❞𝐍𝐨 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬❝
✦ Pairing: Portgas D. Ace x Reader
✦ Warnings: none
✦ Spoiler: none
tagging: @lazyninjatheorist - @sassyyassi - @cottoncandyloverrrr - @littleleelee
Near the harbor where you arrived on the first day, you sit at a small café. The streets are busy as ever and at the market next door, the stall owners are haggling hard with tourists.
The typical tricks of the street merchants are being pulled… Everyone claims to have the 'finest' goods and if someone is stupid enough to approach the seller, they are lulled into compliments or promises being made.
Those earrings which match her ~beautiful~ eyes... The cure that makes their hair grow... The usual nonsense.
The remarkable thing is their charm. Maybe you see a parallel here, or catch yourself learning something, but their talent is noteworthy. If anyone knows how to sell something, it's the street merchants.
They immediately recognize their potential customers, simply by watching people walk through the streets. They speak to people in a systematic way, have prepared phrases for various types and are in most cases successful.
Sipping your coffee, you observe a rather interesting scene. Near you is a jewelry stall with probably fake goods, you just can't imagine that this sleazy guy who sells the goods is legitimate. You doubt it but you listen intently as he tries to sell the 'latest' fashions to a young couple.
However, the young woman who is his prime target doesn't seem to be very sure herself. But she seems rather shy and admits that she can't afford something so fancy.
The grin on the salesman's lips is visibly nasty, which would set off all your alarm bells, but the man plays it off by reaching for the lady's hands in a friendly manner and announcing that he would give her a discount. You can literally feel that he almost has her.
He puts the necklace on her, complimented her and when he realized that she still wasn't budging, he turned to her boyfriend. “Don't you think she looks beautiful wearing that?” He mentioned more, forcing him to agree, and eventually the poor guy caved in and bought the necklace from him; for an exorbitant price.
You shake your head. Those damn tricksters, but you can't help grinning as you bring your coffee to your mouth. You are the same, no, worse but you see more class in yourself. Besides, there's a big difference between you and the mediocre street hustlers.
While you, as a trickster, recognize that he is a scammer, he would never in a million years realize that you are also a trickster. You're a fucking professional.
You can only survive in this world if you are like this world. A criminal.
Thoughtfully and without realizing it, you stare at Ace,
who is devouring his slice of cake without a care in the world. He notices that you are absently staring at him and tries to convince you to try a spoon.
His grin is wide as he holds the spoon out to you. His refreshing manner is exactly what has caught your attention since day one. He is always very playful. You literally admire him for his carefree spirit, while inside your head there's never silence.
You open your mouth while your chin rests in one hand and Ace puts the spoon in your mouth.
Ace looks satisfied while you savour the sweetness on your tongue. Are you really letting Ace feed you right now? You smirk to yourself. Who cares. You're bored because you've been watching a certain building for a while now...
The building in question doesn't exactly look like a apartment building or like it's abandoned, but it still looks like it's not accessible to everyone...
It looks like an upscale place. The facade is neat, plant pots to the left and right of the polished glass door, but it's all dark and you can't see anything through the black windows.
It looks like a store but it's closed, yet it's late in the afternoon. You've been here since morning and you're on your fifth cup of coffee and not once has it been open. There are no displayed opening hours, no proper advertising, no outside signs, nothing. It's just a well kept building? You don't think so.
Ace follows your blank stare and looks at the building. He has to turn a little because the building is behind him and continues to chomp on his dessert.
With his mouth full, he turns to you and speaks without shame.
“Do you think it's that house?” Over the last few days you've walked every street, looking for the brothel the gangsters on the ship were talking about.
The Moulin Rouge. In bars and other public places, nobody knew the name. It seemed a bit strange to you, as some people seemed to want to change the subject, or were quick to recommend other places. However, it would be foolish to push for answers. So you apologized kindly and said you must have mixed things up.
Jackpot, you thought immediately.
So, the Moulin Rouge is one of the places Doflamingo wants to hide. You know that it exists and you are pretty sure that the brothel you are looking for is behind the walls of this building.
But why does no one go in and out there? That's the only entrance in front of you. You've already walked around the house a couple of times. There's no cellar door, no back entrance, nothing.
“What do you think?” You are audibly bored, judging by your voice. This building is your only clue to the brothel. He shrugs his shoulders.
“I don't know, I just wonder how this is supposed to help us get to the palace.” You briefly consider how to explain your thoughts to him. His mind doesn't seem to be as entangled as yours, but that's exactly why Whitebeard sends you on missions like this. Like a profiler or master detective, you understand your targets and get information without anyone getting suspicious.
“You know Ace, to figure out what the bad guys are doing, you have to think like a bad guy.” - “Aren't we classified as evil and dangerous? I mean, we're pirates.” He looks a little thoughtful. You are wanted and shunned people after all.
You even made him wear a shirt all the time, so no one would see his jolly roger tattoo. You've disguised yourselves, and Ace isn't even wearing his hat. After all, people might recognize you otherwise. Well, they'd probably recognize Ace, because Ace is known as a pirate, while your face remains unknown.
When you're out in the streets as a Whitebeard pirate, you cover your head with a scarf to hide your face, leaving only your eyes exposed. You frown briefly. Sometimes you're a bit stupid yourself and you laugh a little, which causes confusion for Ace.
“Sure, we're pirates. But we're only a threat to those who feel threatened, not because we do evil…”
You are also the bad guys. Well, according to the World Government… But in your eyes, you're not. Anyone who messes with you usually deserves to fall, and that's not meant to sound arrogant. You don't really know... you never wanted to follow Whitebeard because you were offered wealth, power or possessions. You follow him because you trust and admire him as a human being.
He gave you personal freedom. From an early age, you have witnessed the darker side of humanity and can confirm that there is shadow on every side.
He snorts at your smug remark and sways his drink with a toothy grin. He leans back and looks at the strolling passersby. His grin remained for the moment while he was lost in thought, but you watch it fade.
His typical facial expression now looked rather serious? Very unusual and you suddenly find yourself wanting to know more. More about the Ace, who is usually so easygoing.
You watch him attentively as his pupils follow someone until that person disappears behind his back and reappears in your field of vision.
Now your eyes are following a pretty big man walking in the direction of the building. He's casually dressed in dark, but fine looking clothes, and his stride gives off a confident air, yet he looks like danger. His hair is slicked back and you can almost smell his perfume. Compared to the building, he matches the picture perfectly.
“Ohoho Ace, now it's getting interesting.” You can tell that he wants to turn around, but you grab his hand and shake your head. You pay attention to the man as he reaches into his trouser pocket to take out a key. He unlocks the door and before he steps inside, two young and attractively dressed ladies call out to him.
He greets the ladies with a naughty grin and has a quick chat with them. You have to concentrate a bit to make out their words, but luckily they are not far away.
“Hey girls, ready for your first shift?” They chuckle and while he puts an arm around each of their shoulders, he disappears into the building with them.
With your eyes still on the closed glass door, you forget that you are still holding Ace's hand. He clears his throat, bringing you out of your thoughts and you tilt your head questioningly as you look him in the face.
His face cracks into a smirk. You seem to have no idea what he's hinting at which he finds really cute. Only after he gives your hand a little squeeze you finally realize that you're still holding hands. You automatically want to pull your hand away, but he refuses to let go and his grip tightens.
Even with red cheeks, you try to maintain a calm posture in front of him. Let him eye you with his mischievous smile and hold your hand… You don't mind, you tell yourself.
Ace can tell that your mind is wandering around. He looks longingly into your eyes as he rests his chin on his hand.
His warm fingers stroke the palm of your hand, skillfully and barely touching your skin, and yet your heart is racing like crazy. You feel goose bumps spreading and the gentle touch makes you want to scratch your hand, but you just stare at him, a little disturbed.
It tickles but it's still pleasant...
For a moment, you completely forget your surroundings. You are careless, as you will later curse yourself. You have no time to get involved with Ace, now that something is moving in the house, but why is it so hard to look away?
It's almost impossible to maintain control when Ace is touching you like this. You'd have to scratch your eyes out, if you didn't want to see his freckled kissed face.
He's just flirting with you. He doesn't even talk to you, he just looks at you with those intense, amorous eyes.
Damn that's annoying. You grit your teeth. You already knew Ace wasn't going to back down, but who knew you'd react like this?
Why do your knees go weak when he looks you in the eyes? Why does everything fall silent while you run your eyes over his lips? How come, he has you under his spell?
You don't understand... you don't understand yourself.
Looking irritated, you stand up and Ace lets easily go of your hand. He seems somewhat unimpressed as he looks up at you, as if he knows about your conflicting thoughts.
“I'll get us something new to drink…” You make a short and curt excuse and disappear into the café.
After some time of waiting, the man who unlocked the door came out again and guarded the entrance as a bouncer.
You didn't want to waste any more time and went straight there with Ace, throwing a bag of money on the table as you went. The waitress almost fainted when she saw the amount.
That money was more than enough to cover your expenses. That's a whole month's salary for all the staff at the cafe! You're an eternal heroine in the waitress's heart, but you'll never know it...
But before you could speak to the bouncer, he raised his huge hand in front of your faces and you stopped in your tracks. You and Ace look at each other in surprise, but your confusion is quickly cleared up after the man explains himself.
“This is no place for lovers and certainly not for women.” Not a place for women? You're surprised, but you quickly put on your mask. You sigh a little sadly and play dumb.
“Aww, I thought this was a classy restaurant…” - “A restaurant? Do you see a menu around here? It's a burlesque, the Moulin Rouge! If you want your man to get horny over our girls, then go ahead, get in.” Visibly annoyed, he made it clear that you should leave.
You and Ace make an offended and appalled face, but a triumphant sound rings in your head. Bingo!
“You big meanie, we're leaving already.” You don't waste time arguing and turn around, tossing your hair over your shoulder. If women aren't wanted in there, you'd probably attract a lot of attention, so you'll have to make plans again… Maybe keep an eye on what kind of people come in and visit…?
Just as you walk into the luxurious hotel lobby, a familiar figure appears in the corner of your eye. You reach for Ace and quickly sit down on a sofa in front of the reception desk.
You reach for a huge newspaper and hide behind it. Caught by surprise, Ace looks at you and he understands from your attentive gaze that you are actively watching someone. He looks around like an idiot and can't quite make out who exactly you're watching.
You roll your eyes and wave him towards you, indicating that he should come behind your newspaper.
“See that guy in the back?” Your and Ace's eyes peer cautiously over the edge of the newspaper. A few meters away from you, a group of expensively dressed gentlemen are sitting in a small lounge in front of the casino.
Ace's eyes move to yours and you form a hook with your hand, like a pirate's hook. Ace's eyebrows go up a little.
“Do you mean Crocodile?” he whispers to you.
“Exactly.” You look over again. Another man joined the group and after a short while they made their way into the casino.
What is Sir Crocodile doing here?
You think back to your time in Alabasta. You know he was doing business with Doflamingo. But it was mostly about trading weapons and prostitutes…
“Maybe he's a guest?” Ace's words startle you. You pull down the newspaper, now that Crocodile is gone you don't have to hide.
“Ace, you're a genius!” You don't quite want to admit it, but with that idea he's given you the missing piece of the puzzle. You grab him excitedly by one shoulder and give him a kiss on the cheek.
His face is slightly flushed and there is a greasy grin on his lips, which makes you want to smack him on the back of the head, but you pull him up because you have to get after Crocodile quickly.
You get the feeling that he's your golden ticket. But you're not quite sure how to go about it. After all, he knows you and unfortunately you two parted quite dramatically…
He shouldn't see you for now... who knows why he's here. You decide that you shouldn't get involved with him unnecessarily.
You lead Ace to the bar with quick steps when you saw where Crocodile is seated. Once again he has settled down with his group in a small seating area and a lovely lady is now at his side.
At the bar you are turned with your back to the people, from this small distance he would immediately recognize you, thus you keep your back to him.
“Why Crocodile?” Ace asks you, turning his head slightly towards you. Your eyes go up to him. You wonder how much you should tell him about yourself and Crocodile. He should know that you used to work under him, shouldn't he? Who knows, maybe he's forgotten.
But you're sure he'll still have questions about why Crocodile shouldn't see you. But that's a problem if it comes to that, so you spare him a few details.
“He did business with Doflamingo and who knows, maybe he's not just a hotel guest but a guest at Doflamingo's party, right?” Your lips form into a small, confident smile and Ace smirks, glancing down.
Your eyes linger on Ace's side profile and you wonder what's going on in that pretty little head of his. His gaze meets your eyes again and without realizing it you grin at him. Ace shakes his head at you, but the smile doesn't leave his face for a second.
How can you be so cute? In his eyes, you're probably the most interesting woman he's ever met. His life has always been an adventure, but being with you makes him feel like he's in a classic movie. The sparkle in your eyes as you look at him so confidently is another picture he has saved in his mind.
“Oh sweet y/n, you're so pretty when you're all confident.” You gasp unexpectedly, startled by the sound that came from your lips. Excuse me, what the hell did he say?!
He needs to stop catching you off guard like that, damn Ace.
You are still unable to form proper words in your head and this only makes Ace laugh more. A little angry, you kick him in the side with your elbow.
“You better make yourself useful and tell me if that woman is still sitting next to Sir Crocodile.” He salutes you and turns his upper body sideways into the room to get an view.
“Yup, she's still sitting next to him and it looks like they're having a lovely time…” - “Hmmm I see… I think I have a funny idea!"
Ace puts his head questioningly to one side and you make a beckoning movement with your index finger. He comes closer to you and you whisper something quietly to him.
As you make some space between you again, you nod approvingly to each other. Now is the time to shine!
You suddenly burst into tears and whimper a few words while Ace comforts you. He strokes your back and encourages you with his words.
"I know this doesn't look good... Although I hate to hold it against you... but I told you so.” Ace's well spoken words unfortunately and intentionally cause you to burst into more tears.
Your crying attracts attention at the bar and a bartender arrives with a worried expression and interferes in your conversation.
“Hey, are you all right?” she spoke directly to you, but with whimpering lips you pretended you could hardly speak a word… that's how 'upset' you are…
“Not really, unfortunately.” Ace looks around briefly and then leans over to the bartender.
“My sister and I are here to catch her cheating husband…” The lady looks shocked and puts on a sympathetic face. Nodding, you wipe the tears from your cheeks with a handkerchief. Your puffy puppy eyes look up at the woman and Ace strokes your back to encourage you while you try not to burst out crying again.
“Could you perhaps do me a favor?” The woman nods hastily. Man or woman, you quickly have them in your hands.
“Of course I'll help, we women have to stick together!” she grabs your hand and looks determined.
Easy peasy. You hide your mischievous smile behind your handkerchief. It's always so easy…
you sniffle again in a whiny voice before you speak.
“You know, my husband is sitting over there with a young woman, they seem very familiar and I've been afraid for a long time that he might be cheating on me, but I honestly couldn't face it…” - “Oh no, that man over there? Sir Crocodile?” you gulp and nod.
"Yes, exactly. He seems to be well known here? Does he often come with a female companion?” Your fake tears well up in your eyes again.
“Hey sis, please calm down…” Ace plays the worried brother perfectly. The woman bites her lip and looks to the side, a little troubled.
“Sir Crocodile is a valued guest in this casino… and the lady at his side is one of his employees.” - “Oh my God an employee?!” You bury your face in your hands and start to cry ugly. Ace puts an arm around your shoulder and smoothly takes over the conversation.
"My sister used to be his employee, just like this woman. He promised her the world and asked her to marry him…" - “Oh no you poor woman… let me pour you a drink, it's on the house.”
She turns for a moment to fetch two glasses from the shelf. At that moment, you and Ace share a coy grin. Oh yeah, now you get a free drink! Awesome!
She pushed the drinks towards you and propped her arms on the counter to lean towards you.
"Okay girl, what do you want to know. There's a lot of information going around here in the casino and maybe I can help you." - “Thank you so much, really!” You feign joy and gratitude. Although it's not quite an act. You're really grateful to her, for buying your act.
“Back home, Crocodile told me that he had to travel to Dressrosa for some business. Normally I don't ask questions, but I became a bit suspicious.” You blush a little and pretend to be a silly girl.
“I was reading the newspaper that the King Donquixote Doflamingo was throwing a fancy gala party and I immediately knew that's why Croco was here.” Your bleary eyes glance briefly at Ace, who has to pull himself together not to blow his cover, because he is so impressed by your acting.
You look a little sheepishly at the woman.
“I wonder if he didn't tell me on purpose, because he might be going there with that woman; or if he's really just here for work…” The woman taps her chin thoughtfully.
“Luckily, I know the woman at his side. She used to work here in the casino before she started working for him. I could ask her, but he's definitely invited to the gala. After all, Donquixote Doflamingo is a VIP at the Moulin Rouge…" Ace's eyebrows go up by reflex at the mention of the burlesque.
You step lightly on his foot, telling him to control his face, but luckily she hasn't noticed.
“Would it be possible for you to let me know?” You write a number on a small piece of paper and pass it to her.
"That's my room number. If you could tell me if she's his plus one, it would help me a lot.” - “Sure!”
You talk to the woman for a bit, while you enjoy your free drink and before you say goodbye, you pull her aside.
"You know, I think it would be better if you didn't tell her about me. Croco is an influential man, I don't want her to get into trouble. If she's his date, I'll part with him quietly while he's still here.” She nods her head attentively as if she's soaking up every word for this mission.
“Just ask her out of pure interest, since you were able to watch her with Croco today, you know...” - “Understood!" she's eager.
You give her a little friendly kiss on the cheek, making her blush, and you say goodbye to each other.
On the way to your room, when no one sees you on the corridor, you burst out laughing.
“Ace you were amazing!” - “Me and amazing?! Excuse me, but you're the real champ here!”
You banter pleasantly with each other about your success. You have discovered a lot of useful things and one thing is certain…
“Ace, now you just have to make friends with Sir Crocodile” Ace promptly stops and looks at you in horror.
"Huh? ME?!" With big no signs in his eyes, he waves his hands in front of him in dismay.
If you liked it, let me know hehe ♡
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