PELAGIC - Ace x Reader x Law

CHAPTER SEVEN: Call Back

***Two Months Later***

"Enemies starboard! Ready the cannons!" Ace stood proudly on the roof, poorly carved wooden sword pointed upwards as we scattered, grins wide and carefree.

"Aye aye, Capt'n Forehead, Sir!" I laughed, skipping past him and very nearly getting clocked in the head with his faux weapon. This was what I loved. Playing together with the boys, being included, not a single care in the world.

"When's it my turn to be captain?!" Luffy whined in complaint, hopping up to sit upon the wooden railing.
"When you can beat me in a fight." Ace replied, folding his arms over his chest.
"That's no fair! Sabo, (Y/N), tell him that's not fair!"

Sabo just shrugged, seeming to agree with the freckled boy, but I opposed, moving to join the youngest and reaching out to ruffle his hair.
"Maybe next time, yeah? It's not fair that he plays captain every time. He isn't even that good at it."

When I turned to give Ace a smirk, I caught sight of Sabo slumping his shoulders, stepping to the side and out of the way.
"Like you could do any better, Flatso." Surprisingly calm in tone, Ace indirectly accepted my challenge, and I patted Luffy's leg before dropping back down onto the wooden floor, stretching my arms above my head.

"Thems fighting words, Pepper face!" I wasn't entirely mad. Arguing with Ace had become a major part of my life, and I wouldn't have traded it for anything.
"Try not to break anything this time, I'm begging you..." Sabo chuckled warily, referring to the time we broke one of the support beams during a wrestling match.

"No promises!" I should have known better than to rush the boy head on, but hey, we didn't exactly have much room up in the base. Throwing his wooden sword aside, Ace threw up his hands to push me back, easily knocking the wind right out of me and succeeding.

He'd grown a lot in the past few months. Not so much visually, but his increase in strength was obvious. When I hit the floor, I wheezed, squirming wildly when he came down on top of me, hands on my wrists.
"Heh. Pinned ya." The smug look on his face almost gave me a second wind, and with a harsh jerk, I rolled us over, hoping to switch with him, but he just kept us going in a round-a-bout roll until we were back where we had started. "Pinned ya again."

One day I'll win...

Pouting, I glared up at him, but it softened a little as I stared at his cheeks. His expression faded into confusion and I smirked.
"You sprouted more freckles. Now you're even more of a pepper face." Now it was his turn to pout.
"I have no-"

Putta putta putta! Putta putta putta!

The air around us grew thick and still in an instant, and slowly we all turned to the crate in the corner. There, the baby transponder snail, neck fluffed with pink feathers, was shouting out. Somebody was calling.

"I'll get it!" Luffy attempted to bound over, but Sabo held out his arm, face serious as he exchanged a look with Ace.
"Just leave it...There's only one person who'd be calling..." He murmured, and Ace slowly sat back on his heels, pulling me up to a seated position.

Putta putta putta!

The fear that coursed through my veins was one thing, but the overwhelming urge to answer was a whole other thing entirely. When I made a move to stand, Ace's hand quickly shot out to grasp my shoulder, but there was no force to it.
"You're not seriously going to answer, are you?"

Putta putta putta!

He almost sounded disappointed in me, and I hated it, but at the same time, I felt like I had to. His hand slipped from me as I stood, and each step I took towards the snail caused my heart to skip, and it nearly halted completely when my hand touched the receiver.