Thank you everyone for the warm for the cheerful messages! Still trying to find a new job, so that might cause hiccups here soon depending on how long I can siphon my money to bills! I'm trying to stay strong and get through this! I don't want to worry ya'll with my problems. As long as you enjoy my stories I will try and update as best I can.

This story is for Cherry in an AU AceXNami. The idea was simple but unique, and the moment I saw it I started getting a movie in my head about what could be done. I changed it up a bit so that it isn't too much like a cliché AU, but it was just that one part that I really changed on your idea. Hopefully you're okay with that!

The next story is for Dragon who wanted a ZoroXRobin story! Thank you for requesting with your awesome idea and look forward to the next update!

Thank you all for reading and pushing me on! It really does make me feel better to know you guys enjoy my stories! I hope you have a great rest of the year! And look forward to 2017! Let this new year be a good one!

"There's our girl!" Arlong said, proud, wicked smile on his face as his sharp eyes found the orange haired girl walked up with a proud, stern walk of her own. "So what goods did you get this time, Nami?"

Said girl held out a bag, tossing it towards him without a word. He never cared if she spoke or not, as long as she delivered. Nami was the thief of their gang, and Arlong sent her on missions all the time. You could say she was the member of the gang no one knew was a member. She was stealthy and secretive, yet acted on how she needed to depending on the person.

"Am I done now?" She huffed with a sigh, crossing her arms over her head and stretching, showing her physical exhaustion from all the "missions" he gave her.

Arlong's smile dropped slightly at the edges, and his sharp eyes narrowed as they looked at her again. Nami dropped her arms, looking him back in the eyes. Arlong and Nami had this mutual respect and hate for each other, Nami had more of the hate however. She was forced into this gang so she could protect her sister from them. Due to a loan that needed to be repaid on their house, Nojiko, her sister, nearly gave up all her savings. In turn Nami took it upon herself to instead work for Arlong and his gang.

Arlong hummed and sat back on his makeshift throne made out of scrap metal. Nami was the only female in the gang, and so when they looked at her like this she always felt like she needed to be on edge in case they jumped her. Instead Arlong held up his hand and waved her off, showing he was no longer interested in her for the moment. "Just be ready for more tomorrow."

"Right," Nami grumbled, scooping up her personal bag next to her and relocating it onto her shoulder. However the others in the gang were a bit more interested in why she wanted to leave already.

"Where you gon' go?" One of them asked, stopping in front of her. Nami stopped and looked up at the large man, her fist tightening on her bag's strap.

"Home." She simply stated, forcefully pushing him away. "If you want me to take more tomorrow, I need rest. Now move."

The man stumbled to the side, giving a shout of surprise and barely catching himself before he ran into something. Nami took the chance to speed walk out of the dilapidated building before anyone else stopped her. She wasn't really going home just yet, she had to drop by somewhere first. She kept a watchful eye around her, making sure none of Arlong's gang members followed her. Out of the city she went, towards the woods, making her way through them carefully until she came to a small clearing with a sing tree standing in the middle. It was a tangerine tree that her mother planted when she was young, the very first, and it meant a lot to her. Nami walked around to the other side, knocking on the wood that sounded faintly hollow, yet full at the same time. She felt around until a partial ran under her fingers. She pressed it and dirt moved away beside her as a metal hatched jumped at being unlocked. A large metal container that was buried underground was hidden beside this tree and underneath it.

"Almost there," Nami commented as she pulled a small bag of money that she took as compensation from doing these missions from Arlong's split. She had to build up enough money to get her and her sister away from that small broken house of theirs. She already had a house on hold. The house they originally grew up in before her and Nojiko lost their mother and moved from the tangerine farm. She was going to buy it back and get away from all of this.

"So there was something hidden there."

Nami slammed the lid shut and turned, looking around frantically for the voice she didn't recognize. It left little relief that she knew it wasn't one of Arlong's gang members, but still it was someone who had followed her and now knew her secret. Her eyes trailed through the tree's, trying to find who had spoken, and finally her eyes caught onto the dark haired man who blended in with the shadows. His hair was shaggy and wavy, eyes lit with fire as they watched her with interest. His button up shirt was wide open, baring his well toned chest and stomach muscles. He stepped out of the shadows into the light, making Nami tense up and reach behind her, gripping the cold plastic handle.

"Who are you?" She growled, legs angling more for a quick stand up or lunge towards him if he gets too close.

The man held his hands up, as if that would make him see anymore less of a threat. He stepped forward until he was only a few feet in front of her, and Nami stood up slowly, her eyes not leaving him for a second. But now that he was closer, she could see that he had freckles littering across his cheeks and nose, giving him an almost childish look.

"Does it matter?" He asked, tilting his head to the side and staring at her with a cocky half smile and a raised eyebrow.

Nami whipped her arm forward, flicking out the dagger she had hidden on her back. She held it in front of her threateningly, letting the sun gleam off it's clean edge. "Who. Are. You?" She asked again, more pushed this time.

He dropped the smirk, seeing she wasn't too thrilled about all of this. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head, ruffling his hair. "Ace," He said finally, giving a small nod with his eyes pointed at the dagger. "Listen, you don't have to worry. I'm not interested in your little cash spot."

Nami wasn't believing that for a moment. Anyone who came across a place where money is hidden, is always tempted to take it. "You said 'so there was something hidden there'. Meaning you knew something was here and you waited…." She stopped, looking for any signs on his face. "That doesn't sound like someone who isn't interested."

Ace gave a guilty smirk, realizing the predicament he was in. "It was more just curiosity on what it was."

Nami narrowed her eyes and stepped forward, putting the dagger under his chin. "How did you even find it?"

"I didn't," He told her simply, not a hint of fear in his eyes as the dagger pressed against his skin. He held up his hands again, pointing his eyes towards the dagger to get her attention. "Will you let me explain?"

"Go ahead," She told him, pressing the dagger harder to his neck. Her eyes were daring, teasing him for his stupidity in thinking she'd let him go that easy.

"If you don't take the dagger away, I won't explain." But then a dangerous glint flickered in his eye. "I could always make you take the dagger away."

Nami looked at him with an interested flicker in her own eyes. Was he stupid? Did he actually think he'd get the dagger away from her? "Go ahead and try if you want to die."

Ace smirked, taking a small step towards her. She tensed her arm, ready to retaliate against any hold he would grab her with. Instead he step forward again, and again. Nami back up with his steps waiting for him to make a move at her in defense; but it never came, he just kept walking forward until her back hit the tree. It shook with her hit, telling her she didn't have a clear exit behind her now. Ace continued forward though, letting the dagger press into his skin and slice it. A gentle trickle of blood slipped down his neck and on the dagger. Nami flinched back from the sight of the blood, not knowing how to handle a man who was willingly letting her kill him. She jerked her hand away from him.

This was exactly what Ace was predicting she'd do. She wasn't a killer, just a lot of talk. When she pulled the knife away he grabbed her wrist with the dagger and held it out away from their bodies. His other arm reached out and wrapped around her waist, pulling her into him and not backwards into the already swaying tree. Nami seemed shocked and unsure of what to do as Ace pulled her closer to his body, still keeping a tight hold on wrist so she couldn't move the dagger. Nami's wide eyes looked up at him, flicking from his bloodied neck to his eyes that were intensely watching her. His thumb pushed into her skin, sliding from the inside of her wrist towards the inside of her palm.

It was hot where he was touching her. Her back was tingling where his arm and hand were holding her. His hand around her wrist, like a hot cuff, trapping her in his hold. She felt his thumb press against the pulse of her wrist, sliding up along the joint of her thumb to the bottom of the dagger. A quick push of his thumb made the dagger fall from her grasp. But still, she wasn't able to go against him. She was frozen in her spot by both intense heat and fear, mingling together in a swirling vortex. Her heart was thumping so hard she thought it would explode. A heart wasn't meant to beat this fast; but was it in fear, or something else?

"Told you," He teased, flashing her a cocky grin. He stood there watching her, eyes boring into hers like they were reading everything about her. Nami blushed furiously, realizing that they had been standing there pressed against one another for awhile now. Not only that but her. She pushed her hand against his chest, making him release her body from his. Ace chuckled, but still held her wrist and hand firmly. "Will you let me explain now?"

Nami still had her defenses up, but she resigned to a sigh and nodded her head. Ace's foot reached out towards the dagger as he let her wrist go. He tucked his toe under it and kicked up, catching the dagger as it flew into the air. He spun it in his hand, holding it by the blade so the hilt faced her. He bowed slightly to her and held the dagger towards her. Nami carefully took the knife, wondering why he was being so willing to give her a weapon again when she just tried to hurt him.

He flashed a smile towards her, thankfully she was willing to trust him now, even if it was just a little bit. "I found this place the other day and thought it was a good place to take a nap. The tree give just enough shade to block the sun." He waved his hand over the shade they were under, to show proof. "When I woke up later I didn't want to get up, so I…well, laid back down…..with a flop…" He seemed embarrassed to word it this way, and Nami couldn't stop the inner giggle that made the corner of her mouth twitch. "When I did that I heard a thump, almost like metal. And when I pushed away the dirt, I saw the top of the container."

Nami didn't find any faults in his explanation really, because she could see him actually doing this. It wasn't like this clearing was hard to find, and the container wasn't far from the surface of the ground. She didn't expect someone to "flop" backwards on the container. She placed just enough dirt it would be easy to cover when she was done, and cancel the sound of footsteps on the top.

"I swear." She groaned, putting a hand to her forehead and shaking her head. "So…..you're really not going to take it?" She wasn't sure why she asked, maybe because she truly wanted to believe he wasn't going to take all her work.

He nodded his head, her muscles relaxing at the small agreement. "I don't want the money you're obviously trying to save up for. It's important enough to hide obviously." Nami gave a thankful smile to him, and he seemed taken aback by it, but then smiled at her. "So…what's it for?" When Nami turned wide eyes on him again, as if he betrayed her, he held up his hands innocently. "Like I said, just curiosity."

Nami looked at him, but still it was just an innocent flicker in his eyes that really did look like childish curiosity. "I'm getting me and my sister out of this place." Nami told him simply, crossing her arms uncomfortably. She expected him to laugh at her, or find it ridiculous. But instead he nodded his head in agreement.

"Away from the gang?" He suddenly asked, shocking Nami from the knowledge he somehow got about her. He smiled calmly though, and pointed his finger towards her bag. Nami glanced over and noticed Arlong's gang sign painted on the bag. She had forgotten that this was required of her so people weren't tempted to steal the bag.

"Yeah…." She answered, not wanting to get into detail on the matter.

"I'm guessing a non-willing member?" Ace asked, quirking an eyebrow at her in question.

"Not really," Nami sighed, covering the container with dirt so she didn't have to look at him.

A hum came from Ace from behind her. And Nami lifted her bag over her shoulder. "Then….join another gang." Nami sighed at his simplicity wondering if he even knew what he was talking about. "Like….Whitebeards?"

Nami spun on her foot, staring at him with wide eyes. Of all the gangs to suggest, it had to be Arlong's top rival. They were a large gang who ran most of the city. They watched over the smaller groups like Arlong's with downcast eyes because if they wanted they could take them down easily. "What are you talking about?! For one, he doesn't take in women. Two! I'm trying to get away from the gang! Not join a more dangerous one!" She wanted to smack the stupidity out of him. A buzzing in her pocket cut off Ace as he opened his mouth to speak to her. "I gotta go. Please, just…..don't tell anyone…."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Nami shouted, as Arlong told her about the next victim. He was wanting her to go and rob the Blackbeard gang. "No way! No WAY!" She was shaking her head adamantly, refusing the mission.

Arlong narrowed his eyes dangerously at her, making a cold shiver run down her spine. He stood up and loomed over her, a dangerous shadow covering her. He didn't like being told no. And Nami had said it many times. "You will go and get their cash and goods. Y'hear me?" It wasn't an actual question. Nami knew she only had one option for answering. She nodded her head slowly. Either way she was going to be hurt badly.

Surprisingly enough it was easy to get into the Blackbeard gang's hideout. It was like they weren't worried about people getting in…..but that's to be expected from such a notoriously dangerous gang. Nami was terrified, with every step she took she expected to be captured. She was shocked by her own survival skills as she made her way towards their back room. She laid out the schematics of the building she was given and double checked to make sure she was going the right way.

In and out, that was her job. She finally made it to the back room, and the sight made her nearly drool. Cash in full bangs sat around, gold objects, and jewels littered the floor. She wasn't sure how much of this Arlong actually knew about. She could finish up her savings with this. Better yet, she could completely avoid Arlong's mission now and take most of this to her container. It was harder to get out than it was to get in, but again, Nami shocked herself with her skills.

"Yes!" Nami shouted in glee as she dumped the bags into the container in the small clearing. "This should be enough!"

"So this is what you've been doing with the money."

The all too familiar voice sent a deathly cold shiver up her spine, and her shaking body turned to look at Arlong standing there with menacing eyes.

"A-arlong?!" Nami fell backwards, shutting the lid of the container. But how? She had snuck in and out perfectly! No one knew! And she was sure no one was following her to the clearing.

"You were right about the little mouse." A deep voice grumbled as a large man with black facial hair walked up. She knew him instantly. The leader of the Blackbeard gang, and the very person she just robbed.

Arlong's hand was suddenly on her neck in the next instant. So fast Nami couldn't defend herself. He lifted her up by her neck and chin, till her legs were dangling in the air. She gasped for breath, trying to get something in her burning lungs. His hand squeezed her throat, fingers bruising her jawline.

"Think you could take from me?" Arlong growled. "One of Blackbeard's men saw you coming into the woods, so when we looked around we saw this tree. Of course I figured something was up since your dear mother loved tangerine trees." It was a snarled laugh that came out of his mouth. "So stupid. You can't escape from the gang Nami. The only way you leave is by death. But if you want to leave so badly." He threw her like she was a rag doll, allowing her lungs to gather air. Her face smashed into the ground, a bruise already forming on the cheek that was hit.

A click brought her eyes up, gleaming in the light was the barrel of a gun, staring straight at her. She sat up, trying to crawl backwards from the weapon. "A-arlong, p-p-please wait!"

"Just shut her up Arlong!" Blackbeard shouted, "I want my money back!"

"Shut up Teach!" Arlong spat back, glaring at the man behind him. "Too bad you couldn't say goodbye to your sister first. But don't worry…." He chuckled maniacally. "I'll send her to you soon."

He cocked the gun, aiming it at her sideways as if it would make him more of a thug. Nami shut her eyes, keeping the tears behind her eyes as best as she could, but still she felt the water fall down her cheek; fear overcoming her.

"GAH!"

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

The sound of something hitting the floor came before another, larger thud crumbled. "Didn't anyone teach you not to harm a woman?"

Nami felt relief flood her as she opened her eyes and spotted Ace standing in front of her. Arlong was on the floor and underneath Ace's foot was the gun he just had. "Ace…." She barely heard herself breath his name, but he must have heard her because he looked over his should and flashed her a smile.

"HA! You think you can beat both of us?! You're just a commander!" Blackbeard spat, trying to lower Ace's pride, but still he stood there proudly.

Blackbeard rushed Ace, making Nami scream in fright. Blackbeard gripped his shirt, lifting him up from the ground. But Ace simply used Blackbeards uplifting momentum to flip while gripping his arm. Ace arched his back, slamming his heavy boot heel onto Blackbeard's face. This knocked the large man backwards harshly, nose bleeding and probably broken from the impact. But his grip on Ace's shirt didn't loosen, so Ace instead slipped from his shirt and landed in front of Nami again. Before Nami could process what happened, he was sweeping his leg in an upward arch, connecting with Arlong who was coming towards Nami now.

"Sorry, I can't let you touch her." Ace told him, watching the man collapse backwards as well. Nami looked at his back, a large tattoo of the Whitebeard gang's sigil proudly showing.

"She's part of my gang! I can do whatever I want to her!" Arlong shouted at him, fixing his broken nose himself and glaring at Ace.

Ace snuffed Arlong, jerking his chin to show how lowly he viewed Arlong. "She's MINE."

"Wha….!" Arlong ground out, stopping at the look Ace flashed towards him. "How?! She's in my gang."

"Take it however you want." Ace shrugged his shoulders, turning towards Nami and crouching in front of her. How could he turn his back to them?! Was he insane?! He helped her up carefully, helping her shaking legs stand up better. His arm was around her waist comfortably, holding her up against his body to help her stay standing up. "I've decided she'll be my girl. Therefore, I'm recruiting her into the Whitebeard gang."

Arlong's face showed disbelief, and Nami's face was flushing underneath the bruises she were sure were already forming. Her hands were hanging onto him desperately, using him as a tower and shield from the two men who were after her. But still Ace had his back turned to them, as if he wasn't worried about them. Instead his attention was on Nami, a hand gently lift her chin up so he could look at her neck and the red bruise still sitting there from Arlong's hand. Then he ran a thumb over her cheek, a look of guilt flashing in his eyes.

"I'm fine." Nami told him in a whisper, throat raw and scratchy. She furrowed her brows at the slight pain though and put a hand to her throat, wondering how raw it would be later when it really began to heal. Nami looked briefly behind Ace and opened her mouth to scream, seeing Blackbeard looming over them with a machete, ready to slice down at Ace and Nami in one go.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Ace said in a gruff voice, daring Blackbeard to swing down that Machete. Blackbeard glared and continued to swing it down, then a loud bang echoed through the air. Automatically Nami ducked down, knowing the sound of a gun being shot off. Ace tucked her head in, just to be safe. But metal against metal screeching told her that it wasn't flesh that it was aiming for. She looked up and saw the machete now gone from Blackbeards hold.

Sounds of many guns being cocked made Nami look around finally. People emerged from the shadows, all aiming their guns at the two gang leaders. Nami couldn't believe how many people were here. And they all seemed to be on Ace's side. When she looked closer she could see each of them wearing some form of the sigil of the Whitebeard gang.

"Like you said Teach; I'm a commander!" Ace told him, finally looking at the flabbergasted look on Blackbeard's face. "I'm only going to tell you this once you two. This girl here, Nami, is mine, and she's under the protection of the Whitebeard gang! You come after her, we won't leave you with just a warning." Ace lifted Nami up so she was no longer on her own feet, holding her up to his shoulder. "You're lucky I don't pay you back tenfold for laying your hands on her." Nami couldn't see his eyes, but the terrified looks of Arlong and Blackbeard and the mere tone of voice he had sent shivers up her spine.

Arlong and Blackbeard quickly left the site after that, and Ace in turn was taking Nami back to their place, which wasn't even secret. It was open to everyone and was right in the middle of the city. Ace was even kind enough to have the rest of his men dig up her container and take it to the hideout.

"What about Nojiko?!" Nami shouted at him, punching him feebly in the chest as he set her down. She was more worried about her sister.

"Nami!"

Speak of the devil. Nami turned around quickly, seeing her sister run out from one of the inner rooms. She then looked at Ace as she embraced her sister, giving him a quirked eyebrow.

"We already dropped by your house to talk with your sister. She filled us in with what you were up to." He gave a nonchalant shrug towards her as if it wasn't really anything. "We figured we'd just help you out a little by getting you somewhere safer."

"How did you know where I live?" Nami asked, very suspicious and a little worried for her and her sister's safety now, but her mind and heart told her there was no need to be worried.

"We're the Whitebeard gang! We can find anyone." Ace said proudly, as if this wasn't a problem.

Nami sighed and pinched his skin on his chest, making him shout in pain and hold his chest where she pinched. "You need to work on your morality."

"Coming from someone who steals." Ace teased back, giving her a cocky smile.

"Only from those who are bad." Nami said with a laugh, putting her hands up in a threat of pinching him.

Ace grabbed her wrists as he laughed, pulling her arms so she came forward towards him. He place a soft kiss to her bruised cheek, pulling back slightly so their noses were brushing against one another. "Oh? Am I bad?"

Nami sucked in a breath, barely seeing her sister make a proud face on the side and walk away quickly, pushing some of the men away with her. She was trying to give them their own room. But why was Ace asking her if he was bad? "No, you're not bad. Why would you think that?"

He smirked, lips brushing against her as he leaned slightly forward. "Cuz you definitely stole my heart."

His lips pushed against hers, taking her into a sweet and gentle kiss. He let her wrists go behind his head and dropped his arms to around her waist, trying not to push onto her too much and knock her off balance. At first Nami was frozen, but she felt herself being sucked in. Ace was so different from other gang members she's met, and she wanted to get to know him more. Her arms reached around his neck, pulling closer so her body was against his. For once, Nami was going to be stolen from because he was slowly creeping into her heart.

Nami ended up helping Ace's little brother with his gang, playing a secret agent in a way to keep Ace knowledgable about what's going on with his brother, while at the same time getting back to being more independent with her own missions. Luffy was kind and let her do what she wanted, and in a way she was in command because Luffy was always following her suggestions and orders. He trusted her, and for once Nami felt like she didn't want to leave the gang life.

Nojiko ended up living out in that old house, that was now under special protection of the Whitebeard gang, and Arlong and Blackbeard were no longer a problem for them. Nami visited Nojiko a lot and helped with the tangerine farm, but most of the time she just went back to the StrawHat hideout or to Whitebeard's hideout. These were her homes now. These two gangs were her family.