Nobody Else (Portgas D. Ace x Reader)

Badass ~ Ch8

Present Day

3rd Point Of View

"Hey, lovebirds!" A voice called out from the deck, aimed to a certain two people who had fallen asleep in the crow's nest.
"Are you ever going to come down from there? It's almost noon." The voice called out again, making (Y/n) groan against Ace's chest. Ace yawned above her, his hair sticking up in weird positions as he sat up, bringing (Y/n) with him.
"Marco?" Ace asked sleepily, one of his eyes open as he peered over the bannister of the crow's nest.

"Who else?" Marco replied, rolling his eyes at the man. (Y/n) yawned before sleepily following Ace's actions, peering over the edge of the bannister.
"Hurry up and get down from there! Thatch wants (Y/n) in the kitchen!" Marco then told them both with annoyance, tired of yelling up at the them from where he stood on the deck.
"Sorry, Marco. I'll be right there." (Y/n) mumbled tiredly as she stood up.

Lately, she's been trying to do her part on the ship of the whitebeard pirates, including different chores like cooking. Before (Y/n) could attpt to climb over the bannister in order to climb down the rope, Ace quickly grabbed onto the girl's wrist, stopping her from moving.
"Hey, wait...are you feeling better?" Ace asked her softly, making her smile.
"Yeah, I am. Don't worry about me, Ace. I'll be fine." The girl replied gently.

"It's just, when you get those nightmares... I worry for you, you know?" He asked with a sheepish wince, scratching the back of his neck.
"I know." (Y/n) replied, "But I promise, I'm okay now. The past is in the past and it can't hurt me when I'm awake. Now, we're in the present and I'm with you." Ace grinned at the girl's words, nodding immediately in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right!" He agreed with a chuckle, making (Y/n) smile before turning on her heel in attempt to climb over the bannister. But Ace's grip on her waist tightened, tugging her gently.
"Hey, don't you think you're missing something?" Ace asked with a smirk, his brow raised in questioning, making (Y/n) burst out in giggles. She stepped towards him and leaned down to his height to capture his lips with hers, Ace's leaning up to meet her half way.

Ace hummed into the kiss as he grabbed onto (Y/n)'s waist, smiling as (Y/n) placed her hands on his cheeks to keep them both grounded. He always tasted like cinnamon, it was one of her favourite parts of kissing him. When they parted, Ace couldn't help but smirk.
"Good thing we're not siblings, huh?" He joked, making (Y/n) burst out into laughter, slapping his arm in response to which he also began laughing.

"You idiot." She laughed as she finally began climbing down from the crow's nest, leaving Ace behind on the blankets. She used the rope ladder to climb down the mast and jumped the last two metres down onto the deck. By now, it was morning and everyone was preparing their tasks for the day. (Y/n) smiled happily as she made her way through the busy members of the whitebeard pirates, making her way down to the kitchen where she was told that Thatch was waiting for her.

As she entered the kitchen, she couldn't help but hope that this would be quick because she was really craving a good, long steaming hot shower. (Y/n) shared a room with Ace's and since he was a commander, his shower was top notch, and probably the best she'd every used on a boat- including Doffy's.
"You're finally here." Thatch mused as he chopped a few onions. As (Y/n) looked around, she realised that most of the prep had already been done so she didn't think he called her in her for help.

"Didn't think you'd want my help making breakfast after yesterday's disaster." (Y/n) chuckled as she sat down on the stool behind the kitchen island, opposite where Thatch stood. The man hummed in response as he moved towards the sink, washing his hands from the onions before walking back to (Y/n).
"Good thing this isn't about breakfast." He joked as he pulled out a rolled sheet from one of the draws before rolling it down to (Y/n).

(Y/n) instantly recognised the type of paper it was before she even lifted it into her hands. This was a wanted poster. (Y/n) sucked in a breath as she unravelled the poster, immediately coming face to face with a picture of herself. The title read 'Pressure Point Fighter', and a bounty of fifty five million berry.
"Your bounty went up today." Thatch grinned, "Wanted to be the first to tell you." (Y/n) chuckled at his enthusiasm.
"Oh, wow. Fifty five million berry. I'm so honoured." The girl told him flatly, playfulness in her eyes as Thatch began laughing.

"It may be nothing compared to your old bounty but isn't it nice to be recognised for your hand to hand combat skills instead of your devil fruit?" Thatch asked with a raised brow as he flipped a knife into the air, catching it easily.
"My hand to hand combat is shit and you know it." (Y/n) chuckled, "The only thing I'm good at is pressure points."
"That's what I mean you disrespectful fool!" Thatch snapped, hitting the back of (Y/n)'s head lightly.

It was then that a certain freckled idiot came running into the kitchens at full speed, his eyes filled with excitement.
"Baby! Your bounty went up!" Ace yelled excitedly, sliding towards (Y/n) as he attempted to halt his speedy run.
"Yeah, I just found out." (Y/n) chuckled, making Ace's grin grow wider.
"You're climbing the ladder, princess!" Ace exclaimed happily, his hands locking on (Y/n)'s waist to pull her into the air. The girl squealed as he twirled her twice before putting her down infront of him, her hands around his neck.

"Alright, Mr five hundred and fifty million berry bounty." (Y/n) said with a playful roll of her eyes, realistically her bounty was nowhere near that of Ace's. Ace began chuckling sheepishly, adjusting his hat with slight embarrassment.
"I said you were climbing, not that you were at my height." He chuckled teasingly, making (Y/n) roll her eyes.
"Cocky for a man who can't beat me with my devil fruit." She pointed out.
"Cocky for a girl who can't beat me without it." He fired back with a smirk, making her scoff before pulling away.

Ace then pulled her closer to him with a grin before giving her a chaste kiss on the lips, their faces close even after they parted. He looked into her eyes longingly.
"This is only the begining of building yourself a new reputation. You'll be a badass in no time." Ace told her, making her nod. He was right. This was only the begining of her reputation- one where people would admire her, not fear her. Ace then pulled (Y/n) back to where she'd been sitting, climbing onto the seat next to her with his eyes set on Thatch who had begun frying eggs.

"What's for breakfast, Thatch?" Ace then asked with a excited grin, tapping his hands against with table in a beat.
"You'll find out in ten minutes, you hungry basta- and he's asleep." Thatch cut himself off the moment Ace's head dropped against the island counter, snoring away within seconds. (Y/n) giggled before adjusting his head so that his forehead was leaning against the back of her hand.

(Y/n) watched the narcelptic sleep with a smile, finding it funny that he and everyone became so proud of her when her bounty went up- even by a measly five million, despite how little it compared to her old bounty. They all got so excited, but (Y/n) couldn't help but accociate the feeling of shame with it. She remembers the time where her bounty was dangerously high, and the higher it went, the more people wanted her dead...

Why? Because with every town that she entered, she brought nothing but death.

(A.N ~ Ace gives golden retriever energy sometimes- and other times daddy.)

Chapter 9 Quote Teaser :

"You killed him because he disturbed your sleep?!"