Archive of Our Own ^beta

“ Actually, I never asked you… but why hydrangeas?”

Your captain barely looks up from the charts, sitting peacefully at his desk, then back to look at the papers in front of him. Naval charts, the direction to be taken, but also bounty notices, poorly scribbled annotations on loose sheets, and then recipes, notes, all mixed up.

No, your captain is not famous for being tidy.

You are in his cabin, on the Spadille, his ship, his home.

Although, for a few months now, almost a year, it is also your home, your ship, too. Your cabin. And your beloved.

" Hmm? What do you mean, Yama?"

" When we first met, you told me that your favorite flowers are hydrangeas. How come, though? They're not really typical of the South Blue, or even the East Blue, I think."

In fact, Ace told you briefly that he was born in the South Blue, of which he has no memory, and grew up in the East Blue, in Goa Kingdom, with his brothers.

And all about his brothers too, like he did in that memorable first night you shared together, the wild Luffy, the wise Sabo, the love, the loss. The memories of a childhood together, dangerous and full of life, of adventures, of hope. And yet nothing about flowers.

And hydrangeas, if you are correct, would not live happily either in the tropical climates of Baterilla, his birthplace, or in the sweltering heat of Foosha, the City of Mills.

And to be real, to tell you the truth, they are typical of Wano, yet I don't think you know this.

Where did you see them, these hydrangeas, my beloved captain?

Your lover gives a sweet smile, the kind usually reserved for some fond memories as a child, or the tales of his brothers, and waves you closer, moving the nautical charts away.

You oblige, leaning against the desk as he takes your hands, warm and rough, sailor's hands, your safe haven.

" When I was a child ... I told you about Makino, didn't I?"

You nod, serious. You were right, then.

"When I was a child, Makino had filled the inner garden, that of his house, behind the bar, with hydrangeas. They also looked quite silly to me, those flowers, although pretty, as they were all colored, white and pink. Makino loved them, that garden was her pride and joy. Then one day..."

He smiles, still, barely sticking his tongue out, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

" ... one day the flowers all turned blue. Well, no, actually, the white ones stayed white, but almost all the pink flowers turned blue, in the span of just one night. I asked Makino if she had done it, if she had painted the flowers, or if it was the moon to steal away the pink, being jealous of the pretty color and leaving them blue like the night sky. And instead of laughing at me and my silly questions she explained that overnight the flowers had decided that pink no longer represent them."

“ ... what do you mean?"

" It was no longer true for them, to be pink. They wanted to be different, so they had turned blue. And now I know that's not really how it works, but at the time ... I was a kid, I must have been, I dunno, ten, eleven years old. And the idea of being able to change like that, overnight, got me so hooked ... that I decided then and there that they were my favorite flowers."

You smile, lifting a hand to caress his face, and he surrenders to your caress, though he’s getting red all over his cheeks, shy as usual, but without refusing physical contact.

Cute.

" What about your brothers? What did they think, about you having a favorite flower? Did they make fun of you?"

His eyes darken for a moment, then he lets out a deep sigh, before smiling again.

Yikes.

Was Sabo already gone? At ten? Ace told you that they were quite young when the accident happened, but this…

" Well, by then Sabo … we had already lost Sabo, by then. Although I guess he would’ve made fun of me, but you know, just for the sake of it, with no real heat. And Luffy...he was never too conventional in that either, you know? And since I choose one, he decided he had a favorite flower too."

" That being?"

" Sunflowers, because you can eat them," he replies, feigning seriousness, causing a laugh to escape from your mouth.

" Besides, there's something else, too. When I asked Makino why he put those flowers in, before they changed color I mean, she told me she like them because of a fairy tale … maybe that's why they looked silly to me. You know, I had no time for fairy tales."

At ten?

And yet, you get it. It’s not like you had time for fairy tales, too, at ten years old.

Too busy trying to survive.

" What fairy tale?" you ask, curious, and he shrugs, unfazed.

" Something regarding a guy who is forced to abandon the woman he loves and to apologize gives her hydrangeas. Which is stupid, because, come on, how rotten can you be to do something like that? Abandon your love and leave her with… some flowers? What is that, a joke? It seemed so dumb to me, honestly, and to think he was an important guy, too! A king, or a prince-"

"Emperor," you correct him, without thinking.

Ace shuts up, looking you steadily in the eye, surprised.

You snap up your hands, taken aback by your own words.

“ No, I mean ... I don't know if it's the same one, but in Wano, there's this very old legend, of an emperor from the time of the herons and ancient dragons, that because of the wars and his many noble duties was always travelling, and to apologize to his beloved he gave her blue hydrangeas, to symbolize his suffering at being away, and his gratitude for having her in his life."

Silence, still.

“ ... or something like that?” you murmur, starting to fiddle with your fingers, nervous.

Also, nervous about what? It's not like you did something wrong!

But Ace manages to surprise you, as always, bursting out laughing.

''That's a good one! And how did Makino know a Wano legend?" He keeps laughing, reaching for your hands once more , holding them in his own.

Warm and rough, soft and grounding.

You relax a pinch, breathing again.

" Well, I... I don't know. It is true, though, that hydrangeas are native to Wano, or at least, there are many of them."

" Really? I'm afraid I didn't notice, last time I passed by," he murmurs, softly, bringing your hands to his lips, to kiss them gently.

" You see, I had my eyes on another flower, much more beautiful.”

You blush to the tips of your ears, embarrassed and yet pleased.

Yes, it is true that you are together, but you are still not used to such displays of affection.

It’s only been some months, since you left Wano, in the end. Almost a year ago you left your birthplace, that terrible prison of your life, and that monster of a father.

And then, just some weeks after, your captain called you his everything, and you realized. That he is to you what you are to him. Home.

And your heart is happy, singing, full of love.

" Sap."

But there’s no reason to tell him.

He knows already, anyway.

You couldn't hide it from them even if you wanted to.

You’ve always wore you heart on your sleeve.

" Yeah, precisely" he giggles, still looking into your eyes.

Brown and orange.

Wood and fire.

Your love, and your heart.

“I think I like them too,” you continue, picking up the conversation from where you left it.

After all, they too decided to change, as did you.

And even if it didn't take you just one night, who cares?

Pink was no longer right for you either, it was no longer true.

“ I'm glad,” he replies, standing up, bringing his hands to your shoulders.

“ It means I'll gift you a whole bunch of them, then.”

“ A bouquet, perhaps."

" Why limit yourself to one? Ten, a hundred, a thousand bouquets of hydrang-"

You cut him off, grabbing his waist and barely raising him from the ground, to kiss him properly.

Warm, and sweet, and true.

Together, connected, close.

Like the hydrangeas.