*3rd P.O.V.*
Ace, Sabo, and Luffy were hard at work fixing the damage that Luffy's father, Dragon, had caused the day prior. Ace was working on the back door as well as the wall around it, Luffy was trying to fix the front door, and Sabo was trying to fix the wall that stood between the front and back door.
However, Sabo was more than just a bit distracted.
He sat on the floor in front of the destroyed wall and was hunched over, elbow planted on his leg with his cheek resting in his hand. His fingers gently traced the scar on his face and remembered a certain (h/c)-haired girl's sweet words to him.
"Do you try to hide it? I don't think you have to. To me, it doesn't look bad at all."
A soft smile tugged at Sabo's lips as he forgot all about what he was supposed to be doing. More of the cute human woman's words rang in his ears like the chime of a small bell.
"... I don't think it makes you any less handsome!"
Sabo wasn't even aware that, in his daze, he had allowed his tail to show. It was long and thin with a three-pronged end, each prong sharp and pointed creating a slight cross-shape. It was a slightly glittering royal blue color that transitioned into a bright cyan color at the cross-shaped end.
His tail began to wag cheerfully in the air as Sabo chuckled softly at remembering how (Y/n) had nearly dropped the bowl of batter in the kitchen.
His brothers stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the blond, confused as to why he was laughing and why he wasn't even pretending to be working.
"What are you laughing about?" Luffy questioned him with a pout.
"Yeah, and why aren't you helping us out with repairs? You live here too, you know!" Ace pointed out with a frown, not knowing what got into Sabo's head.
Sabo flinched as he was brought out of his thoughts, "Hm? I'm sorry, did you guys say something?"
Luffy frowned, "Weren't you listening to us, Sabo?"
"No, sorry. I was lost in thought..." He admitted, sheepishly scratching his cheek as his face flushed a slight pink color.
Ace looked at him with suspicion, especially since he started to blush out of nowhere.
"Lost in thought about what, exactly...?" He questioned, narrowing his gaze at him.
Sabo's eyes widened a little as his cheeks started to turn a brighter shade of red.
"N-nothing much... just... stuff..." Sabo replied, turning his head away in an attempt to hide his blush.
"Stuff like what?" Luffy asked with a tilted head.
"Oh, you know... Just stuff..."
Sabo couldn't just tell them that he spent the day with (Y/n), could he? They would be so mad at him, especially after he just said he would try to avoid her. He would look like such a hypocrite.
"I don't think it was 'just stuff' like you say... if that was the case, you wouldn't be so distracted." Ace rose a brow, narrowing his gaze even more.
"What is really going on in that head of yours, Sabo?..."
He really didn't want to lie--they were brothers, and brothers didn't keep secrets with each other.
"I... I don't want to tell you..."
The thought of Sabo purposely hiding something from him and Ace truly made Luffy angry. They were supposed to be able to trust each other with anything and everything.
Luffy's brow furrowed and asked, "Why not?"
"Because I know you'll be mad at me..." Sabo replied softly.
Luffy stood and marched over to him, "Tell us, or I'll hit you."
"No! I can't! I'll look like such a hypocrite!" He shouted, jumping to his feet as he started to back away from Luffy.
It proved to be no use as Luffy just stretched his arm across the room and grabbed onto Sabo before pulling them close together, tackling the blonde to the floor which ended up breaking the coffee table.
"Tell us!"
"No!"
It was at this point that fists started to fly between the two, their battle turning into a mass of kicks and punches with their tails violently lashing out.
Unfortunately, a lot more damage was caused to the house from their fighting; The other lamp was broken, the ceiling fan came crashing down, and the couch had been smashed in half.
At noticing the damage that was taking place, Ace went to jump in to stop the fight.
"L-Luffy, stop! If Sabo doesn't want to tell us, then we'll simply kick him out of the house! It's not like he's actually helping repair it or anything!" He tried to tell the younger brother, glaring at Sabo.
"If he was man enough, he would just tell us straight up what it is, and face the consequences of his actions." He bluntly said.
Sabo glared at Ace but let out a huff, turning his gaze to the wall.
"Fine... I spent most of yesterday with (Y/n)..." Sabo mumbled.
"WHAT?!" Luffy gasped in shock as Ace went to sigh deeply and run a hand through his dark locks.
"And why is that? You better have a good reason since you just broke a promise you made to us." He folded his arms, looking sternly at the blond.
"I know and I'm sorry! It wasn't intentional! I wasn't even trying to find her, I was trying to clear my head and avoid her! But then I just bumped into her, literally. And then... I couldn't control myself again! I helped her with her groceries and then she offered to make me donuts! How could I refuse that offer?!" Sabo ranted.
"SHE MADE YOU DONUTS?!" Luffy shouted, looking both angry and jealous at the same time.
"... I can't believe you. While me and Luffy were running away from a pissed off Dragon, trying to not die, you were out having a ball with (Y/n)...?" Ace hissed, his body even starting to flare up a bit as he tried to keep himself calm.
It was proving very difficult, though. Not only did he break his very own promise, but he was living it up with (Y/n) while he and Luffy were running for their lives.
"I know! And I deserve to be punched for it! Feel free to do so! But I could not control what I was doing! I just had an overwhelming urge to be close to her. And you have no idea how hard it is to resist her offers when she's staring right into your eyes!" Sabo said, looking quite frustrated as well.
"And now I can't stop thinking about her! I can still hear her voice and feel her touching my face!" He added, "I have never felt so flustered and frustrated before in my entire life!"
"P-please, don't talk about this anymore... you're going to piss me off even more." Ace growled, clenching his fists in agitation.
"What we need to be focused on is repairing our home... not some human..."
Sabo glared at Ace for his choice of words, "She's not just "some human', Ace. We both know that for a fact."
"I agree with that." Luffy nodded and also glared at Ace, "And this is all your fault, Ace!"
Ace looked to Luffy with shock.
"How in the hell is this all my fault?!" He asked.
"I wanted to go see (Y/n) yesterday, but you wouldn't let me go. I even offered to take you with me because I knew you'd be jealous, and you still said no. Because you said no, my dad found us and almost killed us. And if we went to see (Y/n), we could have been eating donuts with Sabo." Luffy explained with a deep frown and a narrow gaze.
"Oh, so I can now see into the future, right Luffy?" Ace asked the younger brother sarcastically, a flaming aura now engulfing him.
"I-I j-just... I need to get away from you two idiots!" He hissed, storming out the front door and leaving a trail of fire behind him that his brothers had to quickly extinguish.
'Try and calm yourself down, Ace! This is not worth exploding over!' He tried to convince himself, taking deep breaths in and out.
"I'm going out to buy some more damn nails! I'll be back later!" He called back to them, finally regaining his full composure as the flames rising on his body died out.
He wouldn't want to cause another incident that would get one of the elders angry at them again.
*(Y/n)'s P.O.V.*
I sighed as I wandered down a less populated street in New District.
"I think I'm lost..." I mumbled to myself as I looked around at my unfamiliar surroundings.
This morning, Noire decided to go and visit Katakuri at the bakery to get his feedback about my donuts and her souffle. I was going to go with her, but decided that it would be a better idea to start exploring the area so I could get used to it.
Now I see that that might not have been a good idea because now I had no idea where I was or how to get back to a place that I recognize.
'There has to be somewhere around here that I can ask for directions...' I thought to myself.
However, there was no one in sight. Not surprising as this seemed to be a more residential area and it was pretty narrow on this street too with plenty of branching dark alleyways. I was about to continue passing by one of these alleys when I felt a hand grab my arm in a vice-like grip and I was suddenly dragged into the darkness.
A small scream of surprise was pulled from my throat but was quickly silenced as another hand wrapped around my neck, my oxygen supply now cut off.
It took a few seconds for my vision to adjust to the darkness of the alley and I could just manage to make out the image of three thugs sneering at me. The biggest of the thugs in the middle was the one currently choking me and he didn't even seem to be affected by my nails that were now digging into his wrist.
'Wh-what do these guys want from me?' I thought, my mind racing as my heart felt like it was trying to burst out of my chest.
*3rd P.O.V.*
Trying to forget the infuriating conversation he had with his brothers, Ace ran and hopped from rooftop to rooftop to get to the hardware store since it was faster that way. Not only that, but not many people traveled this way, so it meant not having to bump into anyone he knew while in his sour mood. Or so he thought...
At hearing a short cut off scream, he perked up in alert.
'What the hell was that?!' He thought as he went to investigate to see where that sound came from; it didn't sound good at all.
That's when he saw it; (Y/n) being attacked.
'Oh, why fucking now?! That girl seems to just pop up to cause trouble!' He hissed in his head as another side of him felt on edge at the sight.
For some peculiar reason, it unsettled him... even angered him.
'It's not my job to watch out for the human, though! Why should I care?!' He thought as that other side of him was slowly clouding his mind.
He was already in a bad mood because of the "chat" he had with his brothers, so this...
This was the straw that broke the camel's back, causing Ace to see red.
(Y/n) felt her vision going dark as the large man in front of her squeezed the last of the oxygen from her lungs. Her hands left the man's wrist as her arms fell limp at her sides.
Just before she could completely lose consciousness a blast of heat erupted right in front of her face as a small ball of fire landed on the man's shoulder, catching his shirt on fire.
The man's reaction was immediate, dropping the (h/c)-haired woman and frantically patting the flame to extinguish it.
The woman fell to the ground beside the wall of the alley and coughed, desperately trying to get the air back in her lungs.
Her blurry (e/c) could only just register the sight of a figure dropping to the ground in front of her from the rooftops. The figure wore black cargo shorts, sandals, and a white short-sleeved shirt that was patterned with red tropical flowers.
The figure looked back at her over his shoulder and she could see the wavy dark hair framing his freckled face, his brown eyes glowing with a slight red tint in the darkness of the alley.
"... It's alright... I've got you." Came his familiar deep voice.
"A... A... ce..." She managed to mumble closing her eyes, falling unconscious.
Ace turned back to the three men and glared at them, eyes glinting a dangerous red in the shadows. The large man in the middle managed to put out the fire on his shoulder, but his shirt was now ruined and stained with soot.
The man turned to Ace and glared right back at him.
"What do you think you're doing, Ace? This is none of your business!" He growled.
"No, what do you think you're doing? The humans aren't allowed to be hurt." Ace snarled back.
The man barked out a laugh, "HA! What do you care, filthy half-breed?! Or is the human part of that tainted blood of yours starting to show? Feeling sympathy towards your fellow human?"
The two other stooges snickered before a growl from Ace silenced them and they watched as fire trailed from his feet to the wall on either side of the (h/c)-haired woman on the ground, creating a fiery barrier between her and them.
"Tch..." Ace clicked his tongue scowled, "You can insult me all you want. I really don't care. Though, I can't say the same for my brothers if they were to overhear you."
"I'm not doing this because I want to, I'm doing this because it's best for all of us." A long and thin black skeletal tail appeared from behind Ace, the sharp arrowhead-shaped tip scraping the stone ground of the alley.
"You know the rules just as well as the rest of us: Any threat towards the safety of the humans on the island before the full moon must be eliminated, even if that threat is one of our own." Ace recited as his eyes started glowing a bright red, his pupils sharpening into slits.
"So, tell me..." Ace trailed off as his skeletal tail suddenly extended and grew larger, turning into glowing orange-white spear of condensed fire.
In the blink of an eye the hot spear-like tail suddenly lashed out like scorpion's stinger, the tip stopping just short of the thug leader's jugular.
"... Should I consider you a threat?"
The meaning behind Ace's words were crystal clear: Back off or die.
It was easily forgettable due to his lineage, but the thugs were all reminded that Ace and his brothers were considered some of the strongest people on the island. They would be foolish to try and fight him here and now and the human woman was not worth risking their lives for.
The main thug gulped, eyeing the tip of Ace's tail that radiated blistering heat and slowly backed away.
"You win, Portgas... This time. But you won't always be around to protect that human." The thug warned as he and his underlings walked away, disappearing deeper into the darkness of the alley.
Ace watched them go and when he was sure they were gone he put his tail away and extinguished the circle of fire protecting (Y/n).
He turned and approached the woman, crouching beside her to check her for injuries. Other than the bruises forming around her neck, it looked like she was going to be just fine which relieved him. But the sight of the bruises pissed him off, making him wish he had actually done more to hurt the thugs.
Oh well, what's done is done.
He carefully lifted (Y/n) into his arms and carried her out of the alley, stealing glances of her face as she slept with her cheek resting against his bare chest.
Ace quickly averted his gaze as he felt the heat rising to his cheeks, "Damn you, (Y/n)... Making me feel this way... You're going to cause just as much trouble as Luffy--I just know it."
His expression softened, however, as he glanced back at the (h/c)-haired woman's peaceful expression.
"... I don't like getting into trouble because of other people... but I think I can make an exception for you..."
*Meanwhile*
*At the Bakery*
Noire entered the bakery with a smile, going to look around for a certain giant.
"Hello, it's Noire." She greeted aloud, while decked in a black pencil skirt, a flowy blouse, and her favorite pair of leather boots.
She usually dressed like this for more lavish occasions since her style is usually more casual in nature.
There was a lot of bustling in the bakery's kitchen, with Katakuri emerging from it with a sigh. At seeing Noire, he fought the urge to blush and made his way to the register.
"Is there something I could help you with?" Katakuri asked the Raven-haired woman.
"Yeah, I came here to actually hear your opinion on the sweets I gifted you yesterday. I honestly would have stuck around longer to chat, but yeah..." She coughed, frowning at the awkwardness that was yesterday with Sanji.
"I thought that they were very good. You have a lot of talent as does my new employee." Katakuri answered honestly, "However, with your souffle, I'm sorry to say that I could not identify the secret ingredient that you spoke of..."
Noire went to turn beet red at the mention of 'secret ingredient'.
"U-um, yeah, and that's because I accidentally gave you the wrong souffle... s-sorry..." She ran a finger through her wavy hair, a bit bashful.
"Oh, I see. I'm sorry too. I would have liked to try to guess what that ingredient was..." He hummed, thinking of the possible options.
"A-actually, the secret ingredient in question is right in front of you." She spoke, going to sway a little in place.
Katakuri blinked and then slowly looked around before a look of confusion crossed the top half of his facial features.
"... Where?" He asked.
Noire then went to slowly point towards her lips, her pale cheeks still burning a crimson red.
"Right here."
Katakuri blinked again before answering very slowly, "... Did you... spit in it...?"
Noire quickly shook her head.
"N-no, of course not! I gave the souffle a kiss! A kiss full of all of my love! I was careless, and gave that souffle to Sanji instead of you by accident in my rush!" She explained, lowering her head.
"Oh..." Katakuri blushed a little at that, though her use of the word "love" was a bit confusing to him.
He had heard about it, but he never saw or experienced anything similar to it.
"... And you gave the other souffle to him... I'll bet he was over the moon when you told him what your secret ingredient was." He stated, holding back the urge to scowl at the mention of Sanji.
"Y-yeah... he had a very weird reaction! He collapsed to the floor, his nose started bleeding like crazy, and he even turned to stone!" She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance.
"I-I tried to tell that moron that the souffle wasn't meant for him so he could snap out of it, but it was like he was in la la land!" She groaned.
"That's what I figured... Any kind of positive encouragement from a beautiful woman and he goes insane." Katakuri sighed.
Noire's eyes glistened for a bit at him subtly calling her beautiful.
"Heh, yeah... but that souffle was meant for you, not him." She nodded firmly.
"So you've told me. I don't mind. And you could always just make another one, couldn't you?" He pointed out.
She smiled a bit.
"Yeah... but you're a baker, so you should know that if a souffle isn't eaten immediately after it's out of the oven, then it collapses. It was such a pain running across this whole place trying to deliver them." She sighed, just frowning at the memory.
Her legs still hurt a bit to this day.
"Then perhaps you could make something else instead." He suggested.
"Yeah, I guess, but sweets are more (Y/n)'s forte. I am more of a chef myself." She explained.
"I highly doubt that. From that souffle, I would have guessed that you have been baking your whole life. With that kind of skill, I'm sure that anything you make me would taste delicious.
Noire's eyes twinkled like stars at his compliments, as she clasped her hands together in glee.
"R-really?! W-well, how about I make you a cinnamon bun? It's as sweet as you~!" She giggled, going to sway a bit again.
Katakuri averted his gaze and sank further into his scarf, "If that is what you wish to make, I will not stop you..."
Noire, now feeling a bit brave, went to take a small step towards him.
"You don't seem to mind, so I am just going to say it... you're really attractive, and I would like to get to know you personally." She said, a big grin on her face as her eyes continued to sparkle.
She even seemed to have a shining aura emanating from her.
To say that Katakuri was shocked or caught off-guard was the understatement of the century. No one had ever said anything like that to him before and hearing it come from the lips of a beautiful woman made his face burn.
"I... I-I... Well, I..." Katakuri tripped over his words and then cleared his throat, taking a deep breath to compose himself.
"I believe that you are interesting as well... I have no objections with us getting to know one another..." He mumbled quietly, internally kicking himself for being so shy.
Noire squealed happily at his response before trying to compose herself, though one look at her body was all the evidence needed that she was over the moon at his response.
"I-Im so happy~! I knew my favorite boots wouldn't let me down!" She giggled before turning to Katakuri fully.
"You know... I don't have to bake up a sweet to give you my secret ingredient... I-I can give it to you now." She blushed, going to hold her cheeks.
Katakuri's eyes widened and he was ashamed to say that he panicked.
"What's that?" He called as he turned his head towards the loud kitchen, "You need my help? Alright."
No one truly needed his help.
"I'm sorry, Miss Noire, but I'm needed in the kitchen. Have a nice day." He said quickly before rushing back into the kitchen.
Noire quickly grew bummed at that reaction, twiddling her thumbs.
"O-oh, okay..."
She then hung her head and left the bakery. Well, at least she was getting somewhere!
'...A-and don't forget that you're playing the game of averages! He might be a good guy, or he might not be! Don't put your whole stake in him!' She reminded herself with a sigh.
*Meanwhile*
*With Ace & (Y/n)*
It was easy enough for Ace to navigate his way back to (Y/n)'s house, though it did admittedly take a little longer than he would have liked to remember exactly where it was.
Ace reached the front door and struggled not to drop the (h/c)-haired woman in his arms as he reached for the doorknob. He should have seen it coming, but the door was locked.
"You've got to be kidding me..." He grumbled under his breath.
How would he be able to get in without breaking the door down?
'I need the key, but where would--'
Ace's gaze fixated on (Y/n) and he gulped as his cheeks flushed red. (Y/n) would have to have her house key on her... somewhere...
"Dammit..." Ace growled as he sat on the stoop and balanced the girl on his lap while his hands quickly fumbled around her clothes in an effort to find the key he needed.
He all but jumped for joy when he finally found the elusive piece of metal. He reached over to the door and unlocked it before getting up and carrying (Y/n) into the house.
Ace closed the door behind him and went up the stairs, guessing that that's where her bedroom would be. He found her room easily enough and carefully laid her down on the bed.
He removed her footwear just so he bed wouldn't get unnecessarily dirty and he was going to leave but... those bruises on her neck... They looked pretty bad already...
Ace sighed, "... The things I'm doing for this human..."
He went to find the bathroom and rummaged around the medicine cabinet until he found a small tube of anti-bruising cream. He returned to (Y/n) and went to work carefully, rubbing the cream into the bruised skin of her neck gently, hoping that it would take away some of the pain they would cause her.
"There, that should do it." Ace said as he closed the lid of the tube and placed it on her nightstand, "You owe me for this. Big time."
He was about to turn as he figured that his work here was done, but he was suddenly hit by a wave of drowsiness.
'Oh, crap... not... now...' Was all he could think before he fell face first onto the bed, practically on top of the unconscious (Y/n), as he began to loudly snore away.
Quite a bit of time passed and Ace was still asleep. While he snoozed, his body decided to act all on its own. He scooched closer to (Y/n) and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her body to his own. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and nuzzled her affectionately.
It was at this time that Noire finally returned home...
"Ugh... he was just shy, Noire, just forget about it already!" She tried convincing herself before starting to look around the house.
"Hey, (Y/n), are you back yet from your navigation trek?" She questioned aloud, only to get no response.
"I guess not..." She sighed, heading upstairs to the bedroom to change.
The pencil skirt was getting a bit too tight on her for comfort and she was yearning to change into sweatpants.
When she entered the room, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw.
"What in the hell...?" She questioned, bug-eyed as she quickly fished out her mace.
She approached the two, horrified and angry as she roughly shook Ace awake.
Ace woke up with a start, sitting up halfway and leaning on his elbow as he lifted a hand to rub his sleepy eyes.
"Wha...? What's going on? Dinner time already?" He asked before yawning and looking around, still feeling drowsy.
"It'd be time to get some pepper spray on your freckled face if you don't immediately explain what you are doing sleeping with my friend who has bruises on her neck." Noire hissed as she targeted the mace right between his face.
"(Y/n) promised me she would be careful around you no good pretty boys, so this must be all your doing! You better explain yourself well or you might not even make it out of here alive." She hissed, venom laced in her voice as she glared certain death at him.
Ace was still dazed for a moment until everything finally sunk in; the thugs, saving (Y/n), taking her home, treating her bruises, falling asleep, and now her friend being mad at him and... accusing him of doing this?!
'Okay, I've had enough of this! I've been blamed for everything today!' He growled internally as he sat up.
"Look, I didn't hurt her--those thugs in the alley did. If I hadn't shown up and scared them off, she would've gotten a lot worse than a few bruises to her neck." Ace explained, "She passed out from being choked out and I carried her back here. I even treated her bruises. I was about to leave and I accidentally fell asleep."
Noire wanted more than anything to just spray the can of mace at him since she personally didn't believe anything that he was saying. However...
She did make a promise to (Y/n)... if she were to mace him, even if he had ill intentions with (Y/n), she'd be breaking her promise.
She instead went to take a deep sigh.
"If that's the case... get off of her unconscious body right now." She ordered, still pointing the mace at him.
"If (Y/n) agrees that what you're saying is the truth, then you will have my thanks for helping her... if not... I'd be afraid if I were you..." She scowled, casting a worried look at her best friend.
(Y/n) was still peacefully sleeping as Ace got up.
"Yeah, falling asleep on her wasn't really my choice." Ace remarked as he stood.
"Don't you and your brothers get it twisted; I still am highly suspicious of your true intentions with getting close to (Y/n). Not even Mr. Rogers would be this cordial with us, so you better not be planning some cruel game with (Y/n) or I swear that I will personally kill you three with my cold dead hands or die trying." She warned, still pointing the mace at him as she slowly approached (Y/n).
Ace scowled, "Don't say that name in my presence--ever! I don't have any bad intentions. If I did, I would have done something by now. I fell asleep because I have narcolepsy. And good luck trying to kill me--there are a lot of other people who want me dead, so just take a number and get in line if you really want to."
Noire's face quickly switched to that of confusion at what he first said, catching her off guard, as she lowered her mace.
"Y-You have a problem with me mentioning The Fred Rogers...?" She was too confounded to address anything else he just said, now just looking at him in wonder.
"I don't know who you're talking about, but I do have a problem with the name "Roger"." Ace said.
"Oh, is that so?... I'm sorry..." She then snapped out of it, before hissing at herself.
"O-oh, why do I care what bothers you?! You have suspicious written all over your face!" She growled out before raising her can of mace again.
"I really don't care if you think I'm suspicious or not. I've already been having a bad day and I don't need you adding to it." Ace said as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"Says the stranger in my house." Noire rolled her eyes.
"I'm not a stranger. And I just saved your best friend's life and brought her home instead of leaving her unconscious in a dark alley. A little gratitude would be nice to hear."
Noire blinked at that, before going to become a stuttering incoherent mess.
"...T-that's if your story holds up!" She pointed out, "(Y/n) is still asleep and we still need her testimony!"
Almost seconds after that, (Y/n) groaned softly and began to stir from her sleep. Her (e/c) eyes fluttered before opening and slowly taking in the room.
"Wha...? Where am I? What happened?" She muttered, shifting her body and wincing as she brought a hand up to her neck.
Noire perked up at hearing her voice, "Oh sweet muffins, (Y/n)! Are you alright?! Who did this to you?!"
"Who did...?" She trailed off as she slowly began to remember what happened prior to her falling unconscious.
Then her gaze locked on Ace's form and it all came flooding back to her.
"Ace!" She called out loudly, making the man jump a little.
"I KNEW IT!" Noire growled before darting at Ace, about to push the nozzle to spray him.
Noire was already beaten to the man as (Y/n) jumped up off the bed too. But instead, she ran over and tackled the freckled man into a hug.
"You saved me! Thank you so much!" She cried out, catching Ace off-guard and nearly making him fall over as he was leaning away to dodge whatever attack Noire was going to use on him.
"...W-what? S-so he was actually telling the truth...?" She gasped, utterly baffled.
Ace gave her a smug look, "Told ya so."
Noire's entire face went beet red in embarrassment, before she kicked the floor in frustration. Oh, the things she wanted to say to him...
But the promise...
"...If it wasn't for (Y/n), I wouldn't even be saying this to you..." She muttered, still looking at him in disdain.
"But, t-thanks..." She coughed out, still not liking the guy one bit, as evident by her glare.
"Noire! He was amazing!" (Y/n) gushed excitedly before rushing to her friend to shake her shoulders, "Ace did something that set that one thug's shirt on fire, making him drop me, and then he jumped down from the roof; Just like Batman!"
Ace couldn't catch half of what she said because of how fast she was speaking, but his cheeks began to flush red anyway as he knew he was being praised.
Noire had a few objections she yearned to voice, but that promise was holding her back. She still didn't like Ace, but yet (Y/n) told her to at least try...
But how could she...?
"Y-yeah, yeah, mmhm. All I know is that I want to change out of this uncomfy skirt." She scratched her head, before looking at Ace.
"Which means that you need to get out of our room."
"Yeah, no worries. I'll just go home. Sabo and Luffy will need my help fixing the house." Ace shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck as he started leaving the room.
"Wait!" (Y/n) called after him, "We can't just let you leave without paying you back for what you did! There's gotta be something we can do for you, right Noire?!"
All Noire really wanted was for him to leave their house, and never come back. However, as much as her pride absolutely hated it... he did help her best friend out...
"...Right, like perhaps some dinner." She smiled crookedly.
Ace froze as he neared the door and slowly turned his head, "Did you say... dinner?"
"That's a great idea! If it's okay with you, Ace, we could make dinner for you before you head back home."
A loud rumbling came from Ace's stomach as it growled, causing Ace to blush a little.
"Well... I guess I could stay over for dinner... It would be rude not to accept it." He reasoned to himself as he nodded.
"Great. I'll go wash up while Noire changes and then we'll be downstairs to start dinner!" The (h/c)-haired girl chirped.
"Okay." Came Ace's quick, and quite bashful, response as he left the room and could be heard jogging down the stairs.
(Y/n) turned to Noire, "That was very nice of you to offer. Thank you for trying to be nice."
Noire smiled softly before nodding.
"Yeah.. and trust me, it's not easy, but I've made a promise to you." She reminded her, going to get out some sweatpants.
(Y/n) went to the bathroom to wash her face and clean off any remaining dirt or grime from herself. Looking at the bruises on her neck, she winced. They were already looking horrendous. She would have to remember to start putting makeup on to conceal them until they heal. She would have to ask to borrow some makeup from Noire since she didn't normally wear any.
She finished cleaning up and left the bathroom to head to the kitchen. (Y/n) could already hear Noire yelling at Ace as she walked down the stairs.
"J-just stay put over there, okay?! Don't enter the kitchen! I am going to start my prep and I don't want your grubby little hands ruining anything!" She scolded him as she was in the middle of taking out some raw chicken.
"I'm just watching. It's not like I have anything else to do, and besides that I'm hungry."
Noire then turned her head towards him to give him a challenging look.
"Is that so? Then, let me just quickly whip up a little appetizer for you, hm? I promise after tonight you won't be hungry." She told him while continuing to get out a bunch of other ingredients.
"Ha! That's quite the claim. I can eat a lot." Ace replied.
(Y/n) passed through the living room and spotted Ace leaning against the entryway to the kitchen, arms and legs crossed as he watched Noire work.
"Is that right?... Hmph, well, my promise still remains." She smirked at him as she started to chop up some garlic.
Ace smirked, "We'll see about that..."
"Don't tease her too much, Ace, or you might just trigger her competitive side." (Y/n) commented as she passed him and pulled out her apron and headscarf.
"I'm just saying that it takes a lot of food for me to feel full and there aren't that many people who have been able to satisfy my hunger." He said, holding his hands up.
Noire's smirk grew at his words.
"Well, get ready to lose that great physique of yours because I am going to cook like crazy!" She announced, rushing to get some pots and pans and turn on both the stove and the oven.
(Y/n) sweatdropped as she went to the fridge and also pulled out a whole ham. She saw how much Sabo ate yesterday and she was sure that he could've eaten more. If what Ace was saying was any indication, they had similar appetites and she knew that she would likely need to cook everything they had.
"Good luck with that. I mean it--you'll need all the luck you can get." He egged her on.
"Well, I don't need it." Noire hissed at him with a glare, "You're going to eat, and you're going to love it, or I will personally kiss your shoes!"
"Oh? Is that a bet I hear~?"
(Y/n) snapped her head to Noire and desperately tried to motion for her to back out because there was no way they had enough food for a challenge like this!
"Yes, it is! We'll see about your appetite, but I guarantee 100% that you're going to love my cooking, or I will kiss your stinky shoes." She growled.
It was too late to stop it now. (Y/n) sighed as she started to season the ham.
"You're on then. If I'm not completely stuffed by the time dinner's over, you kiss the soles of my sandals."
Noire pointed a finger at him sharply, "Hey, I only made that promise if you're not 100% satisfied with my cooking! Your appetite is a whole different matter! Don't think that just because you got freckles and a pearly smile, that I'll allow you to twist my words!"
"Fine, fine, whatever you say." Ace shrugged.
"Seriously, Noire... I don't think we have enough food..." (Y/n) muttered.
"If that's the case, then it'll end in a tie. I can cook for days." She told (Y/n) while now chopping some jalapenos, and in a few minutes promptly presented him with an appetizer.
"Here, pretty boy." She mumbled before dashing back to the kitchen.
Ace gladly took the plate, licking his lips as he sat at the kitchen table.
"That won't last a minute..." (Y/n) said as she started to peel the potatoes.
"That's why it's called an appetizer." Noire explained as she proceeded to cook multiple dishes at the same time.
She pouted at the raven-haired woman.
"I know what appetizers are, Noire." She said, sticking her tongue out as she continued to peel as fast as she could.
Noire giggled a bit as she was constantly now darting back and forth to cook and hand out food to Ace.
Ace was able to thoroughly clean off every single plate that was handed to him within seconds. Once again, (Y/n) was amazed by someone's ability to eat so much so quickly. She had to wonder if Sabo and Ace were professional eaters or something like that.
The (h/c)-haired woman tried to ignore it as she continued to help Noire cook, running around the smaller kitchen just like the raven-haired woman was.
In the meantime, Ace spent his time between eating each dish and watching the human women cook. Mostly, though, his gaze was drawn to the (h/c)-haired woman. The sound of her humming to herself as she cooked was strangely calming. He wouldn't lie, she was cute. He also admired the way her hips slightly swayed back and forth as she hummed those soft tunes--
'Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop that, Ace! Get your mind out of the gutter and away from it!' He scolded himself as he shook his head to rid himself of the less-than-appropriate thoughts.
"Are you okay over there, Ace?"
Ace snapped his gaze back to (Y/n) and felt some heat rising to his cheeks as he quickly looked away.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
"Okay. The ham will be done in just a minute, so hang in there~."
Ace slowly nodded, refusing to look back in her general direction.
Now he knew exactly what Sabo was talking about. Something about this (h/c)-haired human brought out a side of him he was never aware of and for whatever reason he couldn't help but be drawn to her. Was it just because of her pure soul? Or was it something else?
Whatever it was he definitely didn't like it, no matter how much his heart was screaming otherwise.
In contrast to her friend, Noire's movements were much more stiffer and calculated. She was cooking more like a machine than a human. Did she have experience working in a kitchen, perhaps...?
"I bet you're just loving this, aren't you, pretty boy?" Noire questioned while handing him some lamb shanks, before dashing back to the kitchen.
"You bet! I get to eat good food for free and not have to share it with my brothers or fight with them for any of it." He replied as he immediately took a giant bite of the meat.
"You fight over food with Sabo and Luffy?" (Y/n) asked.
"All the time. Basically during every meal, but it's almost always Luffy's fault because he always tries to take everyone else's food right off their plate. It gets annoying." He answered with a nod.
"Hmph, such poor manners..." Noire commented, before going to hand him another plate of food. "By the way, I am confident I won that bet with the shoes." She smirked proudly.
"Just because I'm enjoying the food, that doesn't mean I have to kiss your shoes." He smirked as he devoured the rest of the lamb, "And speaking of manners, we all have bad table manners. Especially when were all eating at the same table."
"Heh, it shows." She remarked, as she started to cook up some salmon.
"Don't be rude, Noire." (Y/n) hissed to her friend.
"Nah, it's fine. All three of us know it's true so we don't try to argue against it." Ace waved off the comment as he completely ate the next plate of food.
Noire blinked in shock at his agreement, before mumbling incoherently under her breath, as she then handed him the salmon.
"It's just that Sabo, Luffy, and me... We all grew up needing to eat that way, so it's just natural for us now."
Noire grew more surprised, "...What do you mean by needing to eat that way...?"
Ace blinked before he swallowed the giant mouthful he had and licked his lips.
"We grew up together in the same house and it was kind of a... survival of the fittest kind of environment. We usually had to go out and hunt food for ourselves and when we sat down at the dinner table we had to eat as much as we could as fast as we could before all the adults did or we would go to bed hungry." He explained.
(Y/n) was surprised by this new information. She couldn't imagine being so financially challenged that she would need to actually forage and hunt for food. And even then, to have to share that food with a lot of other people who would be more than willing to eat it all themselves and leave you with nothing?
She honestly felt really bad for Ace and his brothers and how bad their childhoods must have been.
Noire was just as shocked by this information, her body relaxing for a moment before going stiff again as she refocused herself.
"O-oh, uh... huh... hm..." She hummed, simply shaking her head and continuing to bring out plate after plate of food to him.
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
Well, it was inevitable that they would eventually run out of dishes to make for Ace. They had just barely even managed to save some for themselves.
(Y/n) took off her apron and headscarf, leaning back against the counter panting softly.
"That's it... No more food..." She huffed, exhausted.
"Well, then it's a tie... for now..." Noire folded her arms, glancing at Ace.
"You haven't won just yet! I could keep cooking!" She stubbornly claimed.
Ace sighed, smiling as he leaned back in his chair with a toothpick between his lips.
"Really? There's more? I could go for seconds~." He drawled out with a smirk, obviously challenging Noire further.
"Yeah, but next time you're paying for all the groceries." She smirked back, a hand on her hip.
"I am determined to defeat you, pretty boy!"
(Y/n) went to the other side of the counter and got a plate of cookies she made the other day.
"Would you like some dessert, Ace? I made some cookies yesterday, if you'd like them." She offered as Ace sat his chair back down with eyes sparkling with excitement.
"I could go for some dessert."He said, licking his lips as (Y/n) presented the plate of cookies to him.
"Would you like some milk to go with them?" She asked.
"Sure!"
The (h/c)-haired girl hummed happily as Ace started munching on the plate of cookies.
(Y/n) returned with a bottle of milk and placed it next to Ace who grinned at her.
"Thank you--"
*THUNK*
(Y/n) jumped back in shock as Ace suddenly face-planted into the plate of cookies.
"Um... Ace...? Are... are you okay?" (Y/n) asked, starting to get concerned about the freckled man's unmoving body.
She poked his shoulder and even shook him a little but got no response.
"Oh my god! N-Noire! Did we kill him?!" She shouted, starting to panic.
Noire rose her brows in surprise, before shaking her head.
"I don't think so... I think he just fell into a food coma, which isn't an actual coma, by the way." She blinked, going to check his vitals.
A loud snore abruptly echoed throughout the room, Ace's body shifting slightly.
"... I don't think he's in a food coma. I think he's just sleeping..." (Y/n) pointed out as Ace snored once again.
"Which proves he fell into one! If it's not a food coma, then it could be..." She then sighed.
"...That narcolepsy he mentioned..."
(Y/n) turned to Noire with a raised brow, "Narcolepsy? You mean that condition where a person just randomly falls asleep with no warning whether they're tired or not?"
Noire rose her hands up.
"Hey, I'm no doctor, but when I came home he was asleep alongside you. He claimed it happened randomly." She shook her head before pinching the bridge of her nose.
(Y/n) looked at the darkened windows and frowned.
"We can't just leave him sleeping at the table. But we can't let him go home alone either... Maybe we can let him..." She started to suggest.
Noire nodded slowly.
"...Yeah, we can let him stay the night..." She muttered, not liking it at all, but she wasn't about to just kick him out while he was knocked out either.
She smiled at Noire, "Aw, Noire, you really are giving them a chance~!"
Noire bit her lip.
"Hey, a promise is a promise. Maybe when it comes to these three stooges, I might be wrong. After all, this is no ordinary island, so just maybe there's a slim chance that they haven't been poisoned with the same mindset as the other pretty boys from the outside world." She tried to rationalize before going to clean up her pots and pans, carefully stacking them in the drying rack next to the sink.
While Noire worked on the rest of the dishes, (Y/n) attempted to drag Ace from his chair and into the living room. Of course, he was much heavier than she expected and did not have the best upper body strength.
"Why did I expect this to go differently? He literally just ate everything in our refrigerator." She grunted as she used all of her strength to drag the freckled man across the floor to the couch.
It took everything she had to position him comfortable on the couch before slumping to the floor, panting heavily.
"Noire...! Remind me to never try doing that alone again...!" She called breathlessly.
"Got you." She called back, finishing up her cleaning and heading over to the two of them.
"If you needed help (Y/n), you should have asked me. That guy looks like he weighs more than a buck by muscle mass alone." She pointed out.
"If I had your help, you wouldn't be at all tempted to "accidentally" drop him?" (Y/n) asked with a raised brow.
Noire chuckled a bit.
"Okay, you got me. But it would've been funny!" She snickered, letting out a cough.
"Are you okay? You're not getting sick, are you?" (Y/n) asked, hearing her cough.
"N-no, no, my throat is just more dryer than the Sahara desert. I need some water." She told her before going to fish through the cupboards for an empty cup.
"Do you want some? Does he?" She smirked, pouring herself a cold drink.
(Y/n) looked back at the snoring Ace before she responded, "I don't think Ace is with us at the moment. But I'll just drink the bottle of milk that I got for him."
Frowning at her for not getting the joke, she went to simply drink a cup of water before glancing over at the sleeping male.
She would never admit it, not even to (Y/n), but... he was cute. Like really cute.
'Stupid pretty boy...' She thought before serving herself some more water.
(Y/n) stood and stretched before returning to the kitchen to help Noire with the dishes and have her own dinner.
However, she couldn't help but look back at Ace's sleeping form on the couch.
'He looks so peaceful when he's sleeping like that. Cute~.' She internally gushed as she let out a giggle.
"What are you giggling about?" Noire questioned as she went to serve herself a plate.
'I bet she is over the moon over having that guy stay over...'
"I just think Ace is super cute when he sleeps, that's all." She answered honestly with a smile.
"Yeah..." She mumbled out without thinking, absentmindedly grabbing a spoon.
"Oho~? What's this~?" (Y/n) slowly slid over to Noire and started to gently poke her cheek, a sly smile on her face.
"Are you admitting that you're attracted to Ace~? Huh~?"
Noire's eyes went wide in shock at realizing she said her thoughts aloud.
"NO!" She answered a bit too quickly before growling at herself, wanting to kick herself for not being more careful.
"Really~? Interesting story~..." (Y/n) hummed, her smile widening as she went back to washing dishes.
"NO, (Y/n)!... I said... NO!" She repeated, cursing herself.
"If that's what helps you sleep at night." She giggled in response.
"N-no, (Y/n), my tongue just slipped! I'd rather willingly get a shot from a mad scientist than find that pretty boy attractive!"
Noire protested several more times and each time (Y/n) continued to tease her. Soon enough the dishes were done, they had eaten their dinner, and were now preparing to turn in for the night.
(Y/n) walked back into her shared room with Noire, (h/l) hair still damp from the bath she just took.
"Noire, I'll be back up in a minute. I'm going to go give Ace a blanket so he won't get cold tonight." She informed as she dug a fluffy blanket from her closet.
"Alright." She nodded, as she went to change into her pajamas. She just had more than she could stand with the freckled man.
(Y/n) quietly stepped from the room and tiptoed down the stairs, approaching the living room silently so she didn't disturb Ace's sleep.
Ace was still on the couch where she left him, softly snoring as he lay sprawled out on the cushions.
The (h/c)-haired girl suppressed a giggle as she unfolded the blanket and carefully draped it over the man.
After making sure he was tucked in she turned to leave but was stopped when she felt a warm hand grab her wrist.
Before she had time to register what was happening, she found herself pinned between the back of the couch and Ace's muscular body.
(Y/n) squeaked, feeling her face burn as Ace had his body pressed against hers with his arms now wrapping around her waist.
She would have questioned what he was trying to do if not for the fact that Ace was still fast asleep.
(Y/n) tried to pull Ace's arms from her and free herself, but the freckled man just let out a growl and tightened his hold as he went to nuzzle the crook of her bruised neck.
At first she winced at the contact with the bruises, but as the heat radiating from Ace's body began to sink into her own it began to feel a lot better. She gave up her struggling and found herself slowly nodding off to sleep.
'Oh, well... There's nothing I can do about this without actually fighting Ace... I'll just go with it.' She thought as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
The last thing she could register before falling asleep was the sensation of something slowly coiling around her thigh and down her leg, gently squeezing it in a way that made her feel safe from any piercing gaze that might be watching her tonight.