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Food never tasted better than when you dine'n'dashed, Ace was sure. There's just something about the anticipation, the exhilaration of the chase, the satisfaction after successfully pulling it off...
It was entirely unbelievable to learn that Ray and Luffy 2.0 — or Idiot for short, since the man still refused to share his name — had never done it before. So, obviously, as soon as they pulled into a big enough town, Ace waited just long enough to finish restocking before dragging the two of them towards the best restaurant for the purpose.
It was a nice, summer island, and most of the buildings were made of the same kind of bleached—white stone, blinding in the direct sun. The trade—off was worth it, though — the insides of the buildings were blessedly cool, resting in the shadows and letting in breeze through the glass—less windows.
Ace wasn't really the best person to appreciate the temperature — not with the powers of Mera Mera no Mi still flowing underneath his skin — but Ray and Idiot sure made some embarrassing noises as the cool settled over them.
"Not there, idiot," Ace hissed, grabbing Idiot by the elbow and stopping him from walking further into the restaurant. "We're gonna sit here, by the window."
"But there's an aquarium..." Idiot whined, making half—hearted grabby hands even as Ace towed him towards the other table.
"You can go look at it when they're preparing the food," Ray offered placatingly, trailing behind them without complaint.
Ace was sure that these two weren't his brothers — not aged up versions of them, not ones from an alternative universe. But... In moments like these, it was really hard to remember that.
If Ace was a little rougher than necessary when pushing Idiot into his chair, well. The man could handle it.
Their order — Ace’s typical “one of each thing on the menu” — was met with skepticism, but they were currently on an island far away from Goa Kingdom and its chefs who could have possibly warned anyone about the folly of going along with it.
The waitress kept the food going impressively fast, almost managing to keep up with Ace’s, Ray’s and Idiot’s combined apetites.
"Alright," Ace said, wiping his mouth in a token effort to appear civilized (and also to further hide his words from the restaurant's staff). "As funny as it'd be to catch you two by surprise, I don't really feel like breaking you out of prison today so: when I say now, we jump the window and run for the ship."
The other two blinked at him.
"We're stealing?" Ray hissed, sounding downright scandalized.
"Of course!" Idiot grinned, happily onboard with that plan. "We're pirates, aren't we?"
"Exactly," Ace smirked. From the corner of his eye, he noticed their waitress walking over to the side of the bar, preparing something. Time was up. "Okay, run fast, I ain't gonna wait for you. Ready?"
He didn't wait for an answer. With a shout of "Now!" Ace launched himself out of the window.
He could hear swearing behind himself, and the noise of cutlery and plates falling to the ground, but footsteps followed soon after.
Cackling while running wasn't really the best practice, but Ace couldn't really help himself. In that moment, all his doubts evaporated. He's never felt more alive.
"Halt!" Someone called out and, reluctantly, Ace slowed to a stop. There was what seemed to be a whole outpost's worth of marines crammed into the street. It didn't seem like the marines were there for them — more like they just accidentally stumbled upon a drill — but it wasn't a good situation either way.
The marine stared at them suspiciously, watching as Ray and Idiot crashed into Ace's back and sent them all to the ground.
"What's got you in such a hurry?" The officer asked.
"The pissed off restaurant staff on our tail," Ray muttered, but not quietly enough.
The marine straightened and Ace couldn't help but groan. Great. Just what they needed — a bored officer with an excuse to get out of the sun.
He could hear the thundering footsteps of the angry cooks approaching fast, and they had to get out of there as soon as possible—
"Identify yourselves!" The marine demanded, but Ace barely even heard him, looking around for an escape route.
He heard Idiot's response in vivid detail, though.
"I am Gol D. Roger!" The man exclaimed, fists at his hips and strawhat resting proudly on his hair. Ace's head snapped towards him, staring with wide eyes. "And I'm gonna become the King of the Pirates!"
The marines froze — in shock, confusion, bafflement, it didn't really matter — and Ace scrambled to use that chance.
He called his flames up, throwing them around in a circle, cutting off a small patch of the road from everyone else.
"But how are we supposed to—" Ray started, only to yelp as Ace grabbed him, hoisting both of them over his shoulders like sacks of potatoes.
He squatted and, before anyone on the other side of his flames even realized what was going on, Ace jumped.
He wasn't particularly good at skywalking, but with the help of his fruit he was good enough to make it to the harbour, even if he didn't quite make it to their ship.
It didn't matter; One of the other two hauled him towards the ship, all three scrambling to set sail before the marines realized where they went.
Ace didn't let himself think about anything that wasn't the sails or the ropes and knots, not until they were safely out of the harbour and disappearing out in the sea.
He didn't really think after that, either. He just... froze.
Idiot's laughter — Gol D Roger's laughter — grated at him, bringing him back to the present.
"I can see why you had us finish the restocking first!" He said, grinning like a moron. Ace's hands tightened into fists. "That's so smart—"
"You're Gol D Roger," Ace interrupted. It wasn't a question, but he still waited for an answer.
"Roger—" Ray started, one hand outstretched towards Roger's shoulder, staring warily at Ace's darkening face.
"I sure am!" The idiot didn't heed the warning, not even a trace of concern appearing on his face as Ace stalked closer. "Though people usually question the King of—"
Ace shut him up with a punch to the face.
Roger wasn't weak, as much as Ace would have loved to insult him. He wasn't weak, but the punch still had him crumbling onto the deck, holding onto his cheek as Ray crouched beside him.
Ace shook out his fist.
"I'm getting off on the next island," he said. "And then I never want to see you again."
He stalked off, going to collect what meager belongings he had accumulated since his arrival.
"What did I do?" He heard Roger mumble before he passed over the threshold.
Ray just sighed. "I never thought I'd say this but... I don't think you did anything, this time."
Ha! And wasn't that the whole problem?