Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ace spent the eve of his fifteenth birthday on the cliff overlooking the ocean, shivering in the frigid air as he watched the horizon.

He left Luffy back at the treehouse, sleeping soundly wrapped in every blanket they owned to make up for Ace’s absence. In the morning, Ace would go back to him. They’d hunt their breakfast together, fight the standard 100 fights and spend the day doing absolutely nothing out of ordinary. In the morning, Ace would be Luffy’s brother.

In the afternoon, Ace would pick a bar -- one he hadn’t been to in a while -- and ask all the drunks the same question he always did. In the afternoon, Ace would be nothing more but Roger’s blood, fighting men three times his size to try and fill the gaping hole in his chest.

But right there and then, Ace was just… himself.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

The breeze grew stronger, making Ace’s shirt flap against his back. He hugged his knees tighter, briefly regretting not bringing a blanket. But no; It was cold enough that Luffy would need all they had to stay asleep.

Ace would do anything for his brother. What was a brief moment of discomfort in the face of that?

The moments passed, unnoticed. The faint sound of a bell drifted in from the direction of the Goa Kingdom and Ace found himself counting along with the chimes.

One, two, three…

It was Dadan who taught him how to count, but it was Sabo who taught him how to read and write. Sabo, who grew up with all the knowledge the books could give him, with insatiable curiosity for all the wonders of the world. His brother, who was meant to be free. Sabo, who had been dead for longer than Ace had ever known him.

…eleven. Twelve.

It was midnight.

Ace was fifteen.

He sighed, resting his chin on the top of his knees. Another year he spent alive. Another year his brother would never get to see.

…Another year Ace would personally ensure Luffy would reach.

It was his duty as an older brother - the only older brother, now - to ensure Luffy’s safety and happiness, as much as Ace knew how.

A twig snapped somewhere behind him and Ace tensed. It couldn’t have been Luffy, the footsteps were not right for that and he would have been loudly calling out for Ace besides, but there was no one else who’d know where to find him-

He regretted his decision not to bring the pipe along, now. His hands tightened into fists as he subtly shifted his head, trying to see the intruder through the curtain of his oily hair-

It seemed to be a woman. A heavily pregnant woman. Ace didn’t dare relax fully, nothing would ever make him drop his guard in front of a stranger, but he did let his muscles untense. The chances of an attack had just gone considerably lower.

The woman was dressed in a summer dress - not really something to wear in January - and she was looking at him weirdly. Kind of like Makino always looked at Luffy, the same gleam in her eyes, the same soft smile on her lips.

Ace wasn’t sure if he liked it.

“Oi, are you lost, lady?” He called, his voice harsh as he turned fully. “The village is the other way-”

“I think I’m exactly where I need to be,” the woman interrupted him, walking towards him calmly.

Ace didn’t dare move as she settled herself next to him, soft sigh escaping her once she was comfortable, legs outstretched in front of her.

She looked straight at Ace, one hand raising to move hair out of her face. He should leave, Ace thought, but on the other hand, it’s not like she was doing anything-

“You look just like your father,” the lady said, and the tentative peace shattered.

“HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT!” Ace jumped to his feet, nails digging into his palms as he clenched his fists as hard as he could. He wouldn’t usually try to fight a pregnant person, he wasn’t that much of an asshole, but if she was literally asking for it- “I AM NOTHING LIKE THAT MAN!”

Out of all the possible reactions, Ace didn’t expect the utter heartbreak on her face.

The woman’s hand went to her stomach, rubbing the surface gently as she closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath.

“You have no idea who I am, do you?”

Although Ace never ran away from a fight, in that moment, he was tempted to. He wanted nothing more than to burrow himself next to Luffy, forget this ever happened. But… something kept his feet rooted to the spot.

“Should I?” he sneered.

“My name,” the woman raised her chin up proudly. “Is Portgas D. Rouge.”

Ace froze.

“That’s- that’s impossible!” He exploded. “You’re lying!”

The expression on his- on the woman’s face was so full of pity, Ace couldn’t help but snarl, taking a step back.

“I don’t know what you think you’re going to gain but-”

“Please, don’t go.” Rouge - if that was even her real name - outstretched her hand towards him. Ace flinched, leaning a little further back. “I only get this one day with you.”

This seemed too good to be true. Ace was suspicious by nature, but this was something so weird he doubted even Luffy would have fallen for it.

…Yeah, okay, that was pushing it a bit far. Luffy would fall for anything.

The expression on her face, though. The pain in her voice was real.

He dropped his hands. “But…” he whispered. “But that’s not possible. You’re dead!”

“I am,” Rouge nodded, her hand still reaching towards him. “In your time, I can’t be there with you. But, just this once, I get to see you. The universe is generous enough to grant me this one kindness-”

“There’s nothing kind about the universe!” Ace denied vehemently, the back of his hand rubbing harshly against his cheek. “It just takes and takes and hurts you more and more every day!”

“Oh, darling…”

The hand in front of him shook, Ace noted absently, Rouge’s other one going to clutch tightly at the dress stretched over her belly.

The belly, he realised, which currently held a baby inside. A baby version of himself.

Ace gave up, the fight leaving him in a rush as his knees went weak. He only grabbed the hand to keep himself steady, that’s all. It was only him and… his mother. Just them.

Rouge tugged him gently, and Ace went easily, dropping down to his knees and folding himself down into her embrace. Maybe this was just a dream; maybe Ace finally snapped and this was all a hallucination.

Maybe he just died.

Whatever it was, Ace would just have to make the most of it. To live with no regrets, he promised, and what could he ever regret more than having a chance to meet his mother and wasting it?

He clutched at her dress, mindful not to tear it. Rogue held him just as tightly, one hand tangled in his hair while the other rubbed circles on his back. He felt tingles at the back of his neck, as if someone was staring at him, but he dismissed it; it was probably just the hug. The only person who really hugged him was Luffy, after all.

Ace could no longer dismiss the feeling when a giant coat was draped over his shoulders, the sea of fabric large enough to cover both him and Rouge at the same time.

For a brief second, it felt like the home Ace never had.

Then his instincts kicked in and Ace ducked out from underneath the fabric, taking a few steps back as he brought himself into a fighting stance. He remembered his mother a split second later. Launching himself forward -- not with any real intention of hitting the intruder, just to drive him back -- Ace placed himself firmly in front of Rouge.

Finally with a moment to spare, Ace took a good look at the stranger, his teeth bared into a snarl.

As it turned out, the stranger was no stranger at all; Ace had seen his face on far too many old bounties and newspaper clippings to ever mistake him for anyone but who he was: the late Pirate King, Gold Roger.

Maybe his mother was right. Maybe the universe was kind, once in a while. After all, Ace couldn’t think of a better birthday gift than getting a chance to personally beat up his father.

Wasting no more time, Ace launched himself at Roger, enjoying the man’s half-startled step back.

“No, Ace, wait-!” His mother called, but Ace ignored it. Living without regrets, yadda yadda, he just really wanted to knock some teeth out.

He went at it the same way he started the bar fights; Throwing in everything he had with the sole goal of causing as much damage as possible. Frustratingly enough, the late Pirate King turned out to be a much more difficult target than some random drunk sailors.

It seemed as if Roger wasn’t even putting any effort into it. He hardly even blocked any of the hits, letting punches which would normally down a grown man land on his body with no ill effect.

Ace decided to resort to some of his older techniques, which is how he ended up teeth-deep into Roger’s outstretched forearm, hanging limply in front of him.

The bastard was laughing.

“Now, now, enough of that!” Roger said, his free hand braced on his hip as he gently jostled Ace around. “It warms my heart to see you so protective of your mother, but there’s no need for that! After all, I’m your fa-”

Ace interrupted him with a growl. Without letting go of the forearm, he managed to produce a decently-understandable I know, asshole!.

The smile froze on Roger’s face, to Ace’s great satisfaction.

“Ah…”

His gaze went towards Rouge. Ace could tell the moment he noticed the baby bump, his expression shuttering into such heartbreak that even Ace felt slightly sorry for him.

Gnawing on the mouthful of flesh got rid of that pesky feeling.

It did bring Roger’s attention back to Ace, though. He folded his arm -- and consequently Ace as well -- against his chest, bringing his free hand to support his back, chin digging into the top of Ace’s head.

There was no way to get out of that situation without dropping the bite. But even once his mouth was free, Roger just shifted his grip, hugging Ace’s desperately wriggling form far too tight.

“It was all for nothing, then?” Roger’s voice drifted about Ace’s head. It wasn’t directed at him, Ace could tell, but it wasn’t something that was meant to be hidden from him, either. “It didn’t work?”

With enough twisting -- and Ace never expected to be jealous of the bonelessnessness Luffy’s fruit allowed him -- he managed to crane his neck at just the right angle to see Rouge.

He watched his mother bring her hand towards her stomach, palm resting over a version of himself.

“...The marines are all over Baterilla,” she admitted, almost too softly to hear over the breeze. “They’ve done… unforgivable things to so many children. I’ve held him for fourteen months, now… And I will hold him as long as I have to.”

The grief emanating from the both of them was almost palpable. Ace redoubled his efforts at getting away, using Roger’s distraction to finally break free. He turned his back on the man, hands fisted so tightly his knuckles turned white.

“Why would you do that?!” He yelled at Rouge, the one question that plagued his mind for years. “Why would you sacrifice yourself for someone you would never even meet?”

Ace was looking at Rouge, he wanted Rouge to answer, but instead, it was Roger’s voice that spoke.

“You’re not just someone,” he said, one hand resting on Ace’s shoulder as he moved to stand beside Rouge. “You’re our son-”

“You have no idea who I am!” Ace yelled, shrugging the hand off roughly. It shouldn’t have worked, Roger was clearly just humouring him, but all that mattered was to have it off- “Neither of you knows me! You weren’t there!”

His parents’ faces grew blurry.

“You weren’t there,” he repeated, hanging his head low and wrapping his arms around himself in a pale imitation of his brother’s hugs. “You left me all alone.”

Maybe Luffy had a point, back when he told them loneliness was the worst kind of pain.

Rouge was the first one to move, bringing Ace back into her embrace.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry, darling.”

He let himself be held, but didn’t dare relax. Surely that bastard would try to get in on the hug, surely he would interrupt, surely-

Roger was crying.

Ace froze, his face barely peeking out above Rouge’s shoulder as he stared at the man.

His mother said, earlier, that he looked like his father. Gramps also mentioned it from time to time as Ace grew up, often when he was drunk or trying to bait Ace into pushing himself in a fight.

But now, as he watched the late Pirate King bawl his eyes out, he couldn’t help but draw a comparison to his crybaby brother.

The image of Gold Roger he had in his head, the idea of a vicious pirate who ruled the seas with an iron fist… It didn’t align with what he was seeing now.

“Why…” Ace’s voice cracked awkwardly. “Why did you give yourself up?”

It was another thing he often wondered. Gramps had mentioned before that the capture had always been Roger’s plan, even if none of the marines were privy to the details. The running theory was that he just wanted to sow chaos, to start the next great era of piracy… But then-

“Why did you have to die?!”

Roger visibly tried -- and failed -- to compose himself, clearing his throat as he stepped closer to Ace. His hand moved as if to cup Ace’s cheek, stopping so close from his skin, Ace could feel the faint warmth radiating off it.

“I’m already dying,” Roger said, his voice thin. “I have maybe months to go, at most. When we realised you were on the way… The only thing I can do is try and draw the attention away from Rouge and you. Try and fail, clearly.”

He sounded so scornful by the end of that, so full of hate and self-loathing.

He sounded so much like Ace.

On impulse he couldn’t fully understand, Ace leaned into Roger’s palm, watching as his expression changed. From the downturned corners of his mouth, furrowed brows, dark eyes… All those sharp edges smoothed out when Roger’s attention turned fully to Ace.

If this was what his brothers saw every time they comforted him, Ace could almost understand why they were so determined to love him.

When Roger reached to embrace the two of them, Ace didn’t resist. He let himself be pulled alongside his mother and pretended, just for a moment, that this was something normal.

That being hugged by his parents wasn’t a miracle he’d only get to experience this one time.

They shifted to the ground eventually, sitting at the edge of the cliff just like Ace was doing not so long ago. This time, though, he wasn’t alone, and wasn’t that a marvel?

He tried his best to stay awake, but it’s already been a long day for him; staying up for half the night hardly helped.

“You can sleep,” Rouge leaned down to whisper in his ear. “We have the whole day. We’ll wake you in the morning. Rest, darling.”

Ace drifted off to sleep with his parents’ whispers serving as a lullaby.

He wasn’t sure how long they sat there. Ace was mostly asleep, drifting in and out of consciousness. At some point during the night the coat migrated back over his shoulders, but he couldn’t bring himself to mind it.

It was early morning by the time he woke up, by no choice of his own. The sun was only just starting to show over the horizon when a faint yell of “AAAACEEEE!” shook through the forest, startling a ridiculous amount of birds.

At this point, Ace really would have thought they’d be used to Luffy’s antics.

He stirred with a sigh, getting to his feet. His parents -- and wasn’t that a wild thing to think about, still? -- were both looking back towards the forest, their conversation dying out into a tense, worried silence.

“It’s just my baby brother,” Ace said dismissively as he passed by them. The coat trailed behind him, just long enough to drag over the tops of the grass.

(...It was comfy, so what? If his shitty dad was so insistent about putting it over Ace’s shoulders, he would just keep it. Forever and ever. Ha! Take that, Pirate King! Coatless Pirate King, now.)

“Baby brother…?” Roger repeated, and from the corner of his eye Ace could see the confused glances they’ve exchanged.

He didn’t have time to explain right then, though, not with the imminent arrival of Luffy. Ace had to be far, far away from the edge by that point; He learned that lesson the hard way.

Mere moments later, Luffy arrived, having launched himself through the trees at some point, utterly confident of the fact that Ace would catch him.

…To be fair, Ace always did. He never dropped his brother by accident (on purpose was a different matter entirely), not since Sabo left them.

“Ace!” Luffy struggled to untangle himself from where all his limbs wrapped tightly around Ace. It was only his experience that ensured Ace kept his own arms free, tugging lightly to help Luffy out. “Gramp’s here!”

Ace froze, his eyes widening as he looked Luffy straight in the eye.

“Why?!” He yelled, tugging Luffy off with a little more urgency. “He never comes this early in the year!”

“I don’t knoooooow,” Luffy groaned. “He tried to shake me out of the tree house! And Ace wasn’t there!”

“Sorry, Lu,” Ace finally managed to pull them apart, looking over Luffy’s form quickly. There was a bump on the top of his head, but it didn’t seem like Gramps got much more hits in than that single Fist of Love.

He was shaking, though, shivering from the rush of adrenaline and the cold morning air. Luffy always took a while to warm up in the morning, usually dragging a blanket around until they got the breakfast sorted and he had enough energy to warm himself up.

Ace was glad he kept the coat, now, draping it over his brother’s shoulders and bundling him in tightly. He was positively swimming in the rich red fabric, but Luffy didn’t seem to mind as grabbed the edges and pulled them close.

…He looked adorable.

Loud stomps approached through the forest, and Ace had only just managed to push Luffy behind himself when Gramps emerged onto the cliffside.

“You!” Gramps called the moment he spotted them, single-mindedly focused. “There you are, you miscreants! I’ll make marines out of you yet, just you wait!”

“Nuh-uh!” Luffy piped in, poking his head out from behind Ace. “We’re gonna be pirates!”

“Like hell you will!” Gramps responded by, like he always did, winding his arm back.

Ace pushed Luffy fully behind himself again, his chin held high and eyes closed tightly as he braced himself for the incoming punch.

But even though the call of FIST OF LOVE came, no punch followed.

Cautiously squinting his eyes open, Ace dropped his jaw open in shock.

There, in front of them, holding Gramps’ fist in his palm casually, stood Roger.

“Seriously, Garp?” He grunted, pushing Gramps’ fist down. “And with haki, too? On children?”

“The brats can handle it,” Gramps shrugged, one finger already knuckle-deep in his nose. Ace felt his mother’s hand holding on to his arm just as Gramps turned to look at them.

He didn’t look surprised, was the thing.

“...You knew this would happen?” Ace asked, half-hoping he was wrong.

Gramps shrugged again.

If it wasn’t for Rouge’s hand, Ace would have already attacked him.

“I’m very confused about… several aspects of this situation,” Roger said slowly, not budging an inch from his protective stance.

“What’s there to be confused about?” Gramps flung a boogie off in the distance. “You gave me your brat, my useless son gave me his brat; I ain’t running a daycare, so I left them with Dadan. The least the brats can do for all that hassle is at least become respectable marines!”

“The hassle of existing?” Rouge spoke, and Ace startled at the tightly compressed fury in her voice. Gramps seemed to be similarly surprised, while Roger just glanced back with the most lovesick smile Ace had ever had the displeasure of seeing. “We gave our lives for Ace, and you just threw him to the wolves?”

“Dadan’s not a wolf!” Luffy interjected, seemingly perfectly content to remain squeezed between Rouge and Ace’s back. “Dadan’s a mountain bandit!”

Judging by his expression, even Garp knew this wasn’t really helping his case.

“Leave,” Roger said, his voice leaving no room for argument. “This is the one day I get to spend with my family. I’m not going to waste it arguing with you.”

“Luffy-”

Ace tensed, one hand shooting back to grasp at Luffy’s side, to make sure he was still there-

“Will stay with his brother,” Rouge said, her voice just as steely as Roger’s.

For perhaps the first time in his life, Ace got to see Gramps back down.

He still couldn’t quite believe it, even as he watched Gramp’s wide back disappearing between the trees.

“Well then,” Roger turned to face them, clasping his hands together. He blinked as his eyes landed over Ace’s shoulder -- where Luffy’s head was, he knew -- brows scrunching in thought. “...Is that my hat?”

“Nuh-uh,” Luffy happily climbed over Ace’s shoulders now that Gramps was no longer a concern. “It’s Shanks’! I’m holding on to it, though. We made a promise, I’m going to give it back when I become a great pirate! The greatest, the Pirate King!”

Out of reflex, Ace braced himself for the mocking laugh, his hands going tight over Luffy’s shins. But neither Roger nor Rouge laughed; not maliciously. Roger just grinned, wider than should be possible for a body without Gomu Gomu no Mi, and ruffled Luffy’s hair; through the hat, to Luffy’s loud complaints.

“That’s the spirit!” Was all Roger said.

In hindsight, Ace wasn’t sure why he expected the late Pirate King to say anything different; If there was anyone who knew that dream was in the realm of possibility, it would have been Roger.

Rouge had made her way from behind them, moving closer to her -- husband? Maybe? Did they ever get married? A question for another time -- partner, whispering about something or another. Ace decided to use their distraction as an opportunity to clear a couple things up for Luffy.

“Oi, dummy,” Ace jiggled his brother lightly, craning his neck to look at his face. It was pretty obvious the boy had no idea who Rouge and Roger were. “I don’t know how, but those two? That’s my parents.”

Luffy blinked, gaze going from Ace to his parents and then back.

“Ace’s parents?” He repeated.

“Mhm.”

“Ace’s super strong mom?”

“That’s right.”

“And Ace’s shitty-old-man-we-don’t-talk-about?”

Ace went red at that. He knew his parents heard that -- Luffy had zero volume control, and his mom’s giggle just confirmed it -- but if they were going to pretend they didn’t hear that, so would he.

“That remains to be seen,” Ace said quietly, ignoring Luffy’s confused head tilt. “But do you remember what’s important about him?”

“Other than being Ace’s dad?”

“Other than that, yeah, Luf. Remember why it’s a secret?”

It took him a solid few seconds, but eventually Luffy’s face lit up in understanding.

“He’s the King of the Pirates!” He exclaimed, far too loudly for how close he was to Ace’s ears. Then, he gasped. “So this was your hat!”

Roger laughed, the two of them apparently done with pretending they couldn’t hear Luffy’s yelling.

“So it was,” he nodded. “But I passed it on to Shanks; And he passed it on to you, it seems! I’m glad it remained in the family this whole time.”

Ace turned his head, trying to hide in Luffy’s shirt. He’s not sure how he felt about his parents’ easy acceptance of Luffy as his brother. It was a positive emotion, he knew as much, but…

“Aceeee,” Luffy flopped on top of Ace’s head, his arms hanging down limply and stretching until they touched the grass. Somehow, the coat remained on his shoulders throughout it all. “I’m hungry! Can we get breakfast now?”

“Yeah, Lu, let’s go,” Ace agreed easily, taking a single step before remembering their unusual guests. “Um…”

“Lead the way,” Roger said, doing some elaborate bowing gesture towards the forest, his other arm around Rouge’s back. “We have the whole day; Let’s make the most of it!”

Ace spared a quick smile before hoisting Luffy a bit higher, beginning their trek into the forest. They would need to go to the tree house first and grab the pipes. Then hunt. Should it be crocodile or tiger today? Ace was firmly leaning towards crocodile, they were faster to hunt, easier to prepare, and Luffy liked those the most-

“Oi, Ace’s mom,” Luffy called, his chin digging into Ace’s skull with every word. “You’ve got a baby in your tummy, right? Are you gonna be okay? Makino said you need to be careful when you have a baby because babies are delicate.”

Ace was kind of glad Luffy asked; he had been wondering about that, too.

“I do have a baby,” Rouge agreed patiently. “And I had him in my belly for a very long time, now. Normally, I would need to be very careful, but today, I am out of my time. I will return back to the past at midnight, so I’m pretty sure nothing I do here would actually do any damage.”

“Oooo,” Luffy said, even though Ace was pretty sure he didn’t really understand. “You’re going to leave? But you just got here!”

“That’s how it works, dum-dum,” Ace tapped Luffy’s thigh, even though he himself was only extrapolating from what Roger and Rogue already said before. “They’re both still dead, even though they’re here now.”

“Oh,” Luffy seemed to deflate in disappointment, somewhat more literally than most people. “Ace’s parents have their own adventure to go back to?”

“Yeah,” Ace nodded.

“They’re gonna be free… Like Sabo?”

Ace couldn’t bring himself to answer. Thankfully, they reached their tree, so Ace felt justified in dumping Luffy to the ground, his brother’s complaints a suitable distraction.

“I’m gonna go get the pipes,” Ace announced over Luffy’s grumbling. “Crocodile today.”

That, predictably, got Luffy to brighten up instantly. Ace left him jumping around in excitement as he climbed up the tree. He rushed through the motions, getting in and out of the tree house in record time, returning with their weapons just a couple minutes later.

Luffy snatched his pipe the moment Ace was back in range.

“CRO-CO-DILE!” He chanted happily, already marching towards their current hunting grounds.

They had to change the exact spot from time to time, to avoid the “supply deplenishion” or something -- Sabo explained it to them, once, though Ace only ever got the gist of it -- but they only moved to their current one a little while ago, so it should still be okay.

Roger and Rouge followed along wordlessly, and Ace… He knew this wasn’t how children were typically expected to be raised. But Ace was doing his best with Luffy, and he decided not to worry about his parents’ opinion of his parenting skills or anything similar until after breakfast.

It was all mostly Gramps’ fault, anyway.

Once the river was in sight, Ace outpaced Luffy, throwing the pipe in front of him to create a barrier.

“Aceeeeee,” Luffy groaned.

“You know the rules, Lu.”

“But I wanna hunt with you!”

Ace levelled his brother with a look. “And you do, when we’re hunting tigers. You know exactly why you can’t hunt crocodiles.”

Luffy looked off to the side, his lips puckering into an obnoxiously large pout. “I don’t always get eaten!” He lied.

“I can’t pay attention to the crocodiles and you in the water,” Ace sighed. Then, he thought of an idea. “You gotta keep my parents company, okay? What if a tiger tries to eat them?”

Luffy didn’t seem very impressed. “The tigers know better than to come here.”

Ace rolled his eyes, exasperated. “Just sit on your rock and let me get our breakfast, okay? Unless you want berries-”

He didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Luffy launched himself towards his usual rock, arms crossed to signal he was really not happy with Ace’s decision.

As long as he stayed safe, it didn’t really matter if he hated Ace. Everybody else already did, anyway.

Rouge went over to keep Luffy company, which Ace was kind of glad about. It’d ensure his brother was too distracted to try going back on his word, which always helped.

Roger, however, was still standing beside Ace, calmly rolling his sleeves and trousers up.

“What are you doing?” Ace asked, confused.

“I’m gonna help,” Roger answered, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Can’t leave you all alone with the burden of feeding two extra people, huh?”

“...Tch,” Ace didn’t have the energy to argue, that’s all. “I’m not gonna cut you out of a crocodile if you get eaten,” he warned, turning towards the river.

Roger just laughed at the idea of that happening. The laughter cut off abruptly when one of the stupider crocodiles tried to take its chances with him. Then it was curses that fell out of Roger’s mouth, and Ace couldn’t help but smirk.

That’s what you got for not paying attention.

Ace crouched, his eyes looking over the surface of the water. He just needed to look like a helpless victim for a short while, and someone was sure-

A-ha! Ace gasped triumphantly as he wedged his pipe into the crocodile’s open mouth, his fist punching through in the most efficient spot to get the reptile dead. Then it was just a matter of extracting the pipe -- while keeping an eye out for any other opportunists -- and crocodile number one was handled.

“Oi, Luffy, catch!” Ace called out and tossed the hunk of meat and scales at his younger brother.

Rouge seemed briefly alarmed, but Luffy had the crocodile caught and neatly rolled up before she could as much as blink.

Ace ignored the still-struggling Roger for now, instead focusing on catching his second crocodile and then, just for good measure, a third one.

Only once those were safely stashed away with Luffy did Ace turn back to his father.

…Who was wrestling with a singular crocodile a little ways downstream.

It was almost embarrassing to see. Ace wasted no more time, tossing his pipe like a javelin straight through the crocodile’s head.

Roger seemed to startle at that, not expecting his opponent to suddenly go slack like that. He lied there for a long moment, on his back in the middle of a river, just staring at the dead reptile in his grasp.

“C’mon,” Ace kicked him in the side, taking his pipe back. He’d need to clean it, later. “We gotta go cook these, still.”

“...Right.”

Roger scrambled to his feet, and Ace left him to deal with the last crocodile. Luffy already had the other three stacked up on his back, standing proud and happy with their division of labour.

“We’re gonna eat soooo good today!” Luffy chirped happily and Ace tilted his hat off to give him a playful nudgie.

“You can’t eat all of it, Lu,” he warned. “We’ve got guests, which means you gotta share, okay?”

“But Aceeeee,” Luffy followed him dutifully. “I’m a pirate, not a hero! I shouldn’t have to share my meat…”

“I’m the one who caught them, and I’m gonna share with you, aren’t I?” Ace reminded him sharply. “And you’ll have a whole one to yourself, you little shit, don’t get too greedy now.”

Luffy pouted, but it was more for the show than anything. He might never be fully able to understand why he shouldn’t steal food off of other people’s plate -- not with the way he grew up after Gramps dragged him away from Foosha -- but hopefully, in the future, he would surround himself with the kind of people who didn’t mind that.

Ace could only hope his baby brother’s crew would be good like that.

They didn’t return to the tree house, not yet. They did their cooking in a little clearing nearby, just to be safe. Leftovers -- even as little as they had with the kind of appetites they had to manage -- tended to attract animals Ace would rather not have right under the place they slept.

He settled down to gut and quarter the meat, entrusting Luffy the task of boiling some water, a few of the local herbs added for flavour. It was pretty much the only job Ace could give his brother with the 99% certainty that it wouldn’t end up with Luffy just giving up and eating all of it before it was ready.

…99%, because you never knew with his black hole of a brother.

Roger sat down next to him, somehow having produced a large dagger, watching the way Ace’s hands swiftly went through the motions he’s long since memorised. It was mostly muscle memory, at that point.

“You seem to have done that a lot,” Roger commented absently, his knife cutting open his own crocodile in a hesitant slash.

Ace wasn’t sure if he meant the quartering, the hunting or dealing with Luffy; either way, the answer was the same. “I’ve been on my own since I was seven,” he said. “Met Luffy when I was ten. He’s stuck with me ever since. Like a barnacle.”

Roger hummed at that. “In the treehouse?”

“Yeah,” Ace finished with the first crocodile, hurrying to get the next one. Best to keep his hands busy. “Sabo and I built it together. Luffy helped some after he joined us, but…”

A crash sounded from Luffy’s direction, and Ace didn’t even need to look over to know it’s their wood supply crashing from its precarious stack.

“He tends to be a bit destructive,” Ace finished dryly.

“I see,” Roger said, his hands pausing. He, unused to Luffy’s antics, kept his eye on the unfolding chaos. “You love him a lot.”

“He’s my baby brother,” he shrugged. That’s all there was to it. “We swore it over cups of sake.”

Most people tended not to understand the significance of that-

“A bond stronger than blood,” Roger nodded.

-but his father clearly did.

“Yeah,” Ace moved on to the third crocodile, having a feeling he’d need to do Roger’s, too. “So I’m going to protect him, and take care of him, and by the time we meet again, we’ll be both strong enough-”

“By the time you meet again?” Roger repeated, looking towards Ace in such a sharp motion it was a miracle his neck didn’t snap. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll be sailing out when I’m 17,” Ace shrugged. “We made a promise to wait. He’s only 12 now, so he’s gonna stay here a while longer. We’ll meet again on the sea though, I’m sure!”

And Ace genuinely believed that. There was no way he could sail on the same sea as his brother -- and they were both gunning for the Grandline, so that was a given -- without getting to cross paths from time to time.

He didn’t really delude himself into thinking it would be very often, but… every few months, at least. They were going to become great pirates, with large bounties and a long list of achievements, so it shouldn’t be too hard to see each other.

Ace, at least, would do his best to ensure it. They would be captains of their own crews, there would be no one to deny them if they wanted to go off-course to meet up.

Not that any direction that led to his brother could ever be called “off-course”.

They would meet up often, and party, and share all the stories the newspapers didn’t manage to publish, Ace was certain. Because what was the point of living if he only saw his baby brother once or twice after setting sail?

“That’s… young,” Roger eventually said, breaking Ace out of his musing.

“Hah!” Ace barked out a laugh. He was already finished with the third crocodile, so he stole Roger’s, leaving him with nothing to do. “It was the latest we could settle on. Believe me, I’m not happy about it either, but we made a promise, so I can at least be certain Luffy will wait until his 17th birthday and not a day earlier.”

“...I see.”

They didn’t speak again until Ace finished with the last crocodile, even though he could tell Roger had been gripping around for something to say.

Ace wasn’t nice like Sabo; he wasn’t friendly like Luffy. If his father wanted to talk, he could come up with his own topics of conversation.

Gathering up the meat, Ace pretended he didn’t see the pathetic expression Roger sent towards his mother. His parents seemed to have decided to switch their attentions, Rouge joining him by the cauldron and Roger going to occupy Luffy.

…That was something Ace could appreciate. There was nothing worse than a bored Luffy during meal prep.

Rouge somehow had obtained the same knife Roger used before, wordlessly joining Ace in cutting up the meat into smaller chunks.

Ace let his mind wander, eyes drifting towards where Roger was now playfully wrestling with Luffy, his baby brother shrieking with joy.

“You take good care of your brother,” Rouge said.

When Ace turned to look at her, he saw her watching Luffy and Roger, too. There was a soft smile on her face, one hand moving to rub gently over her stomach.

…Gee, what was it with his parents being useless at chores? They’ve got more in common with Luffy at this point-

Ace looked down at his hands, focusing fully on the meat in his hands. Cut it in half, in quarters, in eights, in sixteenths, but the thought refused to leave.

Would they have preferred Luffy? He seemed way more similar to Roger in spirit than Ace. Hell, he even had the Pirate King’s hat and blessing already! And Rouge seemed to get along with him pretty well, too, and Luffy’s birth didn’t cause her to die-

“Ace,” Rouge’s voice brought him back to the present. Ace turned his head, meeting Rouge’s worried gaze. “...You’re crying.”

Dumping the last of the crocodile meat into the cauldron, Ace rubbed harshly at his cheeks, uncaring of the mess he now made of his face.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, sharply, scraping the crocodile hides clean for lack of anything else to do.

Sharp words and insults were the only language he knew how to communicate in. The world had nothing but hate towards him, so Ace learned to hate them all in return, in advance, hurt them before they could hurt him.

How could he compete against Luffy? Kind Luffy, who befriended everyone around him, who wormed his way into even the coldest of hearts -- who made even Ace love him -- who was like the sun himself, brightening everyone’s lives-

While Ace himself was a thunderstorm. Dark clouds covering the sky, rain postponing everyone’s plans, winds that ruined every shelter, lighting strikes that caused nothing but destruction and thunder that frightened everyone-

Small hands reached around Ace’s middle wrapping around and around more than physically possible. He reached towards his brother before he could even think about it, clutching at Luffy’s shirt and burying his face in the crook of his neck.

“Ace is thinking too much again,” Luffy said, matter-of-factly, and Ace gathered enough courage to straighten up, to look him in the eye.

He could see Roger and Rouge on either side of Luffy, both with twin expressions of concern, but Ace only had sights on his brother.

“You are loved.”

Luffy’s words were so simple, said with such certainty, Ace could almost believe them.

“You know that, right?” Leaning up, Luffy looked into Ace’s eyes, his gaze so deep, so searching, Ace could feel it in his soul. “I love you. Sabo loved you. Ace is loved. Can you… Can you say that?”

“...I love you, Luffy,” Ace managed.

It wasn’t what Luffy wanted to hear, but it was all Ace could give him. He’s always been a disappointment to everyone around-

“It’s okay,” Luffy tucked himself closer, his words whispered so quietly Ace wouldn’t have been able to hear them if his mouth wasn’t right next to Ace’s ear. “I’ll just keep saying it until Ace believes me. I love you, Ace.”

…Ace cried more today than he had since Sabo left them. He didn’t care; he just wanted to keep hugging his brother and forget about everything.

Maybe it could have been improved a little, he conceded, as his parents pressed themselves against his sides, joining in on the hug.

Ace let himself take as long as he needed; his one concession to himself.

“Aw, hell, Luff,” He groaned when he finally felt ready to resume their day. “I got you all covered in blood. You’re gonna need a bath.”

Luffy pouted at the news, deflating slightly. Bath time was the one thing he absolutely hated.

“...I love Ace even though he made me need a bath,” he mumbled out.

Ace stumbled to his feet, barking out a startled laugh as he hoisted Luffy up. He was carrying him a lot, today, but… he deserved it. It was Ace’s birthday, he could do whatever he wanted.

“Breakfast is going to be ready soon,” Rouge pointed out, and four D. stomachs rumbled in unison.

“Breakfast, then bath,” Ace agreed easily. It’s not like that’d take long between the four of them.

Sure enough, not even half an hour later the soup was all gone, the dishes were all washed and left to dry and the crocodile skin and teeth all wrapped up to trade later.

They weren’t really supposed to go down to Foosha -- Gramps yelled about it enough to discourage them -- but the mountain bandits could only offer big buckets and cold water. What kind of a brother would Ace be if he let Luffy take a bath in those conditions in January?

Besides, Gramps was likely to be drinking with Dadan. And Makino would have some extra clothes for them, from the stash she kept bringing up every time she visited. And she had hot water.

Many, many very good reasons why they should go down there immediately.

Roger and Rouge flanked Ace -- as much as they could on the narrow forest trail -- as they went down to the village, taking in the surroundings with open curiosity.

Luffy kept a running commentary, detailing stories about how certain trees gained their holes, dents or broken branches. Ace’s parents seemed to listen attentively, despite the fact that Luffy’s storytelling was so abysmal, even Ace couldn’t make sense of his stories. And he was there for all of them!

Occasionally, Luffy would get distracted with a bug or other creepy crawly, gum gum no rocket-ing himself all over the forest before returning with either a captive insect or a frown.

Rouge and Roger didn’t let silence settle in those moments, asking Ace about the traces of destruction all around them. Ace didn’t mind answering. He didn’t mind the story of Luffy’s first few hundred failed attempts at a new technique, the tree with the tangled roots a tiger tore through in an attempt to reach them, the rock with a crack through it from where Ace accidentally missed a hit, the fake bugs Sabo placed in discrete spots years ago to make sure Luffy wouldn’t lose his way-

By the time they reached Party Bar, Ace spoke to his parents more than he had to anyone else in his life besides his brothers.

…Maybe besides just Luffy.

Luffy didn’t hesitate to enter the bar, the doors slamming into the wall as he bounced his way inside, Ace following close behind.

“Luffy! Ace!” Makino called out from behind the bar, happy to see them. Or at least happy to see Luffy. Then her expression turned shocked and she dropped the rag in her hand, rushing from behind the counter. “Oh my- What happened to you two?!”

That was the moment when Ace remembered they were still covered in blood.

“It’s just crocodile blood,” he reassured, glad that it was early enough in the day for the bar to be empty. “But Luffy needs a bath that’s not just a bucket outside, so-”

“Oh, yes, of course,” she ushered them towards the stairs. “You know where the bathroom is, and all the clothes are in Luffy’s old room. Get yourself cleaned up, boys, I’ll get a snack ready.”

There was no better combination of words to get Luffy rushing for a bath.

Ace had to supervise him, of course. The water in the pipes came from the sea, even though most of the salt and stuff had been filtered out, and it still had a weakening effect on Luffy.

His baby brother survived too much to perish in a bathtub.

By the time he got his stinky baby brother clean -- strawhat included -- and dressed in new clothes, it was almost time for an early lunch.

Makino clearly knew that, and already laid out a few dishes for them. Ace decided to be nice; He left most of the food to Luffy, grabbing a single plate to bring over to his mother.

Both Rouge and Roger also changed their clothes, dressed in inconspicuous outfits that didn’t have the sides covered in blood. A good call, in Ace’s opinion.

“Nee, Ace,” Luffy spoke through a mouthful of food, a bad habit both Sabo and Makino had tried and failed to break him out of. “What are we gonna do after eating?”

Ace gave it some thought. He wanted to stay around his parents. Maybe ask them for some stories. Rouge more than Roger -- even though he would have had more of them as a captain --because even if he tried to protect them, he was still the reason behind the witch hunt following Ace’s every step.

And there were plenty of people who knew Roger. Gramps, Luffy’s Shanks, any of the former crew, older pirates… But Ace’s never met or heard of someone who knew his mother.

…Luffy did love a good story, didn’t he? But how to make sure to get Rouge’s stories, rather than Roger’s?

“I wanna hear some stories-” Ace started, looking up at Rouge with his best imitation of Luffy’s puppy eye, but the sound of falling cutlery interrupted him.

“NO SPOILERS!” Luffy yelled, having clambered on top of the table. He was pointing his finger straight at Roger, who sat nearby, a jug of beer in his hand. Roger raised a hand, pointing a finger at himself in confusion. Luffy just puffed out his cheeks. “I know you already sailed to the One Piece, but I wanna do it all by myself! So you can’t tell me anything!”

…Well. That’s that, sorted.

“I shan’t, then,” Roger agreed easily, raising his hands in capitulation and spilling some beer over his fresh shirt. “...Oops.”

It was stupid, but it got Luffy to laugh, so Ace didn’t stop himself from snorting. Even Rouge and Makino giggled at the sight.

…To be fair, the sight of the King of the Pirates being a clumsy dumbass who forgot about the beer he was holding was pretty funny.

“Perhaps we should do it before you ruin your outfit even more,” Rouge said, and Ace glanced back at her in confusion. Do what? And why did Makino disappear in the backroom-

“Ah, yes,” Roger got to his feet, stopping by Luffy’s table to offer his hand. Luffy didn’t hesitate to step onto the large palm, holding onto Roger’s sleeve for balance. “Let’s.”

Ace watched them carefully, trying to figure out what they were talking about. They wouldn’t hurt Luffy, he was pretty sure, so then what-

Roger stepped behind Ace, letting Luffy hang off of his brother’s neck, and it helped him to relax minutely. As long as his baby brother was in his reach, everything would be alright.

And then Makino stepped out of the backroom with a cake in her hands, a single candle stuck in the middle of it.

He could hear Rouge whispering something to Luffy, but the words didn’t really register. Ace was too focused on the cake to notice much of anything.

It wasn’t anything special -- just a simple cake with a layer of jam and whipped cream spread on top -- except that it was for him.

Luffy and Sabo always shared their cakes with him, of course, but he never really told anyone when his birthday was, so he never had a cake made just for him before.

Rouge or Roger -- or both of them, probably -- had to have spilled the beans to Makino when Ace and Luffy were busy bathing.

He’s… not sure he minded.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ACE!” His parents and his brother and Makino all yelled, the cake on the table right in front of him.

“Ace has to make a wish, now!” Luffy urged, his head sticking out beside Ace’s. “And then blow the candle! It’s fun! Ace’s got to do it!”

Ace rushed to follow the instructions, mostly because he knew from experience (cough, Sabo’s 11th birthday, cough) that Luffy wouldn’t hesitate to blow out the light himself if he thought Ace was taking too long.

He blew at the candle before he could even form a thought.

“What did Ace wish for, what was it?” Luffy demanded eagerly, bouncing on his feet.

“Can’t tell you,” Ace smirked.

“Or it won’t come true! Right!”

It was actually because Ace himself didn’t know what his first birthday wish ever was, but that wasn’t something he was going to share.

The first bite of the cake went to Luffy, of course, because he was the one person Ace loved the most. If Sabo was there with them, it would have had to been split between the two of them simultaneously.

The second one went to Rouge, because of course it would. The third went to Makino, for taking care of Luffy before he was Ace’s brother.

The fourth he begrudgingly gave to Roger, even though he didn’t have to, because he seemed like he had genuinely cared for Rouge and Ace, even if his efforts didn’t yield the results he had hoped for. It wasn’t all his fault that the government felt threatened enough to start a witch hunt.

Makino had brought out the plates by then, and Ace was going to cut the cake into proper slices, but Luffy grabbed his arm before he could make a single cut.

“Ace needs to take a bite, too,” he said, as serious as Luffy ever got.

“Luffy…”

“Ace doesn’t need to say it, but he needs to take a bite.”

It took an absurd amount of effort for such a simple action. Bringing that fork to his mouth -- proving to Luffy that he did love himself, even if Ace didn’t quite believe it (yet, if Luffy had anything to say about it, and he very clearly had) -- was the hardest thing Ace’s had to do in his whole life.

But he did it. Like most things in the past half a decade, he did it for Luffy.

His baby brother cheered when he did. His mother kissed the top of his head, and his father squeezed his shoulder, and Ace didn’t even mind.

Maybe, one day, he could manage to see himself the way they did.

“Smile!” Makino called, and Ace looked up, startled.

A flash of a visual den den mushi went off, the poor snail starting to slowly struggle with printing a single picture. Makino let it do its thing while she set the plates on the table, and Ace took it as his cue to serve the cake slices.

“Story time, story time!” Luffy demanded, deciding that plopping himself in Ace’s lap was the best place to eat his cake. “Story from Ace’s mom?”

Ace got to eat his birthday cake while listening to the story of how Roger made an absolute clown of himself the first time Rouge ever met him. He enjoyed that story very much. Especially the part where Roger tripped over his own feet and ate dirt right at her feet.

They got to eat another lunch -- because they were D.s and, as such, always starving -- as Rouge kept sharing story after story. Eventually, though, Makino warned them about the time, and the regulars who were about to start arriving.

Ace didn’t mind leaving; he had known they would need to. It would only take one wrong step for Ace’s parentage to be revealed, and one greedy person to make it a capital-P Problem.

He thanked Makino for the meal properly first, though, guiding Luffy through the motions alongside himself. She didn’t teach him manners for naught, after all.

“Let’s go to the beach!” Luffy decided the moment they stepped out of the bar, running off before anyone could as much as blink.

“LUFFY!” Ace yelled, watching in frustration as Luffy gomu gomu no rocket-ed himself between the buildings. He turned towards Roger. “Launch me after him!”

He expected to have to explain himself; He expected to have to convince him.

But Roger didn’t even hesitate, grabbing Ace and yeeting him in the same direction Luffy disappeared into.

Ace got to hear his mom yell “Roger!” through laughter before he got too far away from them.

If he was anyone else, Ace would have probably had a bit of a problem with the landing, ending up with broken bones at least. Thankfully -- and that was another thing Ace never expected to say -- getting thrown into ravines fairly regularly tends to teach you how to fall properly.

Also, by a strange twist of fate -- because Ace refused to believe his father could aim that well -- he landed right on top of Luffy, sending them both sprawling over the ground.

“Don’t go running off towards the beach, dummy!” Ace scolded, slapping Luffy upside the head. “What if you drown?”

“I’m not gonnaaaaa,” Luffy whined, pawing at Ace to get off of him. “I wouldn’t even go in the water! Or not far at least…”

“You could drown in a puddle! You’re not supposed to get anywhere close to the sea without someone right beside you, you hear me?”

“Now, now, don’t be too harsh on your brother,” Roger said, his parents having caught up while the two argued. He helped Ace to his feet whether he wanted to stand up or not (he didn’t) and offered a hand up to Luffy, as well.

“He’s got a Devil Fruit!”

“So did Buggy, and that never stopped him from being a cabin boy.”

Ace and Luffy gave Roger twin looks of confusion, wandering what the fuck did a random cabin boy had to do with anything.

“Ahahaha!” Roger rubbed the back of his neck. “He would technically count as your older brother, too, I believe. I consider both him and Shanks my sons before the sea and the sky, so-”

That was as far as he had managed to get before Luffy got sold on the idea. “Is he a pirate captain, too?! Like Shanks?!”

“He sure is! And he…”

Ace let the words wash over him without absorbing any of them, watching his feet as they walked alongside the coast.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about supposedly having another brother; especially an older one; especially with their only connection being through Roger. Ace barely started to accept the man as his father, he wasn’t ready to expand on that!

Shanks he could tolerate, because Luffy knew him and the man sacrificed an arm to keep his baby brother safe. But that Buggy guy? If they ever met, Ace would judge him with extreme prejudice, just like he did with every new person he got to meet.

“Hey, Ace,” Rouge interrupted his thoughts, but Ace found that he didn’t really mind. “Tell me about yourself?”

What was there to tell? “The whole world hates me. Except for Luffy. You already know who my father is. That’s pretty much the only thing of importance about me, for most people.”

“I’m not most people,” she said, linking their elbows together as they walked. “I am your mother. I want to know what you do for fun, what’s your favourite food, how you met your brothers- The really important things.”

His mother had a weird sense of priorities, Ace thought, but who was he to comment on it?

“We mostly just hunt and fight and steal from the rich for our pirate ship fund,” Ace shrugged. “And my favourite food is bear meat. As for my brothers…”

Once again, Ace found himself in awe of how easy it was for his parents to accept Luffy and Sabo as part of the family, even when they’d never get the chance to meet one of them.

Then again, if it weren’t for whatever miracle brought them from the dead today, they never would have met Ace, either.

He needed a distraction; Thankfully, talking about his brothers was just the way to go.

Ace kept one eye on Luffy the whole time, though. He lost one brother to the sea already, and he wasn’t about to lose another. Not without a fight.

Roger seemed to have the situation well in hand though, ready to grab Luffy at the slightest sign of sea water exhaustion.

So Ace let himself relax. He let himself trust that his father wouldn’t let any harm come to his baby brother.

It was the first -- but most important -- step towards forgiving Roger for committing the crime of bringing Ace to life.

By the time Luffy had bounced off all the excess energy, the sun was almost ready to kiss the horizon, and Ace had been thinking Dinner Thoughts for a good while.

His baby brother was all wrapped up around Roger’s frame, clearly intending to stay that way for a while if the fact that he used Roger’s head as a hat hanger was any indication. Ace was really loath to interrupt his fun, but… hunting in the dark was absolute shit.

“Hey, Lu,” he said, poking at Luffy’s side and chasing it as the boy shifted away, ending up with his torso wrapped up in a funny pretzel shape. “Tiger for dinner?”

“Yessssss,” Luffy cheered, but it was barely an excited hiss. There was no way his brother was going to be of any use for the actual fight. Thankfully, there was always more to do when it came to their meal preps.

“I’ll leave the wood gathering for the bonfire to you?”

One of Luffy’s hands moved someplace more visible to offer a thumbs up. That… didn’t bode well.

“Aye, aye, captain,” Roger mock-saluted. “One bonfire coming right up!”

…Okay, between the two of them it would probably be fine.

When Rouge grabbed Luffy’s long-abandoned pipe and joined beside him, Ace had half a mind to ask her to stay behind. Then he remembered that this was his mother. If she thought she was fine to hunt tigers when overcooking the baby version of Ace in her tummy, who was he to argue?

In the end, it turned out they didn’t even need to fight.

Rouge just stood her ground -- in front of a pair of tigers, no less -- and entered a staring contest so intense both of the overgrown cats dropped dead from the effort.

She didn’t even break a sweat.

Ace stared at her with wide eyes before moving to pick up the tigers. Of course his mother would be a badass. That made perfect sense.

The bonfire was already lit by the time they got back to the beach, even though they’ve taken a record-breakingly short time to hunt. Ace could see Luffy bouncing around as he told Roger some kind of a story, haff-circling around him to always keep something in between himself and the fire.

…Neither of them had a good relationship with big, open flames anymore. They had to deal with it to cook their meals, but it didn’t mean they liked it.

Ace was sure Luffy didn’t explain it -- why would he think to do that? -- but Roger seemed to have picked up on his reluctance to approach the bonfire anyway, letting Luffy hide behind his body.

It was unfair how good Roger was with Luffy. How easy it was to imagine them all living as one big happy family, if life turned out just a little bit different.

If Roger hadn’t been sick. If he wasn’t the King of Pirates. If the government cared a little less. If Rouge hadn’t been forced to hide Ace for so long.

If, if, if.

Ace sat down where he stood, still some ways away from the bonfire, and got started gutting the first tiger.

Rouge didn’t comment. She just sat down next to him, shifting the other tiger onto her own lap.

His father approached them, his footsteps crunching lightly across the sand. There’s no sound of Luffy’s steps and, when Ace glanced up, he was predictably wrapped all around Roger again.

…Ace had a feeling Luffy would take it particularly hard tomorrow. He’d have to wake up tomorrow knowing he’s never going to meet either Rouge or Roger again. Not even on his own 15th birthday.

He’d get a visit from Gramps-only-knows-who, and Ace wouldn’t even be around to see who it’d be, because he’d be a year and a half into his own adventure.

A problem to solve later. Ace would simply need to stick close to his baby brother for a while, maybe set himself some kind of a reminder to remain patient in the face of the looming clinginess.

Ace could still remember the first few months after Sabo’s de- departure. It was a bit easier, back then. Both of them had been tired and injured, not really eager to move much; especially not eager to move away from each other. Ace wanted Luffy gone just as much as Luffy wanted him gone - that is to say, not at all.

It took months before the first time Ace felt ready to leave Luffy alone, and even then only when Luffy was asleep or otherwise occupied.

Quartering the tigers didn’t take long, especially not when there were only two of them. Ace was used to preparing that much food at breakneck speeds to make sure Luffy wouldn’t try eating the meat raw.

Soon enough, they had nice, thick steaks stuck on branches Roger had prepared -- likely under Luffy’s enthusiastic instruction -- and there was nothing left to do but wait for them to cook.

“So, Luffy!” Ace said, clasping his hands together loudly to ensure his brother’s attention was on him and not on trying to figure out how to steal his meal. “Why don’t you tell my parents about your favourite bugs?”

With an excited gasp and stars shining in his eyes, Luffy launched himself into a well-worn tirade, switching between Rouge and Roger to shake their arms whenever he felt they weren’t paying enough attention.

They were, though. They were both listening just as attentively as Sabo used to, as Ace still did every time he asked Luffy about any new bugs he saw any given day -- his usual go-to question at mealtimes, seeing as Luffy always had a new bug to talk about -- even if Ace had already listened to that exact speech about the exact same bug at least a dozen times before.

His parents were genuinely good with kids and Ace had no idea how to feel about that. His mother was less of a surprise -- no one ever talked about her, so Ace never really thought much about her beyond the occasional comparison to Dadan or Makino -- but Roger…

After spending the entire day in the presence of a supposedly monstrous King of the Pirates -- a man who treated his brother with more patience than even Ace had, back when they first met -- Ace could no longer believe the rumours he had heard his whole life.

The monster who supposedly terrorised the seas for decades and the man in front of Ace were two different people.

One still had the world government shaking in fear, keeping a careful eye for any potential offsprings.

The other was gently threading his fingers through Luffy’s hair, the occasional longing look betraying he would have liked to do that with Ace, too, if that didn’t run the risk of getting his hand bitten.

He was Ace’s dad.

Getting to his feet, Ace made the decision he had been dancing around that whole time. He stomped towards Roger, who didn’t react besides tilting his head in curiosity. Just like Luffy tended to- Oh, he was doing that, too. The two of them sat, Luffy on top of Roger’s knee, looking so similar Ace’s chest hurt when he looked at them.

So he didn’t. He turned around, plopping himself on Roger’s other thigh like he had every right to be there. His 15-year-old body made it a bit of an awkward fit, but Ace’s never been particularly tall and Roger was a mountain of a man, so it worked out.

Roger, for that matter, seemed to have frozen, unsure how to proceed. The hand not tangled in Luffy’s head was hovering inches away from Ace’s back, as if he was still unsure if he was actually allowed to touch him.

Ace solved that dilemma for him, grabbing the hand and plopping it on top of his own head.

…Once the shock wore off and Roger started moving his fingers, Ace finally understood why Luffy loved getting head scritches so much.

“I guess what happened after your death isn’t really your fault,” Ace admitted petulantly, crossing his hands for a lack of better things to do. “And you’ve proved what kind of a person you actually are, so… You’re okay. Dad.”

Ace had a brief moment of panic when Roger burst into tears, and then another when he pulled both Ace and Luffy into the tightest hug of their lives, but he managed to relax eventually.

…His dad was such a crybaby.

“This is the best day of my life,” Roger managed to convey through his tears and hiccups and Ace couldn’t help but blush at that.

The Pirate King, who discovered the legendary One Piece, declaring that that achievement paled in comparison to being called a dad.

…Ace hated that he was surprised by it. He hated the world for making him think he was worth nothing more than the bounty on the blood flowing through his veins.

“I’m sorry I wasted so much time today,” Ace mumbled into Roger’s chest.

“No, darling,” Rouge pressed behind them. “We’re so glad we got to see you like this. We got to spend the day with you, and that’s all that matters.”

“You are loved,” Roger murmured, pressing his lips against the crown of Ace’s head.

Ace let the silence sit, after that. It was already an improvement from where normally he’d explode in anger, but it wasn’t an agreement, not yet.

He really wished he had more than one day to try and learn to believe it.

“MEAT’S READY!” Luffy yelled unexpectedly -- a full second before Ace smelled that fact himself -- aggressively wriggling himself upwards out of the embrace like the world’s wriggliest eel, launching himself towards the bonfire.

The one exception to his usual avoidance: nothing else mattered when there was meat to get to.

“OI! Don’t you dare eat all of it alone!”

Luffy just laughed and Ace scoffed, half of him wanting to squirm out of his parents’ embrace to chase his greedy brother… But the other half of him really didn’t want to move from his spot.

Roger solved that for him, tossing Ace up onto his shoulders as he approached Luffy to do the same with him, letting Rouge distribute the food fairly.

“...Your everything is going to get really dirty,” Ace felt the need to warn. “Luffy doesn’t really do-”

He came back to awareness laid out on the sand, his parents’ worried faces crowding above him.

“Lu better not have eaten my food!” Ace yelled, sitting up so fast he nearly brained himself on Roger’s forehead. “Luffy!”

“Your food is safe, don’t worry,” Roger assured, one hand resting on Ace’s shoulder to keep him sitting down on the ground.

“What happened?” Rouge asked, holding on to Ace’s arm just above his brace, faintly supportive as if she was expecting him to collapse at any time.

Oh, Ace realised what the problem was.

“This happens sometimes,” he shrugged. “Makino called it narcolepsy or something; I just fall asleep sometimes. Usually during meal times, for some reason.”

“Ace drops into his plates a lot!” Luffy offered with a laugh, happily munching on his meat, very obviously eyeing Ace’s abandoned portion.

“Can you pass me my food before Lu gets to it,” Ace made grabby hands towards the skewers, now carefully propped against a nearby log. “Please?”

Roger passed the skewer without hesitation and Ace bit into it eagerly. He was starving!

“Does that happen… Often?” He asked, carefully.

“Often enough,” Ace said after swallowing just enough to make the words understandable. “It usually doesn’t happen if I feel like I’m in danger or anything, though, so it’s not too bad.”

His parents exchanged an unreadable look. Ace rolled his eyes; He didn’t really want them to waste what little they had left on worrying about him.

“Oi, old man, do you have any stories?” Ace asked, hoping this would cause enough distraction. Then, before his baby brother could weigh in- “Yes, Lu: any stories that aren’t about the pirate adventures. No spoilers.”

“Hmmm,” Roger leaned back on his elbow, considering the question as his gaze turned upwards. He froze. “Ah! Perhaps a story of the stars?”

“Sounds good,” Ace mumbled through another bite of food, nestling himself beside Roger. He beckoned at Luffy to join him, even though he knew his brother would try to use that as an opportunity to bite off a chunk of Ace’s meat.

Rouge sat beside them as well, leaning her head on Roger’s shoulder, the two of them bracketing Ace and Luffy in a way that brought nothing but comfort and safety.

“Well then,” Roger cleared his throat. “Do you see that star, right there in the north? The brightest one, with the two almost as bright ones above it, and several more around it?”

“Mhm!” Luffy nodded enthusiastically and Ace copied the move. “It looks kinda like a smiling snowman! In a strawhat!”

“Hah! You’re right, so it does. That’s Nika,” Roger’s voice grew hushed, secretive. “Once upon a time, a dragon breathed out a spark of life; That spark was Nika. He was small, and weak; He couldn’t do much besides letting the wind carry him across the sky.”

One day, he met twins: Fire and Flame. The two of them didn’t like Nika at first. They saw how small he was, how weak, and they didn’t consider him worthy of their time.

Nika, however, was determined to befriend them. No one else he’s met so far was so much like himself. He followed them day and night, through deserts and through storms. The twins would give him various tasks, promising he would be able to join them after he completed just one more.

All of Nika’s energy was going towards trying to match them, and very little of it going towards his own survival. He nearly let himself flicker out of existence, growing too weak to follow the twins. Flame, having grown used to their little shadow, grew worried first. It was Fire who found Nika, though.

If nothing was done, Nika would flicker out of existence. Feeling guilty, the twins offered to share some of their energy with him… But they came from the human realm, shared with the sky via bonfires and hearths and torches. If they strengthened Nika, he would be confined to the human realm. And, without enough energy to keep up their celestial forms, so would the twins.

We’ll be together? was Nika’s only question when they explained it. I’d go anywhere if it’s with you; Being lonely is worse than anything.

So they held each other tight and traded energy, balancing until the three of them were barely more than human. Nika lost the freedom that came with being a spark carried on the wind, but he gained something he valued much more: brothers.

They travelled across the world, the twins determined to show their younger brother all the wonders of it to make up for nearly causing his demise. Nika made friends everywhere he went, some growing closer than the others but each being loved just as much, peace and joy following his every step.

He brightened the lives of everyone he came in contact with, spreading laughter with extraordinary ease. He shone so bright, the humans began to worship him. Nika, the Sun God, they called him.

Sun itself didn’t appreciate what it perceived to be an attack on its domain. It wasn’t willing to listen to Nika’s words. It didn’t let him explain, instead trapping him on the firmament, somewhere the Sun would never have to see him again.

Fire and Flame, having grown fond of their brother, were unwilling to leave him alone in the sky. Using the last of their powers, they bargained with the Moon, trading a place besides Nika for the task of lighting it up every night, passing the burden between each other as each month passed.

The human friends Nika had made on Earth didn’t know what happened to him; One day he was with them, and the next he was gone alongside his brothers. They carried on with their lives, having no other choice, but they kept hoping for Nika to return as they worked towards achieving their dreams.

And they did. Each and every one of them managed to complete their life’s ambition. And with each dream accomplished, a star was knocked out of its place on the firmament, allowing the person responsible to be granted a single wish upon its fall.

They all wished to be wherever Nika was.

One by one, Nika’s beloved friends were brought onto the night sky to join the three brothers. Ten of them arrived in the end; A total of a dozen companions for Nika. They’re all still there, guiding marines and pirates alike, and hosting the world’s grandest party throughout the whole of eternity.

When Ace woke up next, he’s being carried somewhere in Roger’s arms, his parents’ hushed discussion drifting above him.

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea-” Rouge was saying, but she cut herself off when Ace yawned, one hand rubbing at his eyes.

Straightening out, he briefly looked at Luffy -- held the same way in Roger’s other arm, still firmly asleep -- and hooked his chin over Roger’s shoulder to look back at his mom. “Whass happenin’?” He asked, his voice thick from sleeping.

“We’re back at your treehouse, darling,” his mother said, stepping closer to run her hand through his hair. “We’re just not quite sure how to get you two up there.”

“It’s impressively high up,” his dad added. Ace puffed up with pride before the whole situation properly registered in his brain.

“Oh! I can do that,” he tried pushing against Roger’s chest and he obliged easily, carefully lowering Ace down.

Once firmly on the ground, Ace took a moment to stretch and shake out his limbs before turning back to Roger, making grabby hands at Luffy.

Looking slightly bemused, Roger handed over Ace’s baby brother without question. Arranging him on Ace’s back was routine, after all those years, and Ace didn’t even have to poke him with the Grab on, Lu he occasionally needed to latch on properly.

Climbing several dozen metres up a tree with his brother resembling an oversized backpack was hardly easy, but it was something Ace was used to.

He made it a fair bit up before realising there was no one climbing behind him.

“Are you not coming up?” Ace asked, turning his head to look down at his parents.

“Permission to come aboard?” Roger asked, which Ace supposed answered the question well enough. “Captain.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Ace scoffed, turning back. “Family’s always allowed.”

He continued the climb without another word; the point was made, though, and his parents followed after him a short moment later.

The treehouse was a bit cramped -- it was built with two ten-year-olds in mind to begin with and not altered all that much over the years -- but they made it work.

Soon enough, Ace was resting against the wall, his parents bracketing his sides and his baby brother curled up in his lap.

Feeling this comfortable, it was easy to start drifting off again.

“I have hoped to live a life without any regrets,” Roger whispered at one point, almost absently, as if he was talking to himself more than to Ace. His hand kept running through Ace’s hair, pulling him deeper into the embrace of sleep despite his curiosity. “But I’ll always regret not being there for you.”

He only heard one last thing before falling fully unconscious.

“Never doubt that you are loved.”

When he woke up in the morning, it was to Luffy tucked against his side and blankets wrapped carefully around their shoulders.

Ace could have almost dismissed the whole thing as a particularly vivid dream, except-

The picture Makino took of them all in front of the birthday cake was tucked against the edge of their old mirror, perfectly in Ace’s line of sight.

Disentangling himself from his brother, Ace approached the mirror carefully, almost too afraid to blink in case the picture was just a mirage.

But no, it was still there. Him, with Luffy wrapped around him, Roger and Rogue standing proudly beside them. Ace’s first birthday party. Ace’s first and only meeting with his parents. The closest Ace would ever get to having his whole family together, and even then he was missing a brother.

He eased the picture from where it was wedged under the mirror’s edge, staring at it for a long moment.

Rouge and Roger were gone now; just like Sabo. He’d never see any of them again. But Luffy was still there. Ace was still there.

They’d just need to live freely enough for their whole family.

He kept the picture -- folded carefully into the inside of his hat once he obtained it -- to remind himself of the truth his parents tried their best to convey in the short time they spent together: That he was loved.

It remained his most-prized possession for the rest of his life.