series masterlist here
🫧𓇼 ೀ content & warnings:
female reader, she/her pronouns, black-coded reader, modern au (00s), alcohol consumption (reader is a clingy drunk)
🫧𓇼 ೀ author’s note:
here it is, again sorry for the late update and it being a little all over the place 😞
word count: 3.3k
As elegant as Nico Robin was, she liked to spend her time in dive bars. A woman with countless degrees in journalism, who spent her vacations doing philanthropy.
She was extremely dedicated to visiting countries that were torn apart by conflict and had their education and history almost destroyed. Her travels often included searching for gaps in history.
She stood at a grand height and wherever she went, people were automatically drawn and enthralled by her aura. Even her posture and movements had people falling in line to greet her.
You'd never willingly go to a dive bar however Robin was always like a cool older sister you would want to emulate. You and Vivi were the scaredy cats but Robin and Nami would rush head first to anything, not caring at all.
It was admirable.
Robin was being crowded by dozens of men while she stood by the pool table, whilst you and Vivi were sitting at the bar.
Nami returned from the jukebox, a scowl across her face. You figured it was her severe distaste of "dad rock" as she dubbed it.
"What's with you?" A voice called out, dragging you out of your train of thought.
Nami was in a black halter dress that fit her figure perfectly.
"What do you mean?" You questioned.
She flicked your forehead.
"Ow, Nami!" You hissed as you rubbed your head. "The fuck was that for?!"
"I get Freckles is cute and all, but that doesn't mean you ditch us for days on end." She barked, her hands on her hips.
"You are so damn clingy! I saw you at work today, you act like the world ended if I don't take a lunch break with you."
"Clearly I value this friendship more than you."
"Nami, I'm sorry..." You tittered as you draped your arms around her. "How can I make it up to you?" You said as you nuzzled the side of her face with your cheek.
"Too late." She said biting her lip to stifle her giggles but it was failing miserably as she turned her head away.
"No use Nami, she's been so weird lately." Vivi snickered.
"Whatever. Come on Vi." Nami said as she yanked Vivi off the bar stool.
"Hey! What?!-"
"I wanna dance with you!" Nami grinned.
"Nobody else is dancing...!" Vivi replied with an uneasy chuckle as she eyed the grizzled patrons.
"So?!"
And with that, the two headed off, leaving you to take the chance of the temptation of being sat at the bar with money to blow.
"One too many...one too many! WHEEEEEE-"
You fell right on your ass on the hard floor of the bar. It didn't help how sticky the floor was.
"Get ahold of yourself.." Robin scoffed as she yanked you by your arm to your feet. "I think that's it for the night, mhm?"
"Suppose so..." You mumbled as you laid your arms across the bar, and fixated on the liquid in the glass.
There was a foreign feeling blooming within your chest.
"I miss him." You said.
"Huh?" Nami said, checking her purse.
"I miss Ace.."
"Here she goes.." Vivi said as laughter overtook her body. "You do have feelings for the lab rat."
Your mind began to picture him. The last time you saw him.
"Can I see you tomorrow...?"
His hair is always tousled but he just manages to be so effortlessly sexy.
Pretty girl. My girl. Doll-face. Darling in that accent of his.
"Don't you know I'm crazy about you?" With his breath tickling the shell of your ear.
Why were your thighs pressing together at a mere sentence?
The alcohol in your system was brewing up a storm of your attraction and fondness for Ace.
Ace the lab rat. Ace the experiment. Ace the doorway from vacuous articles about panty liners to real, hard-hitting journalism.
Ace the smooth-talking advertising agent, whose job is to use that silver tongue to secure any and all kinds of deals.
Why did you think you were so special?
"Y/N..." Vivi called out as she saw your thumb hit the buttons of your cellphone. "What are you doing?" She asked with an uneasy chuckle.
"I wanna see him." You murmured.
"Huh?!"
"Let her." Robin said wryly as she reached out to stop Vivi from getting closer to snatch the phone away from you. "It's a canon event."
"Ace!" A voice called out. "I'm bloody freezing my crown jewels off here!"
"Just a second!" He responded as he pulled out the vibrating cell phone from his pocket. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion when he saw your name flash across the screen.
He remembered you telling him something about a girl's night with your colleagues but he figured that was just a conversational thing.
"Y/N? What's up?"
"Oh...I can hear you through the phone..." You hiccuped.
"Doll-face, I'm hoping I'm the first person you thought to drunk call." Ace chuckled as he ruffled his raven locks, struggling to stop the smile that was tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Who else, huh? Missin' you."
“You’re cute.” He snorted. He was still slightly irritated at your peculiar whirlwind of behaviors but it’d be a lie to say he hadn’t developed a soft spot for you.
"Look..." He let out a sigh as he pinched his nose bridge. "Where are you? Are you with your gal pals at least?"
"Course I am...I'm with Red...n Nepo Baby Vivi and Morticia Addams.." You giggled.
There was a beat of silence before Ace felt an odd pang in his chest. He missed you too, weirdly enough.
"Do you want me to pick you up, Y/N?" He asked softly, his voice nothing like you've heard it before.
You felt your stomach curdle slightly.
"I...wanna see you."
"So I'll take that as a yes. Tell Nepo Baby to text me the address of the bar, she seems to hate me the least." He chuckled.
"They don't hate you, Ace." You shot.
"Those icy glares when I come around your office say otherwise." He muttered under his breath.
"What?"
"I'll be there soon. Just hold on."
"OI!"
"Hold your damn horses, Sabo! I'm coming!" Ace barked back.
"By the time you arrived, I'd have been sleeping with the fishes!" Sabo chuckled as he bobbed in the water.
"You're a real character." Ace snorted as he stood on the pier. "But we gotta go. My girl needs me."
"You two are practically glued at the hip by now." Sabo responded as he used his upper body strength to heave himself out of the water. “Never thought I’d see the day you’d be playing house with some bird.”
“Lay off..!” Ace chucked as he leaned against the tree as Sabo began to dry up and dress himself. “It’s just something for the job.”
But at this point, he wasn’t sure he believed that anymore.
“Does she know that?” Sabo asked cautiously.
“Pfft, no.”
He may have laughed off the question but he suddenly felt a sickly feeling overtake him as he drove to pick you up.
“Ace, you alright there?” Sabo questioned. “Ever since I asked you that you look like you’re gonna puke your guts out.” He said with an uneasy laugh as he saw the way Ace’s face had paled.
“Sabo, I’m gonna ask you something and please don’t hold back on me.”
“Shoot.”
“Hypothetically speaking, if I dated a girl as a bet…would that make me a grade-A jackass?”
“I think you know the answer to that already, my friend.” Sabo responded. “Is that why you’re hurtling down the highway like we’re on the run?”
“What?! No!” Ace shot quickly.
“If you say so.”
Ace slowly parked outside the bar.
“Sabo, just don’t say anything. Alright?” He said meekly as he began to undo his seatbelt.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Good. That’s good.” He said with a sigh of relief.
Ace took a few deep breaths to recompose himself. No wonder he’d been feeling off.
How the hell was he gonna break it to you that the entirety of this was some sort of bargain for him?
Unbeknownst to Ace (who thought your antics were just part of some weird eccentricity) you were playing the game too. You weren’t exactly an angel either.
“Look, your boyfriend is here.” Robin smiled as the three women were stood around you, trying to protect you from busting your ass again.
“Acey Wacey.” Nami grinned.
“Freckles to the rescue!” Vivi sang.
“Hello to you lovely ladies too.” Ace said. “Alright, doll-face…up you get!” He slung your arm around him, your head hung lower.
Your alcohol tolerance was mortifying.
“Take her home or else!” Nami yelled, to which Ace responded with a thumbs up.
“Now who the hell said you could get behind the wheel?” Ace asked in an unimpressed tone as he saw Sabo drumming his fingers along the steering wheel.
“Says me. Sure you’re gonna have to play nurse back there.” He chortled.
“Fine.”
“Ace…” You murmured as he placed you in the backseat and did your seatbelt.
“Yeah?”
“I wanna go over to yours..” You said.
“What makes you say that?” He questioned a little bewildered.
You shrugged.
“Just wanna.”
“Red said to drop you home or she’ll have my behind.” Ace chuckled as he sat beside you.
“She doesn’t need to know.” You said with a mischievous laugh.
“She makes a convincing argument, Ace.” Sabo added.
“Keep your eyes on the road, Cabbie.” Ace shot, causing Sabo to stick his tongue out at Ace in response.
You hadn’t even bothered to ask who the blond man with Ace was. But he was handsome all the same, and it was hard to miss the accent.
The two of them helped you keep upright in the elevator since you were struggling.
“Thanks you two..” You murmured.
“Always a pleasure to help out a pretty girl.” Sabo grinned.
“Watch it.” Ace warned as he set you on the couch and began to take off your heels for you, your legs across his lap.
“Stop it, Ace…” You giggled, revelling in the attention.
“Yeah, Ace. Last thing I’d do is try and steal your missus.” Sabo grinned.
Soon enough, Ace carried you off to bed.
“I’m gonna sleep on the couch.” He said after he laid you down, tucked you within the quilts and smoothed your hair back.
“No…sleep with me.”
He shook his head with a smile.
“It’s fine, I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Okay?”
“But I don’t want you to go…” You mumbled as you held his hand.
“You know you got me wrapped around your finger, don’t you?” He chuckled. “But no.”
“Ace, please don’t go..” Your voice cracked.
“Alright, alright. Just til you fall asleep.” He sighed as he nestled beside you, wrapping his arms around your waist, his chest flush against your back.
“I like you…the most.” You said, voice low.
“I like you the most too..” He chuckled as he kissed the top of your head before you drifted off to sleep. He then got back out of the bed, shutting the door and crashed on the couch where Sabo was snoring on the air mattress.
"This'll help your hangover." Ace said.
"How'd you know?"
"My mom always had hangovers so."
Your eyes widened.
"Oh, no, no! Sweets, it's fine I promise. Nothing traumatic. Our family partied a lot. It wasn't like a problem or anything."
"...If you say so." You murmured as you began to sip from the mug.
"Y/N don't give me that look..." Ace said with a nervous chuckle as he turned your chin to meet his eyes.
"Really. They're travellers so...it was always fun."
"I didn't say nothin'!"
"It's not a sob story. I'm from an unorthodox family..." He chuckled as he rubbed the nape of his neck. "Every weekend was a celebration for God knows what. Got to the point where they were looking for booze and balloons over a certificate of participation for Sabo and Luffy's after-school crap."
"That does seems fun."
"Ah, it does. Looking back. But I was too much of a punk to enjoy it. Too busy brooding or running off with my brothers. We'd come back from the forests at dawn and she'd be throwing a sandal at us for making the floorboards creak."
“Already divulging into the family stories, huh?” Sabo cut in.
“Put a shirt on, Romeo.” Ace muttered.
“Ironic coming from you.” Sabo shot back as he slumped into the dining chair.
“I believe we haven’t been introduced properly.” He grinned.
“Oh, um. Nice to meet you..?”
“Sabo. We're brothers." Ace grinned.
"I see the resemblance with Luffy...but not Sabo." You replied. "The drastic accents aren't helping either."
"Foster siblings." Sabo corrected. “So this is the journalist girl that’s been driving you up the wall.”
You turned to Ace, unimpressed as Ace began to sweat.
“Now, now! I said other nice things!” He called out.
“Tell me more, Sabo.”
Ace dropped you home later that Saturday, but oddly enough when you called to notify Nami she had been ghost all weekend.
Monday morning, with a flash she swooped in on you.
“What the-”
"Nami!" You hissed when you felt her hand suddenly clamp around your wrist and yank you away from the others.
You made such a noise, some people in the office turned to see what the commotion was all about but it was too late, you were both out of eyesight and in the janitor's closet.
"What the hell was-" You immediately froze when you saw how visibly distressed she was.
"Red, what's the matter...?" You said, softly as you framed the sides of her face with your hands.
Knowing Nami since college, she tended to only have emotional outbursts after things bottled up for long periods if they were serious. She looked up at you, her lip quivering.
"I think I ruined things between me and Vivi...!"
"I'm sure you haven't..." You murmured as you pulled her in for a hug, and she buried her face into your shoulder as her body wracked with heavy sobs.
You rubbed her back soothingly, just allowing her to let it out.
The air was thick with the mouthwatering aroma of sizzling hamburgers and sputtering hot dogs as you and Nami sat on the benches outside the food stands.
"So lemme get this straight-" You began as the two of you snuck out of the office, looking for any greasy street food. "Ace takes me, you and the girls stay a bit longer but take a cab home...and you decide to let Vivi crash at your place."
"Uh-huh." She said, cramming the food in her mouth.
"You're both buzzed, Vivi being Vivi starts getting emotional and crying over that loser, you and your soft spot for her comforts her and you let it slip out that you've been pining after her for months?"
She nods, her cheeks full.
"And...everything is a fucking blur, Y/N!" Nami ranted, food spraying across the table. "I just know we kissed and it was getting a bit heated and she ran off, locking herself in the room. She must think I'm some pushy creep."
"Nami, stop letting your mind go there. You're not a creep and you're not pushy."
"But what the hell am I supposed to think...?" She groaned. "She can't even face me anymore."
"You're just gonna have to give her some time. It's a big adjustment going from best friends to...you know." You said soothingly. "You'll get through it."
You slipped her hand in yours, and gently ran your thumb over the hollows of her knuckles.
“Where have the both of you been?” Charlotte questioned as the two of you failed at sneaking back into the office.
“Nami wasn’t feeling well-” You began.
“Save it. Y/N, you failed to give me an update on your article. Nami, you two. I don’t know what made either of you think that I tolerate slacking off in this office but you are sorely mistaken.” Charlotte hissed.
Nami simply blinked, unscathed by her words but you felt your fists ball up.
“I think I’m going to scrap the article.” You shot.
“What?!” Charlotte squawked.
“Yeah! I…don’t think it’s working out between me and this guy. How can I shorten it, huh?”
“You absolutely will NOT scrap that article, do you understand Y/N? You scrap that article, and I will fire you and blacklist you from every single printing press, magazine, newspaper, tv station, RADIO CHANNEL. People will see your name on job applications and scurry away, burning your resume like it has the plague. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!” She screeched, so loud the entire office paused to stare at the three of you.
You felt all your senses set on fire with sheer humiliation.
And you were paralysed with fear. Because Charlotte had absolute power over the media circuit throughout the company.
“Understood?” She repeated.
“Yes, Charlotte.” You said shakily, holding yourself back from bursting into tears like a child.
She gave you and Nami one last flash of warning with her eyes and stormed off, slamming her office door shut.
“Well, that went peachy.” Nami said stiffly. Your vision began to blur as you stared at the carpet.

New day, new mindset.
As you walked through the corridors of Newgate Advertising, determined as ever to drive Ace away.
You did have some suspicions about Isuka aiding you, she even persuaded the receptionist to let you in the building despite not having an appointment, saying you were with her, and guided you to the office Ace, Marco and Izou worked in.
But you shrugged it off. You remembered her and her co-worker visiting Sleek's office and Charlotte telling them about your article.
Did she realise Ace was the guy you were trying to lose in ten days?
"Such a cute dog..." She said, her syrupy tone unable to disguise her disgust at the panting Chinese crested dog you brought.
“I know! Well, Ace is definitely a dog kinda guy.” You grinned. “Thank you again!”
You waved her off as you headed towards Ace’s office.
“Hi, baby….!” You gushed, amping up the crazy smile as you saw Ace and Marco standing around a desk, and Izou sipping coffee.
“Y/N…?” Ace questioned, eyes widening but quickly swooping you in his arms. “Doll-face, what brings you here?”
“Well, you know how much I can’t bear to be apart from you my love.” You grinned. “Say hello to our baby!”
“HUH?!” Marco cried out as Izou did a spit take.
“This is Rex..! Just like what you wanted to name your-”
Ace quickly garbled random gibberish over you to stop the other two from hearing what you were about to say.
“Uh, baby. We can’t have pets in the office. And…” Ace paused to take a look at the dog. “Is he okay?”
“Well, Rex actually has all his pet insurance paid for. But the poor baby has a slight incontinence problem-”
“OH, OH, COME ON!” Marco cried out in horror, clutching his head as the dog began to pee on the paperwork on the desk
“But I’m sure with Mommy and Daddy’s love, we’ll nurse our baby together, mhm?” You continued as you threw your arms around Ace, nuzzling the side of his face.
Ace was frozen as his mind struggled to comprehend the current events that were unfolding in front of him.
“Ace…?” You called out, shaking him to get him to look at you.
“This can’t be real. This can’t be real, I bumped my head, didn’t I?” He murmured to himself as he stared at Marco suffering with Rex and Izou grabbing gloves and a mask from the janitor’s closet to salvage the piss-soaked sheets.
“It’s real, my love! Believe it!” You grinned as you peppered his cheeks with kisses.
tag list: @softimgyu @boomboom-tanjiro2019 @payapie @katsuiji (p.s if u wanna be tagged just comment or send me an ask 😭)
author’s note: y/n back on ha bs who else groaned. honestly this kinda diverted from the movie but what can i say ☠️ if u reached this far ty again, and pls reblog 🙈🩷 also apologies for any spelling mistakes & grammatical mistakes djskdn
109 notes
·
View notes