I've been writing this and procrastinating literally all of my other stories in the process. But, since this is my holiday-season-proof-I'm-not-dead update, I figure that that doesn't really matter. So, to be brief:

This is a modern AU, and Ace doesn't know that his father was Gol D. Roger. You guys are smart; you can figure out the rest from there.

Ace crept down the hall, gun in hand, finger just off the trigger to prevent a misfire. He kept his breathing even, felt his heart maintaining a steady rhythm in his chest. The hotel hallway seemed to stretch on forever, every door the same as the last.

Except for one. It had no distinguishing features besides the number on the door, but to Ace that number may as well have been a spotlight.

Ace took a deep breath and glanced around the hallway, making sure that there was no one that could possibly be observing. Then he reached for the handle, gently turning it and frowning when he realized that it was unlocked, a rarity for hotels; it took special dedication to mess with the electronic locks to keep them from locking.

The trap couldn't be more obvious, which was what had Ace on edge; usually this man was as subtle as they came, slipping out of Ace's reach at the last second or days in advance. He rarely resorted to traps. And now that Ace had thought he'd finally caught up, he seemed to be gone again. Was this just a way to mock him?

Either way, he had to check the room.

He stepped through, smoothly opening the door while keeping his gun at the ready.

There was no one in immediate view; just two neatly made beds and a window with the curtains drawn. A door was cracked open to his left, a tile floor just barely visible through it.

Bathroom, Ace knew, having already examined the layout of the hotel rooms.

He walked forward, eyes scanning his surroundings and every sense on high alert. There was no one hiding between or behind the beds, and no space under them to permit hiding. Ace eyed the closet and then checked it, confirming that there was no one inside. He checked the bathroom last, narrowing his eyes when he saw that the shower had been recently used; water still glistened in the combined bath.

Someone had been in there within the past two hours, if Ace had to guess, though there had been no personal effects in the bedroom area.

Ace holstered his gun, expertly flipping his suit jacket over it to cover the slight bump it made. He stepped back into the room proper, gray eyes flicking over the room again on the off chance that he'd missed something.

"What are you doing?"

Ace spun, gun out and leveled at the new arrival in a heartbeat, the safety off and his finger hovering over the trigger.

A small, young boy stared at him with large and round eyes from the doorway, a straw hat on his head, a ratty t-shirt on his torso, old shorts on his legs, and worn sandals on his feet. He didn't seem fazed by the pistol pointed at his chest. Ace suppressed a sigh, holstering his weapon again.

"Well?" The boy repeated, shoving his hands into his pockets and rocking on his feet.

"I'm just examining this room," Ace said, kneeling in front of the boy. "Nothing to worry about, kid."

"You're not much older than me. I'm six, you know. I'm big. I'm not a kid."

Ace ruffled the boy's hair, the motion as unsure and stilted as the young man's smile. Ace's eyes narrowed when he felt that the hair was still damp. "I'm much older than you. What's your name?"

"Luffy," the boy said. "Luffy D. Monkey."

Ace froze, his hand still on Luffy's head. Monkey?

"Your father is – "

"Dragon," Luffy finished. He sidled past the confused Ace, walking over to the mini fridge and pulling the door open. Ten seconds later he had a juice box. "Are you okay, mister?"

Ace straightened, setting his surprise at Dragon's possibly having a kid aside for the moment. He didn't have any intel on that, and so he would just have to improvise.

"I'm fine, thank you. Listen, Luffy, I need you not to tell anyone about what you've seen tonight."

"What, because you're not s'posed to exist?"

Ice spread throughout Ace's chest but he kept his expression calm. "You're a very blunt kid. Where did you hear that?"

"Dad said it," Luffy said, taking a sip of his juice box. "He talked about you a lot."

"Did he now." Ace eased the door shut, keeping his gray eyes on Luffy. "Why?"

"He said you were lonely." Another sip. The kid was staring right back at Ace, eyes unwavering. It was almost unnerving.

"I'm not lonely," Ace replied. "Where's your dad, Luffy?"

"Gone."

"Where?"

"Dunno."

"Did he say anything about where he was going?"

"Just that he was going away."

"Why did he leave you behind?"

"Because."

"Why?"

"He wants me to go with you," Luffy muttered, finally breaking eye contact. Ace took a second to process those words and then sighed.

"Did you just wander in here, kid? Hear some things?"

"I'm not lying!"

"I'm sure. Look, I'm very busy; I have to examine the rest of my assigned rooms, so –"

"You're an assassin." Luffy's declaration successfully robbed Ace of his words. "Dad said you were taken from your home when your father died and they raised you, and that's why you're not supposed t' exist. Your dad was friends with mine, you know."

Ace's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. "You should keep your mouth shut."

"Don't wanna. Plus, how can I make people happy if I don't talk?"

"You're making me upset by talking."

"You don't look upset."

"That's intentional."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Just because."

Luffy pouted. "You're no fun."

"And you're a little brat," Ace returned. Buzzing from Ace's pocket interrupted their conversation, and the young man released a short sigh and reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. "Gol here."

"Have you made contact with the target?"

"No, sir. He's been gone for at least a day."

"Dammit, not again. Well, wait there. Your pickup team will be there in five."

"Right," Ace said, even though they'd hung up without even bothering to hear his acknowledgement. Cocky bastards. "Anyway, you –"

The kid was gone. Internally cursing, Ace looked around, seeing the finished juice box in the trash and the slightly opened door. Growling, the assassin swiftly stepped out into the hall, just barely catching a glimpse of Luffy as the kid turned a corner.

"Luffy, stop!" He yelled, but took off running because he knew Luffy wouldn't.

What's with this kid? Why's he so calm about all of this?

Ace skidded around the corner, taking in yet another long hallway and elevators. He didn't see Luffy running down the hallway, nor were any of the elevators moving.

"Where did you go?" Ace muttered, staying still while he tried to figure out where the little brat could have gone.

"SURPRISE!"

Above him! Ace instinctively lashed out, hitting Luffy hard in the side and sending the child crashing into one wall hard enough to drive the breath from his lungs and leave a dent. Luffy groaned as he fell to the floor, curling in on himself and clutching his side. Ace stared, still feeling the impact of his hand against Luffy.

The kid hadn't been attacking him. He'd been…playing.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ace growled, crouching next to Luffy and forcibly turning him over, trying to see whether there was any real damage. "What the hell were you –"

The damned punk was smiling. Ace backed up a step out of surprise, staring at Luffy.

His watch beeped. Ace froze, reality crashing down around him. That beep meant his extraction team was in the building, probably already heading up the stairs. He had less than two minutes.

The freckled youth stared at Luffy, who was still grinning as though Ace hadn't unintentionally hit him out of the air. He looked completely unconcerned by the fact that he was sitting, unarmed and completely vulnerable, right in front of the assassin targeting his father.

What do I do? Dragon isn't supposed to have a kid, much less one this old. How long has he been hiding? How did no one know about him?

Ace paused. No one knew that Luffy existed. He was kind of like Ace, in a sense, unknown by the world that had forced them into existence. But...

"What did you dad tell you to do if I didn't take you?" Ace asked quietly, shoving his sense of urgency down for the moment.

"He didn't," Luffy replied with far too carefree a tone. The assassin grit his teeth, trying not to think about how small and innocent Luffy looked in that moment.

It could be an act, his mind whispered, but deep down Ace knew that it wasn't. Much to his annoyance, Ace's mind began spinning off on its own, constructing what would happen if Ace left Luffy.

If the agency Ace worked for caught Luffy, they would interrogate him mercilessly. The kid would go for days without basic human necessities, days without human contact, days without a single second free from pain. Ace knew all of this; he'd conducted some of those interrogations before and had them done unto him back before they convinced themselves that they'd leashed him.

The kid wouldn't have the energy to laugh anymore, much less smile as brightly as he was now. He would break, be broken. Shatter.

One more question.

"Why?" Ace asked, still looking down at Luffy. The boy stared back, complete faith blazing in his wide eyes that still looked so goddamned innocent.

"Because he trusts you." Luffy's grin didn't waver despite how dark his next words were. "Because no one else has gotten so close to catching him before."

Close? Ace wanted to laugh. He'd certainly never felt close. But…

Because he trusts you.

Without even meeting Ace face-to-face? Without any communication other than gunshots and vacant rooms?

Because he trusts you.

The agency didn't even trust Ace, not that much, not by a long shot. They tried to be discreet about the tracker in his watch, his phone, his gun, but Ace hadn't gone through over a decade of hellish training just to have those blatant "safety measures" pass unnoticed.

Because he trusts you.

Stupid. Completely, without a doubt, stupid. What kind of father would basically hand over his son to a trained assassin?

Because he trusts you.

He'd never really heard those words before, certainly not from a child's mouth. But Luffy wasn't really a child; he'd been calm despite the threat of Ace's gun, hadn't reacted to the pain of being punched into a wall. Strength lay in his eyes, dormant until it roared awake.

Ace could leave Luffy behind. He could. Easily. Just walk away and leave the kid to his fate.

Because he trusts you.

Those words made a damned good set of chains. Ace's expression twisted into a frustrated scowl and he picked Luffy up right as the door to the stairwell burst open, heavily armed soldiers pouring through. He could probably pull rank, put the kid in solitary for a while instead of interrogation –

"Gol, put down the child!"

Too familiar. Too rehearsed. Ace went still all over again. They knew – no, they had known about Luffy this whole time. They just hadn't told him.

Why? Did they think he wouldn't continue if he knew about Luffy? Did they think that he would abandon his entire life's purpose just for some snot-nosed little brat?

They really don't trust me.

Ace wanted to laugh. The moment he even seemed to be disobeying orders, they got nervous. Just by not being ready and waiting for the extraction team, he'd put them on their guard.

Idiots.

"Put me down," Luffy mumbled, twisting a little in Ace's grip and giving the assassin a pleading look. "Please?"

Ace stared into the kid's eyes. He saw a lifetime of struggle, of picking up and leaving before real friendships could be made, of living with a family so fractured there were no bridges that could span the gaps, of a just trying to survive with an honest smile.

Fuck it. It's about time I threw a wrench into fate's plans, anyway, consequences be damned.

"Know thy enemy, huh?" Ace whispered. Luffy tilted his head in confusion. Ace heard the click of safeties going off. "Dragon, you bastard. You had this figured out from the start, didn't you?"

"Uh…my dad isn't here," Luffy said slowly. "Are you okay? Do you need food?"

Ace gave Luffy a small, tired smile. "No, thank you. Listen. I'm going to put you down. You're going to run like hell and pray you don't get shot. I'll take care of these guys and then come back to pick you up, understand?"

Luffy nodded.

"Gol! Give us the boy!"

"Shut up," Ace muttered, shooting the soldier that he presumed had spoken an irritated glance. "Why do you guys insist on calling me Gol, anyway? I don't even know what that is. Was 'Gold' one letter too long or something?"

"Last warning!"

"Tch. They don't trust me at all." Bitterness laced his words. "I should've known." Ace looked back at Luffy. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

Ace grinned, all semblance of kindness bleeding out of the look as bloodlust replaced it.

Luffy's feet hit the carpet and he took off running, hearing gunshots ringing through the air but he didn't stop running until he was able to skid around a corner, and even then the little boy could feel the blistering heat that rolled through the space he'd just occupied, the temperature nearly drowning out the sharp pain in his leg. It took his breath away and sweat poured from his skin, but the warmth was gone in an instant, and it took the sounds of gunshots with it.

Luffy peeked around the corner, trying to be as stealthy as his dad. He saw Ace standing over a pile of blackened bodies stacked on the floor, and at that point a sickly sweet smell hit Luffy's nose. The little boy gagged, his stomach roiling. Still, he kept looking, and saw Ace toss his gun, phone, and watch onto the bodies with movements so casual and relaxed they were chilling.

The smell became too much and Luffy looked away, holding a hand to his mouth so that he wouldn't throw up. It took far too long for his stomach to calm down.

"Ready to go?"

Luffy looked up and saw that Ace was standing over him. Ace's eyes were hard and there was nothing gentle in his tone. He looked like a man resigned; Luffy had seen plenty of men in his dad's army with that same look, and they were always the ones that volunteered for the suicide missions.

Luffy nodded, already wondering about ways to make Ace smile. "What did you do?"

Ace glanced at the bodies as he bent down so that Luffy could climb onto his back. "I stopped them from pursuing us."

"Oh."

"We have about ten minutes until the real backup arrives," Ace said, standing and hitching Luffy up a little higher. "Hold on tight, or this could get messy."

"Okay!"

"Fuck," Ace cursed breathlessly, tipping his head back so that it rested against the wall of the warehouse. There was almost no light in the abandoned space, but Luffy could still see the sweat glistening on Ace's skin. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

"Ace…?" Luffy tried, reaching out to touch Ace's shoulder. Ace swatted the limb away without even looking.

"Don't touch me," he grunted. "Too warm," he added belatedly. Frowning, Luffy touched Ace anyway and instantly recoiled. He was burning up!

"You're –"

"I'm fine!" Ace snapped, pinning Luffy in place with a glare. Then he sighed and looked away. "Devil Fruit. Heats me up when I'm stressed. I'll be fine."

"Oh." Luffy resettled, but while doing so he jostled his leg and automatically whimpered in response to the sudden pain. Ace froze.

"What was that?"

"N-nothing," Luffy said quickly, not wanting his new caretaker to worried. "I just got shot, but I get shot all the time and it's never a big deal 'cause I'm rubber, so –"

"You ate a Devil Fruit too?" Ace hissed. "Rubber? What does that mean? What does it do? Tell me everything."

"Uh…my body's rubber? I can bounce bullets and stuff back. Punches don't hurt. Neither does falling."

Ace grit his teeth. "You idiot! Those were Sea Stone rounds, designed to deal with me! Your ability wouldn't work!"

Luffy blinked and then looked down at his leg, which, after hours of being left unattended, was beginning to feel rather numb. "Really? That's weird."

"Tell me these things sooner," Ace hissed as he examined Luffy's leg, forcefully rolling up the kid's pants so that he could see the severity of the wound. He scowled. "Your skin is rubber, right?"

"Yeah, I told you that."

"So that's why your wound closed up…" Ace bit his lip, thinking. He didn't have a lot of light, and there was no doubt in his mind that the bullet was still lodged in Luffy's leg. Its Sea Stone properties would keep the kid's Devil Fruit abilities from functioning properly and would also prevent him from recovering his energy. It had to come out. But all Ace had was an unsterilized knife.

"What are you doing?" Luffy asked curiously as Ace unsheathed the knife he kept strapped to his back on a hidden belt. Ace didn't reply as he held a hand to the blade and began warming it up with his Devil Fruit abilities, watching as the metal began to glow softly with heat.

"This is going to hurt. Try not to move."

Luffy chomped down hard on his own tongue as the superheated knife slid into his skin. Ace's hands kept steady and his face stony as he dug around the wound to find the bullet. The acrid smell of burning rubber made his eyes water, but he ignored it as best he could.

It took almost fifteen agonizing seconds for Ace to remove the bullet, and by that point Luffy had passed out from the pain. Ace pocketed the bullet, not wanting to leave it behind as evidence, and cleaned his knife before sheathing it again. He then tore the sleeve of his suit and used it as an impromptu tourniquet.

Sitting back against the wall, Ace breathed deeply.

He was tired. Incredibly tired. But he had to move, even though Luffy wouldn't be conscious for another hour at least. If he stayed still, the agency would find them, and then it would be all over.

"Here we go," Ace muttered, carefully picking Luffy up and throwing the kid over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. He staggered a step, exhaustion nearly forcing him to one knee, but Ace set his jaw and forced himself to keep walking.

"Just a little more," Ace said to himself, placing one shaking leg in front of the other. His empty stomach pleaded for food and his muscles trembled, reminding him that using his powers like he had earlier deprived him of energy more quickly than any other exercise.

He needed food. Sleep, too. But he couldn't get either, not with Luffy on his back and the agency doggedly tracking them.

Midnight had passed hours ago, but the sun was nowhere close to rising and the moon barely provided enough light to see by. He didn't even know where he was in the city; that first flight from the hotel had utterly screwed up his sense of direction.

Taking a minute to catch his breath, Ace considered dropping Luffy. He'd thought about doing that a lot lately. It wouldn't be hard, and Ace could probably come up with some kind of story for the agency that would absolve him of most of the blame. Hell, he could make things go back to how they were supposed to be.

His grip on Luffy began to slip.

Really, what was he gaining from this? Freedom? No, he'd never get that. Respect? Like hell. Goodwill? He wasn't a fucking hero. He was an assassin, not some goody-two-shoes that rescued little boys that were the sons of the men he was supposed to murder. Even fucking with fate wasn't worth this.

Luffy shifted, mumbling something under his breath. Ace slowed his breathing, listening, wondering whether Luffy would reveal something about his father.

"Meat…" Luffy grumbled. "'M hungry. Gimme meat…"

Ace stared. Luffy was drooling.

"Gross," Ace muttered, but he was too tired to do anything about it. He stared at Luffy's round features, noting the way he slept with his mouth slightly open, the way his eyelids twitched ever so slightly. He felt so oddly real against Ace's shoulder, his weight more than what his small body should have contained.

Ace tried to take another step, but his legs wouldn't move.

"Move," Ace growled. "Move, dammit."

Nothing.

Was this it? Was this really as far as he could go? His eyes slid to Luffy again. Deadweight. The kid was deadweight. If Ace dropped him, then he could –

This is your penance.

Ace froze, the thought from the deepest depths of his mind jerking his other thoughts to a shrieking halt.

You know it's true. After all you've done, this is your atonement. You will make up for the lives you've taken by saving this one.

"Not worth it," Ace muttered, squeezing his eyes shut. "My life is more important. He's just a brat, just a kid, won't even make it in the world before he's dead."

When he opened his eyes, he saw a mirror version of himself leaning against the alley wall, dressed not in a suit but in a casual collared shirt and black shorts.

"I'm really fucking tired, aren't I, to be hallucinating like this."

Of course you are, the phantom Ace said, looking amused. But you know I'm right. Already you're valuing that kid over yourself.

"I'm not!"

Then why are you still carrying him?

"I'm going to drop him here. I can get away then, or –"

Or what? The phantom Ace was frowning. Go back? You know things won't be the same. They'll trust you even less. Maybe not at all. That life is over, and you've known that since you fried those soldiers. You're just in denial.

"I'm not."

You are. You've carried Luffy all the way here, dressed his wound, and now you're sacrificing your physical health to keep going.

"It's for myself."

Like hell it is. Don't hold Luffy in a white-knuckled grip and maybe I'll believe you.

Ace swallowed, looking at the hand holding Luffy. Sure enough, the moment Luffy had begun to slip earlier, Ace had latched on to him with twice the strength. "I-I didn't…"

The false Ace stepped off the wall and stood toe-to-toe with the real one. Ace grit his teeth, biting back denials and accusations. "What do you want?"

The fake Ace smiled genuinely. Ace stared, shocked. He hadn't smiled like that in years, hadn't realized he was still able.

I want the same things you do, dumbass. And at the top of that list is a family you can trust. That kid right there is your family now, whether you like it or not. You gave up everything for him, and we both know that you would do it again.

"That's not true," Ace whispered hoarsely. His double rolled his eyes.

Of course it is. Plus, don't you want to stick it to the man?

"W-what?"

You know, show the agency that you're not some kind of dog they can sic on random people. You're you. Not some nameless assassin. Either way, you've got a kid to protect.

"Why do I have to protect him? Why the fuck can't his dad?"

Luffy shifted against Ace's shoulder, mumbling something else about food. The illusionary Ace didn't look amused anymore.

Because you chose to. You barbequed those men. You carried Lu out of there. You –

"Wait, Lu? When the hell did I start thinking of him like that?"

Since he started drooling on you like an idiot.

Ace swallowed. "There's no way this happened so quickly. He's j-just some brat I met."

Illusionary Ace raised one eyebrow. Is he really? Or is he something more? He poked Ace's chest, right above the heart, and though Ace didn't actually feel anything, he knew what his double was trying to do. There's still something there, no matter how much that stupid agency tried to stamp it out. Luffy's your one shot, your one chance, to do something good in the world, to be remembered as more than you were. You know you can't fuck it up. You can't let this chance slip through your fingers, not now.

"Y-yeah," Ace agreed, blinking as the other him faded from view. He glanced at Luffy again, seeing how pale the kid's face was. They both needed food and sleep.

Gritting his teeth, Ace forced his leg to move. Slowly, oh so slowly, he managed to take a step, and then another, and one more...

Luffy came to slowly. His cheek – no, his whole body – was pressed against something warm, and the pain in his leg had faded to a light throbbing. His stomach rumbled, reminding the small boy that he hadn't eaten a full meal in hours.

The thing beneath him kept moving. Luffy listened, hearing a rhythmic noise that he quickly identified as breathing, followed soon by what was clearly a heartbeat. His eyes shot wide open and he realized that he was lying sideways on top of someone.

No, not someone. Ace.

Luffy scrambled off his caretaker and quickly began pushing at Ace's shoulders, trying to get the older man to wake up. Luffy knew that they weren't safe, that they had to keep moving; it was the same when he was with his dad, and it definitely wasn't a time to sleep.

Biting his lip when Ace showed no signs of rousing, Luffy checked his leg, remembering the agonizing pain of before. It seemed fine, but when he tried to put weight on it and walk, the entire limb collapsed.

But falling didn't hurt, and Luffy looked just to make sure that his skin was the way it should be. After pulling it every which way, Luffy was satisfied.

"I have to find help," he said to himself. But where? He didn't know where in the city he was, and he'd only been here for a few days before Ace had showed up.

Luffy fidgeted with his straw hat. He'd been so worried about possibly losing it that he'd kept it tied firmly around his back, and with a cloth cover it almost looked like a kind of backpack. Ace apparently hadn't noticed, either too busy or too tired to care when Luffy finally unwrapped it the night before.

"Where to go, where to go," Luffy murmured, trying to think. But thinking had never been his strong suit, his father's blond assistant had always helped him with that, and so Luffy went right back to square one.

Well, he could just wing it. Something would happen then, and he could figure it out from there. Happy with the new plan, Luffy shook Ace one last time, thought for a moment, and then placed his straw hat on Ace's back before taking off.

He made it all of half a block before hands latched onto his shoulders and yanked him to the ground. Luffy felt the air get driven from his lungs and even as he desperately tried to suck more in, people crowded into his fading field of vision. He saw masks and frowns and realized with a jolt of terror that he'd walked right into the bad guys' hands.

No, it wasn't supposed to go like this. Not at all! Ace is supposed to be okay and I'll find help and everything will be fine!

Luffy bucked and kicked, but without oxygen to fuel his muscles, his struggles did little.

And then he heard voices.

"Hey, Marco, are there government dogs on our turf?"

"Looks that way, Izo."

"They seem to be kidnapping some poor kid."

"That's no good."

Terror rode the air, sharp against Luffy's panic-enhanced senses. He tried struggling again, but it was taking almost all of his energy just to stay awake. He made as much noise as he could with his lungs aching, but then the black spots filled his vision and pulled him under.

When he came to, the bad men were nowhere in sight. In their place was a tall man with blond hair and a pretty woman with lots of makeup on her face and two pistols holstered on her thighs.

"You're reaaallly pretty," Luffy slurred as his brain sluggishly kicked into gear. He didn't understand why the blond man snickered until he said,

"Izo's a man, kid. Though I'm sure he appreciates the compliment. Can you tell us where you're from? You've been out for a good five minutes."

Luffy shot into a sitting position, nearly head butting the blond. "Ace!"

"Eh?" Izo said, raising one eyebrow. "Ace? Is that a codeword or something?"

Luffy shook his head. "No, Ace is my friend! He saved me but he's hurt and the bad men were chasing him because he helped me!"

The man named Izo exchanged a look with the other one. "What do you think, Marco?"

Marco shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to investigate. Can you stand?"

Luffy nodded, struggling to his feet only to fall over when he put weight on his injured leg. Marco caught him at the last second, raising an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"Got shot," Luffy said. "Hasn't healed yet."

"Izo, investigate this Ace thing immediately," Marco said instantly. "I don't want to have to deal with a dead body on our turf, since these guys are apparently fine with shooting little kids. You, where was Ace?"

Luffy pointed, and Izo took off at a sprint. Marco stayed with Luffy, checking over his leg.

"Looks like the wound's closed already. Must mean you've got muscle tearing and probable bone damage if you still can't walk. I'll take you back –"

"I wanna see Ace!"

"Listen, now's not the –"

"He's my friend!" Luffy insisted. "I gave him my hat!"

Marco sighed, seeing that Luffy wouldn't be letting the matter go anytime soon. "Okay, you win. But you have to promise to stay out of trouble."

"I promise."

By the time Marco made it to Izo's location, the man had already taken care of the five men that had been trying to carry Ace away.

"Your 'friend' is out cold," Izo said to Luffy, intentionally stepping in front of Marco and shielding the kid's view of the freckled young man. "Those men were…a little rough with him."

Marco raised an eyebrow, and with brilliantly fast hand signs, Izo explained the situation. Nodding with a pained expression that he quickly wiped away, Marco glanced at Luffy. "We'll take your brother to our base, okay? You can see him there once we're done…" he glanced at Izo again, "patching him up."

"No!" Much to Marco's surprise, Luffy jumped off his back, landing on his good leg and rolling under both Marco and Izo before the two men could react. Luffy ended up right next to Ace, and he put his hand on Ace's shoulder, trying to rouse him as he did before. "Wake up, Ace! Everything's gonna be okay now, so you can wake up!"

Luffy blinked. Ace's shoulder was warm. And sticky. He glanced down at his hands and saw red. Slow horror blossoming in his stomach, Luffy raised his hands and saw that his palms were completely coated with crimson.

"ACE!"

Much to Luffy's shock, his shout seemed to rouse Ace slightly. The freckled man opened glazed-over eyes that focused on a point seemingly just over Luffy's head. He groaned softly, and when he spoke, his words didn't quite make sense.

"Wha' – Lu, you shouldn' be 'ere…s'posed t' be alone, y'know." Ace grinned, and the blood coating his teeth made the expression even more painful than it already was. "Stupid for…ge'in involved…never wor's."

"Ace?" Luffy whispered. "Ace, you're okay, right? You'll be okay?"

Ace's focus dropped to Luffy's face. He blinked slowly, his pupils incredibly dilated. He wasn't seeing Luffy at all. "'M always fine. Always good for…'nother mission…can' be hur' or wea'…jus' the bes'…I can see ghos's…heh, they're ever'ere…righ' there…" He slowly raised one arm, the limb trembling, and grabbed Luffy's bicep with a painfully tight grip. Confusion filled Ace's expression. "You're real."

"Yeah," Luffy said, sniffling and trying to keep Ace's attention. The two other men were completely silent, trying to puzzle out exactly what was going on. "I'm real, Ace, and you've gotta get up. We've gotta go."

But Ace had stopped listening a long time ago. His gaze shifted to the sky, and an odd expression – almost peaceful, but not quite – softened his features. "A' leas'…I 'ried…'o save…you, Lu." He grinned then, and it wasn't the fever-induced smile of before. This was gentler, younger, more innocent. "'m free now. Th' 'gho's can' 'ouch me."

His eyes drifted shut and he took a dry, rattling breath. Luffy stared, caught between shock and horror as Ace stopped speaking.

Marco and Izo exchanged a look and then Izo whipped out a phone and Marco was yanking Luffy back as the boy began to scream and everything was happening so quickly and Luffy just wanted everything to go back so he could see Ace's smile when it wasn't covered in blood because that's all he'd wanted and Ace had died instead and his young mind couldn't take it –

Gritting his teeth, Marco knocked Luffy out with a decisive blow, muttering an apology as the boy slumped in his arms. He looked to Izo, who signaled a three.

Three minutes. Marco looked to Ace. Would that be too long?

Luffy refused to leave Ace's side. He camped in that hospital room, ignoring the questions from the Whitebeards and refusing – often without even the slightest pretense of politeness – any invitations to go somewhere else. The small boy still ate, but despite Thatch plying him with some of the best food he could make, Luffy only at as much as absolutely necessary before returning the entirety of his attention to Ace.

Ace had already been in a coma-like state for over four days, despite expert medical treatment by some of Whitebeard's best doctors. Oddly enough, the gang leader had taken an interest in Ace once he'd seen him, especially after hearing Marco and Izo's accounts of exactly what had transpired.

But Luffy's worries weren't abated by the state-of-the-art medical equipment and care, so he stayed in the room.

He clutched Ace's hand, having already put his straw hat on Ace's chest.

"You gotta wake up, Ace," Luffy said quietly. "There's a lotta cool stuff here. I don't wanna see it without you."

He'd seen the way Ace stared at the world the moment they'd jumped out of the hotel, like he'd never noticed it before. Luffy was determined to show Ace how cool the world could be, especially after his dad had told him about how they treated the freckled man.

But he couldn't show Ace anything if the older boy didn't wake up.

"Ace, please. Wake up."

The young assassin didn't stir.

He was back at the agency. It was dark save for a single light that kept running in circles around him, making him slightly nauseous. But he recognized it, recognized the room he was in: interrogation room 8B. The same one he'd spent almost two months in while they tried to break him and ensure his loyalty.

This wasn't the first nightmare he'd had about this place, so he let a relaxed grin slide onto his face and leaned back in the uncomfortable chair, trying to find the inconsistency that would allow him to break out of his dreamscape.

"You're rather confident for a man undergoing torture."

That voice sent shivers down Ace's spine despite how many years had passed. Ace scowled at the speaker. "Kalifa. You again? I thought my mind would mix it up this time around."

The light illuminated the female assassin's face for a brief second, long enough to reveal her smirk. "You speak as though you know what's coming, Gol."

"Gol this, Gol that," Ace said, waving one hand. "You people are so annoying. Now I'm glad I got away." His sincerity was only partially faked.

Kalifa raised one perfect eyebrow. "Got away? Oh, Gol, you sound as though you've left."

Ace grinned and leaned forward, gray eyes flashing as the light passed by again. "I did. And let me tell you, the few hours I spent out there were better than all of my hours here combined. Hell of a lot more fulfilling or whatever."

Kalifa grinned right back. "Impressive. You're completely convinced of this, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. It's fact."

"Is it? Maybe you never left."

Ace snorted. "Don't try that bullshit with me. I'm not stupid."

"If you're so confident, describe one thing that you believed happened."

"Easy. I roasted the evac team you guys sent after me. Felt great."

"What evac team?" Kalifa didn't look confused at all, but then again, she had been trained not to show it. "Why were you out of this building without permission?"

Ace barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "Because I was on a mission, you tramp. I had permission. Get off my case. Let me wake up."

"Gol," she said, her eyes piercing straight through Ace's, "you're not asleep."

"Yes, I am," Ace returned evenly. "Seriously, stop playing at the mind games. It's annoying."

Kalifa narrowed her eyes. "You honestly believe that you're not in reality right now."

"Right. So please," Ace smiled his politest smile, "fuck off."

She didn't give up. Ace watched the light swing round and round as Kalifa rattled of question after question, each one leading to the next and every single word spoken with the intent to shake Ace's concept of reality. Of course, she threw in obvious questions too. Ace grew bored after the first ten.

"What's your name?"

"Ace."

"Your full name."

"Ace. Gol."

"What are you?"

"Your babysitter. OW!" Kalifa had quickly taken to shooting a tiny needle into Ace's skin with every wrong or sarcastic answer, but that was doing little to curb Ace's attitude. "An assassin," Ace spat, annoyance making his words sharp. He blinked as the light swung behind Kalifa. It was blurry, probably because Ace just wanted to sleep. "Happy? Fuck, this is taking forever."

He hadn't meant to let those last words slip out. Shocked, he stared at the many needles glistening from his skin. Suddenly, the weird lack of clarity to the light that kept circling the room made sense. "You…drugged me?"

Kalifa smiled, setting the glistening needles aside, gentleness coating her features. Ace frowned, trying to remember why that was a bad sign. "Ace, I'm worried about what would have happened to you if I hadn't. You're clearly feverish after spending so long down here –"

"You're the one that d-did it to me," Ace grunted, struggling to force the words out around his suddenly leaden tongue.

"We had to make sure that you're trustworthy. Can you blame us for that?"

"Yes."

Ace focused on the light as Kalifa droned on. She wouldn't shut up; her voice just kept going and going and going and –

"Could you shut up?" Ace asked, only to pause. How long had passed? Kalifa was just staring at him. The light passed around the room again and Ace tried to remember how many revolutions it had made, but his memory failed him.

Frowning, Ace tried to sit up, only to realize that he was bound to his chair. An inability to summon his flames confirmed the presence of Sea Stone bindings on his wrists.

When did they…?

"Good, you finally woke up," Kalifa said, seemingly unaware of Ace's earlier words. "I was getting worried that the sedative was too strong."

Sedative? I wasn't asleep. Was I?

"You were having an episode. Your reaction to torture is…extreme. But you haven't seemed to crack yet, which is…unfortunate."

Torture? What? No, I'm not…

"Don't worry, we'll start right up again." There was something glittering in Kalifa's hands. More needles. A blade. She could do terrible things with that blade and Ace tried to move, but his body wouldn't respond.

Not right, not right, something's not right but what?

The first needle of many sank into Ace's shoulder and he bit back a scream as it hit a particularly sensitive nerve cluster. Another went into his bicep, his elbow, his wrist, rendering his entire arm numb while it simultaneously burned with pain.

"So, Ace, you knew about a boy named Luffy from the Outside."

Luffy?

He knew that name but every thought was going at half speed and he'd barely called up the fuzziest image of black hair and white teeth before a needle sank into his neck and he went rigid as a pained cry tore its way from his throat. He bucked and thrashed until the pain subsided but Kalifa didn't let up and soon she had traced patterns of agonizing fire across his skin, all the while talking about Luffy as though pain would wipe the memories clean. Blood dripped down his chest, dripping over the needles and splashing against the floor.

"Sweet boy," Kalifa continued. "The way you've muttered about him while unconscious makes me think you must be truly desperate to cling to that illusion."

"He's not –" fake, Ace tried to say, but Kalifa cut him off with another needle. Ace jerked but held his tongue this time, though barely.

"Can't have our number one assassin thinking about silly scenarios like that."

Not silly, it happened, you can't make me think otherwise –

"I can see the defiance on your face," Kalifa continued, "so this will take longer than it should."

More needles. Like rain they fell on and through Ace's skin, drawing screaming rounds of agony that scattered Ace's desperate objections like leaves in the wind.

It ended suddenly and Ace slumped forward, head spinning and sweat dripping from every pore. He couldn't see straight and his breath came in sharp gasps that burned his torn throat.

"Are you done screaming yet?" Kalifa asked, one finger sliding under Ace's chin and tilting his head up, forcing him to make eye contact. He wanted to spit in her face, didn't even know why, but he didn't have the energy. Kalifa scoffed. "I expected more from you, Gol. Coping with two months of isolation through hallucinations and imaginary lives is the weak man's way out." The knife glittered in the rotating light, its silver sheen hypnotic. Ace couldn't tear his eyes away.

Round and round the light went. Round and round and round and round, but it never touched the walls. Where was the floor? The ceiling? Was there one?

Ace shuddered. He was tired. Sleep; he needed sleep. He could just –

Pain from his hand. One finger gone. No, just bleeding. The blood shining red, demanding his attention. Kalifa staring at him.

"No falling asleep on me now, Gol. I'm not done talking to you."

But he was so tired. He could get away, be free if he slept, even if it was only for a few minutes. He wanted those few minutes with every fiber of his being. No wonder he'd convinced himself that the hotel mission was real. No wonder he'd been so desperate for company that wouldn't run away or die, that's why he'd made Luffy –

Luffy.

Ace grit his teeth. How pathetic of him, to make up a kid that vulnerable. What was he trying to prove? That he could help someone? That there was still some shred of him worth something? That he was more than Ace Gol, assassin?

No, he'd given up on that a long time ago. They told him that he wasn't even supposed to be alive often enough. The last thing he needed was someone telling him the opposite. His life was difficult already.

"Stay awake, Ace. We've still got a week of fun left."

A week? He wouldn't last another day.

Pathetic.

"You gotta wake up, Ace."

Ace would have jerked his head up had he been able. Still, his eyes darted around, trying to find the origin of the voice. Kalifa kept talking, seemingly unaware of the interruption.

Am I going insane?

"C'mon, Ace, you never returned my hat properly. That's bad, you know."

"Who the hell is that?" Ace muttered. Kalifa said something in response, but her words had faded to dull buzzing, as had the pain in Ace's body.

"Ace, I'm hungry."

"Ace, I want meat."

"Ace, wake up."

"Ace, Ace, Ace."

Realization hit Ace like a clap of thunder and the light circling the room exploded in a shower of broken glass that reflected the dying light like shards of pure fire.

Luffy. That's Luffy.

"Aaaaace."

He's real.

Ace spat blood, raising his head to meet Kalifa's stare with a glare so full of hate that her professional mask shattered like the light. Flames roared to life across Ace's body, burning away the Sea Stone like it had never existed in the first place – and it hadn't, not really, not beyond Ace's twisted imagination.

They were tricking him. Just like they always did, they were twisting his mind and his thoughts and his memories to their will and he'd let them walk all over him again like an idiot. If it hadn't been for Luffy's voice he may have thought –

Ace bit his tongue, tasted blood, but the pain cleared the last of the haze from his vision.

He would have been stuck here. Stuck in this room, bound to that chair until he went insane. Was that why Kalifa had been so fixated on Luffy? Because Ace would hear him? Because Luffy could get him out?

"Wake up."

Kalifa jumped to her feet, knives out and glasses flashing. "What do you think you're doing, Gol?"

Ace grinned, white teeth flashing in the light of his own fire. Luffy was out there. Luffy had woken him up. Maybe the kid was worth something after all, more than just another life Ace nearly ended.

"I'm leaving. Luffy's waiting."

Where had they been? An alley? Yes, he'd fallen asleep, and then Luffy had gone for help and those men –

He's in danger. He's calling for me.

"Luffy is a construct of your imagination –"

Ace snapped his fingers and she went down in a shrieking heap of flames. "Don't try to tell me what's fucking real and what's fucking not," he snarled, needles falling from his skin and clattering against the ground with noises like twisted musical notes.

Luffy, are you okay?

He strode to the door, automatically knowing where it was, and yanked it open. Blinding light greeted him, but when he stepped through the floor fell away beneath him and darkness filled his vision.

Back in the chair. He bit and snarled and screamed, but made no sound. Still he fought, and the bindings and chains and shackles drew blood but to hell with his blood it wasn't real and he had to leave, had to find Luffy and make sure that he was –

Back in the chair. More blood, less time, more pain, less thinking, more cries. Had to get away, had to get to Luffy, had to leave had to make sure he was okay because something had happened but he didn't know what –

Back in the chair. Worry gnawing at him like a physical creature and driving him to irrationality as he demanded to be let free and set fire to everything and everything that crossed his path and maybe this time –

Back in the chair. Desperation and determination mixing in equal measure as his thoughts grew cold and dark. He stared at Kalifa. He said Luffy's name. The light exploded.

Back in the chair. Couldn't give up, wouldn't give up. Getting closer every time.

Back in the chair. Smiling now.

"Wake up."

"Please?"

Marco stared at the kid across the table shoveling food into his mouth. He resisted the urge to let his jaw drop. Seriously, Thatch had given the kid enough to live on, but this sudden jump in intake was ridiculous. Eyeing the stack next to Luffy, Marco counted at least seven plates.

And he was still going strong.

"How much do you usually eat?" He asked as a chunk of meat missed his cheek by a hair.

"A' mu' a' ah 'an," Luffy replied around a particularly large chicken wing. Marco turned to Thatch.

"As much as he can," Thatch clarified, sliding his food over to Luffy. "Kid, tell me this next time. I would've brought you more."

Luffy swallowed the wing whole and licked his fingers clean once he polished off Thatch's food. "I gotta get back to Ace now. He'll wake up and get worried."

"Are you ignoring me?"

Ignoring Thatch, Luffy hopped off the chair and began walking out of the restaurant attached to the Whitebeard apartment complex. Marco caught up to him in seconds. "Hold on, do you know where you're going?"

"Well, we came down to get here, so I figure Ace'll be up."

"He's not wrong," Izo commented as he walked by. Marco gave him a sour look.

As they rode the elevator up, Marco keeping a firm hand on Luffy's shoulder, Thatch leaned in close. "I'm still shocked you got the kid out of the room."

"Ace is my brother now," Luffy said, glancing at Marco and startling the two men. "I don't want to leave him."

"Your brother?" Thatch asked, raising one eyebrow. He'd thought he was speaking quietly enough, but apparently not. "Really?"

Luffy nodded. "He protected me and he's lonely. He's my brother. He just doesn't know it yet."

Both Marco and Thatch shivered at the determination in the kid's tone, almost feeling sorry for Ace.

"You've decided that?"

Luffy nodded. The older men stared for a while, but they returned to their earlier conversation once Luffy stopped paying attention.

"It took two days of constant pestering," Marco replied quietly. "I don't even know if that counts as a victory."

"I'll take it."

"He's still twitching," Marco muttered. "I feel like he'll bolt if I take my hand off his shoulder."

"He probably will."

Quite suddenly, the elevator jerked to a halt, the lights flickering as Marco and Thatch stumbled. Marco heard alarms blaring and shared a look with Thatch. Luffy had jumped at the sound of alarms and now turned to Marco.

"Lemme out! I gotta see Ace! I gotta make sure Ace is okay!"

"I'm sure Ace is fine. Listen, I'm going to pry open the door, since we stopped right at Ace's floor, and you're going to stay right outside this elevator. Understand?"

Marco didn't have the time to make sure that Luffy understood because a moment later the doors were ripped off by Jozu, who was panting and sweating. "Marco! We have a situation!"

"Tell me on the way," Marco ordered, taking off with Jozu and Thatch in tow. Luffy watched them go. He stepped out of the elevator and paused by the spot Marco had said. Then he took off at a dead sprint.

Ace had woken up to soft beeping and softer sheets draped over his body. But, more pressing than his new surroundings, more worrying than how his left arm felt as though it had been through a meat grinder, was the lack of a certain annoying kid.

After looking around the room – he guessed he was in a hospital, but couldn't be sure – Ace determined that Luffy wasn't in the room at all. Panic seized him as memories of the men dragging him away filled his mind's eye and phantom memories of pain exploded across his body.

"Luffy!" He shouted. No reply came. Cursing, Ace jumped out of the bed, stumbling as pins and needles shot up his legs and his right nearly gave out beneath his weight. "Luffy!"

He's just your imagination, the phantom Kalifa whispered.

"Shut up," Ace growled under his breath. He clearly wasn't in the agency anymore. They couldn't touch him, not even through stupid bad dreams.

Once the world stopped spinning, Ace forced the door open – it wasn't locked, so there was that mercy, at least – and stepped through, narrowed eyes taking in the long hallway and white walls.

Hospital, he guessed. For a moment, the entire area showed no movement, but then a young man with blond hair and bright eyes stepped out of the room next door, clipboard in hand. He never even saw Ace coming, and the freckled man had him pinned against the wall in an instant. The clipboard clattered to the ground, and the blond's eyes filled with confusion.

"Where's Luffy?" Ace hissed, his eyes burning just as brightly as his fist, held inches from the man's face. Sweat glistened from the man's pores.

"I-I don't know. He was with you but Marco took him away –"

Ace suppressed a burst of frustration and shook the man a little. "Where?"

"I said I don't know! Calm down; your stitches –"

"Are none of your damned business," Ace interrupted, letting the man go and kneeing him between the legs on the way down. The man wheezed and crumpled, giving Ace the perfect window to knock him out. Dragging the body back into the hospital room, Ace realized that he hadn't asked where he was.

Oh well.

When he went into the hallway again, five men greeted him. Ace saw their stances and didn't bother to ask questions, instead taking them down. One put up a fight, but Ace floored him with a fireball to the chest and knocked him out from there.

"Stop!"

More men. Ace snarled, body ablaze. "Just tell me where the fuck Luffy is, and this will become a lot less painful."

They exchanged glances. Ace raised his fist, ready to blast them out of his way –

"Ace, stop!"

The way the strange man said his name gave Ace pause and he turned to see a man in a purple shirt with the oddest blond hairstyle. "Who the hell're you?" Ace asked, still not letting down his guard.

"Marco," Marco replied. "I apologize for taking Luffy out of your room, but he wasn't eating enough, and –"

"Don't waste time," Ace snapped. "Just tell me where he is, or I'll burn this whole place down!"

"And risk hurting Luffy?"

"I'd find him!"

Marco looked unimpressed. Ace didn't care. He raised one fist, fire licking the skin. Some of the men looked around warily, put off by what was clearly a Devil Fruit power. Still, for what Ace took as civilian hospital staff, they were handling this oddly.

How do they even know my name?

Time for questions could come later. Ace narrowed his eyes, focusing on Marco, who was clearly the most dangerous person in the hallway. There was something in the way he stood that spoke of a man comfortable with handling power and responsibility.

"ACE!"

"Eh?" The assassin, for all his training, barely reacted in time to face the oncoming threat, and that only granted him a frontal tackle instead of one from the side. He went down hard, feeling the breath get driven from his lungs when he landed awkwardly on his back. Pain rippled down his shoulders and legs and he only barely avoided cracking his head against the floor. He gasped with what little air he had left and his hand spasmed when he tried to move it, sending more pain arcing up his arm. Cursing, Ace tried to raise his other arm –

"You're finally awake!" Ace stilled as he realized that the projectile had been Luffy. Ace scowled but found himself unable to deny the relief that flooded through him.

He meant to say, "You dumbass, what were you thinking?" or something of the sort, but what came out was, "Are you okay?"

Luffy nodded, grinning from ear to ear. "Yup! They fed me an' everything!"

Ace heard someone in the background groan. "He eats so. Much."

A knot he hadn't even noticed loosened in Ace's chest and he raised his functional arm, keeping his eyes fixed on Luffy's as he rested his hand on Luffy's shoulder. The little boy didn't seem to realize how much effort it was taking Ace to keep his hand there, but that didn't stop him from shifting. Ace grunted in pain as Luffy rested on his chest but the little boy didn't seem to notice as he laid down over Ace, wrapping his arms around the older man.

"What are you doing?" Ace said, trying not to twitch. He knew there was something significant about Luffy doing this, but for the life of him he didn't know what.

"I'm hugging you," Luffy said, his tone making it clear that he thought that was obvious. Ace stared as best he could.

"Are you being serious?" Did this really seem like a hugging situation? Ace certainly didn't think so.

"Yes," Luffy replied. "'Cause you're hurt, and I can shield you. Plus, you're really warm. It's nice 'n calming."

Ace blinked. Nice. Calming. Those words had never been used in the same sentence describing him unless there had been a negative in front. Luffy gently pulled on Ace's good arm, shifting it over his small back. "See? Now you're hugging me back!"

"You're taking advantage of the fact that I can barely move," Ace pointed out wryly, but he didn't try to move his hand.

"That's only because you leaped out of bed like a dumbass," a nearby man said. Ace shot him a glare.

"Shut up!" Abruptly refocusing on the situation, Ace returned his attention to Luffy. "Where are we?"

"Whitebeard!" Luffy declared. Ace's eyebrow twitched, the only sign of his mounting frustration.

"Whitebeard?" Ace hissed. "Why the hell are we with Whitebeard? Do you have any idea how often I was sent over here to try to kill him?"

"We don't really care about that," someone put in. Ace glanced up to see the man with the purple shirt and half-lidded eyes standing over him. "You were bound to that agency, right? Plus, your persistence was amusing."

Ace gaped, caught completely off-guard. "You were…entertained by my attempts to assassinate your leader?"

"Sure," the man replied. "Luffy, get off your brother before he bleeds out. We have to treat him again."

The blood drained from Ace's face. "Brother? What the he—we're not brothers!"

"Okay, Marco!" Luffy said over Ace, hopping off Ace. Marco raised one eyebrow.

"Oh? My bad. You look so similar. And Luffy did call you his older brother."

"He did what?!"

It took Ace weeks to feel like himself again, even with how quickly he healed. Luffy stuck to him the entire time, unapologetically calling Ace his older brother no matter how many times Ace said he wasn't.

But Ace never really seemed to be fully paying attention. Once the situation with Whitebeard had been somewhat cleared up – as in, Ace had finally figured out that the gang wasn't taking care of him and Luffy just to take advantage of them later – everyone tried to drag Ace into conversation, but the freckled young man only ever seemed to give half his attention.

Finally, he confronted Luffy. They were in their temporary room, the doors shut and the windows not yet open to greet the sun that hadn't fully broached the horizon yet.

"I'm going."

Luffy stared. He couldn't help it; he was barely awake, his eyelids were refusing to stay up, and Ace's words didn't make sense at first in his head. "What?"

The older man sighed, crouching down to Luffy's level. "Look, you know that all of this—the Whitebeards, us—happened by chance. In any other circumstance, it would have turned out very differently."

Luffy just rubbed his eyes and yawned, his exhaustion getting the better of him. Ace kept talking anyway.

"The problem is, no matter how far we go, no matter who we stay with, those assholes are still going to be after me and, by proxy, you."

"So?" Luffy asked, still yawning. Ace sighed.

"So, I need to make sure that they can't chase us anymore. You've already seen them try to infiltrate the Whitebeards last week. It's only going to get worse from there."

"Ace can handle it," Luffy said. "Ace is strong."

"Not strong enough," Ace muttered under his breath. "Luffy, you have to understand, I need to do this."

"Why?"

"Because I need to."

"Why?"

Ace grit his teeth. "Because I'm tired of running, okay? I ran from my problems for over a decade with those people and tried to pretend like I was actually living, and now that I'm away from them the chains they shackled me with are only becoming more painful. I have to break them."

Luffy blinked. "Okay."

Ace seemed taken aback. "You're not going to argue?"

"Why would I?" Luffy reached out and poked Ace in the chest, and for all that he was sleepy his eyes drilled right into Ace's. "I trust you. You're my brother."

Ace opened his mouth to say that he wasn't, the denial as reflexive as breathing, but for the first time in a long time, Luffy interrupted him.

"You're my brother, Ace," he said firmly, poking Ace harder. "I don't have anyone else, and neither do you, and I don't want to be alone."

"Alone?" Ace hadn't really thought about that. "You're not. Marco, Thatch, Izo—"

"Aren't you." Luffy's hand fell back to his side. He yawned again. "I don' wanna lose you, Ace." He grinned and brought his hand up to his own heart, twisting the material of his shirt. "As long as you're around, it doesn't hurt."

"It…doesn't hurt?" Ace repeated slowly. He opened his mouth and then closed it, confusion knitting his brow. "Luffy, I'm not—"

"You're my brother," Luffy interrupted firmly. "And you're going to come back and we're going to have an awesome adventure together."

"Luffy, you…" Ace couldn't even finish the sentence. Why did he care so much? Why did it even matter?

Sighing, Ace realized that Luffy wasn't going to let the matter go. Momentarily wondering what to do, Ace quickly reached a conclusion. He straightened and, after telling Luffy to wait there, went into the bedroom and rummaged around in the closet. He pulled out his orange hat, a gift from Luffy "for all the birthdays he missed", whatever that meant, and walked back over to the younger boy.

"Hold onto this for me," Ace said, pressing his orange hat into Luffy's hands. The younger boy stared up at it, his eyes wide.

"You're giving this back to me?"

"Just for now. I know it'll be in good hands until I get back." Ace smiled softly, bending down again and putting his hand atop the two hats. "Don't worry, Lu," he said, the nickname odd on his tongue but feeling right in his mind. "I'll take care of this, and then we can have all the fun in the world, okay?"

Luffy stared straight into Ace's eyes. "You'll come back?"

"Of course I will."

Luffy sat on his bed, staring at the far wall with a blank look in his eyes. He held an orange hat in his hands, the only spot of color in the otherwise dull room.

The first day hadn't been so bad. Marco and Thatch and Vista and Izo and all of Ace's new friends had played with Luffy, and their smiles had been genuine. They believed that Ace would be back.

The second day hadn't been awful either. Marco and Thatch hadn't been able to come, but Haruta had babysat, and the petite commander had no shortage of cool little tricks to keep Luffy entertained.

The third day was bad. Luffy had noticed immediately when they began forcing their smiles, and though he'd done his best to cheer them up, he'd felt doubt beginning to worry away at his grin, and he had wished that Ace would just hurry up and get back already.

By the time the fourth day had dawned, not one of the Whitebeards had been able to hide their worry. They had all looked at the door when they'd thought Luffy wasn't looking, concern in their eyes and posture. Luffy hadn't played much that day.

The sixth day had passed in much the same way, as had the seventh. And the eighth. And the ninth.

It was the fifteenth day now, and Luffy was no longer making any pretense of happiness. He couldn't, not when scary visions of what might have happened to Ace plagued his dreams and stole his sleep. He hardly ate, and knew that most of the concern the Whitebeards felt was being directed at him as well.

Luffy clutched the hat tighter, feeling the material shift between his fingers.

The door to his room opened, and Marco stepped through. Luffy barely acknowledged the commander, and Marco let out a short sigh as he walked over to the boy.

"Listen, Luffy…"

"Don't say it," Luffy muttered, drawing his knees up to his chest and resting his forehead on them. "Don't."

Marco's lips thinned and his pain hung heavily on his features. He reached out to take Luffy's hand, but Luffy drew back.

"I know what you're gonna say," Luffy said, his words partially muffled. He sniffled. "I don't want you to say it."

"Saying the words won't change reality," Marco said as gently as he could manage.

"But it makes it real!" Luffy shouted, his head shooting up. Tears fell from the corners of his eyes, and his lip was trembling. "I don't want it to be real! I want Ace to walk through that door and tell me it's okay because he always comes back and I can't give him his hat until he gets here!" Luffy brandished that hat, holding it up accusingly. "It's clean! I took good care of it, but Ace isn't back yet so he doesn't know! How can he know about his hat if he – if he –" Luffy broke off into a messy combination of sniffles and choked-off sobs.

Marco sat next to Luffy and wrapped his arms around the boy, slowly drawing Luffy into his lap and holding him there as the small boy shuddered. The man tried to make soothing noises, but he couldn't say that it would be okay. It wouldn't be; everyone knew that, even Luffy, as young as he was.

But the kid was young, and he'd recover. Maybe not quickly, but Luffy was incredibly resilient. The way he could still smile so brightly after everything proved at least that much.

"Come on, Luffy," Marco said, slowly standing and shifting Luffy so that he could carry him bridal-style, "we're going to go see Pops, okay?"

Luffy didn't respond, and Marco tried to ignore the pang in his chest at seeing the happy kid so distraught. Ace must have meant the world to Luffy.

Marco walked out of the room with heavy steps, adjusting Luffy to make him as comfortable as possible. Luffy nearly dropped the orange hat, but Marco grabbed it at the last second and gave it back to him. Luffy mumbled his thanks, but his heart clearly wasn't in it.

It took Marco almost five minutes to reach the main lobby of the apartment complex because the usual elevator was out of order, and so his arms were aching by the time he set Luffy down on the couch.

"I'm going to go get Izo," Marco told the young boy. "I'm sure he'll have something fun for you to play with until we get there."

Luffy turned over, burying his face in the cushions.

"Right then," Marco muttered under his breath. He walked out of the lobby, moving faster than normal so that Luffy wouldn't have to wait too long.

Meanwhile, the bell over the main entrance let out a shrill ring as it always did when someone entered. Luffy heart footsteps across the tile, heard a short exchange of words between the person manning the desk and the new arrival. He couldn't hear the words or the voices very clearly because of the pillow he'd placed over his head, but he knew that it was probably Jozu coming back from whatever mission he'd been assigned. The diamond man had left to deal with a series of thefts on Whitebeard's turf more than a week ago, and Marco had expected him back any day now.

Luffy bit his lip. Ace was supposed to be back. He didn't hate Jozu, but he wanted Ace instead.

Someone sat on the other end of the couch, falling so heavily that Luffy bounced slightly. Slightly annoyed, Luffy sat up and put the pillow aside with slow, deliberate movements before turning to give the person his most intimidating look.

The person smiled upon seeing Luffy's halfhearted glare, seemingly unaware of the dried blood covering half his face and the crimson still dripping over his eye from a deep cut on his forehead. He reached out a hand and ruffled Luffy's hair in a way so familiar that it brought tears to Luffy's eyes.

"Sorry, Lu. I asked you to hold onto my hat for way too long."

(End)

A/N Fun, right? Right?

-RoR