Luffy x Neko!Reader Warm

Chapter 6: Fire and Sand

Once again, you paused to taste the air. 'I swear I know that scent...' You chewed your bottom lip, unable to grasp where you'd smelled the scent that lingered on the hot Alabastian winds. You and the others, as well as the newcomers, Alabasta's princess, Vivi, and her duck Karoo, were now in a village in the desert. Vivi was really nice, and you all were here to help her get her country back from a man named Crocodile, who was causing a rebellion from behind the scenes.

It was all very complicated, but you weren't particularly worried right now. 'What is that smell...?' You started to follow it for a second, but snapped out of your thoughts when Luffy called you.

You ran toward his voice, only to skid to a halt when he bolted past you, a man you never thought you'd see again hot on his heels. "ACE?!"

You pelted after your brother, staring at the back of his head. 'Is it really you...?' Then he turned and grinned at you, his smile chasing away all doubts. No one had a face like that but Ace.

"Hey little bro! You been taking good care of our other brother right?"

He tipped his head toward Luffy, love shining in his dark eyes. You nodded. "Yeah, but I haven't called him 'brother' in a while."

Ace looked confused for a second. "What do you- Oh. I get it! You're sleeping with him, aren't you!"

You blushed furiously at his way of putting it, but you nodded anyway. "Ahaw, man! I owe Sabo so much money! But hey, you two go on ahead. I'll take care of Ol' Smokey!" Confused, you looked behind you to see a Marine with light, sea-foam colored hair chasing you three. He was smoking two cigars. 'I thought something smelled familiar...' You thought. 'Must've been that Marine.'

You and Luffy kept running, trusting your big brother to take care of things.

The second Ace arrived at your ship you tackled him, and the two of you went down in a whirl of fire and fur. Purring, you wrestled him, boxing his ears and swiping at his head, claws sheathed. Hands grabbed you underneath the arms and hauled you away from Ace. You looked behind you, kind of offended, to see Zolo holding you up. Sanji had helped up Ace, who looked confused as to why they took you away.

"Lemme down! Stupid Moss-Head!"

"Yeah!" Sanji said, walking over and swatting Zolo's hands away from you. "Don't handle a lady like that!" Zolo bristled, but before the argument could go any further, they got distracted by you stalking toward Ace again, a mock growl rumbling in the back of your throat. Ace hissed back at you, but you knew by the glimmer of amusement in his eyes that you were both still playing.

Zolo stepped between you before either could lunge. "Calm down you two." He said. "I don't know what this is, but save it for later. We don't have time to settle grudges."

You, Ace, and Luffy all tipped your heads and crossed your arms. All three of you made eye contact with each other before staring straight at Zolo and saying, in union, "You really are an idiot, aren't you?" The poor Moss-Head was practically spinning in circles trying to look at all of you. He looked so confused.

Seeing your chance, you darted around him and dove for Ace, headbutting him in the gut. He grunted and went down, and the two of you continued your play fight. Luffy cheered you on and Ace managed to escape you long enough to give his little brother a hurt look and say, "What, no love for me?" In response, you tackled him down, and Luffy gave a happy shout.

Zolo and Sanji stood side-by-side, shaking their heads. "You know what, cook?"

"What, Mossball?"

"I think their entirely family is insane."

"For once, I agree with you."

After you and Ace got tired, you separated and Luffy joined you two, whereupon the three of you started talking all at once. Eventually, you all realized that the rest of the crew didn't know who Ace was.

"Hey everyone!" Luffy screamed. "This is Ace! He's our brother!" You nodded in agreement to Luffy's words.

'Wait a minute...' Zolo thought. 'Our brother?! Those two are siblings?! What kind of crazy incest is this?!?!' He, of course, didn't know you three weren't blood related.

"Thanks guys," Ace said, addressing your crew. "It means a lot to me that you took care of my little brothers." He bowed, and for a second there was silence.

"Brothers?!" Zolo screeched. "It's a man?! And they're related?!!?"

All three of you jumped at the swordsman's outburst. "Umm. Er. What?" Ace looked from Zolo to you and Luffy and back again. "What does he-  Oh. Ooooohhh!!!! I get it!" Ace busted out laughing, much to Zolo's further horror, as he found nothing about this funny. "Green hair, Zolo was it? My little kitty-brother is a girl. And those two aren't related."

"But, but, but you said-"

"Yeah, but I can explain. Don't go jumping to conclusions." You and Luffy echoed the statement. "None of us are blood related." Ace explained. "It's a love bond."

"And," you began, stepping forward. "I'm a woman. But they call me brother, because a long time ago... Well, when we first became brothers, they said I would be their sister, but..." You paused and self consciously reached up to hold one of your ears. "I didn't want to be any more different. I didn't want to be the one sister. I just wanted to be the same as them..."

Your words trailed off and you held your hands in front of you. Ace wriggled his hand between yours, separating them, and, claiming one, twined his fingers with yours. Luffy hugged you from behind, and you purred.

Luffy, seeing that Zolo still looked doubtful, decided to settle matters. "She's not a man, Zolo." He said, and then proceeded to shove his hand down the front of your pants. You let out a meow of shock, while Ace started laughing again. "Yep," Luffy said. "You're a woman."

It took Chopper three hours to get Zolo to wake up from the state of unconsciousness his mind had forced itself into.

(I really loved writing this. 😂)