archived

FOR YOU. portgas d. ace x gn!reader, 1.5k, modern au.

“i’m so tired,” you muttered, trailing behind ace through the bus, holding your hand in his.

“i told you you shouldn’t have stayed up so late,” your boyfriend snickered, glancing back at you just as you yawned. he cooed internally – you were so cute.

“yeah, yeah, stop being mean,”

ace stopped by two empty seats and waited for you to sit on the window seat, “how am i mean?”

you didn’t respond, only pouted as he sat down next to you and intertwined your fingers once again. even though you had been dating for almost a year, your heart fluttered at the feeling of his hands in yours. 

ace smiled when you yawned again. a blush erupted on his face when you rested your head on his shoulder and sighed in content. ace smiled and placed a soft kiss on the top of your head. a smile broke out on your face and you turned to hide your face from him. his heart beat went faster. you really were too cute. he rested his head on top of yours, allowing himself to relax into the seat. 

you rested like that for a while, until the bus drove past a music store and ace remembered the gift he had prepared for you. he let out a small gasp and raised his head from yours to search through his bag. 

“what’re you doing?” you asked, moving your head from his shoulder. watching as he fumbled through the bag, only to fish out his ancient looking earpods. 

“hold these, please,” he handed them to you – or rather, threw them in your direction and they landed on your lap. he went back into the bag.

“what’re you looking for?” 

“my phone,” ace grunted, as his hand got stuck between two thick books. 

“didn’t you put it in the tiny room,”

“did it?” he opened the tiny room and saw his phone. taking it out of the room, he leaned back into the seat, “you’re a lifesaver,” plugging the earpods into his phone, handing you one of them, “take it,”

you stared at it, “ace, i love you, but if i put that in my ear i’ll get an infection,”

“you will not,” he whined, “i cleaned it yesterday,”

“did you though…?” you teased, taking the one earpod from him when he started pouting, “if i get an ear infection it’s on you,”

“stop being mean to me,” he whined.

“how am i being mean?” you quoted, earning a weak punch on the thigh.

scrapping the conversation, ace focused on his phone, opening the music app. you watched as he went directly to his newest playlist. “for my love” it was called, and from what you saw it was three hours of love songs. 

“ace-”

your boyfriend cut you off, “please just listen,” his voice was shaky. the first song began and you closed your eyes, resting your head on his shoulder again. focusing on nothing other that the lyrics. 

you were torn between feeling like you were going to explode and being the most peaceful you’ve ever been. your beloved ace making a playlist for you was too much for you to handle. your fingers found him, intertwining them once again. relishing in him. he was so lovely. so utterly lovely to you.

“angel,” ace gently called out, “our stop is next,” he kissed your head and watched as your eyes fluttered open. his heart was beating loudly in his chest even as he guided you through the bus and onto the street, the music still playing. 

the walk was silent as well but ace wished you would say something. he had been nervous since he made the playlist – worried you would hate it. he kept his hand in yours, walking close to you. 

when you stood in front of the building you called your home, you walked from ace’s side to stand in front of him. you pulled the earpod out of your ear and gave it to him, butterflies flying around in your stomach.

ace chuckled nervously, shifting his weight from foot to foot, “what did you think?” his eyes went over face, taking in the soft curl of your lips and joyful glint in your eyes. he felt shy just looking at you. 

“i-” you breathed out softly, looking into his eyes, “i really like it, it’s-” you were close to tears, feeling overwhelmed, “that you, ace, i really appreciate it,”

seeing your eyes get watery, ace was quick to messily stuff the earpods into his pocket and cut your cheeks. he wiped away the few tears that left your eyes. his thumbs softly going over your cheeks, caressing them. he could see how much it meant to you, despite how little you said, “anytime, my love,”