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Ace was fidgeting. Sure he and his brothers have been on the Old Man’s ship for a week or so, him teaching Ace and Luffy that special Haki. It was fun, and it was cool to think they could knock out someone with their mind. That was so cool. Anyway, he was bored. When they were sailing by themselves, they were never bored. Tired but never bored. But now on the Moby Dick and with no responsibilities to worry about, they were bored.
Luffy was bouncing out of his skin, eager for something to do. Sabo was reading, but even he had a limit. They asked the Whitebeards when they would get to the next island, but the brothers got the answer that it would be at least another week to get there.
They were bored. And they tend to go big or go home when bored. They did set sail because nothing in the East Blue interested them anymore, so it was smart to say that when the ASL Brothers were bored, they did dumb shit.
Namely raiding the kitchen of an Emperor's crew that was manned by one of the toughest pirates on the seas.
Twin Swords Thatch. The head cook of the Whitebeard Pirates. One of Luffy’s current favorite people outside their family. Ace and Sabo liked him as well, but their fondness for the man was not going to stop their hunger.
Sure they could just ask for food, but where was the fun in that? They needed to get some of their energy out, and the kitchen was right there . How could they resist?
The brothers convened in their room, masks off but not far from their bodies. Luffy was vibrating, Sabo smirking. Ace had a wicked smile on his face.
“We need a distraction. Luffy, you should do that. He likes you the best.”
Luffy beamed, “Sure!”
Sabo pointed to Ace, “I will take the food from the fridge. Ace, you take the food in the pantry. Be sneaky.”
Ace nodded, “Got it.”
Sabo rubbed his hands together, silent cackles coming from his mouth.
“Operation: Empty Stomachs is a go. Good luck on your missions, everyone.”
Ace cackled. Luffy follows his example. Good thing no one could hear them because they would be afraid for their lives if they heard the brothers' laughter.
Sabo and his brothers walked to the kitchens. They were huge for necessity, needing a large space to cook for the huge crew. It was in the middle of the afternoon, after the lunch rush, but before dinner time preparation, the perfect time for a food raid. But they knew that Thatch was in the kitchens, doing his chef duties. The brothers nodded to each other and split up, going to their targets. Luffy made a beeline for Thatch, using his do no evil atmosphere to his advantage.
Sabo treed silently to the fridge, using all of his stealth skills to get the food. Ace used his haki to figure out the best trail to get to the pantry, dodging people and being the pirate he is.
Luffy skipped up to Thatch, who was currently cutting some fruit. He looked down at Luffy and beamed. Sabo scoffed into his head. Poor bastard. He knew nothing of Luffy’s deviousness when food was involved.
“Cheshire, what can I do for you?”
Luffy beamed underneath his mask, not faking his enthusiasm.
“Hi, Thatchy! What are we having for dinner! And what is it? Is it good?”
Thatch listened to Luffy’s word vomit.
Sabo opened the fridge and grabbed everything of interest. He noticed Ace doing the same thing in the pantry. Sabo was glad they learned the technique of blocking their haki signature. If they did not, Thatch was sure to have noticed them by now. He put their stolen bounty in a bag that was slowly gaining more weight. Sabo listened to the conversation while obtaining the food.
“I am making some sea king steak. We caught one this morning, so it will be fresh and delicious. And I assure you that it will be good. I will stake my pride as a cook on it.”
Thatch puffed up like a bird, pride filling his chest. Sabo thought he looked like an idiot. Sabo closed the fridge door, the third one he raided. They needed a lot of food storage space for a crew this big. Ace looked about done as well. Sabo signaled for Ace to go, and he nodded. They crept out of the kitchen, no soul having seen them.
“Okay! That sounds really good, Thatchy! See ya later!”
With that, Luffy ran out of the kitchen, noticing his brothers were done with their raiding. Sabo and Ace shared a look, going faster. They saw some of the pirates near them look at them questionably, but they didn’t stop to talk. It would be soon where Thatch will find the evidence of their sins. Or lack of evidence in this case.
“Where did all the food go?!”
Speak of the devil. The brother moved faster.
“Cheshire! Pyro! Broker! I know you guys did this!”
They heard thumps and the unsheathing of two swords.
The brothers ran faster.
Newgate was having a great day. Three new sons of the board, even though they didn’t know this, and Newgate has never been happier. Gaining new sons was always a joyous occasion. The brothers were tight-nit, having a familial bond that goes deeper than blood, and Newgate has never wanted sons this badly. They were perfect for the crew, the family. They had each other's back, never doubting the other. They looked out for each other.
Newgate thought of them as the perfect example of brotherly love. He wanted them. But it had to be of their free will. He knew by now that attempting to kidnap these brothers would have resulted in a lot of feral behavior. Especially from Pyro. He was the hothead in the group. If Newgate kidnapped him or his brothers, Newgate would think he would try to take his head off with an ax.
Yes, kidnapping was not the solution.
This time.
This time all he needed to do was be patient and allow the boys to come to the conclusion themselves. Newgate can be patient. He was an experienced pirate and captain, he knew that patience was vital in certain areas. Adoption was one of those areas.
“You goddamn brats! Give me back that food!”
He heard his sons yell, Thatch, in the distance, and the doors burst open. The Masked Brothers came in bags over their shoulders. They looked like they ran for a while already, and looked around for a hiding place. Newgate was amused by this and decided to help out his sons to be. He whistled, catching the brothers' attention. He opened up his long coat, showing a space they could hide in. Newgate was a big man, he could easily hide three average-sized brats. They looked at each other and ran to Whitebeard. They jumped up into his personal space, and once they were situated, Newgate blocked their bodies with his coat. He felt them hide in his coat, and he smiled, overjoyed that they trusted him enough for this.
Thatch ran into the mess hall and looked around, swords at the ready. He glared at everyone, and then looked a this Pops.
“Pops! Did you see the brothers come in here?”
Newgate raised his sake bottle and gestured at the door to the cabins under the ship.
“You just missed them.”
“Thanks, Pops!”
Thatch kicked open the door and yelled.
“You will not be spared from my wrath, you food stealers!”
He ran into the hall and was out of sight just as quickly as he came in.
The brothers crawled out of Newgate’s coat with their newly acquired bounty. They looked a the door and then sighed in relief.
Cheshire was giggling in glee, and Pyro and Broker high-fived. They seemed proud of their heist.
Newgate laughed, and that was when they turned to him. Cheshire laughed.
“Thanks, Old Man! Thatchy was really angry, so thanks for the help!”
Cheshire laughed a high and bright sound. Newgate was happy the young one was enjoying himself.
“We have to go, Cheshire. We should leave before Thatch comes back.”
Cheshire nodded, then tilted his head. He jumped to his brothers and opened a bag.
He ruffled through it and brought out a cooked fish. He then jumped onto Newgate’s knee and extended his arms to Newgate, offering him the food.
“This is for your help.”
Pyro and Broker made noises of shock, while Newgate grabbed the fish with his fingers.
“Thank you.”
Cheshire laughed and jumped off his knee. They ran off after Pyro and Broker looked back at Newgate multiple times.
Newgate looked down at the small fish that would be barely qualified as a snack, but he appreciated all the same. It was a gift of thanks from his soon-to-be son. He would take it with pride.
The brothers managed to not be eviscerated by Thatch. They made it back to their room safe and sound, their bounty safe. They were cackling, having the most fun they had since Ace and Sabo woke up. Sabo couldn’t stop grinning, thinking of Thatch's enraged face once he realized the heist. Of course, Sabo wasn’t close enough for Thatch to get them.
“That was fun, we should do that again.”
Ace said that, and Sabo agreed. It was a good way to soothe their boredom and satisfy their hunger. Two birds, one stone.
“You must really like the old guy, Luffy.”
Luffy smiled and nodded.
“Shishishishishi! Yeah, he’s cool!”
Ace stared at him, “You only think that because he’s huge.”
Luffy pouted, “Yeah, but he’s also so cool! Look at his blade thingy. It’s so big.”
Luffy had awe in his voice. Sabo recognized that tone of voice. It was what Luffy used whenever something interested him for more than two hours. Normally only Ace and Sabo got that privilege. Sabo didn’t know what to think of it. He feels slightly jealous. Sabo pushed that feeling down.
“Yeah yeah, whatever.”
Ace scoffed and turned away. Sabo had the feeling that he was feeling the same way as Sabo.
“I think we shouldn’t do more food runs on Thatch’s shift. He makes our food.”
The brother agreed on that.
They didn’t want to anger their chef too badly. Food was important to them, good food even more. And a good chef was automatically in their good books.
Sabo looked down at the food at their feet. Luffy was already drooling at the sight. Sabo saw Ace wipe his mouth, trying to hide the expression. Sabo rubbed his hands together.
“Time to eat.”
“Yeah!”
If someone saw the sight in the room, they would back up in fear. It was not a sight for weak-willed pirates.
The brothers tore through the food in minutes, fighting each other for even a singular chicken wing. It was a fight for survival. But the brothers used this time as bonding time.
As they say, feral children are feral, no matter how much time passes.
And the ASL Brothers were feral.
“Give that back!”
“No!”
A crash and tumbles sounded around the room.
Sabo inwardly smiled. Yeah, this is how it is supposed to be.
“You meanie!”
“Sucks to suck, idiot.”
Sabo sighed. He looked at his brothers, who were currently fighting over a fried squid.
“Well, I’ll just take this…”
The brothers snapped their heads to Sabo, who was holding a bag of food they didn’t get to. They pounced at him.
“No way!”
“Give that here!”
“Then take it if you dare!”
Sabo laughed evilly, acting as a villain in a bedtime story.
The fight was on. And Sabo did not plan on losing.