act four

▬╔═══════════════╗a way to start the year.╚═══════════════╝▬

DOMINATEDACE X READERONE PIECE FANFICTION - AU

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"He isn't my boyfriend, alright?" You said, through your blush, letting Shanks laugh at your expression. "Sure~" Your father hummed, tossing you his keys, which you caught easily. Twirling the hook of the key around your pointer finger, you suddenly took a double look at your father. Shanks was wearing nothing but a bathrobe, his collarbone to his chest visible as he moved around the living area, searching for the remote. "You're not going?" Raising a brow, you asked Shanks. Even though it's completely clear with the way he was dressed, you still questioned him anyway. You found it weird that he would actually pass on the opportunity to spend New Year's Eve partying with his friends. As far as you were concerned, you grew up finding Shanks at every celebration you knew. "Nope." He replied, popping the sound of 'p' as he spoke. " I want to spend some alone time." He continued, a humm soon following as he scrolled for movies available on Netflix. You were about to ask why when the doorbell suddenly rang, alerting you both. Seeing how your father suddenly froze as he gave you the side eye, you immediately went to the intercom to check who it was. As soon as you saw the strands of olive green hair, you knew the answer to your question. "Alone time with Makino, huh." You smirked, noticing the tinge of red on the tip of your father's ears as he waved you off. "Stop meddling with my life and just go to your cowboy boyfriend." It was now his turn to grin, standing up in his seat as he made his way beside you, opening the front door. Tired of correcting the man, you just let the statement hang, watching him hug his girlfriend. Greetings were shared when Makino entered your view, telling her to feel free to use anything she liked and treat the house as her own. After a few more small talks, you finally excused yourself. Starting the engine of Shanks' car, you were about to hit the road when your phone suddenly buzzed, alerting you. You read Nami's message, informing you that they were on the way to the bar where Ace planned on spending his birthday and after party for the New Year. "Good thing I messaged Nami." You whispered, tapping on your GPS before leaving. After being unreachable for hours, you decided to inform Nami that you'd be joining the party late. You wanted to tell Ace, but chose not to. You assumed that because the party was made for him, he was in the middle of the spotlight and you just didn't want to disturb him. It didn't take too long for you to arrive at the bar. Its facade of a 24/7 laundry shop really surprised you as you entered the store. You felt a bit out of place with the way you dressed, but when the cashier kindly pointed at a double-decked washing machine that had a "not working" sign, you immediately knew what they meant and gave your thanks. Opening the make-shift door, neon lights immediately greeted you, making you squint. Walking in further, your heart thumped at the same time as the bass of the DJ's beat, shaking you a bit. There were a few unfamiliar faces, but most you're well acquainted with, including the large man in front of you who was walking around with a beer in hand. "Yo, Killer!" You called through the music. He immediately turned, and you couldn't help but feel thankful for the man's hearing ability, even with the booming sound. Calling your name back, Killer paused, his head looking down from your white heels up to your eyes. A low "woah" was heard from him, making you laugh a bit. Even through the curtain of bangs, you knew his eyes were relatively wide, surprised by your look. "You look different. The good kind, of course. " He complimented you in a weird way as you shyly gave your thanks. "Have you seen Nami and the girls?" You asked, your eyes roaming around the dance floor to look for any of your friends. Using his free hand, he pointed towards the direction of a large group at the farthest side. After a while of staring, you catch a glimpse of orange hair, which makes you smile. You excused yourself and walked towards your friends, thanking Killer. "Wow!" A few wolf whistles were thrown at you, being led by Nami and Perona. Laughing at their antics, you hugged them one by one, each whispering their compliments on how beautiful you looked. Even a few of your male frieds were there, impressed with the way you look, especially Sanji who was spinning around. "Is that your present for Ace?" Nami snickered as she held your waist after the hug, wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner, making you roll your eyes. "Oh, shush. Why is the celebration here, anyway? I thought it was a formal party." You asked, ignoring what your orange-haired friend just said. "Ace's been called so many times by Whitebeard, introducing him to their conglomerate. The boy got tired of it and forced us all to escape the after party. " Nami replied with a laugh, telling you how much Ace begged his friends to drink somewhere else. Hearing the story, you couldn't help but snort. It was really something Ace would do. As far as you knew the raven, he can only stay at formal parties for at least an hour before becoming bored. "Yeah, now look around; there's a bunch of men wearing three-piece suits. "

You snickered, finding it amusing how everyone looked too elegant for dancing and jumping, especially when you found a formally dressed Luffy pulling Trafalgar Law by his long coat and Eustass Kid by his prosthetic arm towards the dancefloor. Scanning the place, you searched for the star of the evening through the crowd. It didn't take you too long to find where he was, though. Sitting at one of the stools by the bar counter was none other than Portgas D. Ace, drinking directly from a bottle of what you assumed was hard liquor. You were about to walk towards him to greet him in advance when your eyes met, and Ace doubled over to make sure it was you he saw. Just as you were about to smile and wave, he suddenly broke his gaze, turning towards the woman beside him you never noticed until now. Matching her tied white and teal-colored hair, the tall woman wore a baby blue button-up, its sleeves folded just below her elbow. You also noticed how her navy waistcoat is now open, its color matching the slacks she's wearing. This was the first time you saw her, but based on the way she was dressed, you immediately assumed that she was also at the celebration. Just before you could take a step towards them, Ace suddenly leaned towards the unknown woman's direction, pinching her cheeks. You watched as she winced, pulling Ace's as revenge. Seeing how close the two were, your shoulders suddenly dropped, your grip on Ace's birthday gift loosening. Maybe it was because it was the first time you'd seen your best friend with another woman in two years, or maybe it was because he immediately ignored your presence, or maybe it was because when the girls suggested Ace might have feelings for you, you believed them and had a glimmer of hope. But whatever it was, it hurt. Turning from the two, you placed the gift-wrapped water bottle down on the table your friends were currently at, making them jump with how hard you slammed it. You walked away from them before Robin could ask what was wrong, straight to the bar counter opposite Ace. "Woah, easy tiger." A slight smirk rose from your lips as you watched the unfamiliar man sit beside you, ordering himself a glass of scotch. Receiving his drink, he turned towards you, jokingly pointing at your liquor before wiggling his pointer finger to a "no". "I am easy." You laughed, sipping on your sixth margarita for the night. "Then I must be the richest man in the world." He replied, raking his fingers through his brown hair, showing off his branded watch. Being the daughter of a drunkard, your alcohol level is almost on par with your old man's. Even though you had already passed the limit of what other people drink, you were still sober enough to know that the man in front of you was flirting. "Hm, it must be true. Your watch says it all." You said, eyebrows raised as you watched him grin. As if on cue, the man started talking about himself, telling you about the work he's doing and all the stuff you don't care about. Based on how he spoke, you just knew he was full of himself. But instead of waving him off, you let him continue, using his blabbering as a distraction from what you had just witnessed earlier. "You know, I just got this major client and my boss says if I keep going, I might get a raise much larger than my six digits." He grinned as you swirled your liquor lazily.

"Jokes on him though. I want to get promoted to his position." The brunette laughed, making you do the same even though you had no clue what was funny. Letting him speak, you continued drinking, your mind traveling elsewhere as your eyes betrayed you from scanning a specific raven-haired male. Sitting at an awkward angle, you found it difficult to search, making you wonder whether he was still with the woman or not. "And then he said..." Even though you were slowly showing signs of boredom, the man still went on, going about his trips abroad. Throughout his stories, you just smiled and chuckled, repeating the words "really?" and "no way!" as replies. The man was only on his second drink due to him never shutting up, while you were on your tenth, sipping it clean before ordering an eleventh. "Hey, what time is it?" Stopping the man mid-sentence, you asked, making him check his watch. "Oh, it's already 11:50. Guess I'll be spending New Year with you, huh? " You instantly picked up on his suggestive tone, making you frown. As much as you feel disappointed right now, you came all the way to where you are now because of Ace. Even though you're still friendzoned without him knowing, you wanted to celebrate his birthday by his side. "Say, I really like talking with you. Do you want us to, er, go somewhere else to continue our conversation? " Just as you were about to excuse yourself, he suddenly asked, leaning a bit forward as he placed his hand on the side of your seat. The audacity of this shit. You don't even know my name. You thought to yourself, getting annoyed. "I actually have friends with me." You replied, forcing a smile as your grip on your glass grew tighter. "Really? Then why are you all alone? No one was with you before I came along. " He smirked, finding your hard-to-get attitude attractive. "Because they knew I wanted some alone time." You answered through gritted teeth, feeling the man's thumb touching the hem of your dress. "Stop." You warn, your eyes like steel as you watch the man's smirk grow wider. "You're feisty. I like it. " He breathed, licking his lips as he stared at your eyes and lips back and forth. Before you could even push him away, his hand finally fell on your thigh. Goosebumps immediately passed through your skin from anger and disgust as he pushed the fabric to touch your bare skin. "Keep your hands off me." You warned, but the man only laughed, his grip tightening as he caressed your skin. "Hmn? Then you shouldn't have worn such a sexy dress. " Having had enough of his bullshit, you finally rose from your seat. The moment everybody cheered for a Happy New Year, the man in front of you screamed in pain, his hand clutching his cheeks after being smacked by the margarita glass you were holding earlier. "You son of a bitch, I've had enough of you!" Pulling him by the collar, you punched him straight in the face. An ear-twisting scream came out of his mouth the second time you struch him as you felt his nose crack from your knuckles. Filled with fury, you punched him multiple times, making him fall to the floor. "A woman's dress is never an invitation!" As soon as he fell, eyes went towards your direction, everyone watching you kick the man in the stomach without mercy. At this point, even the DJ stopped playing the music, a chorus of gasps filling the place along with the man's cries for help. "You fucking sex offender! " You screamed at the top of your lungs, pulling him by the collar once more to force him to stand. Before you could even punch him in the face once more, a large body suddenly covered your view, yanking the man out of your hold as he punched the bloody guy himself. Eyes wide, you watched as Ace showered the man with his fist, his face screaming nothing but murder as he hovered on top of the crying man. The blood of the man was now spluttering all across his face as he went on. A few bystanders called for bouncers and police. There were some men who wanted to pull Ace away, but when Luffy, along with his brothers Thatch, Marco, and Sabo, together with your other friends, went forward, they all stopped. It was then that you felt a couple of bodies hugging your shaking figure, your eyes leaving Ace to see Nami, Hiyori, Vivi, and Koala's scared faces, along with Robin and Perona's cold gaze towards the man. "I'll fucking kill you!" Ace was like a murder machine. His hands were moving on their own. He wanted to snap the man's head into two after hearing what you just screamed. It was only when cops arrived that he stopped, his eyes still glaring at the man's now unidentifiable face. "What happened here?" Garp asked through the crowd, his calm gaze directed towards Ace as he waited. "He sexually assaulted me." You answered, your body still shaking from anger and adrenaline. "Is that so?" Garp replied, his eyes now focused on the man who was being carried by Koby. "You should arrest that monster too!" Someone screamed from the crowd pertaining to Ace, making you growl. "Say another word and you're the next one I'm going to wipe the floor with!" Ace shouted back as Sabo pulled him by the shoulder, whispering at him. You didn't speak, but you were worried. Even though the guy deserved to be beaten, you felt scared for Ace. He could have killed the man if the cops hadn't arrived, and even if he didn't, he could face prison for assault. Sighing, Garp called you and Ace, ordering you both to come with them to the precinct. You simply nodded and walked out of the bar, ensuring your friends that you were fine. Walking side by side with bloody fists, both you and Ace went inside the police car without a word. "You okay?" Ace suddenly croaked, eyes on the road as you turned to face him with a frown. He was the one who busted his fist from punching the man too much, yet he prioritized your well-being, making your heart warm. You slowly nodded your head as an answer, and he immediately sighed in relief as he caught you through his peripheral. "Wipe your hands." Garp suddenly spoke, startling you both.

"The two of you look too bloody for someone who got assaulted." He continued, throwing a box of tissue and wipes at the both of you. "She was defending herself." Ace pointed out, annoyed with the old man's tone. "I know," scoffed Garp. "However, Ace, that lad was half dead when we came."

"If the police track both your records, they'll know you two do MMA, and this case may take a turn. If you don't want that, act like you're at a disadvantage. " Hearing Garp's explanation, both you and Ace went silent, wiping your hands clean before reaching your destination.