Ace." I thought. I smiled down at his sleeping face. His lips and eyebrows twitched with his dream. I brushed his hair away from his face. He was so cute.

To my disappointment, his eyelids fluttered and slid open, revealing his ash eyes. I smiled at him as he woke up fully. He blinked at me, suprised to see me awake.

"Aoi! You're okay!" He said. Suddenly, he was hugging me.

Don't get me wrong, I would never hate an Ace Hug. I would jump at the chance of an Ace Hug. I would jump at any chance to be in Ace's arms.

But my body had been doing absolutely nothing for a full week. Meaning I hadn't eaten a thing. In a full week. And I hurt with every movement I made.

I released a hiss of pain. Ace quickly pulled away, but carefully set me back on the bed.

"Right, your probably hungry. I'll go get you some food." He said. He darted out of the room and was back moments later with food and Thatch right behind him.

"Glad to see you up, Aoi-chan! Pops is gonna want to see you as soon as possible." Thatch told me. I felt my heart sink.

It wasn't anything against Whitebeard. The old man basically became my father. The one I always wanted but never had. I just wanted to make sure Ace got proper rest since Marco had told me he spent every moment with me for the past week. That meant he got little sleep and little to eat.

"But, it's going to have to wait until tomorrow. It's starting to get late out. So after you finish eatting, get some rest. Even if you've had a full week of nothing but sleep." Thatch said almost as if he read my mind. I nodded in agreement. Thatch is amazing, I don't care what all you haters say.

Wait, do Thatch haters exist?

I don't think they actually do...

... YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING, DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT.

Anyways, Ace stayed by my side as I ate and Thatch stepped out to inform the rest of the crew on my situation. I stopped half way through my mountain of food that Ace had brought me. Half because my stomach wasn't as big as Luffy's and I was basically full, half because I didn't know if Ace had eaten at all today.

"What's wrong, Aoi?" Ace asked as I stopped eatting and looked around. I mimed writting with my hands. Ace reached over and handed me my notepad. I stopped, looking at what I had last written on the notepad.

It was the explanation of the Water-Water Fruit. The same day I kissed Ace.

My cheeks heated up with blush and my lips tingled at the memory. I had kissed him to catch him off gaurd so I could eat the fruit, so it wasn't a long kiss like I would have liked.

I shook my head and got back in the task at hand. I wrote on the paper to ask Ace a question.

When did you last eat? I asked. He smiled at me.

"Don't worry about me." He said, giving me a signature Ace grin. I gave him a scolding look.

That doesn't answer my question. When did you last eat, Commander? I asked again. He scowled at me.

"Do I need to tickle you again?" He asked. I cocked an eyebrow at him.

Do I need to disappear for two hours again? I wrote. He frowned at me.

"Aoi." He said. I glared at him. He hadn't eaten in a while because he was too busy worrying over me.

Answer my damn question, Ace. And don't even think about lying to me. I demanded. He stared at me in suprise.

"And if I do?" He asked. I stared at him. I raised my right hand and we watched as it turned in to water and extended in to a whip-like form. Ace watched in amazement and I took the oppritunity to smack him in the chest.

Whack!

My gut cringed at the sound of my hand hitting his chest. A red line appeared across his chest and he stared at me.

That is what will happen if you lie to me. I wrote. He sighed.

"This... Morning." He said. I pulled my eyebrows together and raised my hand again. He backed away quickly.

"Yesterday afternoon! Honest!" He said. I pushed my plate towards him. He stared at me.

"Aoi, I can't eat your food." He said. I glared at him.

Just because I didn't eat, doesn't mean you have to skip either. Besides, I've already eaten to maximum capacity of my stomach anyways. Now I demand you eat the rest of this or I swear I will smack you again. I demanded. He frowned at me. I huffed my stubbornness at him.

"You won't let me say no, will you?" He asked. I shook my head. He sighed and slowly began to eat, watching me as he did. I frowned at him.

Are you sick? I asked. He stared.

"No. Why do you ask?" He asked with a full mouth. I stared at him.

You're eatting slower than normal. I wrote. He smiled at me.

"I'm fine, I just want to make sure you are okay." He said. I reached forward and touched his head. No fever, so that was a good sign.

"Uh, what are you doing?" He asked. I pulled my hand away from his head and wrote my reply.

Making sure you aren't sick. I know you've been eatting less since I passed out, and I know your sleeping schedule is off track. If you keep like this, you could get seriously sick. I said, glad for my doctor training I went under. Ace stared at me and I stared at him with worried eyes. He smiled.

"You really are okay. You just woke up from a week long coma with cool powers and you immediately worry about someone else." He said. I stared at him as if to say "duh."

Without any more arguement, Ace finished off the platter for me. I smiled happily as he did. He sighed as he finished and looked out the window. It was starting to get dark out.

"Well, I guess I better leave you alone to get your rest." He said and stood. I grabbed his wrist before he could leave.

Stay with me. Please. I said. He stared at me. I scooted over and pulled on his arm.

"You're afraid you won't wake up?" He asked. Slowly, I nodded. No, I really wasn't, but I knew he was, so I played along with that. I actually wanted to make sure he got a full nights sleep.

Lucky for me, Ace bought it. He pulled off his boots and socks and removed his belt. I know how painful it is to sleep with those on, so I tried not to freak out.

He blew out the candle before he took off his shorts, leaving him in his underwear. I felt him slide in to my bed and wrap his arms around my waist.

Honestly, I was suprised that my face wasn't lighting the room in a red light with how hard I was blushing.

I pulled his head under my chin and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and rested my other hand on his head, gently stroking his hair.

"Aoi..." He whispered. I nudged his head with my chin, letting him know I was listening.

"Aoi, I..." He froze. I stopped stroking his hair and nudged him again to ask if everything was okay. He stayed silent.

"Ack?" I coughed. I felt him pull the blankets up around me even though I was already warm enough just from watching him take off his belt.

"Bad Aoi. Don't think about things like that." I thought to myself. I was wondering which would come first, my head exploding or the room being lit up by my blush.

"I'm just really glad you're okay." He said. I smiled and rubbed my cheek against his hair and went back to stroking his hair, cheek and neck.

Soon soft snores escaped the man, indicating he was sleeping in my arms. For the second time in my life, Portgas D. Ace was sleeping in my arms. I smiled softly and released a content sigh. I closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep.

This time, I didn't have to convince a Sea Goddess I was worth anything.