Ace grins to himself, hands on his hips as he finishes a mental checklist.
The table and part of the floor around the coffee table is piled high with various types of junk food that would make Makino boo:
Check.
Movies (a few shitty movies that Sabo considers classics, and a few of his own) piled beside the tv:
Check.
Beer and soda (though Luffy's under-aged; it's inevitable that he'll be drunk by the end of the night):
Check.
Popcorn he's sent Sabo and Luffy to get for brothers' movie night:
Check.
Ace sighs in relief; it's not a disaster yet. Thankfully. It was hard enough banning all of their friends' since this is a brothers' night only. Not to mention Luffy trying to invite every single nakama he's ever made in his life- inconsiderate to the fact that their apartment wouldn't be able to hold all of them, and that it would probably be mistaken for a circus reunion.
The only mistake was forgetting about the popcorn, but at least Sabo's there.
The last time he let Luffy stop and pick up something, he came back with half the gas stations stock of food and snacks and an animal that looked crossed between a cat and a rat that the idiot named Pizza, because he apparently found it eating pizza out of a garbage can.
'Pizza' hisses at his stare, brown fur standing up on its back before it scampers down the hallway, probably towards his brother's room.
Ace frowns in distaste, his eyes narrowed. That thing's a menace that for some reason (who's he kidding, his brother's a lovable -if not annoying- person) loves his brother.
He's still not sure what it is, he thought about taking it to the vet, but Luffy cuddled the thing and said he would let Chopper look at it. Another one of Luffy's strange friends' whose oddly skilled in the medical field.
The door swings open, smacking the wall while Luffy's laughter bounds in with Sabo's muffled whispers.
Ace quirks a brow.
A second later, Sabo and Luffy emerges from the hallway. Luffy holding a bag of chips, munching on them with a large paper bag full of stuff they weren't suppose to get, snickering like a menace. Sabo, on the other hand, is grinning nervously, a paper bag looking a little too full to only be holding popcorn, his eyes flickering to the side as he steps past Ace.
"Let's get this night started, shall we?" Sabo voices, clutching the paper bag to his chest as he disappears into the kitchen.
"Sheesh Sabo, why're you getting so worked up just because you bought extra stuff?" Ace questions, following the blonde into the kitchen. He quirks a brow when he sees his brother gently set the bag down as if it's full of glass.
"Shishishi~ That's not all Sabo got!" Luffy chirps from the beside the refrigerator, still snickering like a menace.
"Luffy!" Sabo scolds.
"Sorry Sabo!" their little brother replies, not sounding sorry at all. Actually soundingamused. Luffy sounding amused is never a good sign.
Ace's eyes narrow, gaze falling on the bag that's moving a little too much.
Sabo quickly steps in front of the table, hands raised defensively.
"Now, Ace, I know you didn't want Luffy going by himself-"
"Sabo," Ace whispers threateningly, approaching his brother and the paper bag sitting innocently on their kitchen table.
"But- but! It's not like you haven't done anything stupid before- need I remind you about the rescued chicken incident!"
Okay, so maybe he hasn't made good decisions. But, fuck! It looked so pitiful when it was about to be slaughtered by those cruel farmers. What human being would ignore a chicken's pleading squawk?
He pushes back Sabo -who protests at the action- with his shoulder, peering into the bag to see what has his brother acting like a nervous-wreck.
What. The. Actual. Shit.
There, in the bag, sitting on the packages of popcorn, is a rabbit. A grey, fluffy, mud stained (he hopes so anyway) baby fucking rabbit.
No.
"Ace," Sabo tries to appease him, "I know you didn't want another animal-"
"No."
"-But his legs hurt and-"
"No."
Sabo frowns at him, looking insulted.
"He's totally cool Ace!" Luffy snickers, scratching the grey creature's little chin. The traitor.
"Luffy!" Ace snaps, attention diverting from his fellow older brother.
It makes a protesting sound that so isn't cute.
"Ace, look at its face." Sabo pleads.
Ace finds himself at the mercy of three puppy dog eyed expressions.
He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Ace narrows his eyes at the ceiling, listening to his youngest brother's snores muffled in the room beside his.
How did he find himself in this situation?
"Cuddles?" his annoying brother, the reason this-this thing, is cuddled against his side like it belongs there.
Ace narrows his eyes further, practically squinting at the ceiling.
What type of name is 'Cuddles' anyway?
"Oh," there's his idiot blonde brother in blue pj's, letting all the light from the hallway inside his darkened room.
The grey thing snuggles further against him to escape the blinding light.
"Hey! You're blinding me, Sabo!" Ace whisper-shouts, not because he doesn't want to wake it up, no! It's because his idiot littlest brother is sleeping in the next room.
(Forgetting the fact that a hurricane couldn't wake Luffy up. Only the mention of meat or a hurt nakama could do that. A severely hurt nakama at that.)
Sabo grins. Stupid bastard.
"Alright," Sabo nods, still grinning like an idiot. "Cuddles seems well taken care of anyway."
"He-Hey!" Ace protests, trying to raise up as Sabo shuts the door, laughing.
Cuddles makes a small noise, and Ace finds himself laying back down, letting the thing squirm until it's comfortable.
Ace narrows his eyes at the ceiling, glancing down at the fuzzball.
"I don't like you," which, he said the same thing to Luffy, now they're brothers and he would die for the snoring idiot who eats all the good food in the fridge. And vise-versa.
It opens its large and dark eyes, before nuzzling against his hand laying on his stomach.
Ace squints his eyes at the fuzzball, freckled hand brushing down its back. Not working. Nope.
He huffs. "Fine!"
Ace tries to get comfortable, frowning up at the ceiling before his eyes flicker to 'Cuddles'.
"This isn't an every night thing, you got that?"
Cuddles closes its eyes, snuggling contently against him.
Ace scoffs, hand stroking its fur. "Cuddles my ass. More like stingy."