#sabo thinks he's so smooth...and he's right

[soleilnomoon]

hi kaia!! hope you’re doing well! i saw your sticky & sweet event and wanted to give it a whirl, so may i request a parfait, cheesecake bar, cinnamon roll and lemon drop with whipped cream? all for sabo please (:

i’ve requested sabo from you before and i loved reading it a lot… tbh i love all your writing and i’ve reread a few a couple times! <33 your writing truly never disappoints ;;; (also congrats on the 555+ followers!) anyway i hope you have an amazing day/night :D

hiii angel 💕 ty for being patient and thank you for requesting sabo (again!) i love him so so so much. wrote smth cute & sweet for you 🥰️ and thank you, i'm still kind of in awe that so many ppl follow this blog but i'm grateful all the same 😊 also ur too cute, i'm so happy you've reread my work 💗

1.7k words, gn reader (no pronouns), sfw, 18+, mdni; fluffy fluff (surprise, surprise), tiny bit of angst & slightly suggestive, but nothing serious, established relationship (sort of); sabo is terrible with time management & reader needs to let go & live a little.

a warm breeze wraps itself around your ankles as you walk barefoot through the sand, your sandals tucked safely in your bag, moonlight gradually caressing your exposed shoulders. you look up at the sky and sigh, annoyance sullying your mood as you check your watch again.

two hours late, your lips tug downward as you stand near the water, the tide periodically tickling your feet. you remind yourself to be a little more patient, to have a bit of faith, to just keep waiting.

it’s not unusual for him to run behind, but there’s always a nasty little thought in the back of your mind telling you that this is all for naught, that you’ll be stood up, and that you waited for nothing. when you arrived home from work earlier, there was a note waiting for you on your kitchen table — if you weren’t already so used to finding scrap pieces of parchment tacked onto various surfaces in your home, you’d be concerned.

the scrawl is messy, slightly illegible, but you’d recognize it anywhere.

a small wave of anxiety washes over you, makes your stomach and heart hurt — and you wish you would’ve taken your grandmother’s advice and stayed home. there’s no logical reason for you to continuously place your heart in the hands of a man who comes and goes as he pleases; it’s masochism, it has to be, but you do it anyway — without question, without any hesitation. the hold he has on you is a double-edged sword, except you’re the only one who suffers.

doubt settles in the pit of your chest, wrapping its talons around each individual rib bone, tugging, and tugging until your vision blurs. your teeth sink into your bottom lip when you hear footsteps behind you. there’s no need for you to turn around, not when the ocean has quieted down, leaving you to scrape together your thoughts — the ones that drown underneath the thunderous beating of your heart.

a sigh flits out of your mouth, takes flight, coasts carelessly along the wind and slaps him in the face. because you’re stubborn and annoyed, you don’t look back at him. “you’re late.” you do your best to keep your voice steady, tone even — you don’t need him digging and trying to weasel his way out of accepting responsibility.

not that he’d ever do that, but still.

he rubs a gloved hand against the back of his neck, runs through the various excuses that stack neatly inside of his mind; he truly hadn’t meant to keep you waiting. he explicitly told his team that he had somewhere to be, but the briefing went on longer than expected and, naturally, he lost track of time. in his hand is a small box, and while he knows you’re not exactly happy, he can, at the very least, lift your spirits just a tiny bit with his peace offering.

“time is a man-made construct,” he offers in lieu of a greeting, lips quirking upward as he moves closer to you and extends the box warily. you take it without thinking, casting him a sharp glance before softening your features.

“i’m mad at you,” you say quietly and start walking away from the water; his strides are quick and purposeful, so he keeps up with your gait easily.

“they’re chocolate cream puffs,” he adds, which, unfortunately, brings a small smile to your face. they’re your favorite, and he knows that the best way to get back on your good side, is with a tasty treat.

pressing your lips together you look up at him and sigh again — it seems all you do lately is sigh. “you can’t just bribe me with pastries.” it’s not true, he’s done it plenty of times before. you accept the gift each time, but you know if you don’t put your foot down now, you’ll be stuck in the same situation for the rest of your life.

“if you tell me to meet you at eight, that means you should also be here at eight.” your voice, while stern and full of irritation, is still pleasant to listen to — especially after the day he’s had.

“i’m sorry,” sabo says sheepishly, cheeks flushing lightly; and he does, in fact, have the decency to look apologetic. “you know…how it is.” his reasoning is intentionally vague, and you don’t press him for more; because you do understand. it’s dangerous for him to be out like this in public, but because he doesn’t get to see you that often, he doesn’t mind the risk. you remind yourself of this when you lead him to the large blanket you laid out and sit down unceremoniously.

sabo left his hat and coat behind, not wanting to draw attention as he walked about; at some point he removed his gloves and covertly placed them into your bag for safekeeping. he watches as you lounge comfortably, drop your bag onto the blanket next to you, and place the pastry box on your lap. despite what you said earlier about being mad at him, that all dissipates as soon as you take a bite into one of the cream puffs.

“all is forgiven,” you say happily, licking the cream off of your lips and motioning for him to sit down. you’re not exactly privy to the ongoings of sabo’s profession — you just know that he lives a very dangerous life and can’t stay in one place for too long; so you really are grateful when he finds time to see you, coming for a few days at a time once every few months.

it’s not a lot, but you cherish those moments — tuck them deep in your heart and bring them out when your days are extra-long and difficult to bear.

“yeah? you sure?” he teases as he sits down next to you, long legs brushing against yours; he keeps close, liking the proximity and the way you’ve suddenly turned meek and bashful.

“of course,” you swallow hard and offer him a cream puff, “we’re f-friends after all, right?” you place the box down and look at him, throat suddenly very dry. one thing you’ve learned over the years, is that sabo has an intensity about him that is unrivaled; he sees through a lot of nonsense, tends to get to the nitty-gritty of the matter without trying, and manages to extract the truth out of everyone quickly. you feel your lips move again, words stumbling as they climb out of your mouth, unfiltered.

“and friends forgive friends.” you don’t sound all that convincing, and his subsequent laughter makes your face flush terribly as you stuff another cream puff into your mouth. “don’t laugh.” your words come out garbled and it makes sabo laugh even more. you lick your lips and snatch the pastry out of his hand, since he’s too busy laughing, he clearly doesn’t want to eat with you.

he finds your huffy demeanor cute, likes the way you puff your cheeks out when you get annoyed with him, and before you’re able to take a bite of the stolen pastry, he grabs your hand and leans close. “we’re more than friends, you know that,” he says seriously and you flinch unintentionally — at the contact of his skin on yours, at the frankness of his words — and end up dropping the cream puff onto the blanket, but your mind is spinning terribly fast so you don’t notice.

you open and close your mouth to say something — anything, really — but find that the only thing that dares to come out is a small squeak. it’s probably due to sabo running his tongue along your fingertip, to lick off the bit of cream that was left behind. “we…,” you pause and swallow, eyes wide as you watch him, “you…” your thoughts scatter as soon as you try to speak again and pour into your heart mercilessly. your brain is stuck on his words and the warmth refuses to leave your face, making it nearly impossible to look at him.

while you make several attempts to speak again, he takes the initiative to pull you closer and drops a kiss on the inside of your wrist. a shiver passes through you, makes you feel things that don’t make sense. but, you’ve known that bit of truth for some time, you just ignored it. he repeatedly tried to tell you, but you kept finding ways to avoid the conversation. now that he has you to himself, of course he’s going to make sure you properly listen and process what he says.

“you can’t just say that,” you blurt out and bury your face against his chest, heart lodged somewhere in your throat, his fingers still wrapped around your wrist. “how am i supposed to… what do i even do?” you’re painfully aware of how childish you sound, but you can’t fathom dealing with romantic feelings when you don’t know if he’ll find his way back to you again.

“just accept it,” he says lightly, and falls back onto the blanket, pulling you on top of him. you try to calm your heart because there’s no way he can’t hear it. “life’s too short to comb through what ifs.” it’s something he keeps reminding himself — especially after his brother’s death — besides, what he feels for you isn’t fleeting or temporary, it’s why he said what he said. “oh, look, it’s that weird constellation again,” he nudges you gently so you can look up and see what he sees. you try to keep your eyes closed for as long as you can, but eventually give in and tilt your head up.

“the one that looks like a donut,” you both say at the same time. your laughter is infectious and for the first time in a while, sabo feels completely at ease — all the worries and burdens he carried with him during the week are nonexistent now. there’s something else he wants to tell you, something important, but decides to leave it for another day — he doesn’t want to scare you off when you can barely come to terms with your feelings for him. 

a sigh drifts out of your lips as you look for other odd-looking clusters of stars, pointing them out, nerves getting the best of you, making you ramble for minutes on end. he likes that side of you, though; likes that you’re comfortable enough to be that vulnerable with him, and knows that when morning comes, it will be extremely difficult to leave you behind.

it’s a thought he pushes to the back of his mind as listens to you ramble on about the stars and the moon and about how he should bring two boxes of chocolate cream puffs with him the next time he visits.

[sabohime]

♡ 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦

multi x fem!reader

♡ . eek my first post!! some simple headcannons for you guys! enjoy :) nothing explicit (for now 😈) but! there are references to dicksucking!

♡ . includes: law, sabo, sanji

LAW

Law is constantly on edge. It hurts seeing your captain so stressed all the time.

So, being the dutiful crewmate you are, you decide to…provide him with a little ‘relaxant’. It’s not your fault he’ll have to work for it…

“Y/n-ya, what are you-“ “It’s hot, Captain!”

Law blushes at that. You can barely see it through the Tang’s dim lighting and his tanned skin, but from the way his eyes widen and his breath hitches, you can tell your plan is working.

Why is he harping about your wardrobe? Well, your typical Heart Pirates boiler suit had been traded in for a tight tank and skimpy shorts. How old were these? With the way your thighs were pinched by the elastic of your shorts, and the way your breasts practically fell out of your top, Law was certain you had dug deep in your closet to fish these clothes out.

“Y/n-ya. Seriously,” his tattooed hand rests on your shoulder now, dangerously close to the thin strap of your tank top. “We have uniforms for a reason.”

“Are you really gonna make me change, Captain?” you pout. You watch his brow furrow, and you know you’ve got him now.

“I think I’ll have fun ripping this off of you, Y/n-ya,” he grunts, hot breath now in your ear. His hands wander down to your shorts, palming your ass and taking notice of your lack of panties. “Even more dress code violations? I might just have to punish you tonight, Y/n-ya.”

You gulp. Law says Room and suddenly you’re in his bedroom.

“Regretting your decision, Y/n-ya?”

SABO

Once again, Dragon’s given him far too much paperwork.

As his secretary, it’s your job to provide him with some repose from his workload.

So…What better to let him take another load out on you? Maybe you should snag a pillow from your desk chair next time…

“Chief, I brought you the tea you asked for. A splash of milk and extra sugar,” you say, repeating his order sweetly and perfectly from years of practice. When you cross the threshold to his office, you find your chief of staff with his vest off, cravat undone and on the table, and his shirt partly unbuttoned.

The sight of his scarred, muscular chest makes you gulp. It’s okay Y/n, you can do this, you assure yourself.

“Thank you, Y/n-chan. You’re so kind, helping me out,” Sabo says, his cheeks rosy and smile innocent. You think him the perfect caricature of a schoolboy.

“It’s nothing, chief. I am your secretary after all. It’s my job,” you grin, placing the tea on his desk in front of him. You make sure to lean over and give him an eyeful of cleavage, just in case he might be interested.

“Is it your job to tease me as well?”

You freeze. You didn’t actually think he’d take the bait. Shit.

“Don’t be shy now, Y/n-chan. I’ve already gotten a nice view of your tits. And your skirt could be pulled down a tad, I suppose. You’re hardly professional these days,” you listen, face hot, sweat beginning to run down your back. At least he wasn’t scolding you— that was evident in the fact he said ‘tits’, and the generally teasing lilt in his usually silky smooth voice. It’s gotten deeper because he’s so tired, and it’s starting to make you clench your thighs.

“I-uh, I’m sorry, chief. I- I figured…” you scramble, trying to think of some excuse to remedy this situation. “I figured you might want a, uh, distraction. Right! A distraction from work!”

“Oh really?” the blond grins, pushing his chair away from his desk and moving his hands to unbutton his trousers. “Dragon-san has been giving me so much paperwork. It’s the least you could do, right Y/n-chan?”

You watch in awe as he takes himself out of his boxers.

“Now, Y/n-chan…How much of a distraction can you be?”

SANJI

Sanji gets hard just from smelling women’s perfume. So seducing him is easier than…really anything.

So, one night you can’t sleep. And the chef in the kitchen preparing recipes seems like a wonderful target for your affections.

“Sanji-kun, what’re you making?”

Sanji jumps from his place stirring on the counter, surprised at the sound of your beautiful voice.

“Oh my! Has an angel descended down on me to try my humble cooking?” the man swirls around you with hearts in his eyes, eventually bending down on one knee to kiss your knuckles. “It’s nothing special, my dear Y/n-swan. Simply practicing recipes for fruit tarts.”

You cup his cheek. A trickle of blood comes down his nose, but he pulls away from your touch to quickly wipe it away.

“Sounds yummy, Sanji. Could I try one?”

“Of course, mellorine!” Sanji keens. You smile at how cute he is. The blond grabs a fruit tart, which happens to be your favorite fruit, and brings it over to you.

He sits it on a plate in front of you, waiting like a lapdog as he anticipates praise for his cooking. However you don’t move to pick up the tart.

“Y/n…swan?”

“Feed it to me, Sanji-kun?” you say seductively, leaning over the kitchen island so your breasts pop over your crossed arms. Immediately Sanji is staring, but you don’t scold him this time. This was your goal.

“Of- of course, anything for my Y/n-swan,” Sanji stutters. He brings the small tart to your lips, and as you reach the last bite, you grab his wrist.

You decide to be extra bold, and lick a stripe up his finger. Your mouth detaches with a pop, and Sanji looks like he might pass out.

“That was good, Sanji-kun. Do you have any other special treats for me?”

[koreis]

Made another sticker a while ago :3 might print it later.

The joke behind it is that Sabo is the kind of guy who would favor psychological torture and he’s plain unhinged and what better torture than threat by chicken? An acquaintance actually put a terrible image in my head after I drew this. Here’s a block of text about it:

The man’s back is to you. He’s dressed in blues, midnight vest and icy shirt, but his warm golden curls seems to bounce with sunlight as the breeze sends them dancing. He cuts a regal figure in the nothingness, with his back soldier straight, like the kind of gentleman one’s parents would want them to bring home. However, you’d have to get to know him first. He turns his head. He’s looking at something. His eyes are the purest black, or are they the darkest blue? You wouldn’t know. What is he looking at?

You blink. And you’re in a chair. Looking through the eyes of someone from another life, or maybe another future. The colors are all wrong, too dark, and something is swimming. You think it’s your head. The man is there again. His face is youthful, boyish.

He’s far away, but he’s noticed you’ve awoken. He smiles. It’s a nice grin, but too much teeth to be a friendly one. Barely anything is visible, but a light shines above his him. A halo. You think. He sets his gaze on you, heavy eyes adding pounds to your shoulders. You squirm and find your movements stopped. You’re bound, trapped between those eyes.

“You’ve never made this easy,” he says, words echoing down the hall. He’s shifts his foot, taking a step toward you.

“Perhaps because they’re a far greater threat to you than anyone who would look for them. Unlucky for you, I’m not anyone.”

Another foot.

He’s captivating. Maybe it’s the bad lighting that makes you focus on his face, the delicate features behind blonde curls, the slight upturn to his nose, or maybe it’s just his face. There’s a scar running through it, over one eye. Objectively, it’s ugly, but to you, it’s like a flame.

Another step.

And he may be getting too close. He’s a stranger, and you’re a captive. Perhaps this situation scares you. It should. It’s bizarre. But you feel like you’ve met him in a dream once.

He’s holding something. Bright yellow, with red lips. A crude imitation of a bird, a monstrosity.

You want to ask about it. Ask about him. Anything. But you have no words.

He squeezes it and it groans something dying. He squeezes it again, and it wails.

You decide that you don’t like it. But you don’t have to words to make him stop.

Another step, and he squeezes it again. Twice now. Four times. The halls echo with its tortured screams.

And finally, his eyes are level with yours. Dark swirling storms. Your noses are almost touching, and his grin is feral. Fearless. All teeth, with a hook to his lips. And he holds his cursed bird next to your ear. It caresses you, smooth and gentle. Your breath catches. He squeezes it, and your head feels like drowning.

It sounds like death, like hell. The repeated wail of the ill at ease, the buried but not at peace, the restless. And then it stops. And he giggles with glee. Sweet and charming. Your eyes refocus. His face is dazzling.

“So. Will you tell me where they are?”

You can only answer in silence.

He frowns. “I can subject you to this forever you know.”

Your heart jumps at the threat. And you finally find your words. Some of them.

“What are you even looking for?”

He scoffs. “My memories. I know you have them.”

Memories? What memories? You blink again, and he’s holding the chicken in your face. Right. That’s what it is. A chicken. Out of the corner of your vision, you can see him watching, cataloging your reactions. He bares his teeth.

“So,” he starts, “What’ll it be?”

~~~

This is a whole excerpt of nonsense that I just wrote btw. TLDR: someone told me that they imagined Sabo walking toward them squeezing the rubber chicken in a menacing manner—I couldn’t unsee it.

I just moved into college, which is very exciting and scary. Working hard on the next chapter of my fic; hopefully it’ll meet my and readers’ expectations. Idk how writers manage to keep a balance between canon and divergence as well as in-character and expansion of character, kind of like finding the middle ground between salt and pepper in a dish. I guess it’ll come with experience. I’m so happy and weird about so many things right now. It’s a growing up thing me thinks. Love you guyss :333333

[find-roronoa-zoro]

Roronoa Zoro X CisFem Reader

7

"Law just pulled up!" Ace called from downstairs. 

"Are you sure you want to date this guy?" Sabo stepped into your room crossing his arms, "You were getting along with Zoro so well."

"Can you zip me up?" you turned your back to him, "Zoro is great and everything but he's young and doesn't need an old lady like me holding him back. I'm sure now that he knows how old I am he thinks I'm just desperate to have a husband and pop out a couple of brats."

Sabo scoffed tugging your zipper over your still bruised back, "That's why you should get to know each other right? Prove the desperate 30-something stereotype wrong."

"I've been here before remember James? It's fine. It was just a little crush." you turned straightening out your purple cotton dress, "How do I look?"

"Beautiful as always." he sighed.

"You always were my favorite." you winked ruffling his blond waves, "Don't tell the others."

This was your third date with the doctor. You got along surprisingly well and could sit and talk for long periods of time without awkward silences. He had moments where he could be a bit too honest but you found it a little endearing. 

"You look nice." his smooth voice complimented as you reached the bottom stair. 

"It's nice to have your hard work acknowledged."

"I'm sure you hardly had to try." he smirked. 

"Ugh," Ace gagged, "can you just go already please?" 

"Shut it." you snapped flicking his nose. 

"So, you haven't said what's on the agenda today." You murmured carefully sliding into the passenger seat of Law's '68 Super Bee. 

"Well, the last two dates were a little too stuffy...you know I'm still learning your preferences," the classic engine roared to life, "I thought today could be a little more low key. I know a great sushi place."

"Still sounds fancy." you noted glancing at him.

"It's a cozy little place, trust me you'll be comfortable there." 

"My comfort is in your hands then." you chuckled. 

It was a short drive to the small restaurant, you were still amazed by how much this town had changed since you moved away.

It was indeed a quaint family run restaurant, Law seemed to know the owners. You took your time to eat and talk, finding conversation topics quite easily. Law sort of put up a stern cold front, but you found him to be interesting, funny and warm. It did worry you a bit that despite his looks and personality you hadn't really swooned over him the way you had with Zoro. The greenette had done absolutely nothing and completely swept you away, Law on the other hand was actually putting in effort and nothing. Well, not nothing, you definitely liked him you just wondered how much of it was genuine. 

"F/N-ya?"

"Hm?" you hummed watching a smattering of stars become visible in the oncoming night sky. 

His phone rang interrupting whatever he'd intended to say. 

"Yes... Yes," he sighed glancing at you, "I'll be there as quickly as I can." 

"Duty calls?" you guessed. 

"Unfortunately, one of my patients may need another emergency surgery. Worse, I don't have time to drop you off." 

"It's fine. I'll just Uber or something." you gave his shoulder a weak pat. 

Once you'd arrive at the hospital, Law kissed your forehead a told you he'd text you later. You took a seat on a bench after slipping into your sweater and opened your Uber app to order a ride. It only took a few seconds to confirm your trip as someone was near by, you didn't even bother reading the driver info and put your phone in your purse waiting for the marked car. Not even five minutes later a black F-150 pulled up with an Uber sticker in the window. 

"Is everything ok?" A familiar voice called as you stood. 

"You're my Uber?" you scoffed at the irony. 

"Helps make ends meet." Zoro reached across the seat opening the door from the inside, "You didn't answer my question."

"Oh, yeah everything is fine. I was just hanging out with a friend who works here." you cringed at yourself for that one. 

Why were you even compelled to not be truthful?

"Well, you look nice for just hanging out in the hospital." he watched you climb into the cab and buckle up a light flush dusting your cheeks at his compliment. 

"I look nice compared to the last time you saw me looking like a beat up trash person." you chuckled trying to deflect. 

"No, you are a nice looking trash person too." 

You blushed harder. Since when was he a flirt? 

"Speaking of beat up, your face healed nicely." 

"Yeah, thanks for the medicine. It really helped." he breathed, "How's your back?"

"Ugh," you groaned, "still bruised and sore but it's getting better."

"Good. If you ever wanna pay Kid back let me know."

"Nah, you heard Pops. It's best to just move on." you frowned as you turned down your driveway. 

The truck came to a stop behind Thatch's car. 

"Wanna come in for a bit... the guys probably wouldn't mind a surprise hang." 

What were you thinking? You're dating someone. 

"I can't, I haven't met my goal for the night." he declined as you opened the door. 

What was he thinking? This was his chance!

"Have a good night then." you smiled.

"You too."

"Why is Zoro bringing you home from your date with Law?" Sabo inquired from the porch where he sat in the rocking chairs with his new girlfriend. 

"Well, hello to you too baby brother," you sneered and turned toward the brunette at his side with a smile, "Hey Al." 

"Hey F/N." she replied smiling sweetly. 

"And if you must know, Law got called in for an emergency and Zoro just happened to be my Uber driver." you reached for the door.

"So he just left you somewhere?" the blonde clicked his tongue. 

"It was an emergency Sabo, he couldn't make a patient wait. I went to the hospital with him and was safe the entire time." you ruffled his hair, "Though it's nice that you still worry. You two don't stay out too late you'll catch a cold."

"You're back early." Ace commented as you entered the house. 

"Yeah yeah," you waved him off and slouched up the stairs. 

As you got undressed and started to braid your hair your phone pinged in your purse.

A text from a coded number. 

530744 : Next time you need a ride just text me and I'll pick you up for free. 434.555.9946. 

You touched your lips in attempt to keep your smile from growing and saved the number in your contacts. 

Me: Thanks Greenie, I'll be sure to give you a stellar review.

Zoro: and don't forget to tip your driver

Me: shameless.

Zoro: a guys gotta eat.

[shirohige-pirates]

Birds of a Feather

CisFem Reader x Marco

CW: Violence, blood, language, adult themes and scenes. 18+ only

Summary: Life has not been kind to you. After a string of bad relationships, you're a little jaded and a little depressed in all honestly. The worst day of your life seems to be the turning point, but the roller coaster ride that follows could either throw you soaring free, or have you caged forever?

Tag List: @clumsyraccoon

Chapter 19: Amusement

The rest of the ferris wheel ride was had in silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable silence, the two of you leaned against one another and enjoyed the view, and when the view became the interior of the ferris wheel itself you nuzzled your face into his arm, remembering a moment too late that you had put on a bit of makeup that morning.

Fortunately, if any was left to rub off on his coat, it didn’t.

Marco stepped out, offering his hand for you. You take it with a smile, inclining your head a little as the two of you move away from the crowd.

“I’m getting used to all these gentlemanly considerations of yours.” You admit, hand twined in his as you meandered about. Your eyes wander over the crowd as Marco hums appreciatively.

“Rough and tumble as growing up with so many brothers could be, in a way I think it managed to smooth us all out to some degree, yoi.” He admits. “Pops wasn’t shy with his feelings on the matter either.”

“I bet.” You mutter a little, distracted by something that’s caught your attention.

“What’s got your attention?”

You squint a little and then look up at Marco. “Stay here for me, I’ll be right back.”

His brows furrow slightly in confusion for a moment, but he lets your hand slip out from his and gives you a small smile. “Sure thing, I’ll be right here, pretty bird.”

Turning on your heel you disappear into the crowd so quick that Marco’s eyes go wide for a second. It wasn’t that you were particularly skilled at skulking through crowds, but you were quiet, and a little below the average height for the island. The moment you crouched, just a little, it was enough to put you below where most people would look at eye level.

Some of it was a bit of skill. You fled your home island when you were younger. Right around the time you’d accidentally eaten the devil fruit that resided within your bones. Other things that helped were the passive effects of the devil fruit itself.

You honed in on the voice you recognized as you wove through the crowd and popped up right in front of Thatch. Who was standing with a young, freckle-faced boy with messy black hair.

“Thatch.” You state dryly, and the older man nearly screeches when he sees you before looking around nervously. “What are you doing here?” You nearly hiss the question.

He finishes looking around before looking back, and down, at you. Reaching out silently he grabs the young man with him and pulls him closer.

“Enjoying the carnival with my little brother.” He says in a tone that clearly implies otherwise.

The younger man waves a little awkwardly. “Hi.”

It takes a second and your face lights up. “Oh, by the seas, you’re stalking your brother on his date.” You put your hand over your face for a moment.

“I… well, I mean… not… exactly.” Thatch stammers.

“No one knew where he was going to go,” the younger man starts explaining. “So, uh…” He stops, and looks away. “We split up.”

“You… split up?” You question and watch in real time as both men get more uncomfortable. “Wait, all of you? All thirty-seven of you?”

“Thirty- what, no, like… ten… of us.” Thatch starts, and then stops. “Look, it sounded like a better idea when Ace and Sabo were laying it out the other day.”

“Ace,” the freckled young man says, holding out a hand. You shake it, still looking a bit dumbfounded between the two of them. You give Ace your name as you release the handshake.

“Yoooooou two should probably leave.” You say after a second. “Trying to… I don’t even know what, but that stuff only works in movies.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re not wrong, we thought we saw him at one point, but we lost him so fast.” Ace admits sheepishly. “It’s just that he’s always so calm and collected all the time.” He asserts. “I’ve never seen him like, ruffle, in the last decade.” The storm grey eyes look to you with an intensity you hadn’t expected.

“Until Sunday.” Ace explains. “He blushed! He smiled! Like, no, wait, I’ve seen him smile, I’ve never seen him like that.”

You can feel your face heating up. “Stop talking.” You say, looking away. “Look, go home before your brother murders you both, and I’ll, uh, come visit or something. Soon-ish. Soon-ly. Just, it was nice meeting you.”

You say quickly and disappear back into the crowd. You already left Marco alone for longer than you meant to, but now you had a new problem to consider. You didn’t want to do anything to end the date early, but you also didn’t want to keep anymore secrets than you already were.

After a moment, you found Marco, right where you left him, looking up at the sky. You didn’t quite reach him before he looked down at caught you with his gaze. You smiled, taking his hand before the two of you started to meander again.

“Can I ask what it was?” He says after a moment.

You laugh a little. “You can, I’m still trying to sort out how to say it.”

“Is it… bad?” His voice is a little more nervous than you’d expected.

“No, I don’t think so. It’s endearing, but maybe a little aggravating.” You offer, squeezing his hand and looking up at him, pausing your meandering walk again. “I saw Thatch.”

The confusion on his face is nearly adorable, before he rolls his eyes and sighs. “And?”

“And a young man named Ace.” You say, a cheerful tone in your voice. Marco pinches the bridge of his nose. “They hadn’t found their quarry, but, I did send them home.”

“I didn’t tell anyone where we were going.” Marco starts, and you pat his arm.

“I know, apparently they broke off into groups and cast a net over the city.” You explain and watch him nearly pale. He mutters something in a language you don’t know well, but you know muttering swearing when you hear it, no matter the language.

You can’t help the laugh that escapes you, and seemingly true to an earlier statement, you see him relax. He brings your hand up to his lips and gives your fingers a warm kiss.

“I’m glad to hear you have a sense of humor about this, yoi.” He muses, leaning down and kissing your forehead before straightening back up. “My apologies for my brothers.”

“Not at all.” You assure him. “I’m looking forward to meeting more of them. If, uh, you’re comfortable with that.”

“You want to?” There’s an easy tone in his voice, but you can feel his fingers flex.

“Yeah.” You admit, clearing your throat a little. “Thatch is nice, and Ace seems like quite the enamored younger brother. It seems like you have an interesting family, and you haven’t said anything bad about them, so… yeah.” 

“Alright.” He says simply as the two of you continue walking.

“Oh, and I did say I would petition for you to not murder your brothers.” You say after a moment, and Marco laughs.

“Well, if it’s you asking, I suppose I can forgive them, yoi.”

“So what next?” You question. “It’s cold, but I feel like I could go for ice cream.”

“I need to try and win you a cheap carnival prize too before we leave.”

“Ah, but what if I win you a cheap carnival prize instead?” You prompt, giving him a cheeky grin.

“A competition?”

“Whoever wins a big stuffed animal first wins?”

“Sure.”

“Ah, but what do they win?”

Marco leans down, speaking quietly into your ear. His breath is hot, but it’s the words that warm you more than his proximity.

“Control, once we get back to your place tonight.”

[cheswirls]

[i realized around a month ago that i’ve never written anything sa-related where roger and rouge are both still alive, and then this came about. tentative ending?? if i feel like adding on to it in the future then i’ll finish out the week.]

sabo holds one inside-out sock tightly in the palm of his hand and digs into the armrest with the other for balance as he swings one leg over to press his cold toes into ace’s shin.

the reaction is immediate, ace springing awake and wrenching his leg away, eyes wide as he moves they every possible direction to take in the situation. it doesn’t take long at all for them to settle on sabo’s bare foot, and an involuntary shiver shakes his shoulders. “how are your feet this cold after a nine hour flight?” he complains.

“there’s an air vent against the wall,” sabo says dismissively, tapping the edge of it with his shoe. he slides his other leg up so his heel digs into his opposite leg’s thigh, fingers already turning the sock right-side-in again. “you should’ve fought harder for the window seat.” his eyes narrow as ace yawns into a hand. “uh-uh. we’re landing, so don’t even think about going back to sleep.”

“i can’t believe you woke me up like you do when we’re home,” ace mutters.

sabo stomps his now-socked foot into his shoe, bending down to do the laces back up. “you weren’t responding to anything else.”

ace sighs loudly and pulls the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head, far enough that it droops past his eyes. he rubs tired circles into his temples from over the material, and his shoulders slump, all the tension from the surprise at having been woken up in such a manner bleeding out of him. “whatever. let me know when we can leave.”

he drops down onto sabo’s lap after saying this, hood still obscuring his face, and sabo pauses before he can protest. he’d been out of commission himself soon after boarding their flight, and he really has no idea how long ace had spent awake and what he had done to pass the time he was conscious.

sabo’s not heartless. if ace really is running on fumes like he’s acting like he is, then he can have some sympathy. not like their day was going to get any easier after they landed.

he smooths his hand along the stitching of ace’s hood, starting above his ear and going up to the crown of his head. ace makes a noise and shifts, tilting his face further into sabo’s thighs and making the path of sabo’s hand easier. he takes it as a sign of approval, continuing the motion slowly.

when people start shuffling into the aisle around them, ace is already rousing, but sabo still helps a little. he pulls the hood back away from ace’s face and lets his fingers glide through ace’s bangs, moving them up off of his forehead. ace turns so his back is flatter against sabo’s legs, baring his face completely, and blinks slowly up at sabo.

“time to go,” sabo murmurs, dropping his head lower to hover over ace.

ace doesn’t take the bait, though, only closing his eyes again and shuffling back upright on his own.

they get their luggage and meander around the large wing the baggage claim is in until they find a sign pointing in the direction of the gate they need to go to. sabo lets ace lean into him once they’ve situated themselves on a moving walkway, carefully tucking his hand into the pocket of ace’s sweatshirt so it doesn’t get crushed between their bodies instead.

“this place is huge,” ace mumbles too close to sabo’s ear for comfort, ten minutes after they’ve ridden the walkway down one of the lengthier wings of the airport.

sabo resists a shudder and tugs ace closer instead, balling the sweatshirt fabric in his hand until the pocket crinkles inward. ace lists heavier into his side, eyes blinking open a little more alertly. he moves his head off and gazes down the way, and once sabo’s regained his breath, he turns to look in the same direction.

the end of the line comes up too fast for either of them to be fully prepared, and they’re still getting their bearings when they enter another huge wing closer to the gate that marks their meeting spot. ace releases the handle of his suitcase to dig for his wallet instead, moving in a different direction towards a vending machine in the corner with (miraculously) no line to use it.

sabo sighs and drags both of their luggage behind him, doggedly trailing after ace. he remains in line of sight a polite distance away from the machine. it’s enough for ace to find him again with ease, shoving a second aluminum can into sabo’s chest and sitting on the top of his own suitcase while sabo flounders to get ahold of his drink before it can drop.

it’s a different brand of canned coffee than ace’s, and sabo’s smile is brief but sincere, touched that ace managed to remember his favorite despite clearly being not all there.

instead of drinking it, though, he tucks it away into his bag’s side pocket. then he copies ace, haphazardly settling on the edge of his own suitcase and waiting for ace to be caffeinated enough to start walking again.

“this place is way too big,” ace repeats several minutes later.

“yeah, well.” sabo points up ahead of them. “it’s a good thing we’re about to leave, then.”

ace follows his finger and lights up when he sees rouge in front of a display fountain several meters ahead, hands folded politely in front of her. her sixth sense reserved solely for detecting ace kicks in, and she raises one arm to wave at them.

ace abandons his suitcase again. this time, sabo does nothing but sigh fondly and reach out to grab the handle, dragging the extra weight behind him like he’s done it a million times before.

rouge’s arms dig into ace’s bag when she circles her arms around him in a hug he reciprocates, whispering something into her ear that sabo can’t quite make out with all the extra noise of the airport around them.

they pull away before too long, and then it’s sabo’s turn. he lets go of both suitcase handles to return the sentiment, and rouge grins close to his ear when his enthusiasm nearly has her off of her feet.

she moves back and ruffles his hair, something he has a much less enthusiastic response to. “roger’s waiting at home,” she announces, tilting her head so she’s addressing ace as well. “he’s a little under the weather, but it’s been a good day all-in-all, so with any luck he’ll have enough energy to eat dinner with us when we get home.”

ace perks up at this. he’s taken his suitcase back from sabo, and his hand squeezes down on the handle with pent-up enthusiasm. “you made food for us?”

rouge shrugs. “it’s not that late, dear. i’d rather you have a home-cooked meal first thing than fast food picked up on the drive back.”

“i’m not complaining,” ace counters, lips quirking up.

“sounds good to me,” sabo follows.

they stuff everything into the back of rouge’s car before ace corrals sabo into the front seat so he can kick off his shoes and recline across the bench in the back, head already pillowed under an arm. sabo looks over his shoulder and frowns at ace’s prone form as rouge fiddles with the air-conditioning.

“rough flight?” she asks in a low voice once they’re on the road and ace’s breathing has evened out. it’s a little under an hour drive from the airport to the gol-portgas residence, and sabo reclines back in his seat, settling in for the long haul.

“i guess?” he shrugs. “it was fine for me.”

she hums, glancing at ace through he rear-view mirror. “something else, then.”

chalking it up to a case of mother’s intuition, sabo makes a mental note to ask ace later what’s bothering him.

-

roger is the same as always, if a little paler than the last sabo saw him in person. sabo doesn’t envy him – he’s really just glad ace hadn’t ended up with the same autoimmune disease roger has to deal with far too frequently.

ace had spent more time asleep around sabo than he had awake, and yet he still seems oddly tired when they push their way into his childhood room after dinner. ace waves off the offer of first shower, and when sabo comes back later, only half-dressed and skin still warm to the touch, ace has sunk into a corner of the mattress, huddled up on his side with his backpack cradled to his chest.

sabo blinks, lips pulling down into a more severe frown, and takes a heavy seat on the edge of the bed. it dips under his weight, and he ends up turned forward again to work the towel around his neck over his damp hair, so he misses the shifting until ace’s clothed arms are winding around his middle.

sabo, taken by surprise, just barely misses jabbing ace with an elbow. he stiffens and ace lets out a subdued laugh at the aborted motion, relaxing his hold to flop down beside sabo, hands loosely overlapped on top of sabo’s legs.

“smell good,” ace mutters into the clean sheets, and sabo wants to believe there was a ‘you’ prefacing this that he just couldn’t hear.

he drops the towel back down around his neck to sniff at his forearm. “really?” he can only smell the light citrus, the source being some sort of candy-adjacent scented kids shower gel. it had been his only option, and he’d thought about asking for a plain bar of soap the entire time he’d lingered in the steam-filled room. only now, with ace’s quiet admission, does he think it’s in his best interest to leave things as they are.

ace hums, and it drags out. he tilts his head to bare a little of his face, lift his lips just a bit from digging into the mattress. “yeah,” he confirms. “smells like hi-chew.”

“are you sick?” sabo asks suddenly, refusing to let his heart beat out of his chest. he pushes a palm flat against ace’s forehead, then lets it trail down his cheek. “you feel a little warm.”

“nah.” ace reaches up to move sabo’s hand, but gives up halfway, tangling their fingers together instead and letting them both roll down to cover his mouth. when he speaks, his lips tickle sabo’s skin. “‘m all good. no need to worry.”

“if you say so,” sabo sighs. he flops down to recline on the bed himself, displacing his hand from ace’s and only slightly missing the touch.

ace kicks one leg out to knock his bag to the floor, then turns until his head is level with sabo's. he reaches out to place a hand on sabo's damp curls, mouth twitching into an almost-smile as his eyes dart towards the fresh sheets underneath the both of them. "c'mon, dry this better before you lie down," he chides lightly. his fingers brush against a corner of the towel still around sabo's neck, and he tugs until it covers enough of sabo's hair for him to pretend to dry further when his fingers slide up and down the fabric.

sabo smiles endearingly at this. he half-rises onto one elbow so he's not getting the bedding wet any further and takes over for ace by moving the middle of the towel over his head completely. he grabs ace's hand from midair and tangles their fingers together as ace had done before. "you should shower now that you've had another nap."

ace's lips finally curl up. "are you trying to tell me something?"

"no, i am telling you something. we've been traveling all day. go shower. you'll feel better afterwards."

"i don't feel bad," ace mumbles. he does sit up, though, and after ruffling the towel over sabo's hair, leaves the room with heavy footsteps.

sabo stands as well and pads much more quietly over to his suitcase. it's dark in the house, and with the layout so unfamiliar, he feels more confident moving down the hall with his glasses perched on his nose.

there's a dim light under one set of kitchen cabinets that sabo assumes stays on overnight. it's enough for him to get by as he pulls a glass down and fills it with water. no one comes in behind him or moves around elsewhere, that he can hear. roger and rouge have probably gone to bed themselves.

sabo leans against the island counter and sips from the glass until he's had enough, then fills it back up to where it was before.

this time, when he moves past the living room, he spies roger reclined on one corner of the long couch. he's sickly pale with the lighting of the tv shining on him. sabo can hardly believe he's still up.

after a moment, he turns to catch sabo's gaze. his mustache crinkles in what sabo thinks means there's a smile hidden underneath it. "off to bed?" he asks.

"yeah," he answers. "probably," he follows.

roger grunts in agreement. "goodnight, then. oh, do me a favor?" he adds, when sabo turns to continue down the hall. "send my son down before he falls asleep for the night."

sabo relays this to ace when he finds him back from the shower, haphazardly dressed and looking like a deer in the headlights even though it's nothing sabo hasn't seen before.

when sabo is finished, though, he looks disgruntled about having to climb the stairs again that night. but he doesn't complain, only sighing as he pulls on the rest of his nightwear and moves around sabo to squeeze through the door.

when he comes back, sabo is already under the covers, and the room is pitch black. sabo is still only dozing, so he comes to pretty quick when ace slides in next to him.

ace presses his nose to the back of sabo's head and inhales deep. sabo resists a blush at the contact, but he can't quite manage that again when ace's arms worm their way around his middle. ace hums after a second, this low rumbling sound that nearly makes sabo shiver, then relaxes completely so his arm drapes heavy over sabo's side.

"what did your dad want?" sabo whispers to distract himself from the idea of procuring the kiddy-scented shampoo for their own home.

"nothin'," ace mumbles into his neck. he leans more heavily into sabo's back. "quit shakin'."

easier said that done, sabo thinks as ace's breath warms the back of his neck once more. he manages to resist another shiver, leaving him tense, and then relaxes with a sharp exhale a few moments after.

ace isn't awake anymore to complain about the movement, or to answer any more of sabo's questions.

-

sabo must have turned around in his sleep, because when he opens his eyes in the morning, he’s greeted with the sight of ace trying to sit up.

he blinks, vision still a little blurry, but ace is close enough for him to see in detail how he moves his fringe out of his face. there are dark circles under his eyes that are evidence to something from the previous day still troubling him. sabo should probably be concerned, but honestly, his sleep-addled brain can only process how the look adds to ace’s appeal.

even in his current state, he’s still the hottest person sabo has ever laid eyes on. it’s what makes him reach out, latching fingers to the neckline of ace’s shirt, and tugging him closer before he can move further out of reach.

ace’s eyes flicker to his, the slate-grey coming into sharp focus, and the intensity almost makes sabo shiver. ace bends his elbows and allows himself to be tugged down, sabo pressing their lips together once he’s within distance, then nibbling on ace’s lower lip soon after.

ace takes the hint and follows suit, parting his lips just to swipe the tip of his tongue across sabo’s own. he moves one of his hands to press into the sheets on the other side of sabo’s half-turned body. sabo’s mouth falls open and ace molds them together, running his tongue along the back of sabo’s lower lip before venturing deeper.

sabo’s hand untangles from ace’s shirt and settles on the back of his head instead, holding him there. any headway he tries to make into ace’s mouth is thwarted when ace curls their tongues together and sucks. sabo’s hand curls into a fist, gripping tight to ace’s hair.

when they part to breathe, ace doesn’t rise, choosing instead to settle his forehead on sabo’s shoulder. sabo tilts so their cheeks mash together. he’s probably panting straight into ace’s ear, but if ace minds this, he doesn’t show it.

ace sits up again and fixes the collar of his sleep shirt. he risks a glance down at sabo. “coffee?”

sabo puts both hands over his eyes and sighs. “please.”

he’s a little more awake when ace returns, one-and-a-half steaming mugs in hand and cheeks tinted pink. if sabo had to guess, the reason was probably his still-swollen lips. ace’s parents have always been early risers.

“mom’s making breakfast,” ace tells him as he settles down on sabo’s side of the bed, pretty much confirming sabo’s assumption. sabo slides his legs up to make room and sits back against the headboard to properly accept the near-full mug ace offers him.

he takes a sip and sighs this time in a quiet, content sort of way. “so,” he mumbles, lips still pressed to the rim. “any grand plans for the day?”

ace sets his mug between his knees and moves his head so he’s looking at the partially-open closet door instead of at sabo. “yeah. i thought we could go shopping later, and then do around in the city. play it by ear. maybe grab dinner while we’re there.”

sabo hums in surprise. “on christmas eve? we’re here for a whole week. isn’t there a better, less-crowded day to do all that on?”

ace shrugs. he’s still not looking at sabo. “we can do other things other days. my mom has plans for us. she let me have this day to do what i want.”

sabo gives up trying to catch ace’s gaze and turns to peer out the window in the far corner. it’s overcast, but he can still make out where the sun is in the sky. hopefully the weather doesn’t worsen as the day goes on. “alright. i’ll have to get a new rail pass.”

“both of my parents have cars now.” ace says this and then calmly moves off the bed as sabo lets his legs straighten out. he offers his hand and sabo accepts, letting himself be pulled upright and onto his feet. “we can just take one of theirs.”

“if you’re sure.” sabo takes another sip of coffee then lets his eyes flick over to his suitcase. it’s bright enough that he should be fine without his glasses, but he’s worried about the staircase–

ace tugs him forward, leaving their hands intertwined. his smile is easy and warm, and whatever has him so restless doesn’t show on his face in this moment. “c’mon, let’s go eat.”

sabo smiles back and lets himself be led from the room, the stairs now a trivial matter with ace guiding him.

-

breakfast is much more lively than dinner was the previous evening. roger is in good spirits and is loud enough to make this known. he cajoles ace into sharing his plans for the day and then offers his vehicle for them to take. rouge declines for them and tells ace to take her car instead, wanting him to be in a vehicle he’s familiar with while he adjusts to driving on the left side of the road.

ace mentions he made reservations at a restaurant in the city last night and to not wait up on them for dinner. sabo quietly wonders when he had the time to do that. while sabo was in the shower? while he was downstairs with roger when sabo was already lying down? no, roger’s facial expression implies this is news to him.

“if you’re out that late, you won’t be back for lunch either,” rouge muses while she gathers the dishes. roger shoos her away from his coffee mug and collects the remaining glasses for her instead, getting up out of his chair to set them beside the sink.

“we’ll be fine,” ace assures her.

“still, do you want some money to eat on?” she says over her shoulder while fighting roger for space at the sink. between the two of them, they turn the faucet on too high, spraying water into the air as it bounces off whatever’s at the bottom of the sink. “roger!” she admonishes, at the same time as roger tells her “careful!”

“if you want to, then i’ll take it,” ace replies when there’s a moment of peace. “but if you’d rather save your money for later in the week, then we’ll be fine.”

“you’ve exchanged enough currency to make it?” roger asks, trudging over to his seat as if he’s been banished there.

“his bank account here is still open, dear,” rouge says so ace doesn’t have to.

“there’s more than enough in it to last through the day,” ace follows.

roger’s mustache twitches and sabo looks on in amusement as he tries to figure out what to say. their eyes meet by chance but roger doesn’t look away, focusing his attention on sabo next.

“excited for today? you ever been to the city?”

“once, i think, but i wasn’t very old.” he glances at ace, who’s fixing him with an odd, curious look, almost like this is news to him. maybe it is. sabo can’t recall if he’s ever mentioned it before, but ace has never asked, either. “my anticipation is metered. it’ll depend on how bad traffic is, on the road and on foot.”

“if it’s not worth it to go later, we can always cancel the reservation,” ace says quietly.

“we can play it by ear,” sabo corrects, forcing himself to smile even as his eyes slit. it’s intimidating, he knows, but he can’t help that he’s starting to squint now that he’s more awake.

fortunately, ace has known him long enough that he doesn’t take it the wrong way. he shrugs, turns away, and then turns back as a thought registers in his brain. “go put your contacts in.”

sabo’s eyes fall shut as he smiles a little more believably. “yes, sir,” he says, already moving to his feet.

roger and rouge share a glance behind his back.

-

the city is crowded and humid, a combination that leaves the air sweltering even in the midst of winter. it’s enough for sabo to abandon his coat in the car after they climb back in it to depart for another strip mall to have lunch at.

he waves off ace’s concern as his feet hit concrete, straightening his thick sweater with both hands and closing the door behind him with an elbow. ace moves to his side to adjust the scarf around his neck, pulling it just a bit more snug against his skin. sabo smiles knowingly and grabs ace’s hands before his fingers can linger.

after lunch, they meander around in some odd-end shops to try and find a suitable gift for roger. ace is being particularly picky, though, and he seems to brush off sabo’s opinions even after asking for them.

they enter a more pricey shop just for the fun of it. sabo navigates over to the wristwatches, perusing the ones with leather bands. after a minute, ace moves to stand at his side, peering over his shoulder.

“you really think dad would go for something like that?” he asks like he’s trying to have an open mind to the idea but is failing miserably, thinly-veiled judgement still tinting the words.

sabo resists a snort and pulls back. “no,” he starts, turning his head to look back. “but i thought ace might.”

ace’s mouth falls open in surprise. before he can comment, though, a sales attendant wanders over to them, pausing on the other side of the display case.

“looking for yourselves, gentlemen? i’d be happy to help if–”

“oh, no,” ace interrupts, waving the idea off. “it’d be for my dad.” he casts sabo a pointed look after this and sabo barely resists rolling his eyes.

they leave the store empty-handed. sabo muses upon the idea of texting rouge for suggestions, but he feels like that’d be cheating, in a way.

but he is curious, so while they’re winding through a more crowded side-street, he takes ace’s hand among the press of bodies and tempts a question. “what did rouge end up getting him? you mentioned she had something already after your conversation with her the day before we left.”

as the swell of people slowly dissipates to various attractions, sabo lifts their joined hands and settles them in ace’s coat pocket to keep them from view. ace’s mouth is open to answer, but he visibly pauses at this, something now wavering in his expression.

sabo, confused and concerned, tilts his head so he has a better look at ace. ace’s grip grows taut, and sabo twists his wrist slightly out of discomfort. his knuckles brush against a different material than the inner lining of ace’s pocket.

before he can process this much, ace is yanking their hands out and pulling sabo along after him. he moves them just inside a narrow, empty side street – something that can barely be considered an alley – and presses sabo back against the bricks so he can steal his breath away.

he moves away and sabo blinks his eyes open, still processing the display of affection. “something like that,” ace hums. “it’s the same thing every year.”

“oh,” sabo breathes. he’s still trying to get his head on straight when ace moves them back out onto the main road, interlocked hands now securely nestled back in his coat’s deep pocket.

“maybe we should wait until she’s with us to pick something out,” ace mumbles after a minute of walking in silence. “she’d know best if he has any specific wants at the moment.”

“sure,” sabo agrees. “what time is our reservation?”

ace grabs his phone from his back pocket – odd, sabo could’ve sworn it had been in the front pocket of his pants earlier – and checks the time. “little over an hour from now.” he glances over at sabo and then lets his eyes wander around them. “might take us that long to get there. should we leave now? did you want to stop anywhere else?”

sabo shakes his head. “it’s better if we’re a little early, anyway. we can find some way to pass the time.”

“yeah.” ace’s eyes flicker to the sky briefly. it’s been the same dull kind of overcast since they left the house this morning, so sabo has no idea what’s so interesting about it.

he doesn’t miss the disappointed slant to ace’s lips, though, when he finally looks back down to earth.

-

dinner is actually a delight.

they’re seated at a small booth and none of the servers seem to mind when sabo crawls in after ace on the same side, leaving them to kick their feet up on the opposite bench. the food is good, which is always a plus, but sabo always thinks the real joy comes from being next to ace in this kind of environment. he’d spend an hour back at home somewhere sipping on water and eating stale breadsticks if it meant he’d be pressed to ace’s side in a low-lighting, high-ambiance setting.

ace admits, after they leave, that he’s been waiting for it to start snowing. says that rouge told him that morning while he was fetching coffee that it had been forecast to start a few hours ago, while the sun was still up.

the sun is decidedly not still up, and sabo is starting to feel the chill of night through his sweater and undershirt, but he can’t resist when ace pulls him inside of a park to wait it out just a little longer.

it’s not cold enough out yet for him to start seeing his breath, but sabo thinks that when it does snow, he’ll only last around a minute before corralling ace to the car where it’s warm and dry and decidedly less crowded.

he feels like they can’t even leisurely walk down this pathway when last-minute shoppers are obviously using it as a shortcut to get from one high-end market to another. ace must feel the same way shortly after him, because he pulls them both out of the way to sit down on a park bench just enough removed from a lamppost that it doesn’t attract any attention.

sabo sighs and throws his feet up on the metal so his knees can press onto the back. he leans his shoulder against it as well, turning so he faces ace, and then sighs again at ace’s raised brows.

“i wish we were home so i could kick these shoes off,” he reveals, wiggling his toes so they press against ace’s side.

ace grabs one of his calves like he’s considering throwing sabo’s legs over his lap, but at sabo’s pensive look, he withdraws. his hands settle onto his lap and his gaze turns skyward for the millionth time that night. “cold?”

sabo shrugs. “my feet hurt a little. i’m fine other than that.”

he says this, but a passing breeze has him shivering enough for ace to take notice. ace raises both brows again, clearly not believing sabo’s words. his lips upturn and tighten like he’s resisting a laugh.

“well,” he murmurs, just loud enough for sabo to hear, “i guess now’s as good a time as any. while you’re not frozen solid, at least.”

sabo is beckoned closer and shifts a bit, pulling his legs up more so he’s within reach, within breathing distance. he’s curious, but he doesn’t question, trusting ace will reveal his intentions.

ace reaches into his front pocket and glances at his palm at what he’s pulled out. with his other hand, he takes one of sabo’s and flips it upright, and before sabo can even begin to guess on the spontaneous gift, ace presses something warm and hard into his skin and then retracts both hands.

sabo is left gazing down at a simple silver ring. his brows angle up, betraying his surprise, then his eyes flicker out to take in the christmas eve crowds still milling about. “what, not going to get on one knee?”

“that comes with a certain pretense,” ace follows immediately after, like he’d been expecting to be questioned. “i don’t want that kind of attention in public. and,” he adds, “i wanted to let you pick where you wear it.”

where i wear it, sabo mouths, then his eyes crinkle. “maybe you should ask me first.”

ace’s mouth falls open. the genuine surprise on his face makes sabo laugh, so he does his best to stifle it when both of ace’s hands rise to cup sabo’s own, fingers circling sabo’s wrist and palm warming the metal even more now that it’s trapped between the two of them.

“sabo,” he says, and his voice cracks at the end to betray his nervousness, so sabo doesn’t even bother teasing him when his next line isn’t a question. “please marry me.”

“yeah,” sabo says in turn, easy and immediate. his lips part, wanting to say something else, something more sure or at least that his answer was never going to be no. but he can’t seem to get any other words out of his throat. then his eyes get misty and he gives up, shutting his mouth and letting his lips tremble instead.

ace takes one hand and uses it to pull sabo closer and wrap him in a hug. sabo does the same thing, fingers spread wide across ace’s back, and their joined hands pressed now against ace’s sternum. sabo’s face settles against the jut of ace’s collarbone and ace’s chin on top of his head, quiet voice shushing him as he shakes and shudders in ace’s hold.

only now does he notice, when ace’s hand squeezes his own, that there are two rings held between their palms.

ace rubs his back slowly, up and down, until sabo’s calmed enough to lift his head and bring them back face-to-face. he uncurls their hands to examine the rings, running his thumb across one of them. they look the same, but ace’s fingers are a little wider than his, so they have to be different sizes.

ace hooks both rings through his own thumb so he can separate his hand from sabo’s without releasing his hold around sabo’s waist. he tips one into the light and then grabs the other between his thumb and index finger to present to sabo once more.

sabo turns his body slightly so his back is facing the majority of the crowd. it saves him face as he presents his hand to ace, fingers parted slightly. just for this moment, he wants them to remain in this solitary bubble they’ve created. just like in this moment, even though he knows it won’t last, he wants to feel ace sliding the wedding band he’d picked especially for sabo onto sabo’s finger.

he pulls back when ace is done, admiring the fit. “this is nice,” he says with the air of someone who doesn’t generally wear rings and feels that this is a waste.

ace rolls his eyes and huffs out a single laugh under his breath. “i got it sized so it would be an option when you did want to wear it normally. not that you have to– uh.”

he stops when sabo takes the remaining ring. sabo tilts it to the light as ace had earlier, revealing the engraving on the inside spelling out his name. it’s not hard to imagine what’s engraved on his own ring, now.

“darn,” sabo murmurs. he grabs ahold of ace’s wrist and runs his hand down ace’s palm all the way until his fingers are flattened, thumb holding steady across the backs of ace’s knuckles. “and here i was fantasizing that i could get away with wearing your ring on occasion.” he slides the band carefully up ace’s finger, then laces all of theirs together so the metal clinks against each other.

ace smiles wide but doesn’t otherwise comment. “dad cut a strip of leather earlier this week. it’s a good size if you wanted to hang the ring from your neck, but if you want it somewhere else, he can always cut it down to match.”

sabo hums softly. it’s not a thinking noise but more of a figured-something-out noise. it makes ace’s eyes rise from their hands. when he does, he finds sabo already looking at him, eyes glinting in faint amusement.

“when you talk about them, it’s always been ‘my mom’ or ‘my dad’. but ever since we got here, when you’re talking about them with me, you’ve dropped the my.” his smile splits, baring teeth. “guess that should have been my first hint.”

“well.” ace swallows. “they’d love to be your parents too. if you’ll let them.”

sabo nods. his head falls forward, temple resting against ace’s brow. “is this what’s been keeping you restless since our flight left? i was really worried, y’know. i kept expecting rouge to tell me you were sick and we were here for medical treatment.”

“what? no! i mean.” ace pauses to regroup. “i’m not sick. i was nervous, i guess.”

sabo hums again. “why?” he rubs the side of his finger against ace’s ring. “worried i wouldn’t say yes?”

“not really.” ace finally worms his arm around from sabo’s back to cup his cheek instead. he uses the hold to move sabo off of him, not liking how sabo nearly talking into his ear makes him feel when he can’t do anything about it. “i just wanted this to be . . .” he glances away, and his cheeks tinge pink. “perfect,” he mumbles. “as perfect as possible. for you.”

sabo smiles a little wider, and he tips in ace’s hold so ace is looking at him again instead of just past him.

“i guess i didn’t want to mess up,” ace admits before sabo can speak. “and that made me . . how i’ve been. the past couple of days.”

“you didn’t mess up,” sabo says slowly, softly. “but i would like to go home now.”

“huh?” ace glances up at the sky, where the moon is now slightly visible behind a patch of clouds. “but it still hasn’t snowed! we can wait a little longer, it’s not even that late–”

“we could, but i really want to kiss you right now,” sabo reveals in a low voice. ace’s eyes immediately fly down to look at him again. “and i can’t do that out here, so,” he follows, squeezing down on ace’s hand.

“take me home.”

-

roger and rouge are waiting for them in the living room. they walk in hand-in-hand to polite clapping that quickly morphs into something more aggressive as their still-flushed faces are bared in the room’s light. though that one was sabo’s fault.

(ace had no more than put the car in park when sabo settles himself half-onto the center console and grabs both of ace’s shoulders. ace responds by just barely keeping sabo at bay, eyes wide and looking out the window down the street. “what about the neighbors–”

“they’re all old people who are long asleep by now,” sabo counters. “and i’ve waited long enough.”

ace sighs in defeat, then draws sabo in the rest of the way.)

they both had been aware of ace’s intentions since before the two had arrived. which explained away rouge’s attitude at ace’s frequent naps the previous day, and why roger had been insistent ace see him before going to bed for the night. it was to show him the cord of leather for approval, the cord he now presents to sabo.

sabo runs his thumb up and down the material as rouge talks to him, telling him to try it at the current length for a day before deciding if he wanted it cut.

the leather is smooth along the back of his neck. sabo lets ace slip the ring on, lets ace tie it so the metal rests even with sabo’s sternum, and lets ace pick it up with two fingers to kiss the rim, his gaze letting sabo know what action this is replacing while they’re in front of his parents.

sabo is content, though. when rouge pushes the pair onto the loveseat near the unlit fireplace, sabo has no protests. when roger proclaims he’s well enough to drink, sabo has no qualms with him popping open a bottle of champagne and pouring them each half a glass.

halfway through a second glass, rouge starts trying to bring up things that would quantify as wedding planning. sabo is too tired from the day’s events to even bother indulging her, so he curls up against ace’s side, bent knees resting on ace’s torso, feet settled between ace’s legs, and cheek nestled in the crook between ace’s shoulder and chest.

at some point, his eyes have slipped shut enough times that someone has taken his glass from him. ace is loosely holding his hand, their fingers slotted together. his other hand is wrapped around his engagement band. he can’t stop looking down at it, to the point that all the conversation around him begins to wash over him.

“sabo,” ace says quietly into his ear, and sabo stirs. he tilts his head up and finds ace fixing him with a knowing gaze.

“time for bed,” he murmurs, and sabo silently agrees.

he shuffles his limbs around so he’s mostly on his side of the sofa, lets ace move to a stand, and then accepts the offered help to get to his feet.

sabo isn’t tipsy, per se, just tired, so he can walk fine on his own. they bid rouge goodnight and then traverse up the stairs. she’d been the only other person in the room, and lingering at the edge. sabo takes note of this as they reach the second floor.

“when did your dad leave?”

“hm?” ace glances over his shoulder, registers the question, and then hums in thought. “not long ago. he got up and decided to go to bed on his own, and mom thought it would be good for us to follow his example before you actually fell asleep on me.”

“ha ha,” sabo mutters, eyes moving to their feet. he follows close behind ace through the dark hallway until ace stops to open his bedroom door. sabo glances back behind them. “i should take my contacts out first.”

“grab your glasses before you go.” ace catches him by his elbow and pulls him into the room. he turns the main light on and then dims it halfway so it’s easier on their eyes.

it’s still plenty for sabo to see by. he grabs his glasses case and is almost out the door again when ace grabs his hand. sabo turns back to question and ace kisses him, once on the lips and once on his forehead, pushing his bangs aside to do so.

sabo is smiling when he leaves and is still smiling when he gets back. he shucks off the clothes he’s been wearing all day and sets his glasses aside to crawl into ace’s childhood bed. it is undoubtedly one thousand percent better than the previous night.

this time, ace falls asleep with ease, all his worries put to rest. sabo loops one finger through his ring and longs for the trend to continue through the rest of their time here.

[d1ana-m0nd]

Random ramble about my obsession with One Piece (just a warning in case you haven't finished Dressrosa Arc) and a reasoning for my haitus :')

So, why was I on haitus? I was seeing someone who later on became my boyfriend for the next 6 months which ended up with me revolving my life around him thus leading me to neglect my passion projects.

I won't go much into detail for privacy reasons.

Let's just say, this dude's need to be "important" is so big that he had to find another girl to make himself feel important, instead of fixing the relationship or just breaking up with me instead of cheating. He then began rubbing it on my face that I was a terrible girlfriend when all I did was nothing but devote my life to him for the past 6 months, even if he made me feel like shit for it. In short I broke up with his cheating ass :D, so to those who were looking forward to my updates be thankful to him. /s

(Press 'read more' to find out about the One Piece Ramble)

You watch One piece? Blame Zoro's actor, Mihawk's actor, and Garp's actor for dragging me into the fandom. Now, I'm so deep into the anime that within 4 months I reached around 700 episodes. I'm almost done with the Dressrosa Arc; Ever since then, I'm hyped to write an x reader fic but, I'm not sure if I want to do a.) OP various x reader fic series, b.) stick to just one character as a love interest, or c.) just do like a platonic fic with a reader insert who shares a lot of fluff or crack moments with the strawhat pirates.

If I do the first or third choice, I sort of have the rough idea of what I want. However, I'm unsure of how I'd tackle certain things.

If I do the second choice, I have the same concept for the reader but, I'm torn up with the idea on who I would make the reader's love interest. So far, my choices are Law, Ace, Sabo and possibly Kid (I'm shocked about Kid since I barely know him but, I'm intrigued by him oddly enough).

Admittedly, I wanna write a Sabo x Reader fic just because I don't see enough content on him: In Quotev, Wattpad, and Tumblr. I AM LEGIT IN LOVE WITH HIS ENG DUB (I'm biased because his VA voices 'Vash the Stampede' and 'Lelouch Britannia') I can't stop thinking about Sabo and his voice that I'm willing to give in into my degeneracy even though I have not finished my other (The Servant: TUA fic) yet 🗿.

The issue is that, since I'm like 700+ episodes in into OP, I don't wanna start rewatching the whole show just to catch small details or understand the character better. I could read the Wikipedia yes, but there are small details integrated in the episodes that can be used in future chapters or interpreted differently which is something I like doing. I can take advantage of the narrative or find a way to make the reader's involvement more smooth and she doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.

Right now I'm in a conundrum about the whole thing. 🧍‍♀️

[fishfishfruit]

with twitter self imploding i thinking about shifting back here so i am cautiously starting with Some Thoughts on film red under the cut

yes!! i love the confirmation that usopp is the crew's stylist and makes their clothes. actually, i think oda might have mentioned something about usopp making t-shirts but i've also been re-reading saint young men so my wires are getting crossed, probably.

audience surrogate jinbe is great and helpful ngl. he's the only one asking the right questions and i love him for it. also?? they did just a fantastic job seamlessly adding him to the crew here. he had so many cool scenes i am so happy for him. 😭

i wanna say the most out of focus character in the movie was,,, zoro? he was. there. like he did a lot of cool things, but he didn't do a whole lot. which is fine bc i think characters like brook and usopp have been out of focus in the manga so giving them some time to shine isn't a bad thing. i honestly think the only thing zoro got out of the movie was free booze, he's happy. i'm happy.

we'll get to sanji. also zosan so do not fret i will be on brand for this.

im a dumbass who paid $25 US dollary doos for dolby digital (imax though, makes me nauseous) but holy fucking hell that was worth it, the music combined with the visuals looked so fucking Good on screen, i can't really imagine watching it on my laptop screen or even a tv. this is definitely the reason why we need theaters yet ngl.

uta gaslights the entire movie and we love her for it. i love oda's "were gonna make cute, morally ambiguous girlbosses" era

"oh no not another movie about a new character from a main character's childhood who we never met until now" actually i felt like uta's addition to the movie was a lot less contrived than sabo surviving a ship explosion, and tbf luffy is not really one to talk about his past all that much so it works for me.

most of the side characters were well intergrated into the movie with the exception of kalifa, i wish she'd done more but i guess there were already a lot of characters to organize.

im so happy they were like "brulee has such a fantastic devil fruit power we're gonna add her in here and also katakuri, sure, the people LOVE katakuri i love brulee she's so funny and my favorite charlotte sibling WEEPS

ok now we'll talk about the Boy.

sanji was a good boy

i love when sanji keeps his shit together, smooth operator sanji is such a Mood.

YES i did cry at him flirting with brulee omg that was such an adorable scene, i wish he was more flirty with older ladies like that. it feels so on brand for him to do that.

ok back in may i made a joke about sanji and zoro taking edibles in context of this movie and i didn't think there would be drugs in the film because of japan's views on illicit substances. and then uta slips sanji a shroom and i'm fuckin losing my shit. apollo pegging me with the dodgeball here.

music, violence, drugs, Woodstock 99 the anime. Anyway

i'll finish off this ramble with Zosan of course.

the pandering was so explicit i cannot believe toei made them sleep next to each other like a chaste 1950s couple with separate beds.

ok i said zoro did nothing earlier. 90 per cent of zoro's lines in the film were just him flirting with sanji and 45% of sanji's lines was him reciprocating. toei knows exactly what they are doing and its killing me.

the shoulder scene? fucking Shameless zoro. whore behavior.

imagine being anime only and watching zoro knock out a bunch of dudes with out even looking at them and sanji's leg turning into blue fire for 5 seconds. have fun wondering what that's all about.

and that 5 seconds where luffy does gear 5?? knocked my fuckin socks off

final thoughts: if i had the time i'd go watch it in theaters again. this movie?? this movie was made for me!! im sure there are a lot of flaws but personally it worked for what it was lol. 10/10.

[quinloki]

It is my firm belief that killers wall is covered in water stains from having spaghetti thrown at it to check if it’s cooked all the way. I’d wet his noodle

What do you imagine your favorites smell like?

Hope your shoulder starts feeling better!!

XD I can see it. I can see Kid or Heat or something coming through and placing noodles on the wall to make more specific patterns. Or someone painting a design in it lol

Ah, what they smell like.

Marco’s got a warm scent, like sun tanned skin and dark liquor. It’s sweet more than citrus, but there is a hint of pineapple there too, probably just cause he eats so many. It’s very savory over all and a little honeyed.

Kid smells like metal and rubber glue - but it’s not strong enough to be offensive. It’s just distinctly machine grease and soap, sometimes sweat and oak too. Right on the line of being almost too much, but once you get used to it, it’s comforting and surprisingly complex.

Sir Crocodile is warm sand and orange peels. Leather and smoke with bourbon and butter to smooth it out. It slips under the surface of his cigar smoke, but the stogie pairs well with it all.

Sabo… hmmm… he’s snuck up on me lately so I haven’t really thought about it. But I think he smells crisp. Like snow and cold evergreen bark. There’s a soft vanilla scent that lingers in it, works with the bark because it’s not like evergreen pine needles.

When he sweats though the clean crisp scents fall away and the vanilla warms. He has the random luck to smell almost sweet when he’s worked up a sweat. (Ace hates that about him, it’s not fair to smell good when you’re sweaty and “gross” xD )

[jadedrrose]

Ace Modern AU Drabbles - Part Two

Drabbles which take place in a modern world, where you’re Ace’s best friend… until it turns into something more. Stories of times following that.

Warnings: Slightly suggestive at one point, but nothing explicit. Ace accidentally sees reader changing, leads to smut that is not written (aka insinuated)

It had officially been a month since Ace asked you out, and a month since you officially became Luffy’s babysitter.

The boy would throw fits and scream whenever Sabo tried hiring anyone else. You’d heard through Ace that Luffy would demand to have you, crying and saying how much he missed you. After about three other failed babysitters (even one that resembled you!), Sabo called you last minute one evening, begging you to come watch Luffy. You gladly agreed.

On the other hand, you and Ace… it was awkward at first. But that smoothed over quickly, as you two had been friends for a long time now. In fact, due to this, the relationship might’ve moved quickly. You’d already shared many kisses with him, cuddled and shared a bed, and well… you hadn’t quite reached anything more intimate than that.

Ace insisted on doing something for the “anniversary”. You assumed it would’ve been something lighthearted as it was, after all, just one month. However, when Ace showed up to your apartment in a suit (of course, it wasn’t anything too over the top), that’s when you knew he was very serious about your relationship. You quickly went back into your closet and changed into a simple cocktail dress, and threw on some heels.

You weren’t sure where Ace was planning on taking you. Surely, it wasn’t something crazy, right? He couldn’t be that dumb. Well, maybe he could. This was Ace after all. He drove you both over to the coast, where there were many restaurants on the beach. Thankfully, the one he pulled into was more casual. “I didn’t want something too simple or too complicated, so uh… I figured this would be a good spot?”

“It’s fine, Ace. I’m just glad you care enough to go all out for our first month together,” you told him.

“I wouldn’t do anything less for you, (Name)! Especially when you take care of Luffy so well.”

“Ah, come on. I don’t deserve all this just for babysitting”, you joked.

Ace laughed, “but you do! Anyways, let’s head in. I got us a reservation.”

—

After dinner, the both of you headed back over to the boys’ apartment. Upon entering, you found it was silent. This meant both Sabo and Luffy were asleep. Despite knowing that, Ace creeped up to Sabo’s room, slightly opening the door and finding both of his brothers passed out. Luffy probably had a nightmare, then.

Good thing he had bothered Sabo, too. That gave you and Ace plenty of privacy.

Ace guided you to his room, which wasn’t all too shocking, you’d been inside plenty of times. But something just felt… different this time.

As soon as the door was shut, Ace tore his shirt off, kicking his shoes off all at the same time. He flopped down to his bed, looking at you with a waiting look.

You quickly removed your heels, and tried to lay with Ace… however, your dress was making that rather uncomfortable.

“I can’t lay down in this dress. Shit.”

“Hmmm,” Ace had a look on his face. He was clearly thinking hard about it.

“Ah!” He suddenly got up, walking over to his dresser and pulling out a t-shirt.

“You can wear this, no worries!”

You took the shirt from him, and he went straight back to his spot on the bed. You looked between him and the door for a moment, unsure if it was… appropriate to change in front of him. But then you decided fuck it, and turned around, beginning to take the dress off… until you realized you couldn’t unzip it.

You struggled for a moment, not wanting to call Ace for help… but… you had no choice.

“Ace, I can’t unzip this. Can you help?”

“H-huh? Oh, yeah…”

You couldn’t see it, but the face full of freckles had turned bright red. He gently placed his hands on the dress, slowly unzipping it. Somehow, you were so delicate to him.

“Th-thanks,” you mumbled, feeling shy all of a sudden.

You pulled the dress off, Ace unable to look away. He felt ashamed of doing so, but he simply couldn’t take his eyes off you. Although it was only for a split second, you were in nothing but your panties… which just so happened to be lacey and a nice orange color.

…Ace’s favorite color.

“Okay,” you announced, turning around. The shirt was a bit loose on you, but it didn’t hide much… especially without a bra.

Then you saw Ace’s face, which was purely awe, and also bright red.

“Ace?! Were you staring?!”

“Wh-what? N-no! Of course not!”

“You were!”

“I- okay, I was… but I didn’t mean to! You’re just so… beautiful,” he admitted, entirely embarrassed.

You paused, before you could continue yelling at him. Shaking your head, you just laid down with him.

“I can’t be mad at you for that. Besides… I purposefully wore those panties…”

Ace’s face only burned even more at your statement. “Y-you did?!”

Now you were embarrassed. “Uh, yeah… I just… dunno, thought that um…”

“Are you ready for that?” Ace asked, looking into your eyes now. “I didn’t want to ask before, I didn’t wanna pressure you…”

“Dammit Ace, I’ve… been wanting you to ask.”

Ace then smiled sweetly at you, and said;

“If you’re ready, then I am too.”

—

Since it was the weekend, Sabo was off work. Which meant he would take over most of Luffy’s care, since Ace did the majority while he worked. However… it was nearing three in the afternoon, and Ace had yet to emerge from his bedroom. Of course, the guy did love naps, but this was way too long to be just napping, even for him.

So, with a grin on his face, Sabo told Luffy to go jump into Ace’s bed and wake him up, and in return, Sabo would get him McDonald’s.

The little boy was instantly smiling, running down to Ace’s room and cheering the whole way there.

Bursting into the room, Luffy began yelling, “Ace! Ace! Wake up, Sabo’s getting McDonalds!”

Ace slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Get outta my room, Luffy…”

Your sleep was suddenly disturbed, and you peeled over your shoulder to see the energetic boy, bouncing up and down on the mattress.

“Ace, come on! Get up! We’re gonna- huh?! What’s (Name) doing in your bed, Ace?!”

Ace then shoved Luffy off the bed, grumbling about how he shouldn’t intrude like that.

But you simply giggled, getting up to scoop the boy into your arms.

“We were just having a sleepover, right Ace?”

“What?!” Luffy shrieked, “without me?!”

“That’s right,” Ace said, sticking his tongue out at his younger brother, “without you, ‘cause (Name)’s all mine!”

“Nooo! She’s my babysitter, Ace, not yours!” Luffy cried.

You just giggled, shaking your head. “I can be both of your babysitters, how about that?”

“…Fine,” Luffy mumbled, mocking Ace and sticking his tongue out at him while looking over your shoulder.

[regensia]

@medicus-mortem​ / Law said . . .

Law turns a lazy smirk on Sabo, the doctor looking perhaps a little too relaxed. He places a hand on the revolutionary's shoulder, everything about him calm, except for the look in those golden eyes. That's a look that slides comfortably into dangerous territory. "So, Rebel-ya," he starts, voice smooth and that hand blackening with his Haki. "I think it's 'bout time we had a chat." 

     He knew this day was coming ever since he and Lamy exchanged that moment hidden away in enemy territory, hiding in a culvert. Naturally he had done his research on the elder Trafalgar sibling, all in a day’s work as a Revolutionary, and Law wasn’t exactly someone who kept on the down-low himself anyways. So far the start to this conversation was a bit smoother than he anticipated, the only aberration in what he imagined would happen should they get the chance to talk. The dangerous glint in the man’s eyes, the haki, the threat hidden away in that nonchalant body language; all accounted for. He was a dangerous pirate after all, just coincidentally the sibling of someone Sabo had come to cherish.

     “Ah, Tra-guy.” He had long since picked up Luffy’s nickname for the Surgeon of Death, a bad habit he hadn’t even considered to correct. Cerulean gaze faced the other, his own smile easy-going and almost downright friendly were it not for the glint of something in his own eyes, similarly dangerous. He wasn’t an easy man to shake up no matter the reputation he faced against. Contingencies were mentally prepared; though he had come to rely upon Ace’s devil fruit, a lifetime without had him ready to enable his own Haki. For the meantime though, he didn’t, in the interest of not immediately seeming like a threat.

     “I think you’re right. Care to start us off?”

[sun-pirate-princess]

Not So Different

@ryusokcn: Cont.

" Koala, what's taking so lo- " It was by complete ACCIDENT. Not thinking twice as the flap of the tent opens and distracted gaze of reports in his hand to the back of his ally && friend. A look of surprise to see such a large burn ( similar to the discoloration upon his very own skin ) turns into a frown on his face, then one of realization that perhaps he shouldn't be staring. " My apologies. I'll let you finish here, " Sabo quickly says, lowering the brim of his hat && retreating to the outside and waiting for Koala.

This was an intense mission. There was a grand expanding spider web of possibilities that rode on the backs of what they would uncover here. This knowledge was a weight on Koala's shoulders. Her mind spanning over possibilities. These thoughts drew her away from her current task of dressing.

Sabo's voice startled her through the fog of overthinking. A jolt shot through her. She froze, clutching her shirt to her breasts as she stood facing the back of her tent. Realization that the brand on her back was fully displayed filled her with a creeping chill like ice frosting over glass. She couldn't move. Couldn't hide. Could only stand there for him to view.

While she held no shame in wearing the mark of those she considered her family, there was still a fear of transparency. Though she knew that the symbol of the Sun Pirates burned away the true mark of shame that stained her skin at such a young age there was still an unease that creeped and slithered under her flesh. She could not scrape the feeling that Sabo knew, that he saw, the mark of her greatest shame and fear. As if it still shone through the scar tissue.

But this was Sabo. Surely her friend, with scars inside and out all his own, must know this damned sensation of being seen too, right?

Taking a breath, she turned to look back at him as he pulled his hat down to cover his face. A knot of feeling swelled up under her ribs as he excused himself from her presence. Relief? Sorrow? Dark camaraderie? She could not untangle the wriggling tendrils of emotion that assaulted her in that moment.

Drawing in a slow breath, she quickly pulled her shirt over her head. Smoothing out the material around her hips. Fingers flexing to work out the tremors before she reached for her belts. Buckling them around her slender waist as she stepped from the comfort of her tent.

"Sabo..." A million different conversation paths wanted to sprout from the simple uttering of his name. Thoughts and wonders demanding to be vocalized. Despite this, the proper words escaped her. She moved on. As she always has. "You had something for me to look over?"

[lxffy]

things that make them fall in love w/ you (again)

reader: gender neutral/no pronouns used

ft. ace, sabo, luffy, zoro, and nami

warnings: none! except forgive me if sabo is ooc, i’ve only seen him in the flashbacks and in adorable gifs after the timeskip !

part one, part two, part three !

ACE has never appreciated praise as much as he does when it comes from you. it could be a simple “good job!” or “you’re the best!” and you’ll have him wrapped around your finger instantly. even if you scold him for doing something he shouldn’t be doing, he can’t stop the butterflies in his stomach. the tone of your voice is always so sweet and loving, he can tell without a doubt that you truly do care about him. he’s always looking for ways to thank you for your genuine love.

the day you pushed back SABO’S hair and kissed his scar, he couldn’t imagine a life without you. he grew out his hair purposely to cover the scar, but your tender loving tells him that it’s nothing he has to hide. all his worries dissipate and all he can do is smile as he looks into your eyes. unfortunately for him, you always catch him off guard when you do it as well. he could be sitting down reading information he’d gather and you’d come out of no where from behind him and give him a kiss. you always know how to lighten the mood.

when captains a bit too ecstatic, all it takes for LUFFY to calm down is your fingers running through his hair. he can never get enough of your gentle movements whether your hands are soft and smooth or rough and calloused. it’s very rare to keep him under control, but head massages always seem to do the trick. he could be bouncing up and down until your fingers make contact with his locks, and now his eyes are slowly closing. he absolutely hates it when you have to stop though and even subconsciously picks up your hand just to put it on his head.

ZORO was always alone in his gym until you started spending time in there as well. usually he shooed everyone else away, but he could never get bored of your presence. whether you were exercising as well or just reading a book in the corner, your presence motivated him. it didn’t matter who started the conversation, he was always craving your attention. as a joke one day, you picked up as many weights as you could and sat on his back as he was doing push-ups. he carried on, saying that this was nothing. it truly was nothing, but it made his workouts a bit more entertaining.

when things get hectic, NAMI can always count on you to help get things under control. whether it’s financing, navigating, or even just breaking up a fight between sanji and zoro, she can’t help but feel relieved when you do her tasks without asking. the “it’s already done!” or “i have it right here!” when she forgets about something never fails put her mind at ease. it’s like you always know what she’s thinking and how to help. she can always trust you with her tasks, knowing you’ll live up to her expectations. she appreciates your help greatly.

[softrozene]

ASL Reacting to Female Significant Other’s Late Period

@senkuwu-chan​ requested: Hello! I hope you're doing good and had a good new years! I saw your requests were open, so can I request for ASL with a fem s/o and her periods are late and she jokingly says something like "omg I... I think I'm pregnant 😰😰" but they still haven't done the nasty and the boys know that she's loyal to them etc? Ik it's kinda a stupid request but it's funny in my brain 😭 But it's totally fine if you don't wanna do it, take care of yourself!! If nobody told you today, I'm proud of you and ily🥰

Sorry for the wait Hon! I can imagine that their reaction to this… Would be hilarious! Thank you for requesting it and thank you for being so sweet when doing so! If nobody told you, I am also proud and love you! <3

Ace, Sabo, Luffy x Female Reader

Warnings: fluff, comedy. Mentions of menstrual cycle/periods, joking about a late period = pregnancy (Ace’s came out a bit sad lol)

Words: 737

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Portgas D. Ace:

The second you so much as say your period is late, not even going for the joke yet

He will automatically assume he got you pregnant and pass out

…

And then when he wakes up, it is the first thing he remembers, and he feels so damn guilty

He begins to spout apologies and promising to be the best father ever, nothing like his father, though this may get sad if he starts to spill the beans on his fear of becoming his father

Hopefully- He will realize very soon that… “Wait a minute.”

It hits him then and there that he could not have gotten you pregnant

You will be very upset that he beat you to the joke and more concerned about his mental state that he even thought he got you pregnant when you have not had intercourse yet

However, since his brain is already everywhere from that fright he had you have to tell him that your period is just late because there is no one else but him in your life

He will relax and honestly- This funny situation could just get sad when it comes to Ace

Poor baby would be insecure since he wants to be nothing like his father : (

Sabo:

It is just an ordinary day when you decide to pull this stunt

The unexpecting man just sipping on his coffee as reads the newspaper wondering what the shitty government has to say about their Revolutionary Army when you come up to him with that doe-eyed look

“Babe- I ain’t feeling too great. My period is late and I… I think I am pregnant.”

Man will either feel faint like Ace or catch that gleam in your and go along with it

“Oh yeah? Do you think Dragon will let the baby go on missions?” He asks nonchalantly.

“He better. Our child could be just the spy we need. We would be legendary parents.”

Yeah, when the jokes start that is when Sabo decides to be a smart ass. “So, who knocked you up then because I would never forget a moment like that and since I can’t seem to recall it…”

You can feel the hotness in your face as he gives you a flirtatious look and you immediately cave

“Oh, would you look at that- I must be starting. Like right now. I am going to go and not talk to you.”- Yeah you are just going to avoid him until your fucking period starts then because he is a smooth talker and a teasing jerk and he knows it

Monkey D. Luffy:

This is my favorite one to imagine

Since he is on the more dense side I have a hard time imaging him knowing exactly where babies come from which would ensue this type of scenario to happen:

“Luffy, Hon, I do not think I can share my food with you anymore.”

That is the quickest way you can get his attention and oh my god did it work. You have never seen someone snap their head that fast to give you a pouty glare

You laugh- Feeling the unease as you share a concern. “It is nothing really. My period is late… Maybe I am pregnant?”

It… It takes a long heavy pause for him to react. Luffy ever so slowly squints his eyes down before he raises his finger. It is all too slow and comical as he finally realizes what you just said

“Oh, you are pregnant? Tell Sanji to give you more food.”

…

…

“Luffy that would mean you are the father?”

“What?” Luffy is shocked. How could this happen? How did he let this happen? He is initially worried, concerned, and oh god- If it is his child then that means the baby really will eat all the food on the ship

This is an emergency!

That is how the chaos starts- Before you can say never mind your period is just late or explain to him how a baby would be made since you two did not have sex- It is just too late

He goes screaming it onto the ship and you feel immediate embarrassment

You will just have to tell Sanji or Robin that it was a joke so they can defuse the situation

And… Now you can hear Usopp and Chopper freaking out with Luffy

Great job (Name).

[firefistlaw]

Hiiii for the falling into your lap could you do it please with Ace Sabo and koby ? I would love it so much 🥺🥺🥺 thanks a lot !

a/n: i hope this is alright! tysm for requesting <3!!!

summary: you tripped at a public setting (party) and fall into their lap

❀ ──────── ❀ ──────── ❀

Ace

He'd circle his warm arms around your figure the moment you came in proximity to him, surprise on his features but his smile already tearing to a full blown grin

He wouldn't care whatsoever about who, what or where it happens - you sitting on his lap at a gathering was a very common occurrence, so you being close to him really wasn't the issue. See, the tripping however...

If you were at a party with strangers, he'd maybe tease you a bit and thats it. At other parties, the tripping would probably happen with a full audience of Whitebeard members watching and them reacting over the top at your little accident... and you can guess how that one ends bestie

They would laugh, whoop and if you wouldn't hide yourself in the corner of his neck, you could have seen Thatch mimicking your fall with Haruta. And the worst? Ace would laugh with them, maybe squeeze you a bit T_T

If he notices you being genuinely embarrassed about the situation though, he'd try to swerve the attention to someone else immediately and in 99% of the time it would work but the grin would stay you best believe

His arms were still hugging you close as you sighed embarrassedly. "This is the worst." You'd mumble, causing another chuckle to escape him.

"C'mon. Falling to my lap isn't the worst thing?" He'd ask, brown eyes twinkling in mischief. Not even a second later, his leg would bounce slightly, grin still plastered on his freckled face. You shot him a glare.

"Yeah, but this is." A pointed stare to your friends still joking about the fall. The dark haired man squeezed you closer at that, cooing as he turned his body away from the others, eyes stuck on your own. "Are you embarrassed? Baby, I was just about to come and search for you anyway."

Another huff, you weakly pushing at his exposed chest. "Shut up."

After planting quick pecks to your temple and your pouting lips, Ace turned his face towards his friends again.

"Thatch, if you have enough time to joke around like this, you should maybe use it for showering instead. "

Sabo

His eyes would be on you the moment you stepped closer to him. Sabo would literally watch you come closer to him, trip on your way, fall towards him and yet - his arms would not be able to catch you until you're seated on his thighs.

And his friends would laugh, not at you, but mostly at his burning red face. I believe under normal circumstances he wouldn't enjoy showing this kind of pda, but being at a party and you tripping - he might let this one slide. Especially when he had a few drinks already - which he did.

He'd most likely grab your hands, closing long fingers around your fists on his shoulders and ask if you're alright, being the wonderful person he is, but you see the amusement in his eyes and the slight smug twitch of his lips.

If the gathering would be serious or with strangers, he'd probably ask about your wellbeing and softly push you off his lap, but due to being with people he's comfortable with and having consumed some Sake already, I think he wouldn't mind it all too much. In fact, he might start flirting with you instead :)

"You should be more careful," he'd say, hands still curling around your own. His thumb would start stroking over your knuckles soothingly. "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

You'd nod then, shifting so you were now seated on one of his thighs. Your fingers found themselves at the side of his head, playing with the blonde strands of hair. "I'm just glad I didn't fall on someone else."

And then the amused twinkle in his blue eyes. The alcohol in his veins started playing its role. "Oh?"

You can't help but playfully roll your eyes then, embarrassment completely gone as you lean towards the table and grab a drink off the overfilled table. He takes the drink from your hand, taking a sip for himself.

"I'm glad you didn't fall on someone else, too." His cheeks were painted from the alcohol, pink lips glistening from the drink he just took and like magnets, the two of you would meet in the middle, pressing a kiss to one another, the eyes around the two of you long forgotten.

Coby

Even though Coby had been searching for you with eyes only moments prior, it took one turn to his friend that caused him to not see you walking towards him, let alone notice you falling towards his lap. Only when your hands were already grabbing his Marine jacket for security, flushed face centimetres away from his, he'd finally notice and let me tell you something: mans would be extremely embarrassed--

The party you guys were attending was filled with so many people from the Marine and with your little accident, several heads turned, starting to whistle and whoop when they saw the little situation unfolding and Coby was in shambles

His face was glowing red, face turned towards you in a way that made pink strands fall to the side of his face. When even Helmeppo started cackling and told you to get a room beside him, Coby couldn't help but awkwardly laugh himself, finally looking up to you and god

The moment you had touched him, his hands reflexively found your hips - so when his eyes met yours, you started giggling at the embarrassment of the situation as well. Your hands would probably shield your eyes as you lean your head against the side of his face, both chuckling awkwardly. Helmeppo never felt more single

It didn't take long for the laughter and whistles to turn down, but the warmth on your cheeks certainly stayed fixed on your face. "I'm sorry," you'd whisper, voice mixed between humour and bashfulness. "I didn't mean to make... well, this appearance."

Coby, who turned one hand behind him to push his still cackling friend a bit, merely shook his head, "Don't apologise, it's all right.", and then he'd smile, red still lingering on his skin. "I just hope you're alright."

"Yes, of course." Your hands were smoothing down the small wrinkles created by your grip on his jacket earlier. "Thanks for catching me?"

"Of course, yn." His long fingers ruffled through the back of his pink hair, accidentally pushing the glasses perched up on his head down and causing them to sit on his nose - perfectly. More laughter escaped you at that, his hand squeezing your hips as reaction.

A few seconds later, you found yourself sitting next to him instead, hands intertwined. "So, what were you guys talking about before?"

[pure-kirarin]

Hi!!! what do you think are some embarrassing things that sabo has done that keeps him up all night?

Hi dear Anon ! I loved this idea so much oh.my.god.

🤡🤡SABO’S EMBARRASSING MOMENTS -That keep him awake at night-🤡🤡 -We all see Sabo as that smooth guy that rarely loses composure right ? He has that nice way of carrying himself. But let me tell you, this man gets nervous around his crush. -Date times are full of embarrassing moments. One of them is when he was trying to put his elbow on the table and he missed it.

-His chin hit the table edge. Although it was pretty embarrassing, it made you laugh and eased the atmosphere. -Sabo isn’t used to “social kissing” on the cheeks to greet someone. So when you were going to greet him in that way he stepped back and cocked his head.

-When he noticed what he did he offered you a handshake. Not only did he embarrass himself, but he also missed a kiss from you.

-He still regrets to this day. -Once while he was drinking coke with your friend group he drank so fast that he choked and cola ended up spilling from his nose. Rip Sabo.

-He doesn’t want to admit it because he’s scared of breaking the gentleman myth but he doesn’t hold his alcohol well.

-Once he’s drunk he walks up to strangers to discuss politics. One time he got so into it that he got kicked from the bar :)

-He called “Koala” “mom” once [Freudian slip ?]. Needless to say that she didn’t like it. -The AMOUNT of times he forgot to zip his pants. Sabo, I know you’re in a rush but please zip them pants.

-Dude likes cats and loves to talk to them whenever he’s alone. “Hello little dude. How are we doin’ today ? Meow ? That’s nice” *pets the cat*. Little did he know that he wasn’t alone.