Unmoored [Portgas D. Ace x Female Reader]

A Meal to Remember

Luffy enters, lifting the rough cloth of the doorway. The inside is dark, the air heavy. He looks around cautiously as he walks further into the room, squinting through the darkness. He spots no movement, and stills. A hand creeps closer-

Outside, Y/N is quiet, eyes wide. Her hand is hovering in front of the cloth covering the doorway, but she can't bring herself to touch it. Danger. Danger. Her senses warn her through whispers, barely decipherable. She puts her hand down, stepping back. Luffy went in there already. Everything's fine. She mutters affirmations to herself as she lifts her hand once more, this time lifting the cloth and stepping inside.

She is immediately met with a cold blade. Luffy is still looking around, seemingly oblivious to the numerous people around him. "Luffy...!" She jerks her head around to yell. The men around her hold her limbs, keeping her from moving. They leer at her from under head coverings, gazes malevolent. Luffy turns, looking annoyed. "What? Don't tell me you-" One of the men grab him and press a dagger to his throat. "Don't move," he says. 

Luffy doesn't seem to get it. "Let me go!" The man doesn't listen, pressing the knife more firmly against him. Y/N starts wiggling her head down, using Luffy as a diversion. "Give me all your money or I'll kill ya!" The man tells Luffy.

"Don't got any!" 

"So get your parents to bring some here!" 

"Gramps's my only-"

"That's fine! Who is he??"

Just as Y/N is about to sink her teeth into her captive's arm, the blinds are thrown open and the short man from before (Dogra, Y/N remembers) steps inside. "Garp-san! His grandfather is Garp, the Marine hero!"

Y/N is immediately tossed aside by the man holding her and just manages to stop herself from face-planting. Luffy, too, is dropped to the ground. "Hey!" he sits up, rubbing his head. The bandits are wide-eyed, looking at Dogra. "Don't tell me these children..."

Dogra nods grimly. "They're going to be living with us from this point on." The room immediately breaks into chaos.

"WHAAT??"
"Why'd you accept?!"
"This isn't a daycare!"
"Our boss has no spine!"

"SHUT UP!" The orange-haired lady roars, spitting her cigarette onto the ground. "IT'S LUNCHTIME!"

Uh oh. Y/N turns around in time to be shoved to the ground and just barely misses being trampled. The bandits are practically swarming the platter, and the pile of meat, though large, is rapidly shrinking. The bandits spit and hit, each fighting only for his own share. 

"You gotta share at least a bit!"
"It's a dog-eat-dog world!"
"You already had one, damn it! Leave this one for me!"

Y/N sighs, resigning herself to the wall. She has no chance in a battle of physical strength here, especially when meat is involved. Luffy, however, is still trying. "LEAVE SOME FOR ME, DAMN IT!!" He throws himself into the mess, only to be spat out again, hands empty. Eventually, he ends up in the back next to Y/N. 

"This suucks..." He whines, pouting. "I wish I could have some meat, too..." His gaze flits over to the orange-haired lady. "Hey, that guy's supposed to take care of us, right? I'm gonna-" He runs over. Y/N raises an eyebrow. Guy? Luffy's in for a shouting match. 

"Hey, old guy! Can I have some of your meat?"
"OLD GUY??"

Oh, my. Already. Y/N scoots herself closer to the pot in the middle of the room, gratefully taking the rice given to her. She savors it slowly, chewing each small mouthful way more than necessary. 

Luffy is still arguing with Dadan. She, Y/N learns, is the leader of a gang of mountain bandits, notorious for their atrocious deeds. Dadan starts trying to scare Luffy, telling him of all the menial tasks he's going to be assigned. Y/N yawns and turns away.

The boy from before...Ace? He's seated nearby, mowing his way through a large plate of meat. Y/N wonders how he got that much, what with the bandits' fighting. She tries not to stare, even as her stomach growls. Her gaze flits away from the meat to his face, just for a moment-

He's glaring right at her. Oh, great. Now, as well as being awkward and weird, she's a gawker. Disheartened, she looks away. Dadan seems to notice her gaze, face splitting into a wide grin. "How 'bout it? All this meat is from a bison that Ace brought down! He split us a part of the take so that everybody can eat. The mountain bandits' world is rough! You're gonna hafta work pretty darn hard, haah!" She seems to be trying to scare them. Y/N just nods and turns away, continuing to savor her plain rice. Dadan had already refused Luffy seconds and she wasn't too hopeful that she'd treat her any different. 

"-one bowl of rice and a single glass of water per day is all I can guarantee you!" Dadan belts gleefully, biting off a huge chunk of her meat. "You're gonna hafta grow up and find your own way!" She looks at Luffy, hoping for a tantrum.

"Okay." He barely reacts.

"OKAY?? WHY DON'T YOU CRY OR SOMETHIN'?"

"I'm okay 'cause Gramps threw me into this jungle once-"

"WHAAT?"

Y/N tunes Luffy out as he begins a detailed story of his time spent in the jungle. Dadan is speechless, jaw slack. "You- huh?" 

By the time Luffy is finished with his story, Dadan's head is in the floor. Literally. She'd fallen over at some point (somewhere in between the part where Luffy ate a bad mushroom and where he got chased up a tree by a goat) and her head had gone through the ground. Y/N watches interestedly as her men gather around, trying to pull her out. When she turns again, Ace is standing, back towards her. He straightens his clothes and begins walking away. She tilts her head.

"Where's he going?" Luffy voices her silent question, standing as well. He begins to run after Ace. Dadan is pulled out with a final hoist of her ankles, sitting up. "Hey, where're you goin?"

Luffy continues running, completely ignoring her. Dadan sighs, muttering to herself. "Damned kids..."

Y/N sighs too, focusing on her rice. She still has half a bowl left, thanks to her ultra-slow eating. As she returns to it, something catches her eye. An entire chunk of meat, left untouched on Ace's plate. She looks around, making sure it isn't a mistake and that he's really gone. 

Slowly, she reaches over and retrieves the meat, placing it into her bowl. She looks around once more before slowly beginning to eat. 

It's delicious. The meat is fatty and succulent, not too lean. She eats faster, emptying her bowl.

As she swallows her last mouthful, she looks towards the doorway again. She wipes her mouth. Had he left her that on purpose? He had caught her staring, after all. Hmm. She shakes her head, standing up. No way.

Right?