Ever since that night, Ace rarely leaves your side and you noticed that he had gotten clingier which you find weird but didn't think much about it. You also noticed that Sabo was giving him weird looks while Luffy is just being Luffy.
The two of you didn't speak about what happened last night and when you made eye contact with him, you grinned close-eyed and gave him a thumbs up which you didn't notice his flustered face and averting his eyes away from you.
These past few weeks, you spent most of your time looking after the three brats and saving their sorry asses. That didn't mean you were slacking off in your training and helping them to get stronger. They were truly grateful that you were helping them.
Today, you just finished the chores at the shack and told Dadan that you're done with them and are going out to look after the boys again.
"Just go!! You're the only good kid around here. Just don't get influenced by them" Dadan shooed you away, not knowing that you were a teeny bit influenced.
ASL's POV
"Alright!!" Ace shouted, placing three sake cups and a bottle of sake on a nearby tree stump.
"You stole that from Dadan!!" Luffy gasped while Ace proudly nodded at his actions with no shame.
Ace cracked open the bottle and filled the cups with sake. "Did you know we can become brothers if we share this bottle of sake?"
"Brothers!! Really?" Luffy grinned and then dropped. "But what about (First Name)? Shouldn't she be here for this as well?"
"Well, um . . .I don't want to see her as a sibling!!" Ace declared with a furious blush on his face.
"Hm!! Me neither!!" Sabo added with a small tint of pink on his cheeks.
"Huh?! Why not?!" Luffy pouted.
The two remained silent as they have no idea how to explain to this dense idiot. Well, neither do they know what they're feeling right now. In the beginning, they see you as someone trustworthy and a friend then midway was a sister figure but now they have no idea what it is as it was complicated. Not like these idiots could fully understand. Even Luffy doesn't know about the concept of love but he'll learn someday.
Ace coughed. "We'll figure it out later but anyway, as we all might join separate crews, this cup of sake will keep us united as brothers!!"
They tapped their cups together and drink in unison, sealing the promise of brotherhood for eternity.
"Shouldn't we include (First Name) in a promise, don't you think?" Sabo inquired, tilting his head and sending his hat askew.
"Yeah!! How about making sure this idiot shares his food with her!!" Ace said snarkily as he pointed at Luffy who huffed.
"What do you mean?! I always share my meat with her!!" Luffy retorted.
"Oh? I don't see you doing that" Ace said, looking him up and down in suspicion.
"Okay, okay. That's enough. We need a serious promise. Like . . .How about we promise to help her recover her lost memories and be with her for as long as we live?"
Ace and Luffy gasped in excitement and nodded in agreement. Helping you to recover your memories is the least they could do.
"Wow, I'm deeply touched by your declaration. In return, I will always be there for you and protect you no matter what it takes"
The boys squeaked from fright and turned to see you sitting on a branch of a tree as you smiled.
They scrambled to talk and hoped that you didn't hear their small confession. "H-How much did you hear?!"
You raised a brow in confusion. "Not much. I joined the moment you declared brotherhood and I've been looking for you everywhere"
Since you made a promise as well, you took the bottle of sake and sat on the tree stump. "Don't leave me out like that. Let us seal the promise we made"
You tapped the bottle of sake with them and drank down the remaining sake in it. It was the first time you were drinking alcohol or it wasn't but it didn't taste nice. You let out a disgusted look with your tongue sticking out.
"Ugh, it tasted disgusting" you sneered. You got up and took the bottle and the cups from the boys and walked away.
"Where are you going?"
You turned and smirked. "I'm getting rid of the evidence for you. You don't want to hear Dadan's nagging, don't you?"
They blushed in embarrassment and you chuckled. "I'll get back to you once I'm done"
Once they saw your disappearing figure, they slumped down in exhaustion even though they aren't tired.
"That was a close one . . ." Ace exhaled a breath of air as he didn't know how long he held it in.
"Hey, why are we nervous, and why do I have this weird feeling in my stomach? It's not that Im hungry, right?" Luffy asked, confused while clutching onto his chest.
The older brothers remained silent as they looked at Luffy in astonishment. They look at each other and sighed. They can't hide this from their little brother so they decided to admit it.
"You're not the only one feeling this way, Luffy. We felt it too although we don't know what it was so we can't explain" Sabo admitted it.
"Forget it. We'll figure it out somehow. Let's just continue the usual of what we're supposed to do" Ace dropped the topic as if he didn't care even though he was curious about it as well.
____________________________________________________________
The Next Morning~
You were under the human pile again as you felt the weight on your body. Luffy is on your chest, Ace is on your waist and Sabo is on your legs. You slowly got up and woke them up as they slowly opened their eyes.
This kind of thing became a norm for you so you didn't bother to be annoyed about it. You got up and yawned as your hair is messy like a lion's mane.
The boys didn't realize that they were staring at you for long so the moment you turned to them, they snapped out of their daze and scrambled to their feet as they quickly leave their room. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. Just what has gotten into those bozos?
When the boys ran downstairs, they heard the front door knocking. They slowly walked towards it and opened it, revealing Makino and the mayor, Wood Slap.
"Makino!!" Luffy shouted happily and ran towards her.
Makino giggled and patted Luffy's head. "You seem to be doing fine around here"
Then she noticed Ace and walked towards him as she smiled. "You must be Ace. You seem to be doing well around here as well"
Ace looked away while trying to act tough but the small blush on his cheeks gave way.
"And you must be Sabo" she turned to him and Sabo grinned as he did his formal greeting which was a habit he got with his parents.
"Nice to meet you. You must be Makino"
"Makino, there's something we want to ask you," Luffy said.
The older boys understood what was going on as they finally know what the feeling is.
"The other day, we felt something weird in our stomachs," Luffy said.
"Are you sick?" Makino asked.
"No, instead of feeling pain, we felt something warm and nice with someone" Sabo replied.
It took a moment for Makino to process everything that the boys said and then she erupted into a fit of laughter while Wood Slap just shook his head and muttered something that they didn't hear. Something like "youngsters these days"
"What's so funny?" Luffy said as he tilted his head in confusion while the other two did the same.
Makino stopped laughing as she wiped off the tear from her eye. "What you're feeling right now is love"
Now it's their turn to take a few minutes to get the cogs in their little heads to process until they finally got to the conclusion.
"So Im gonna make her my wife"
"What do you mean your wife?! I'm gonna make her my wife!!"
"Nuh-uh!! I'm gonna make her my wife!! She's gonna be my Queen of Pirates!!"
Before things escalated, Makino stopped them and tried to ease the tension. "Hang on, boys. If you love her, you have to treat her like a true gentleman. How about you see who woos her first and that person can marry her?"
To be honest, her idea sounded more like a question than anything. Wood Slap facepalmed and shook his head.
"What does woo mean?" Luffy questioned, innocently.
Ace smacked Luffy in the head.
"Oww!!"
"It means to make her fall in love, idiot" he sneered and taunted, "There's no doubt I'm gonna win anyway so I'll play along to let you guys have a chance"
"You're on. Don't be sad that she rejects you!!" Sabo fixed his tophat and grinned.
"Shishishi, you're funny, guys" Luffy laughed.
"So whos the lucky girl?" Makino asked.
"(First Name)!!" Luffy answered, grinning.
Makino and Wood Slap stiffened and that's when it dawned on them. (First Name) . . .Wasnt that the name of the girl who was with Garp when he came to visit? She looks like she was barely 18 when they met her.
Dadan, Dogra, and Magra who overheard the conversation spit out their drinks.
"Hmm? Who called my name?"
Everyone looked up and saw your figure walking downstairs.
"Oh, Makino, you're here. And the mayor is here as well" you noticed them as you greeted them.
"(First Name), we'll be going out first," Luffy said and the trio left the shack and went into the woods.
You scoffed. "Sure, Goma"
And then you turned and went to work on your chores. Meanwhile, Dadan and the others couldn't help but stare at your disappearing figure as you do the laundry.
Wood Slap stared at Makino with a face "What the hell have you done?". Makino felt like crying in regret. Explaining this concept to them is completely harmless but she didn't expect the girl the boys like to be much older than them. She couldn't help but silently hope that things won't go wrong.
________________________________________________________
Timeskip~
Ever since the trio became determined to make you theirs, they went on separate ways and are thinking of ways to make you happy but their plans were always foiled by one or both of them the whole day. You noticed this but you have no idea why they're behaving this way so you decided to confront them.
As for Dadan and the others, they could only sweatdrop at this idiocracy.
That night, the boys were too tired and unconsciously lift the blanket assuming that you're sleeping underneath but it revealed a row of pillows instead. They were confused until they heard a voice from behind.
"Alright, you brats. Spit it out" you said. "You've been acting like this the whole day and I have no clue what you're trying to do. This is so not like you"
You sat in front of them with your legs crossed and your arms crossed under your chest. You had enough of this charade and you would rather confront them to get this done with. When you asked Dadan and the others what their issue is, they just changed the subject or try to avoid you which you find odd. They knew something but they're not telling you.
"I-" Sabo tried to calmly explain but he couldn't find the right words.
"We all like you, (First Name)!! We've been trying to woo you the whole day but it always fails" Luffy answered for them.
"You idiot!! Why did you tell her?!" Ace snapped, and his face turned red like a tomato.
"What do you mean? She has to know and even if we didn't, she'll know about it sooner or later" Luffy tilted his head in confusion.
Ace and Sabo are speechless. Since when did Luffy become smart? Just who is this kid? Is this even Luffy, their idiotic little brother?
You blinked and your look became dumbfounded with your neck craning forward and your jaw dropped. Huh? This is the reason they are acting like this?
"Uh . . .Hang on. Give me a second to process everything. So you're telling me that you like me romantically? Not platonically?" your hand rested on your forehead. You were confused. Just why are they feeling that way towards you of all people?
"Before I question that, I want to ask. Just where did you learn this from?" you asked.
"Makino told us!!" Luffy answered.
You felt like your soul left your body for a moment there. Just why . . .Makino? How could you just do that?
"Did she tell you anything that love has a limit to who you love?"
"No. Why?"
You sighed. "First of all, it's not wrong for you to love someone but the thing is your age"
"What about our age?"
"Ace and Sabo are 6 years younger than me while Luffy is 9 years younger than me. I'm so much older than you and you still want to be with me? You guys are just kids and not old enough" you explained.
While it may sound cruel but you need to be firm and told them the cold reality. They need to find someone else close to their age. People will always judge you no matter how many times and one day, your self-esteem and confidence will break.
"So what you're trying to say is that . . .we can't pursue you right now . . .Just not until we're older?" Sabo inquired.
"Huh?" you blinked. Just what did he interpret your words as?
Ace huffed. "You've should've told us sooner or we wouldn't be wasting our time the whole day"
"Shishishi, just wait and see, (First Name). You will be my Queen of Pirates!!" Luffy grinned.
You blinked for the nth time. When did you say that? That is not what you meant!! They got it all wrong!!
"(First Name), what is the age you need to be a man?" Sabo asked.
"Wh- 18. Why?"
Wrong choice. Ace turned to Luffy and gave him a smug look while Sabo gave him a sympathetic one.
"Sorry, Luffy but it seems that you have to wait for another 11 years to catch up to us" Sabo gave him a small smile but it sounded like he was mocking him.
"Pfft, blame yourself for being younger. Now we have a higher chance than you" Ace said cockily.
"Ack!! No way!! I won't let you!!"
[No!! That's not what I meant!! I can't believe I told them that!!]
You don't know whether to laugh or cry. Why did things turn out this way? Forget it. These idiots won't listen to you anyway plus they're too happy and enjoying themselves. You sighed and shook your head.
Then Luffy ran and jumped towards you, hugging you tightly with his devil fruit powers. The other two joined in as well and you could feel the weight on your person.
You chuckled and hugged back.
"You guys are idiots, really"