Love. (Portgas D. Ace x Reader)

“Let's get married” A seventeen year old Ace blurted, his face burning red.
“W-what?” You stuttered, cheeks the same shade of crimson.
“I-I mean, when we get older!” The boy stammered, his dark eyes piercing the (E/C) ones across from him. Your sixteen year old heart pounded furiously. “When I become the king of pirates, will you marry me?”
“Idiot! Even if you weren't, I’d still marry you” You hugged him, feeling the warmth radiating from his body.
“Even if the blood of the devil runs through me?” Ace muttered, words like acid. You only hugged him tighter. Burying your face into his open yellow shirt. You knew he always held a grudge against his own blood.
“Oh please, the blood of the devil runs through all of us in some way” You chortled, looking up into his eyes. “It’s how you carry yourself out that's important”
Silence filled the atmosphere, and you were trapped gazing into his eyes.
“I’ll miss you” Ace whispered. You nodded in response.
“I’ll miss you too” Your eyes started watering slightly. You tried your hardest not to cry, but it wasn't going to plan.
“C’mon now, don’t cry” Ace huffed, grinning sadly while wiping your tear accumulating eyes. The action caused you to chuckle hoarsely. He was leaving next morning to fulfill his dreams in becoming the Pirate King, and you supported him every step of the way.

You set sail shortly after Ace.

-Three Years Later-

Although you had no intentions in becoming a pirate, you’ve moved into a small island located in the Grand Line. At the age of nineteen, working as a waitress at the restaurant bar in your small town. It was your regular day. The nice pirates who actually let you sail upon their ship  accepted in leaving you there. If you were able to cook for them the whole way. Not to mention the fights that they would go through, ones that helped you grow stronger. Strong enough to help deal with the rude pirate customers that hit on you.

“And never come back~” You happily chimed, walking away from the huge hole in the wall. The brute man was lying unconscious against the building across the street. All of the customers looked startled, but the regulars only howled and cheered. That guy was literally blow through the wall at the flick of your finger, you didn't even lay a touch on him.
“Nother one tried lookin’ up ya’ skirt, Miss (Y/N)?” Bruno, an avid regular snorted. You chuckled in response.
“Nothing new” You jested, sweeping up some rubble. If it wasn't for the damn owner to give you such a short outfit, holes in the walls wouldn’t be a recurring thing.

“(Y-Y/N)!” Your co-worker, Annabelle, started shaking you by the shoulders.
“What, did boss forget our pay-checks again?” You said, taking out the garbage.
“I saw their flag!” Annabelle panicked breathlessly
“Whose flag?” Your eyebrow rose.
“Whitebeard’s!”
Your mind went blank. Whitebeard. Whitebeard was going to dock your island. Annabelle jumped up and down excitedly.
“Whoa...Whitebeard Pirates?” You said, “probably here to refill their supplies or something” You brushed off the awe. Your co-worker turned shocked, looking at you like you were crazy.
“D-Do you not know who Whitebeard is?” She asked, getting a piece of large folded paper out of her pocket. She unravelled it, showing the many pictures of the Whitebeard Pirates. I guess she was some weird fangirl for them or something.
“Of course I know who they are, I was a pirate befo-” Your words got caught in your throat. While glancing at all their faces, one peculiar headshot caught your full attention. It read ‘Second Division Commander’ and a picture of the one and only, Portgas D. Ace.
“A-Ac-c-e” You didn't even hear words come out of your mouth, only noises.
“What is it (Y/N)? Did you get caught by Marco-senpai's beauty~” Annabelle flailed delightedly, hearts flying from her head. You grabbed the paper just to stare at his features a little more closely. It was no doubt Ace, his visible freckles and the smirk you knew all too well.

You heard the front entrance of the restaurant open, the loud sounds of hearty laughs, and clacking footsteps echoed throughout the restaurant. You saw Annabelle greeting all of the customers one by one. You weren't hiding, no. Not hiding behind the kitchen doors at all.
“Welcome! Nice to meet yo-ooooOOOAAAAHH” Annabelle’s shrieking voice rang through the restaurant. The sound caused you to spring through the kitchen doors, knife in hand.
“WHAT HAPPEN-” Hearts were surrounding Anna’s body as her waist was caught by a man with pineapple like hair. She fainted. You face-palmed.
“Hey, you okay?” The man was definitely confused. His question didn't even reach the unconscious girl. She was on cloud 9.
“I’m sorry mister, I’ll take her off your hands” You said, pulling your co-worker up and hauling her to the back of the restaurant.
“Would you look at that” Thatch laughed, smacking a hand on Marco’s shoulder. “Girl just fainted for you!” The whole crew busted into laughter as the first division commander yelled at everybody to ‘shut up’. Ace only laughed harder, slapping Marco hard on the back.

“They all must be really close…” You thought to yourself, a drowsy Annabelle lying beside you. You were nervous beyond belief, but someone had to tend to the customers. You fixed your posture. "Chin up, legs straight, step out" You encouraged yourself.
“Oi, pretty lady. Give me all the booze you got. Barrels please. We needa stock up for a new adventure!” Ace exclaimed towards you, raising his fist in the end. The other crew members yelled and cheered, raising their hands as well. This made you giggle, causing a short moment of reminiscence resurface in Ace’s mind, soon brushing it off. After supplying all the booze you had, most of the crew were getting a bit tipsy. You were left polishing glasses at the bar, three people seated across from you, one of them being Ace.
Wait. He doesn't remember you. You definitely knew you looked slightly different than from three years ago, puberty does crazy shit sometimes, but really? Did you have no resemblance to the childhood you? You looked Ace up and down. You could say his face looked different, more sharp, chiselled, mature. His body was also even more muscular, but you could recognise him in a heartbeat. Maybe it’s his signature cowboy hat. The red beads around his neck, those black shorts with the orange-
“Excuse me miss, is there a problem?” Ace asked, amusement written all over his features. That smirk made you want to punch him, and hug him at the same time. So you did. Your fist went flying towards his face, hitting his nose hard smack dab in the middle. His body flung into the floor creating a small creator. Damn. With the reflexes of a ninja, you jumped over the table. Ace’s mind reacted and flames started emerging from his hands until-
“Idiot…” You sobbed, tightly hugging his torso. Your face was buried into his bare chest.
A flashback of when he left Mt. Corvo played through his head.
‘Idiot! Even if you weren't, I’d still marry you’ Your young voice rang inside his mind.
Ace’s eye widened in astonishment.
“...(Y-Y/N)? Is that you?” He pushed you away to look at your face. Tears were streaming down your rosy cheeks. “Is that really you?” He repeated. You hugged his chest again, not wanting to ever let go.
You sniffled, only being able to nod as a response. The feeling of bliss travelled through your whole body. Tears of joy sprung from your eyes, as Ace hid his emotions into the crook of your neck. You could feel a dampness on your skin, making you giggle hoarsely. Ace was crying too. After a few minutes of the embrace, the whole room stared silently. You shyly hid your blush against Ace’s shoulder, poking his chest to get his attention. “...everyone's looking”
“Oh, hahAHAAHA GUYS!” Ace sprung from the floor, his hand in the air. Tears free from his eyes. A wide grin decorated his features, helping everybody relax a bit. “THIS IS (Y/N), WE GREW UP TOGETHER!”
“Hi, (Y/N)” Everyone greeted at the same time, making it sound like a helping circles. You giggle nervously, causing Ace to wrap his arm around your shoulders. “THIS IS THE GIRL I LOVE!”
Everybody broke into ridiculously loud cheers, whistles were heard from everywhere around the room. Love? Your cheeks flushed pink. Love. You were in love with this man yet again, just like you were three years ago.

After the cheers died out, the place was still bouncing with voices.
“(Y/N), This is Thatch and this is Marco. Guys, I think you know who this is” Ace hugged you closer, a wide smile plastered on his face.
Both males greeted you. You were a bit tense meeting his close friends, but then relaxed, noticing that they weren't so bad people. You've met some shitty guys in your life.
“So, how was Ace growing up-yoi? Still an ass?” Marco laughed, gaining a playful yet hard punch from Ace in the arm.
“Love, huh? That's adorable~” Thatch chimed, raising his beer glass to his lips.
Love. A faint blush spread on your cheeks as you smiled cheerfully.
“So, anything happen while I was gone?” Ace asked, definitely curious.
“Nothing really… five guys tried to propose to me” Your words left shocked faces on all three men. Thatch laughed and Marco rubbed Ace’s back, a humorous smile displayed on the phoenix's mouth. A small fire appeared on Ace’s head, but you playfully smacked it out, a cheeky smile dazzling on your lips. Snickers were heard from all four of you. “You’ll be the only one for me, Fire Fist Ace” You smiled and pinched the his cheeks, making the second division commander blush and grin. He grabbed your hand from attacking his face, and held it tightly in his own. You felt complete.
The guys were liking you quite well. Conversations go on as if they were long lost friends.
“You think pops would let her in the crew?” Ace asked the guys.
“What?” Your voice spat out all of a sudden, causing the three men to look at you. “No, I can’t. I-I’m not strong enough. Especially if joining the Whitebeard pirates”
“Bah, lies!” Annabelle shouted from the other side of the room. “She used to be a pira-” A strong gust of wind hit her face, messing up her hair. She squealed, not wanting to look imperfect in the presence of her ultimate bias.
“Damn it” You muttered under your breath.
“Used to be a pirate, huh?” Marco sounded suspicious. You only turned your head to face the floor.
“Do you have any Devil Fruit powers-yoi?” Marco asked gingerly.
“No” You replied a bit too quickly, head shooting up to respond. That made the three commanders glance at each other sceptically. You didn't want to join the Whitebeards because you thought your presence would slow Ace down. Slowing him from achieving his childhood dream. Ace was about to say something until you heard a loud laughing roar beside you. It was non-other than Bruno, the regular.
“Ya’ gotta be kiddin’ me, Miss (Y/N). There's nothin’ to hide” His obviously drunk voice floated in the air.
“Shut the fuck up, shut the fuck up, shut the fuck up” You repeated throughout your head, knowing that Bruno will tell them the truth.
“She has the power of the-”
“The Kaze Kaze no Mi” You cut Bruno off, fists clenched together and attention focused onto the floor. Three pairs of eyes stared wide as you kept your face down. “I barely use it anyways-”
“(Y/N)...that's a logia type fruit.!” Ace tilted your chin up, his eyes filled with surprise. A small smile spread on his features.
“You could become incredibly strong” Thatch noted, eyes showing a bewildered gaze.
“I'm...not strong” You said, turning your gaze into the distance.
“Since you were a pirate before, what’s was your bounty-yoi?” Marco asked, curious for your answer. You didn't reply until you saw Ace’s pleading eyes. It was torture to lie to those eyes.
“265 999 beli” You faintly whispered.
“What was that?” Thatch questioned, cupping his ear to hear you better.
“I said, 265 999 beli” You muttered unclearly.
“We can’t hear you” Marco crossed his arms, staring at you with his tired looking eyes.
“265 999 BELI!” You screamed, the whole place hearing you. After a few seconds of silence, you felt completely embarrassed. No one ever knew about your bounty, and now people will be contacting the marines knowing that you were a pirate. The village doesn't want a criminal living in their streets.
“Shit, shit, shit” You yelled at yourself mentally. That was before a loud yell filled the room.
“AWESOME!” The people around you raised their glasses, loud cheers ringing in your ears.
“(Y/N), (Y/N), (Y/N)!” The whole crew started chanting your name. Tears were threatening to spill from your eyes. You weren’t being called a monster, a criminal, or an outlaw. You were being called a pirate.

Your laugh floated around the room, smiles and voices flooding the room as well. Ace reached his hand out, his famous grin adorning his features.
“So, will you join us?” He stared into your pupils, voice low and gentle. It took a few seconds, but you made your final decision.
“Sure, why not?” You grabbed his outstretched hand, later being pulled into a tight embrace. Ace happily swing your body all around, causing everybody in the room to holler.

--Extended Ending--

Whitebeard accepted you with open arms, calling you his daughter. His only daughter to be exact. Sure, the many men on the many boats fawned over your body, you being a woman and all, but Ace would always come around and beat the crap out of them. You were going to be his future wife anyway.
“Hey, I don’t think I've told you this straight up” Ace cuddled your drowsy figure under the midnight sky.
“Oh? And what is that?” You yawned, hugging closer to Ace’s warmth radiating body.
“That I love you” His eyes gazed gently upon yours, a small smile on his mouth. You lightly pecked his lips, lingering not too long.
“I love you too, you idiot”