LET ME PROTECT YOU [Ace X fem! reader]

Chapter 10 // All hail the Great Hero Mila!

The sound of muffled giggling across the room, followed by some quick hushes wakes you from sleep. Your eyelids feel too heavy to even attempt opening, but the warmth from the morning sun seeping through the curtains gives you the push you need to softly gaze across the quiet room. You get a slight glimpse something orange hanging on the closet door as well as two blurry silhouettes sitting by the dining table. Their muttering conversation pauses as you grunt to pull your blanket closer. You find it suspicious, but still don't bother making out what the voices carefully discuss.

"shhh, ...too loud..." are the few words you hear from their conversation.

You shrug it off and let your tired eyes weigh down as the warmth of the bed embraces you and you fall asleep again.

*

You wake up a second time due to your sudden urge to sneeze. Annoyed, you lightly brush your tingling nose before rolling over to face the wall. You have no idea how much time has passed since you last woke up. It might be hours; it might just be a few minutes, but you're again too tired to care.

Your curiosity is slightly piqued as you hear a silent, "Shit," coming from a top bunk.

You probably would've dozed off quite quickly after the voice spoke if it wasn't followed by a suspicious amount of creaking keeping your attention.

"I can... still do it..." you hear a childlike voice whisper.

"No... not sneaky enough..." a different lower voice answers.

Intrigued, you quietly lay still to hear what the voices are planning. To your disappointment, you only manage to hear the conversation end with a heavy sigh and a "Fine..." from the deeper voice followed by an excited high-pitched giggling. The suspicious amount of creaking returns, combined with a bit more laughing and hushing as something, or someone, is slowly lowered down.

You figure it probably isn't in your interest to let this operation of theirs go by smoothly. So, to slightly mess with them you dramatically stretch your arms and yawn loudly while rolling over again. Your eyes stay closed as you only need your ears to enjoy the sound of panicked creaks as they hurriedly retreat to safety on the top bunk.

As silence sets once more, the creaking sound is back, and the presence of small shadow looms over you. Curious about what all this is about, you discretely squint your eyes open, only to widen them a second later when you're met with the sight of a white feather aimed straight at you, only millimeters away from your nose. The lightly freckled face pointing the feather is an upside-down Mila, held up only by some hands around her ankles. Her blue eyes widen as much as yours when she realizes you're awake.

"Abort mission, Ace! Abort!" she panickily shouts before happily squealing as she's pulled up in one quick swoop.

You shoot up from the bed matching her speed, even more confused about what's going on... and the safety concerns around it. Mila continues to giggle and this time you hear another familiar laugh as well. You hurriedly go to stand on your tip toes to get a look at the top bunk, but the second you get a glimpse, your face is met with a heavy pillow, thrown at you with such force you have no choice but to stumble back on the couch behind you.

"What the..." even more confused, and a bit pissed, you look up from where the pillow came from.

"LAUNCH THE AIRSTRIKE!" Mila shouts standing with one leg the top bed frame, pointing her hand heroically upward like she's commanding a thousand soldiers onto a battlefield (just switch out 'a thousand soldiers' with Ace and a dozen pillows stacked behind her).

Not even a second after she gives her command, the sky above you is filled with pillows hurling down at you. You helplessly try to defend yourself by grabbing the pillow first thrown at you to shield yourself, but it's to no use.