Omg, it took me forever to finish this one and it's one of the longest chapters I've ever written! Thank you so much for your patience, I'm sorry it took so long. I hope you enjoy this!

Relevant Tarot Cards:

The eight of Swords: Restricted action due to indecision. If you keep second-guessing yourself you will never break free of the restrains you or others impose on you. Let go of your fear and move forwards.

Strength: This is a hopeful card, which indicates that through the sheer force of determination you can make anything away your doubts and fear and proceed forward, focusing solely on your goal.

19. The Eight of Swords - Strength

That same Friday afternoon, Ace met with Law and Marco on the terrace of the Baratie Eatery.

After proposing to Luffy last night, he'd helped him pack the luggage he'd be taking with him to Hancock's hotel room. She sent a car for him around midnight and once their tearful goodbyes done, Luffy left, incognito and unseen.

Ace spent that night preparing for his upcoming stay in Impel down Prison, going without sleep as it eluded him completely, his body working on autopilot while his mind wandered to Luffy and his hope for their shared future.

So it was only courtesy that his friends didn't mention that he looked like crap when they saw him sitting at their table.

"He left this morning."

Marco shook his head, "I'm really going to miss him. He was hands down the best assistant I've had. Ever."

"Will he get his job back when he returns?" Law asked Ace, sitting back in his chair.

Ace sighed and reached for his espresso on the table, shaking his head before he took a sip. "He'll be working on starting his own event planning agency during his absence. So, him retaking the same post at Mugiwara isn't really likely."

"Rayleigh already said he'd be welcome if he were to need a job upon his return," Marco told him, sitting up as their waitress came to take their orders.

"Excuse me sir," the green haired girl asked Ace, holding her notepad close to her chest as she gave him a worried gaze. "I'm sorry to have to ask this, but I've seen you here with my friend, Luffy. We also met at the hospital once."

Ace looked up at her with a small smile. "Yeah," he said. "Camie, right?"

"Yes," she replied with a nod. "I've been following the news a bit... and I just... do you know if Luffy is alright? I haven't been able to reach him ever since he's been released from the hospital and I just..."

"As far as I know, he's doing fine," Ace told her with a shrug.

Caimie frowned a bit in confusion. "Haven't you seen him?"

Ace sat back in his chair and glanced at his friends from over his small cup of coffee. "Luffy and I broke up," he told her dryly before taking a sip.

"Oh!" Caimie whispered, startled. Her shoulders sagged a bit as she averted her eyes. "Do you... do you know where he is?"

"No, I don't, I'm sorry," Ace said with a shake of his head, closing his eyes in regret of having to tell her these lies.

"Ok, thank you anyway," she told him, producing a forced smile. "Sorry for the hold up. May I take your lunch orders?"

"This won't be easy to keep up for 4 months," Marco remarked after Caimie had gone with their orders. "Poor girl."

"We don't have a choice," Ace resolutely said. "And we can't take any chances. I'm not going to let his sacrifice have been in vain." He glanced at his watch. "It won't be long before the press learns that I'm no longer with Luffy. Usopp must've leaked that skoop by now."

"Which way did you spin it?" Law asked, taking out his phone.

"I broke up with him because I wanted to spare him the humiliation of being associated with a felon," Ace told them. "I take full responsibility."

"It's online," Law informed him. "Responses seem to be mixed."

Marco rolled his eyes. "That people seriously find all this so interesting while there are more urgent problems in the world."

"All that matters is that they do, so we need to be on our toes," Ace returned, sighing again.

"It's really been a while since we've known you this serious about someone, Ace," Marco said conversationally, grabbing a bread stick from their basket on the table. "Finally."

"It was time to put the playboy away and settle down," Ace said with a small smile.

Law smirked amicably. "So... He's the one?"

"He's the one," Ace whispered with a solemn nod, his mind wandering to the previous night. "I've never loved anyone as much as I love that kid."

"You're sacrificing a lot for him too," Marco commented. "It's really admirable how far the both of you are willing to go for each other."

"It's nauseatingly romantic indeed," Law agreed.

Ace chuckled at that. "What about you and Vivi? You two can barely keep your hands off each other."

"What we have is hot," Law clarified, smiling amusedly. "Not sappy like you guys."

Ace lifted his eyebrows in sarcastic understanding. "Right."

Marco laughed heartedly. "Did Rayleigh speak to you about your return date?"

"To Mugiwara, you mean? No, he hasn't," Ace answered, crossing his legs under the table. He then gave his friend an earnest look. "I don't think I'll be going back."

"What?"

He looked at the both of them now and shook his head. "I'm not going back. My decision's been made."

"What are you going to do when your sentence is up?" Law asked, looking up to see their waitress return with their first dishes.

"Spend time by myself and with luffy," was Ace's answer. "When all of this is over, I'm really just going to need to take myself out of the spotlight for a while, maybe take a long holiday on my yacht, sailing around the world. Too much has happened to me and I need some time off."

"Whoa," Marco exclaimed, sitting back in his seat. "You're serious? What will you do afterwards?"

"I was thinking of becoming a pirate, roaming the seas wild and free," Ace joked with a shrug. He then smirked and shook his head. "I don't know. We'll see."

Knowing that he hadn't eased his friends' worries about him, Ace simply requested for them to trust him for now and to enjoy the time the three of them still had together to celebrate Marco and Law's birthdays that were on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. On Saturday would be the big birthday party at the Newgate Mansion, but today was exclusively for them. Yet unfortunately for them, they realized that they would have to deal with less pleasant affairs when halfway through their lunch they noticed a black sedan pull up to the sidewalk near them.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Ace whispered, dropping his fork in annoyance on the table and sitting back. "Shit."

All three of them stared at the man who was ominously striding towards them from his black car that parked near the sidewalk.

"Portgas!" Dragon shouted, throwing today's paper on his lap. "Where is my son?" he asked through gritted teeth, leaning with his hands on the table, looking like he was ready to blow steam from his nosestrills.

"Good afternoon to you too, Mr Di Monkey," Ace sarcastically replied, taking a sip of his complementary glass of water and picking up the paper to look at it desinterestedly. "I would think that you'd be in good spirits by now."

Dragon chuckled mockingly. "What? You expect me to believe that little stunt of yours?"

Ace lifted his gaze to meet his and held it, pouring all the loathing he could muster into it. "Believe what you want. The fact remains that Luffy's gone. Thanks to you."

"It seems awfully convenient now that you've been sentenced to a stay in prison," the older man replied, obviously not convinced.

"It is what it is," Ace replied in a defeated tone and making it clear that this was all he would be saying on that subject.

Sensing that pressing for answers would earn him a fist to the face and the creation of a rather ugly scene, Dragon straightened up and ran a hand down his impeccable black suit while casting an uneasy, furtive glance Law's way.

"I would advise you to leave. Now," the young MD told him calmly, catching his glance and sitting up in his chair. His eyes were hard and unwavering, conveying all the loathing he had for the man. "There's no need to tell you that you are completely out of place here or is there?"

Dragon huffed and smirked derisively. "Like I would take advice from a degenerate delinquent that calls himself a doctor. You should really learn when to take your own advice, boy."

Marco placed a hand on Law's shoulder to hold him back, knowing that it wouldn't take much more to have him jump out of his chair. "Oh don't go away mad, just go away," he told Dragon with a sarcastic smile. "We have no answers for you."

"Actually, I have one," Ace said, lifting his head to look at Luffy's father again and hold his gaze. "All his life, Luffy's felt unworthy whenever he was around you. Now you may think that once you had driven us apart, that he'd come flying back into your arms again, that he'd have realized that what you wanted for him was the right thing all along and that he'd have nowhere else to go anyway." Ace chuckled mockingly as he slowly stood up and leant over the table so Dragon could not mistake the pure hatred in his eyes. "Yet here you are, still looking for your son. You know why? Let me tell you why; it's because Luffy would rather kill himself than coming back home with you."

"You're out of line!" Dragon exploded, hitting his hands on the table and leaning over it as well, staring Ace down angrily.

"Luffy told me," Ace said quietly, staring back without blinking. "He's not coming back to you. You're the reason he's been such a mess. By not letting him live his life, and accept him just for who he is, you've singlehandedly destroyed any chance of reconciliation between the two of you. I wish him all the best and you're definitely not it. He's better off without you, why do you even care anyway? You've been less of a father to him than any deadbeat dad I know."

Dragon lifted his right fist to strike him. "You son of a-!"

"Go ahead, I know your son a lot better than you," Ace taunted him, not releasing his gaze from his. "And you know I'm right, this will be proof."

Both Marco and Law had jumped out of their chairs, anticipating a blow that ultimately never came.

Dragon squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his arm, biting back his rage as he straightened again and put on his sunglasses, striding back towards his awaiting car, driving off moments later.

"That man is definitely hiding something about why he seems so desperate to have a son back who wants absolutely nothing to do with him," Law remarked, taking back his seat with a scowl.

Marco followed suit and gave Ace a wondering look. "Do you think that his need to see Luffy could be genuine?"

"Doesn't matter if he is," Ace answered resolutely, sitting back down. "He's a manipulative asshole. He could be dying for all I care. I'd never let him go anywhere near Luffy again." He took a breath and grabbed his phone from the table.

He had an inkling as to where Luffy's father would be going next.

The house was almost empty now.

"Robin, the moving van is here!"

She looked up from the box she was labelling and smiled a little. "There's one more in here, Ro!" she called back from the dining room at the back of the living room. She then sighed and ran the back of a hand across her forehead as she looked around the empty space. They'd made so many happy memories here.

This place would be a thing of the past as well now, forever guarding the fragments of cherished and shared recollections with her friends and her brother.

Robin and Zoro were moving downtown, in the residential area surrounding Sabao lake, in the neighbourhood where she once grew up as a child.

Her father's threatening words had been the push they'd needed to finally put a bid on a beautiful 5 bedroom contemporary house with a front garden and very large back garden, with view on the lake and the city behind it. There was a basement that they would convert into a personal gym for Zoro, a garage, two and a half bathroom and an attic. It was situated close to their workplaces and near good schools, something they both insisted on finding just in case their little family were to grow bigger.

Everything had gone smoothly with the aqcuisition of the property and they'd been named the proud owners last monday. Therefore they were already preparing their move into their new home, both eager to start a new chapter in their lives.

From time to time her eyes would wander towards her watch as her mind strayed to her brother, a wave of sadness hitting her each time she did.

"Is that the last one from in here?"

Robin looked up and nodded, letting Zoro pick up the large and heavy box effortlessly. "Yeah," she whispered back, standing up with a tired sigh.

Zoro moved in and kissed her gently on her cheek. "He said he'd call as soon as they'd land, sweetheart. It's only one and it's a 6 hour flight," he told her consolingly, having seen her lonely stare before.

Robin smiled and looked at him thankfully. "I know. It's not just Luffy though... it's been such a long week."

Putting the box back on the empty floor, Zoro then moved in to take her into his arms, holding the back of her head in his right hand as she exhaled tiredly in the side of his neck. "That it was. Tell you what? How about we catch an early dinner with Nami and that shitty cook after we drop off the finished boxes at the house?"

She grinned at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Sounds good."

He smiled back and dropped a kiss on her lips. "Okay, let's finish up then."

"Okay," she whispered back, grinning at the kiss that landed against her temple.

"You know that it'll all work itself out, right?"

Robin nodded, closing her eyes to revel in the warmth of his embrace. "Yeah... Hey, do you remember that little gazebo by the lake? The one underneath the weeping willow?"

A grin formed on Zoro's lips and he buried his nose in her ebony hair, nodding. "How could I forget? It's where I took you on our very first date because I was so strapped for cash."

"I loved every aspect of the day you had planned," Robin confessed, remembering that day nearly 5 years ago. "Even though you had me fooled into thinking that it'd be a day of physical therapy for me, imagine my happy surprise when you had us stop our bikes at this beautifully decorated pagoda that held a neatly dressed table with luncheables."

Zoro grinned, recalling her delightfully surprised expression and then her embarrassment at how she must have looked after 12 miles of intensive cycling. "You were a gorgeous, sweaty mess."

She laughed and swatted his shoulder. "Well, you didn't exactly smell like roses either by then!"

He grabbed her hand in his left and encircled her waist with his right, smirking amusedly as he started a slow dance with her to imaginary music. "After lunch, we had a shower at that spa near Florian street were I used to work, relaxed in the sauna and then..."

"You gave me a deep tissue massage," Robin filled in, biting her lower lip when she relived those moments in her mind.

"It was my turn to be awestruck when you came into the room and unabashedly dropped your bathrobe in front of me," Zoro murmured huskily into her ear with his eyes closed. "Revealing to me your naked glory and the magnificent goddess that you are."

A loving grin formed on her features and she held him tighter.

"There'd been some flirting between us, but we never established what it was we were really doing," he continued quietly, still leading them through their quiet dance. "I loved you then and I didn't want to rush anything for then obvious reasons. I think I lost my mind when you disrobed and got on the table, patiently waiting for me to lay my hands on you."

"You'd given me relaxing massages before, but none of them ever ended the way that one did." Robin then looked at him admiringly and smiled gently. "By then I was in love with you too, you know. I had spent many a night fantasizing about you, your hands and this strong, masculine body. I know I lost my mind when you finally lay on top of me, nothing else had ever felt so right. I knew, after that day, that I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life."

Zoro's smile only widened at the sound of those previously untold confessions, his love for this woman ever growing. "That gazebo would make for a perfect place."

Robin nodded. "I'll run it by Luffy. And perhaps we can have one of those pagoda tents too; it'll be February after all."

Zoro made an agreeing sound and kissed her on her lips, exchanging a loving gaze with her before they decided that they needed to go check upon the movers that were outside putting their stuff into the truck. Once arrived at their frontdoor, Zoro handed the box he was carrying to one of the workers and then turned to her again.

"If you have any more ideas for the wedding that remind you of sexy anecdotes, feel free to bounce them off me," he said, smirking when she giggled amusedly. "No, but seriously, I know that the planning of your wedding is something that you wanted to share with Luffy."

She cocked her head to the side in an endeared manner. "Yeah, well as you can see my brother isn't exactly available right now, so I might take you up on that offer," she said traipsing her fingers over both his arms until they met around his neck in an embrace.

He nodded. "I want to be involved in the planning of our special day as much as I can."

"Why Mr Roronoa, you're starting to sound more and more like the perfect groom to be," Robin joked with another giggle. "Thank you," she whispered, moving in for a sweet kiss.

As they parted, they both heard a car pull up to the house and she felt her good mood vanish again when she recognised the sleek, black Mercedes and the man who emerged from it.

"That was to expected," Zoro said, letting go of her.

"He must've heard the news of Ace and Luffy," Robin whispered as they both watched her father approaching. She turned to Zoro and kissed him on his lips tenderly. "I left my purse and phone on the kitchen counter. Could you go get them, so we can go as soon as possible?"

Zora glanced at Dragon, understanding what she was doing. "I'll be right back."

"Thanks," she said after him, turning just in time to see Dragon come to a stop in front of her. "And what do you want?"

Dragon sighed wearily. "That's no way of greeting your father, Robin."

"Well, when next he comes, I'll make sure to treat him with the respect he deserves," she coldly said, walking towards the driveway and the moving truck.

Dragon rolled his eyes in exasperation, but followed her nonetheless.

"Luffy's left Sabaody."

Robin closed her eyes and stopped in her tracks. No one outside their circle of friends was supposed to know this fact yet. Then again, perhaps he didn't know and he was just fishing for an answer. "Yeah," she whispered neutrally. "I figured."

"Help me find him, Robin, please," Dragon said gently, walking up to her apprehensively.

"Why?" she asked with a weary sigh of her own, turning around to face him. "Why do you even care? Why are you even here?"

"Luffy needs a fresh start. I can offer him that. A new job if he wants one, new prospects... All I want is to take care of my son... even if it doesn't fix our past differences..." Dragon fell silent and looked a the moving truck. "I need to find him and tell him... show him-"

Robin frowned at the silence that followed those words. It reminded her of a conversation she'd had not that long ago with another family member. "How bad is it?"

Dragon sighed and lowered his head with a small smile. "Bad enough," he told her, looking at her pleadingly.

She gave him a disinterested stare. "Whatever you have going on in your life right now, leave my brother out of it."

Dragon scoffed in a disbelieving manner. "Robin..."

"You need to stop trying to ruin Luffy's life," she told him, voice hard. "Did you forget what happened when Luffy's last relationship ended? Luffy doesn't want to be found by you. Not now, not ever. If he's left Sabaody, he's made himself abundantly clear; you're the last person he wants to see."

He closed his eyes and faced away from her, remaining silent.

"No matter if something is really wrong or if this is all just an act, you've blown any chance you had to ever making it up to him. That trust you needed to make whatever this is even remotely believable was washed away with the antidepressants Luffy had to take after you wrecked his life the first time. And I'm not even going to start about what you did to me, because that would be beside the point right now." She gritted her teeth angrily, her tone carrying the immense disgust she felt in that moment for her father. "But you've taken my brother away from me! Again!"

There was another silence in which the sound of boxes being loaded into the back of the truck and the banter of the 3 workers was the only sound around them.

"You've always been so perceptive, Robin. I could never hide things for long from you... or your mother," he whispered silently, staring at the house in nostalgia. "I cannot begin to say how much I regret all those lapses in parental judgement I have committed."

The vulnerability in his voice caught Robin's attention and she looked at him more closely, warily watching her father move back to the doorstep to sit down on it, furtively wiping away a tear from his left cheek.

For her whole life, she had never seen her father shed a single tear. Over anything. Not even when her mother died or at her funeral.

"Tell me why you're so hell bent on finding him. After everything that happened, you're actions now are not making any sense," Robin told him quietly, hesitantly sitting down next to him.

Dragon looked at his daughter and as their gazes met, she felt herself transported back to happier times, when he would hold her piggy-tailed self high above him and make her laugh in delight. She recalled a time when they'd been the best of friends playing in the park on warm summer days or when he'd blown big, rainbow coloured bubbles in their backyard just for her to dance in or when he'd taken her camping in Yarukiman forest to help her with a schoolproject, just the two of them.

He'd been her dad then, the man she'd vowed to one day marry so not be separated from him, ever.

She turned her face away and looked ahead of her when it abruptly and shockingly hit her, clearing her throat at the unexpected tears that welled up in her eyes, suddenly realizing that like the memories she left behind in their estate, those memories of her and her father would never be relived again because never again would they find themselves in that innocent and happy place in their relationship; they would never be that close again.

"You're dying..." she whispered, voice faint because she couldn't trust it to go louder.

Dragon lowered his gaze sadly. "In a little less than a year if I'm to believe my doctors."

Robin chuckled sarcastically, shaking her head angrily. "Which you do, otherwise you wouldn't even be here," she said, trying really hard now to keep her tears away. "You're really something..."

Either this was a really low way of getting to tell her the information he wanted, or telling her about his condition only now was in really poor taste.

Whatever it was, she knew she couldn't handle it. Not right now.

"I can't fucking believe you're doing this," she murmured while shaking her head in betwen her hands. To her relief, she heard Zoro call for her a moment later, as if on cue. "I have to go," she told her father, not caring enough to wait for an answer before walking off.

Dragon let her go, knowing that he wouldn't get any more answers from her.

He hadn't lied about his ailment, he truly was ill and his days were numbered. His condition, though giving him an opportunity, was in no way used as an excuse to see his children. Truth was that he was fully aware that the damage between his children and himself was too great for him to even hope on any form of sympathy from either one of them because he didn't know how to connect with them anymore.

The dreams he had hoped to realize for them were what had driven them away from him. He realized that his children had grown into amazing individuals with their own goals and ambitions and they were happy with the partners they had chosen for themselves.

He didn't get along with Ace, but that had less to do with his sexual preference and the fact that he obviously loved his son, and more with his distrust of the men responsible for his upbringing. Had he been someone else's son, he wouldn't have opposed his relationship with Luffy. The events of 4 years ago had pulverized the reservations he had had on his son's sexuality. He understood now that Luffy's preference for men wasn't a choice, but a trait that only added to the charismatic young man he heard he'd become.

His daughter's choice he found an interesting one, one he definitely hadn't seen coming, but one for which he was very glad. Zoro brought her the happiness she deserved and he wouldn't question the relationship further for obvious reasons. He had no intention on butting into his daughter's love life ever again.

The inside of the house was quiet behind him when he looked back, his mind wandering to the time when he first bought the house. It was supposed to be their new family home, but he never made it back to live there, because his enterprise took off and grew exponentially over the course of a few short months, demanding a lot of his attention. And he would admit not feeling the need to see his own children, surmising that they'd understand why he wasn't there, continually coming up with excuses to stay in Water 7 and feed his life of hubris until one day, he couldn't come up with a valid reason why he hadn't at least visited them in so long.

The thought of how heartbroken his late wife would have been had she still been alive to see how fragmented their family had become filled him with a shame he could barely stand to live with.

It wasn't that he didn't love his children. If anything, he loved his children too much. It wasn't that he hadn't tried, but somewhere along the way his choices had become the wrong ones.

His alienation from his family stemmed from the part of him that died when Olivia departed. He knew he hadn't been the same ever since that fateful day and the thought of being around his innocent children had filled him with a near insurmountable fear for their future. He would make sure that they lacked nothing when it came to comfort and they would have to live the lives he'd planned out for them, so they'd be safe and successful in their lives.

His father had become a surrogate for Robin and Luffy and he was honestly thankful for his intervention. He took comfort in knowing that Luffy and Robin hadn't been completely on their own these past few years, although the guilt he now felt surpassed that feeling.

He was truly sorry now that he could see the end of his life nearing and he needed to convey this feeling to at least one family member, the only one who had never stopped trying to reach out for him.

The only one who wouldn't shun him, not even now.

Dragon inhaled deeply and took out his phone, standing up when the line rang on the other side, readily putting all his hopes on the upcoming confrontation.

A big, waxing moon had risen up that Saturday night, the accompanying stars glittering like a trail of littered glass shards against the velvety dark blue of the sky.

The appeasing breath of a breeze played with his hair as he stared at the heavenly object, the cup of green tea warm in his hands.

From time to time he would cast a look at his brand new laptop that lay on his bed readily, impatiently expecting a video call he'd been waiting for all day.

There was smooth jazz music coming from the gardens below his balcony and he smiled when he heard Hancock's smooth laugh and the sound of clattering utensils on plates. She and her husband were having some much needed alone time and he couldn't blame them for having chosen this night for their outdoor dinner. This evening was a lovely cloture of a perfectly sunny day, the island's gorgeous vegetation and scenery offering beautiful moments of contemplation when he went on a hike down a manmade trail through the jungle earlier that day. Tomorrow, after the business meeting he had with Boa, he intended to go explore the small waterfall and its pool, and maybe he would spend a couple of hours meditating as a relaxation just like Zoro once taught him. He'd found that it helped him to calm his nerves and he wanted to spend the next few months in as much peace as he could, both physically and mentally.

So he took a sip from his tea and sighed quietly, leaning the back of his head against the frame of his veranda door and closing his eyes. It was hard enough being away from Ace, he did not need any additional stress.

Ace and Robin had agreed to keep their moments of contact to a bare minimum, unless an emergency declared otherwise. Tonight would be Law and Marco's birthday party at the Newgate Mansion and everyone would be gathered there to celebrate. Ace promised to carry his tablet with him during the party so everyone he left behind would have a chance to talk with him.

"'Can't erase, so I'll take blame but I can't accept that we're estranged without you, without you'"*

A smile creeped on Luffy's face and he opened his eyes, turning his face towards the screen of his laptop on the bed. "'I can't quit now, this can't be right I can't take one more sleepless night without you, without you'"*

Ace's smiled back brightly. "Hey, you."

Luffy bit his lower lip and placed his cup of tea on a nearby dresser, climbing onto the bed and sitting in front of the screen with a giddy smile. "Hi," he whispered lovingly.

There was a brief few seconds in which they couldn't but stare longingly at each other.

"You're sitting in your room?" Luffy then wondered, having recognized the background on the image. "Hasn't the party started yet?"

Ace smirked, "No, it has. We're one hour ahead of you guys over there, we just finished dinner and I snuck away to get some alone time with you before I take my tablet downstairs." He then paused and appeared to be listening to something. "Can't you hear Franky's music?"

"No...?" Luffy replied with an amused smile. He then watched how Ace picked up the tablet from its socket and moved to the balcony to open the sliding glass doors. Now he could hear the techno-pop music playing. "Sounds like Franky's on fire!" he commented, nodding his head to the music.

"Yeah, he is," Ace replied looking back into the webcam while stepping back into the room and closing the door behind him. "So are you settling in okay?"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah, everyone is so nice and so helpful. They've really made me feel at home and oh my god this place is huge. I think I got lost 2 times on my way to my room tonight."

Ace chuckled and nodded understandably. "I thought she was going to give you the entire right wing apartment?"

"Uh, yeah she did and holy crap it's amazing!" Luffy said in one breath, making Ace laugh again. "I have all the privacy I could want and I can't wait for you to share it with me..."

"Time will fly by once you're used to life at the Kuja Manor," Ace said comfortingly. "You'll see."

Luffy only smiled, honestly just happy that he got to see Ace again. The distance between them seemed so meaningless now, like it didn't even exist.

"Have you seen Dracule's swords collection yet?"

"Yeah, I think obsessed is the right word to describe the man's fascination with them," Luffy stated with an amused shake of his head. "I should have him meet Zoro so they can fangirl together over them and cosplay as samurai. He has two halls littered with them on the walls!"

They laughed together for a few moments and then fell silent, smirking at each other. "So how are you?" Luffy asked softly.

"I'm not going to lie and say I don't miss you," Ace began with a small smile as he scratched the back of his head helplessly.

Luffy felt his heart squeeze together at that and looked away with a regretful smile. "I couldn't sleep last night because of how much I wished you could be here with me."

Ace took comfort out of his words and put up a brave smile. "You and I can get through this, okay? Right now being apart from each other isn't easy, but the pain from being apart now will make our reunion all the sweeter."

"You bet your ass it will be," Luffy said wantonly, smiling mischievously. "I dedicate myself to the finding of one sexposition every single day you're not here and putting the gathered knowledge to good use when you get here."

"Oh... now that is something to look forward to..." Ace murmured throatily, smiling knowingly. "You're so goddamned sexy, babe..." he then said with a forlorn sigh. "I love you so fucking much."

"I love you too," Luffy whispered back gently, slightly embarrassed that hearing him say that still made him blush so hard.

"They're having their party downstairs and I just wish I could get into the mood for it..." Ace admitted, sitting back in his chair with another sigh.

Luffy made a sympathising face and reached for the screen longingly. "I know, but you have to. Don't worry about me and just enjoy yourself as much as you can before... before Monday."

Ace bit his lower lip and snorted, visibly holding back his own tears as he averted his gaze.

"Ace... baby..." Luffy shakenly whispered, lips trembling. Watching this strong man reduced to tears tore his heart apart, but there wasn't much either one of them could do, other than being here, talking to the other as much as they could.

"Are you wearing the ring?" Ace asked after a few moments, clearing his throat.

Luffy reached inside his t-shirt and produced the platinum band. "Right here," he softly said. "I haven't taken it off."

"If you were here, I would hold you and kiss you and make love to you until time lost all meaning and the world faded away," Ace murmured, looking straight into the webcam and grinning at the bashful chuckle he got from Luffy. "I would tell you how I listen to your voice recorded on that last voice mail you left me again and again when I'm alone. How I spent last night looking at the video of our party last Monday over and over, each time pausing the film so I can caress the screen of my tv and I can imagine touching your face and lovely lips. I would confess to you how I hope that me touching your digitalized face can somehow translate itself in a comforting thought or feeling to help you through your nights and days."

"Ace..." Luffy whispered, on the verge of tears due to those heartfelt words of love.

Ace smiled sadly, but continued. "I thought I would miss you physically the most, but if I'm being completely honest, I must admit that I miss your mind and heart the most. Your jokes, your spontaneity, the way you love me; so honest, so shameless, selfless and fierce.

You make me fall for you every day, ever minute and every second that you're away from me.

I want to declare to the world that you're mine and mine alone, but I can't. So, that ring you're wearing will have to convey everything I just said on top of the promise we made to each other.

You're the one for me, Luffy. My heart, my soul, my body; it's all yours."

Luffy was in tears by then, sobbing quietly into his hands. "If I'm all those things you just said about me," he whimpered, wiping away his tears,"it's because of you. My self-esteem has made a complete 180 ever since we met. I couldn't be who I am now if it wasn't for your gentle and persistent loving of me." He took a quivering breath to calm down his emotions and broke down crying again.

"I want to marry you as soon as possible," he sobbed, not caring about the tears that ran freely down his cheeks now. "You accepted me when I showed you the worst of me... I'm forever in awe of the beauty of your soul, Ace. I feel you deep inside of me, as if we're one. Your pain is mine, your joy is mine. There's no one else for me. You're the only one my body, my heart and my soul cries out for. You're the only one I want. You have me completely; all that I am is yours. I love you, Ace."

Ace threw him a kiss and smiled amorously. "I love you too, Luffy."

Luffy sniffled and tried to dry his wet cheeks with his hands. "God, I need a tissue," he chuckled. "I can't have the others see me like this."

"I can almost guarantee that at some point you'll be crying again," Ace said jestingly.

Luffy stuck out his tongue to him. "It's not like your eyes were perfectly dry either, mr manly man!" He then quickly got off the bed and ran towards the hall to the bathroom to retrieve a roll of toilet paper.

"Hey, Luffy?"

"Yeah?" he called back from the bathroom, reaching into the cabinet underneath the sink for the toilet paper.

Ace took out his phone and browsed through it, while he asked; "If there's someone we ought to tell about our engagement plans, it's your sister, isn't it?" He grinned when he heard the sound of a smooth saxophone come through his speakers.

Luffy appeared back into his bedroom, wiping off the tears from his face as he did. "I had the intention of telling her, but I didn't get the chance. Do you think you could go get her so we can tell her?"

"I'm way ahead of you," Ace said, putting his phone away now. "She wanted to see you so badly."

"She's gong to be very surprised," Luffy commented, grinning at the screen. "I don't think she ever dreamt of me getting married."

"I know Law and Marco's jaws would fall to the floor if I told them," Ace added, smirking.

"Aren't you going to tell them? They are the closest thing to a family you have, aren't they?"

Ace shook his head. "I'd like for you to tell my sister for me, if you don't mind."

Luffy made a confused face. "Why not tell Marco and Law?"

"If I did, they'd have to tell their partners and that's too many people who would know about it," Ace reasoned. "It's not that I don't trust them, but it's a risk less if I do it this way. Plus, Hancock is the less obvious choice."

Luffy nodded in understanding. "It's funny how we've exchanged sisters for a while."

"Robin and I take care of each other, you don't need to worry about her," Ace said with a smile and a reassuring nod. "When your father ambushed my last Friday, I knew he'd go see her next, so we keep in touch."

"Wait, what?"Luffy said, horrified. "What happened?"

Ace scratched the back of his head in an annoyed manner. "Your dad found me last Friday, having lunch with Marco and Law."

"What happened?" Luffy asked again, reading Ace's bodylanguage and dreading the worst.

"I told him off," the older man confessed, looking miffed. "He kept asking where you were and I just couldn't deal with the idea that he thought he had any right of even seeing you after what he did to you."

"What did you tell him?" Luffy wondered worriedly, head cocked to the side.

"That there was no way in hell that you'd ever decide to go live with him." Ace then sighed regretfully. "That you'd rather die."

A shaky breath escaped Luffy and he closed his eyes, rubbing his hands against his face to calm himself. After a few moments he chuckled and looked at him amusedly. "That must've pissed him off."

"We almost came to blows," Ace said, shaking his head. "I blamed him for your departure and our break up. I think he was convinced."

"My hero," Luffy whispered, placing the tips of his fingers against the screen. "I love you."

"I won't let him anywhere near you, babe," Ace told him gently. His gaze then shifted to a spot behind his tablet and he grinned. "He's right here."

Luffy watched Ace move his chair and himself out of view to make place for his sister. "There he is!"

"Bee..." he whispered longingly when her gorgeous face appeared on his screen. "Hi...!"

Robin smiled softly "You look well, Lou. We miss you terribly over here."

"I miss you guys too..." he replied, blinking his eyes to keep them from watering. "H-how are you? Ace told me that dad came by the house?"

She nodded, watching him furtively wipe away the few tears out of the corners of his eyes. "Apparently, and I would take the following information with a grain of salt; he claims to be sick. Which I think is the reason why he's trying to get in touch with us."

"Seriously?" Ace said in disbelieve, surprised by the news as much as Luffy was.

"He's sick?" Luffy echoed. The fact that his sister sounded angry did not escape him.

"I don't know the details," she continued cautiously. "But Grandpdad says he really is."

"He talked to Grandpa?" Luffy exclaimed, shocked. "Since when do they talk?"

Robin shook her head. "They don't. Which makes his revelation all the more intriguing, whether we like it or not."

"Huh, but you talked to him, right?" Luffy voiced contemplatively. "Robin, is dad dying?"

"Luffy." Robin gave him a stern look. "I don't know and I'm not ready to believe anything that man has to say. As long as I have no certainty, I don't want you to concern yourself with this, do you hear me?"

Luffy sat up straight and nodded solemnly. "Yes, Bee," he answered reluctantly, knowing that she was right.

Robin nodded approvingly. "Focus on your projects and your work with Hancock, leave the rest to us."

"Robin's right, babe," Ace chimed in. "Don't concern yourself with any of this; your sister and I will handle whatever he throws at us."

"Thank you guys," Luffy whispered softly, his shoulders slumping a bit out of guilt. "You're the ones getting all the blows now..."

"Hey," Robin whispered, catching his attention again. "If you had stayed here, nothing good would've come out of it. You're better off where you are right now, at least now you can build yourself up again at your own pace."

Ace nodded with a playful wink. "And you have me waiting for you, Luffy."

"You're my greatest source of motivation, Ace," Luffy murmured, grinning at him. "And you're right, Robin. If I'm to have the future I dream of having, I need to do my best now that I have the chance."

Both Robin and Ace smiled approvingly.

"Which kind of brings me to the next thing I wanted to talk to you about, Bee," Luffy continued, sharing a glance with his fiancé. "Well, the next thing Ace and I wanted to talk to you about."

Robin lifted both her eyebrows and turned her face to Ace again. "Oh?" she voiced, giving him an intrigued look.

Ace grinned at her and shifted his gaze to Luffy. "I asked Luffy to marry me."

Robin's mouth fell open in shock and she looked at her brother again.

"And I said yes," Luffy admitted, smiling nervously.

"Wha-" she chuckled, still going back and forth between them in disbelief. "Seriously?"

"Robin, Ace and I are engaged," the younger Di Monkey sibling told the elder one softly, anxiously awaiting for her to get past her initial shock.

Ace's smile never wavered as he kept looking at her patiently. "I'm going to marry your brother, Robin."

Robin sat back in her seat, thoroughly shocked at the news. She then folded her arms against her chest after a while and closed her eyes, nodding to herself with a stern smile. "Don't get married before I do, that's all I ask. I'm not sharing the attention that goes with being a future, blushing bride."

"I wouldn't dream of becoming a blushing bride," Luffy said in an equally serious manner, making both of them laugh. He joined them in their laughter afterwards, wishing he could hold his sister right then. "So, you're okay with this?"

Robin smiled at Ace and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I get it. You two love each other and this distance is the farthest you've been from each other ever since you've met." She paused and stared back into the webcam, weighing her words carefully. "If you're both sure that this kind of committment is what you need, I would ask you to take this time apart to seriously contemplate what you both want for your shared future. I do not mean to be belittling your intentions or your feelings by saying this, so please don't take it that way. Just keep in mind that you've only known each other a month. If you're so sure about your love, you shouldn't be rushing into it."

Ace smiled at her gratefully. "No, it shouldn't be rushed into, but it doesn't take away the fact that i love your brother and that I want to take care of him for the rest of my life, married or not."

Luffy blushed and smiled at Ace affectionately, producing the platinum ring from underneath his t-shirt. "He's the one, Robin."

Robin smiled at Ace again, pursing her lips appraisingly. "Sounds like he is. And I already consider him to be part of our family. He's like the responsible brother I never had."

"Hey!" Luffy protested, grinning nevertheless. "Being considered part of our family by Robin is the highest praise you can get," he then told Ace with a wink.

"I'm honoured that you feel that way," Ace replied, smiling proudly at her.

"I'm happy for the both of you," she then said with a nod before turning to her brother with a smile as she saw the glittering ring. "I suspect that I'm to keep this news a secret for now?"

"If you'd be so kind to," Luffy confirmed.

Robin smirked and nodded again. "But before we all go downstairs, I'd like to check with you if it'd be alright if I come to see you by the end of the month?"

"Why not attend Hancock's Celebrity Halloween Party while you're here?" he asked her with a mocking grin.

She laughed and shook her head. "The lounge is having its own Halloween themed event by the end of the month. I'll be dropping by around the 27th or so."

"I'll have to check my schedule with Hancock, but it shouldn't be a problem," Luffy said, shrugging. "I'll have a draft of your wedding plans ready by then."

Robin grinned, pleased.

"By the way, where is my lovely sister?" Ace asked, sitting back in his chair and resting his right ankle on his left knee.

"Outside in the garden with Dracule, enjoying some much needed alone time," Luffy answered, looking towards the balcony on his right, smiling dreamily as his thoughts flowed on the smooth jazzy tunes that were still playing. "Hey, Robin? Do you mind giving me some more time alone with Ace?" he whispered softly, turning towards the screen again.

"Sure," she answered, blowing him a kiss through the webcam. "See you downstairs."

Luffy nodded and watched her go. "Before you go downstairs to see the others, there's something I'd like to ask you, Ace."

Ace scooted closer to the screen again. "What is it?"

"It's something that I suddenly thought about and got me worried," he confessed. "What if you meet Kid in prison?"

"Don't worry, Luffy," Ace said calmly. "I won't let anything happen to me because I have you waiting for me."

Luffy took a steadying breath and lowered his head sadly. "Ace..."

"Nothing can keep me from coming back home to you," he continued with a smirk. "Plus, these muscles you love aren't just for show and if he tries anything it'll give me an opportunity to repay him for what he did to you. I have a few tricks up my sleeve, don't worry."

Luffy squeezed his eyes shut and tried hard to pushed aside any doubt and fear from his mind. "Please, please, please just come back to me," he murmured fearfully. "That bastard can use all kinds of tricks on you to discredit me-"

Ace shook his head and hushed his insecure ramblings. "You're the one I'll always believe. I trust your word, Luffy. Your past is of no relevance to me."

"I would never lie to you again, Ace," Luffy whimpered. "I'd never hurt you like that again."

"I know you wouldn't, babe," Ace consoled him.

"But he could have more videos and pictures of me doing things I've-"

"I love the man who stood by me during my trying times, the one who has earned my respect due to the his strength of character, the beauty of his dreams and the depth of his ambitions. That's the man I'm willing to do all of this for."

Luffy smiled amorously, shaking his head. "How do you keep coming up with that stuff?"

"Because you bring the corny out of me," Ace laughed, making him laugh as well.

"Hurry back to me, mister," Luffy whispered after a few shared gazes.

"I'll be holding you close to me before you even know it," Ace promised, smiling softly into the camera as he picked up his tablet. "I need to get going though, I can hear the others calling for me. They're all dying to see you. Are you ready?"

Luffy smiled and nodded, lovingly staring at him as he took them downstairs towards his awaiting friends.

The following morning Luffy spent in a contract meeting with Hancock, Margueritte and the film producer Moria Gecko at his Thriller Bark Studios on his private island, two hours from Amazon Lilly by private jet.

Hancock was to appear in Moria's next production, a re-telling of the tragic tale of the star-crossed love between a Pirate King and his lover. She would star as the Pirate King's lover. An important, yet minor role, which fit her just fine because of her rather demanding work schedule and her wish to spend more time with her husband.

His task consisted in arranging a time-table which fit both parties and once he had presented his proposition he found himself with some free time before he was to return home with Hancock and Margueritte.

Therefore he decided to explore the large Gecko building to pass the time, figuring that he would try and find the cafeteria while he was at it. After a quarter of an hour had passed he stumbled upon the cantina, which was almost deserted at this pre-lunch hour. Something smelled amazingly well, so he made his way to the counter hoping that he wasn't too early to order.

"Luffy...?"

Luffy turned away from the menu board and towards the source of the familiar voice, a surprised smile forming on his lips when he laid eyes on the man standing behind him. There were a few people sitting in the room, but somehow he had failed to notice the man standing in front of him now with a gorgeous smile.

"Coby! Wow! Hi!"

He was more startled than surprised to see Coby here because he had wished to not only spend his exile away from his friends, but to also actively avoid people he knew from his life in Sabaody as to limit the chances of exposure. Yet, seeing the man who had stood by him and been a pivotal witness in his lawsuit against Kid filled him with affection and gratefulness, making it impossible to turn him away. "What are you doing here?"

Coby's handsome grin only grew wider and he stepped closer. "I have a rehearsal session in one of the studio's here for an upcoming movie," he answered, hugging Luffy happily. "How about you? I hear you left Sabaody?"

Luffy let go of him and rolled his eyes nervously. "Well after the way Ace's trial blew up, I needed some time for myself. I'm here with Hancock Boa."

"Right, for that pirate movie," Coby said with a nod and a smile.

"Yeah," Luffy replied, catching Coby's still wondering expression. "I'm one of her assisstants now," he quickly added.

Coby's face lightened up a bit. "So Ace isn't with you?"

Luffy had dreaded that question and he looked down sadly, forcing himself to say the words he had to utter. "He broke- we... we broke up."

"He broke up with you?" Coby said in surprise, eyes gone wide in disbelieve. "Why? You guys seemed to be going so strong?"

Not finding the strength to correct him, Luffy simply chose to go with it because it was the version he and Ace had agreed upon, even if he hated how it made Ace look like the villain. The pain of having to leave him resurfaced and when next he cast a sad look to the floor, it wasn't played. "With him going to prison, he thought it would be best if we went our separate ways."

"I'm really saddened to hear all of this, Luffy," Coby said softly and earnestly, making Luffy look at him again. "Are you okay?"

Luffy smiled at his considerate words and shrugged. "I'm here, and not there."

To his grand surprise, Coby suddenly took him into another embrace, his lips pressing against Luffy's forehead. "You're going to be alright, Luffy. I promise you."

Frozen in place at the feeling of those warm and soft lips playing against his skin, Luffy lifted trembling hands with the intention of pushing him away from him, but just as he wanted to, Coby tightened the embrace and he couldn't push him and his honest feelings away anymore, instead he felt tears well up in his eyes and he returned the embrace, whispering his thanks.

"Ever the kind man, aren't you?" Luffy said with a sniffle, smiling to himself.

This would've been much easier if Coby had been a brash and obnoxious man, but that not being the case found Luffy returning his kindness, giving in to the creeping feeling of loneliness he'd been trying to hide ever since he left Sabaody.

No one could replace what he left behind, but he knew he could use a familiar, tangible presence in his life right now, to whom he could relate and whom he could call a 'friend'. Hancock was amazing and her horde of assistants were wonderful women, but he now realized that it wouldn't hurt to have someone with whom he could be friends without having to worry about professional boundaries.

Coby only smiled at the compliment and took a step back, reaching underneath Luffy's chin to lift his face up. "So, where are you staying?"

"At Hancock's place," Luffy replied, moving his face away from his fingers subtly, still remembering the quiet confession Coby made just a few weeks earlier and wanting to make it clear to him that even if he believed that he and Ace were broken up, they still needed to keep up a certain level of emotional distance between them. He nevertheless grinned at him as he turned his body back towards the counter, maintaining his friendly tone. "Her place is huge and it's just easier work-wise."

Coby caught the hint and smiled to himself with a nod. "We should get together sometime, grab dinner and catch up or something," he said instead, looking up at the menu above the lunch counter as well.

Luffy glanced at him playfully. "Or something?" he said, catching the attention of one of attendants serving lunch.

"Yeah, do you like rock-climbing?" the younger male asked, turning to him wonderingly.

Luffy finished ordering what he wanted for lunch and then looked at him quizzically. "The indoor or outdoor kind?"

"Either one," Coby grinned amusedly.

"No," Luffy chuckled. "But that's because I've never done it before," he added quickly with a jesting smirk when he saw Coby's face fall a little. "I'd love to learn."

Coby's smile reappeared and he nodded enthusiastically. "Then I'll teach you. When do you have a day off?"

Luffy returned his brilliant smile, thinking to himself that being in an self-imposed exile didn't necessarily mean that he couldn't have a little bit of fun while he awaited the promised day.

*Without You - David Guetta ft Usher.

To be continued...

In 20: Two of Wands - Wheel of Fortune

-BDP-