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♠ @gummi-monkey
note: after checking with the mun, i went with another meaning for ‘tackle’ as well
Luffy might be rubber but the manner in which he went to Ace was dart-like, not bouncy at all. Sometimes he was almost like a spear, cutting the air on its way forward, paying attention to nothing and no one until it reached its target, even if this carelessness resulted in collateral damage - which is a way of saying sometimes the boy was responsible for the men losing balance and falling on deck, when they didn’t fall onto, over, off the Moby Dick’s railing.
His tongue, too, was a powerful weapon in the fight for ultimate annoyance and the boy lost no time loosening it when he finally intercepted Ace.
“Woah, calm down, Luffy!” Forgetting the item to be safely secured around his neck by the double strap, Ace’s right hand was quick, albeit smooth, in retrieving his hat, after the accident almost sending it flying. He chuckled. “What are you so excited about?”
Through rushed words and excited exclamations, Ace understood the general content of Luffy’s endless monologue (for what they were having couldn’t really be called a dialogue): he was both proud and happy with his performance in the gun deck. Judging by the result of the battle, he had succeeded in his new functions, proving himself useful to Pops and the Whale.
Later, after addressing Curiel and Jozu for a chat, Ace would learn all about Luffy’s bravery from the backstage of war. For now, his priority was to make the boy calm down, lest more accidents happen and Whitebeard run short of sons.
Around them, the air was coloured white and smelt like the sweat of battle and the urine of smoke. It was not a pleasant combo and it was something Ace doubted he’d ever get used to - though, at later times, he would - and so he removed his hat to fan himself with the air created by the swishing of the brim. Awful though it was, war was a necessity; just like breathing, and thus there was nothing to do but to breathe the foul smells in.
There was more in the air than just that. The proud, rather fatherly smile on Ace’s face subsided and now bearing a concerned look he inspected Luffy’s hair with a dog-like sniff. There was a smell he couldn’t detect - potassium nitrate - and another he knew all too well - charcoal. These notes were sweet to a man of fire. But then there was a third, very recognisable smell in his little brother’s head as well - sulfur. Luffy had pampered himself to some gunpowder cologne, topped with the acrid smell of the smoke it produced.
Shit. Apparently Jozu had missed a spot. That was bad news for the two brothers, wasn’t it?
“Lu-Luffy… Go wash yourself at once!” The traces of gunpowder in Luffy’s head were hardly enough to cause a reaction out of Ace, who, by then, had learnt how to control his fiery abilities, but that did not mean they were not enough for sparks to fly.
Sweat trickled down his forehead and it was hard to say what was to blame on the effort of battle and what could be a nervous reaction to the imminent danger - having to repair the Moby’s main mast all by himself after accidentally setting it ablaze was an experience Ace did not feel like reprising, thank you very much!
Neither did he want to offer the crew a free show of fireworks right now. A push to the back sent Luffy on his way to the bathroom. In the current state of affairs, the dynamic duo constituted even a bigger hazard to the Moby Dick than it normally did.
Better safe than sorry!
