Finally!
Title: Revelations in the Night
Rating: G
Media: fic
Characters: Thatch, Haruta, Ace
Word Count: 300
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece
Prompt: two-faced
Well, it sure was a struggle to make my muse cooperate, that's for sure. But I finally chose the first prompt and produced a new fic! Whee~
Thatch threw occasional glances at a certain freckled youth through the open door of the mess hall. The boy was sitting slouched at his usual (when not trying to kill Oyaji, that is) spot on the deck by the railing and looking as if a thundercloud was gathered above his head.
It was enough to make people think that he had never smiled before, but Thatch knew better.
With a soft chuckle, he recalled the events of the previous night, when Haruta had invited him to join her on her “night watch”. Long after everyone had turned in for the night, the girl had dragged him to the crow’s nest. Baffled and yawning, he had peered blearily through the binoculars impatiently pushed into his hands, and was rewarded by a sight that woke him up immediately.
“Isn’t he cute?” Haruta had whispered gleefully into his ear.
Thatch had been tempted to tease her about finally showing interest in boys. Instead, he had rolled his eyes with fond exasperation, knowing her intended meaning. “He isn’t a cat, Haruta.”
He couldn’t help the matching grin that blossomed on his face, though. The girl’s choice of words was unexpectedly appropriate. The boy had been sprawled out haphazardly at one corner of the deck and smiling in his sleep. A pure, sweet smile that he had never seen on the youth’s face and frankly never expected to ever see.
Thatch was glad to know that the boy could smile like that. He had long had a feeling that Ace was a good kid under all the prickliness. The boy would become one of their crew, just wait.
With that thought in mind, he piled two plates full of food and strolled casually out of the mess hall. The sunset was particularly lovely that evening.