#Happy birthday~🎂
Ace x Fem!reader | Chosen first 🍀
WORD COUNT . . . 1k
SUMMARY . . . New Year’s Eve on the Moby Dick turn loud and chaotic… end as the clock ticks midnight and the 1th January arrive, you choose ace before anyone else.
WARNING . . . Fluff, Emotional Ace, birthday boy, soft intimacy, reader choosing Ace, Cuteness
The night was alive.
The Moby Dick glowed under strings of lights, lanterns swaying gently as laughter echoed across the deck. Music played somewhere near the tables, food was disappearing faster than it should’ve, and fireworks were already being prepared for midnight.
Ace stood next to you, hands in his pockets, familiar grin on his face. He looked relaxed, happy, more than usual. Maybe it was the party, maybe it was the Straw Hats visiting, maybe it was just the feeling of a year ending and another beginning.
You kept sneaking glances at him. He didn’t notice. Or maybe he did and pretended not to.
“Can’t believe another year’s already done,” he said, glancing at the sky. “Feels like it flew by.”
You hummed. “Yeah. A lot happened.”
He looked at you then, really looked at you, like the rest of the world had gone quiet. “Not complaining though.”
Your heart did that thing. Annoying. Predictable. Someone yelled from across the deck, “HEY! TEN SECONDS!”
“Nine!”
“Eight!”
Everyone gathered closer, voices joining the countdown. Ace leaned slightly toward you, shoulder brushing yours, warmth grounding you in the noise.
“Three!”
“Two!”
“One!”
“🎉 HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🎉”
The deck exploded in cheers. Fireworks lit up the sky, red and gold reflecting in the ocean. People hugged, laughed, shouted wishes into the night. Ace turned to you, smile ready, about to speak— And you jumped forward, wrapping your arms around him without warning.
He froze.
“Happy birthday, Ace.”
For half a second, Ace just stood there, eyes wide, heart skipping in confusion. Then you hugged him tighter, like the rest of the world didn’t exist. The noise faded for him.
“…What?”
You pulled back just enough to look up at him, smiling. “It’s your birthday. I wanted to say it before anything else.”
Ace stared at you like his brain had short-circuited. Then his ears turned red. Then his cheeks. Then his entire expression melted into something unguarded, something almost fragile.
His grin slowly appeared, it became something warmer, quieter. His arms came around you instinctively, strong and secure, pulling you close like he never wanted to let go.
No one else mattered.
“Y’know,” he murmured, voice low, “you didn’t even say Happy New Year yet.”
You laughed lightly against his chest. “I know.”
He tilted his head, teasing. “So I come before the whole crew now?”
You looked up at him. “Always.”
Ace’s ears turned red immediately. He laughed, a real, bright, slightly breathless one has he rest his forehead against yours. “That’s… that’s the best gift I’ve ever gotten.” Only then did you turn, still held safely in his arms.
“Happy New Year, everyone!”
Cheers rose again, but Ace didn’t loosen his grip. Not even a little. Under the fireworks, surrounded by noise and light and beginnings, Ace smiled like he’d already won the year—because you chose him first. And to him? That meant everything.
