act two

▬╔═══════════════╗assuming things.╚═══════════════╝▬

DOMINATEDACE X READERONE PIECE FANFICTION - AU

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“Why the hell would I dope?” Eyes wide as saucers, Ace was bewildered with your question, wondering where you got the idea from. “You’ve been acting weird since earlier. Are you sure you’re not high?” You raised your eyebrows, waiting for Ace to respond. Flicking your forehead, Ace firmly answered "no," telling you that he was just feeling a bit nice today since he'd have a party later until tomorrow. Accepting his explanation, you let him take your duffel, your hands grazing in the process, making your heart skip a beat. Finally, at the parking lot, Ace opened the car doors with a beep, allowing you to enter. Carefully closing the door, you look around the interior of the vehicle as you place your seatbelt on. An impressed hum left your lips as you noticed how clean it was, the leather seats shining as ever. You also didn’t miss the strong scent of Ace’s cologne in the car, along with a familiar whiff of white musk. “Why does the car smell like my body spray?” You couldn’t help but be confused. As far as you were concerned, this was the first time you entered his sedan, thus your scent shouldn’t have spread around the car that fast, especially when the aircon wasn’t on yet. Entering the driver’s seat, Ace immediately saw your confused expression. He asked what was wrong and was even kind enough to adjust the seat for you to feel comfortable, thinking that it may be the reason for your reaction. When he noticed that your face still sported the same look, he repeated the question. “Hey, you alright?” “Nothing, I just remembered something I should’ve told Nami.” Making up an excuse, you finally answered Ace. A soft ‘oh’ escaped his lips as he revved the car, driving to your destination. Silence consumed the both of you the whole ride, with only the stereo filling your ears. You were staring out the window, elbows propped on the handle as you placed your chin on your palm. While you were busy watching the buildings, Ace took subtle peeks at you while driving, a worried frown slowly etching on his face. “You sure you’re okay?” Ace asked, having enough of the quietness between you two. As far as he was concerned, you weren’t one of those who gets easily dizzy on car rides. Usually, when you’re with him during road trips with his brothers, you are the first to blast the music on, singing at the top of your lungs whatever was being played by the DJ. “Yep, just enjoying the view.” You lied, hiding your knitted brows as the scent kept getting stronger due to the air being blasted by the ac. “Just curious, did you drive someone before me?” You asked all of a sudden, curiosity gnawing at you like a bitch. “I took Luffy to uni yesterday. Why?” Ace hummed, taking a turn as the coffee shop’s smiley face logo started growing larger as you finally reached your destination. “Does Luffy have the same cologne as me?” A loud squeak immediately escaped your lips when Ace suddenly stepped on the break, making you jerk towards the front. You mentally thanked the seatbelt you were wearing for stopping your face from being smacked on the dash board. You were about to shout at Ace for doing something stupid when you saw how red his face was, enough that it reached his neck and ears as he tried his best to hide it by leaning on the steering wheel. It didn’t do anything good, though. As soon as his forehead made contact with it, his car emitted a loud honk, making both of you jump the second time. “Whoa! Ace, calm your horses. What is wrong with you?” You screeched, eyes wide as you panicked even more when you realized the two of you were causing traffic now. Flinching from the loud honking behind you, Ace finally stepped on the gas, making his way towards the cafe’s parking lot. When you two were finally off the road, Ace was finally calm. His red hue turning back to his usual tan. Raking through his locks, Ace cleared his throat as he stared out of the window. “Yes.” He blurted it out all of a sudden, earning a confused look from you. “Luffy wears the same cologne.” He pushed the words through gritted teeth, sighing after finishing his sentence. “But it’s mostly for women.” You deadpanned, earning another flinch from the raven. “I don’t know, maybe he liked the scent.” Ace reasoned, trying his best to act as normal as possible. Finding his explanation a bit reasonable, especially when you were talking about Luffy, you finally nodded your head, dropping the topic off. After a couple more seconds of silence, you finally thanked Ace for the ride, excusing yourself as you opened the door. Before you could even leave your seat, you suddenly felt Ace’s calloused hand on your shoulder, making you pause. Looking at your best friend, you watched as he bit his lips, hesitation evident in his eyes before finally speaking. "Dress code is formal at the party later, okay?” He told you with a smile, earning a confused nod from you. You only nodded, surprised. This was the first time the party actually had a theme, but you didn't question it, thinking it was Whitebeard's idea. Taking a mental note, you remind yourself to find something decent in your closet once you get home. “Okay.” It was all you said, and Ace immediately broke into a grin, tapping your shoulder as if telling you you were finally free to go. “Don’t be late!” He called one last time, throwing your duffel bag out the window before driving off. Entering the cafe, you were immediately greeted by a group of women, smirking at you teasingly. Rolling your eyes at them, you took a seat beside Vivi and Hiyori, the latter hugging you in greeting. Before you could even excuse yourself to buy something, Nami pushed a cup of your favourite drink, a smug smile on her face. “I bought one for you, and, of course, that’s not free.” Shaking your head, you were about to take your wallet out of your bag when she spoke again, making you stop. “And no, I don’t want money this time. I want stories. " With a total of six pairs of eyes focused on you, you raised your arms as if you were surrendering, preparing yourself for a long talk. You were twenty when you realized you had feelings for Ace. It wasn’t the brotherly love that you always felt for his siblings, but rather something special. You liked Ace as a man. You really didn’t know how it started. It was just one day when you suddenly saw him in a new light and until now, you still do. Of course, you were well aware of his girlfriends over the years, and vice versa. You have dated others before, but they usually don't last long because they get easily intimidated by you and your strength. But that wasn’t the case for Ace; for the past nine years you had known him, he only had three girlfriends, and all of them lasted for a year or more. If you remember correctly, his last relationship was with a policewoman, and they broke up two years ago. Even though both of you have been single for years now, you didn’t do anything with your feelings. You just kept everything low and acted normal. You were just too sure that Ace only sees you as his sibling, nothing more, nothing less. “So he had the same set of clothes as yours.” “It was a coincidence.” You cut Nami off, but she ignored you. “—He offered you a ride.” “He said he was just being kind.” You rolled your eyes, making Nami do the same to you. You also didn’t miss Robin chuckling in the corner as she explained that when it came to his sedan, Ace was never kind. “— AND his car smells like you. Doesn’t that ring a bell?” The orange-head reached for your hands on the table, shaking them aggressively in an excited manner. “No, it didn’t smell like me. It was just a whiff, and he said it was just Luffy's. " Hearing his boyfriend’s name, Nami’s eyes suddenly turned cold, letting go of your hand. “Luffy doesn’t wear cologne, dumbass. And if he did smell like he was wearing one, it should be my perfume. " A tired sigh escaped your lips, having enough of the false hope she was putting on you. "He's just trying to get away with it. Maybe he's just shy. " Robin reasoned, stirring the paper straw of her lemonade. “I can ask Sabo for you. You know how close those two are.” Koala suddenly spoke, a kind smile on her lips as she looked at you. Before you could even politely decline Koala’s offer to talk to her boyfriend, your table suddenly went silent when you heard something ringing. Turning towards the noise, a smug look was etched on Nami’s face as she waved her phone. Shining brightly against your faces was the I.D. photo of Luffy. Below his name was the word "ringing..." You were about to snatch the phone away from Nami when the boy suddenly picked up the call, a small ‘yes!’ escaping the orange-head’s lips as she greeted him with a good day. “Hi, Nami~ I’m at school right noooowwww” the boy dragged his words, completely drained from studying. “Luffy, did Ace send you to school yesterday?” Nami immediately went straight to the point, not wasting time. “Huh? Oh, yeah! He punched me in the face for playing with the seatbelts. "Luffy laughed, finding his story amusing. “Did the car smell familiar to you?” Nami eyed her phone in a sceptical manner, acting as if Luffy could see her. “Yeah! Shishishishi~ I remember that Ace hit me because of that too!” Now you are intrigued.

Leaning on the table, you tried your best to get closer to the mobile that was on loudspeaker, trying to hear everything clearly. Luffy continued his short story, narrating that when he mentioned that Ace's car smelled like you, he got punched suddenly in his side, his freckled brother blushing soon after. “that's what I told him then he just shouted at me to shut up!” He laughed, and before you knew it, Nami gave her ‘I love you’ and ‘Goodbye’ to the boy, turning off the call. Everyone was looking at you now, smirking. You tried to continue acting tough, dismissing the idea that Ace may like you. But it was no use now as they were all confident that the raven had the hots for you but was just too scared to confess. After wasting a total of two hours talking about Ace and his — what the girls assume — hidden feelings for you, your phone suddenly rang, earning everyone's attention. With your brow shooting upwards, you were surprised to see Benn Beckman's caller I.D. Answering the call, you immediately rose from your seat, eyes wide as you grabbed all your stuff, worried faces staring at you as beads of sweat started forming on your forehead. "Hey, what happened?" Nami asked as your phone call with your father's best pal finally ended. "It's Shanks." You sighed, face palming as you opened your phone once more to book yourself a cab. "What about him? I thought he was with Mihawk. " Perona spoke, her eyes glued to you worriedly as she tapped on her phone without looking. "Benn said they're not together anymore, Shanks is currently at the precinct. Arrested."