okay i know you all probably wanted to know what Ace was out doing all night but i'm a huge weenie and didn't feel like revealing it yet so here have some more progressive AceLu instead

also a huge HUGE thank you to everyone who commented, faved, or followed. much love to you all, your encouragement means a lot and i should have gotten back to everyone that left a review personally!

chapter stretched out about 1k longer than intended oops sorry


Ace managed to slip in just past three in the morning. All the lights in the house had been shut off, save for the porch light – a switch Ace flicked off once he was safely inside and all locks in place. He was always paranoid about the safety of the house, leaving him to start the lock inspection just after toeing off his shoes.

First, it was a round trip to check if all the downstairs windows were locked. He moved from room to room, pausing at the backdoor to make sure it was sealed properly before continuing on his way to the stairs. Content that nothing was amiss, Ace ambled up, deliberately skipping the steps that squeaked too loudly. He came in late frequently, cautious not to wake his mother and disturb her.

When he reached the top, the figure peering out of the guest room almost made him fall back down the stairs.

"Ace? Z'at you?" A sleepy voice murmured, unruly head of black hair peeking further out of the doorway and into the main hall. Ace clutched at his chest, irrationally frustrated at the kid for scaring him so bad. Instead of snapping at him in the middle of the night, the older boy just crowded Luffy back into his room, hands on his shoulders and guiding him back to bed.

"It's me, why're you up so late?" Ace asked. Luffy shrugged, still clearly half asleep as he let Ace push him back into the mattress.

"Always wake up when th' door opens. Ne'one could be leavin'. Always gotta say bye," Luffy mumbled into his pillow, hands fisting up in his sheets as Ace looked him over. He didn't answer, couldn't really. He was overwhelmed by a sudden wave of guilt at the kid's words. He almost wanted to apologize, not that it would do any good. It was amazing how one little incident in someone's life could leave lasting imprints like that.

Ace ran a hand through his hair, frowning gently at the boy who in seconds was back to snoring lightly. His breath came out evenly as he curled farther into himself, snuffling into his pillow as Ace stared at him.

Christ he was tired, just looking at Luffy made him want to pass out right there. He couldn't though. He still had to write up tonight's log, count the cash, and then change. Friday nights were always this shitty. At least he didn't have class tomorrow. That'd be hell.

Class, huh, had they enrolled Luffy yet? Would he be going somewhere close by? Would he be okay transferring in the middle of the semester? Would Ace be giving him rides to school?

Augh, what the hell? He couldn't be focusing on the kid like this. He needed to get some sleep, and for that to happen he needed to finish his job properly.

Ace stepped out of the room slowly, closing the door quietly behind him and making a beeline for his own room. He'd be done by five, latest, and he'd hopefully manage to fit in five or six hours before someone decided to wake him.


Ace woke to the crash-bang of something distant falling and the loud laughter of what had to be his little brother. Of course the kid was a morning person. He was probably an 'all the time' person, rearing to go at any point in the day.

Ace groaned, shoving his face back into his pillow without glancing at his phone. It couldn't be past twelve, not with how groggy he still felt. There was nothing he wanted to do more than sleep the rest of the afternoon away, but with the state of his stomach and the amount of noise emanating from the lower level, he figured there would be very little rest happening from this point on.

Instead, he forced himself up, swiping his cell off his desk and checking it for messages. There was a text from Vista begging for a picture, which Ace immediately deleted, and one from a contact of his asking him to do a pickup in a few hours.

Ace tossed his phone, grabbing his mostly dry towel before padding out of his room. The washroom was, thankfully, unoccupied, and Ace took his time brushing his teeth and showering.

By the time he emerged downstairs, clad in track pants and a sweater, it was already quarter past one. It looked like a hurricane had hit the kitchen, his mother scrubbing pans amidst speckles of flour and batter. She looked up, offering Ace a brilliant smile and gesturing towards the oven.

"I managed to save a few waffles for you. I wanted to wake you, but Luffy said I should leave you be. My gosh, he eats! More than even you, Ace! It's so nice to be cooking for a big family again." She said, clearly delighted at the whole situation. Ace couldn't help but smile softly, dropping a kiss onto her head as he passed her and opening the oven to take out his share.

"Thanks, where is everyone?"

"Roger is out, sorting out a few business things. And I think there's still a few things that should be arriving soon, so he might have gone to pick those up. Luffy's in the den, trying to figure out how to use the television, no doubt. How about you go help him? And if you're going out, you should take him too. He could use someone to show him around town."

Ace listened absently, nodding as he crammed two waffles into his mouth. "Mmh, maybe, I've got a work thing though, so I might be busy." He said casually. Rouge wasn't having any of it though, shutting off the tap and turning to give Ace a stern glare.

"Too busy for family? You will take Luffy out. You're not working all day, are you?" She said, drying her hands on a dishtowel and resting them on her hips. Ace hated when she got all mom-mode like that. There was barely anything he could say to argue with her.

"Fine, fine. I'll let him tag along. Only for you, I swear." Ace answered fondly, offering her an affectionate rub on the back before slipping out of the kitchen with his plate. She tossed an exasperated sigh after him, but went back to her cleanup.

Ace had the urge to just slip out by himself anyway, consequences be damned. But instead, he found himself drifting towards the den, little frustrated noises increasing in volume the closer he got to the tiny family area.

A glance though the door revealed Luffy. The boy was spread out chest down on the floor, shirt riding up his back and shorts in danger of abandoning their important task of shielding the kid's ass. He was fiddling with four different remotes, pressing random buttons and murmuring to himself in agitation when the large black box failed, yet again, to flicker to life.

Ace found amusement creeping in despite himself. He was clearly having trouble, and really all it would take was a tiny suggestion to help him out. Instead, he watched Luffy abandon yet another remote, groaning in impatience before rolling over.

He caught sight of Ace, then, and the older boy watched in something akin to fascination as Luffy's face positively lit up.

"Ace! You're awake!" He cheered, shooting up from his position on the floor and immediately planting himself in front of Ace. The kid seemed to lack a structured definition of personal space, crowding up against Ace's front and peeking at the plate he held. "Ooooh, is that a waffle? Are you gonna finish it?"

Ace, slightly taken aback, leaned out of Luffy's orbit and held out the plate to put some distance between them.

"Nah, it's all yours. The TV remote's in the living room, by the way. Mom always takes it in there at the end of the night to avoid confusing it with the others." Ace said, observing Luffy whisk the plate away from him and stuff the waffle into his mouth in one bite.

"Awesome, thanks! Hey, do you know where the closest convenient store is? I kinda looked around the house and you guys don't have a lot of snacks." Luffy asked, waffle swallowed and wiping his hand off on his shirt sleeve.

"Yeah, actually, I'll take you. Mom said I should show you around anyway. You ready, or are you gonna change?" Ace asked, making a grab at the opportunity rather than asking Luffy if he wanted to hang out. He didn't want the kid to get the wrong idea, heaven forbid he think Ace wanted to spend time with him for no reason.

Despite that, Luffy was all grins anyway, quaking with excitement and darting to the kitchen to deposit his plate. "I'd love that! Lemme get my hat, I'll be right back!" He called to Ace, offering their mother a tight hug before disappearing upstairs.

"Look at how happy he is," Rouge said, giving Ace her best 'I told you so' look. Ace rolled his eyes, slipping into his sneakers and grabbing his jacket. He patted it down for his keys and wallet, slipping it on and turning to face his mother.

"Yeah, yeah. Have you enrolled him in school yet? I could pick up whatever he needs so he's good for Monday." Ace offered, listening as Luffy banged around upstairs.

"Oh gosh! No, I haven't. Do you mind? I'm sure we could just put him in your old school. It's close enough to walk. How could I have forgotten? He's already been out of school for a week. Oh no, do you think he'll have trouble settling in?" Forever the worrier, Ace swept his mother into a hug.

"He'll be fine, he's a bright kid. I'll get it all sorted. I'm still in contact with Principal Alvida, Luffy will fit right in, don't worry about it." Ace assured, releasing the woman just as Luffy bounded downstairs, shorts exchanged for jeans and tacky hat perched on his wild hair.

"Ready! Ah, can we stop for lunch? I saw this burger place on the drive here. They have these six decker bacon burger things and if you eat one in less than ten minutes you totally don't have to pay." Luffy said triumphantly, seemingly assured of a free meal. Ace cracked a smile, shrugging and making for the door.

"Sure, if you can't finish it though, you're paying." He said, adding a quiet, "Bye mom," at the end of his sentence. Luffy was right behind him, sliding into his sandals and puffing out his chest.

"You're underestimating how quickly I can inhale food."


Somehow, Luffy did manage to finish the burger (and a side of fries) in less than eight minutes. Ace was a little impressed, but couldn't bring himself to admit it. He paid for his own normal sized burger, sans fries plus a milkshake. He bought one for Luffy too, partly because he felt like the kid earned a prize for finishing a ridiculous amount of food in a borderline dangerous amount of time, and partly because he wouldn't stop staring at Ace's.

When they finally made it back to the car, a glance at the time told Ace that if he wanted to save even a modicum of professional face, he should probably do his pickup. He looked at Luffy, weighing the pros and cons of bringing him along and leaving him in the car.

There wasn't enough time to go to the school first, and if he dropped him off at home and picked him up again, there would just be questions asked.

"I'm gonna run a quick errand, alright? After that, we'll get you set up at school and then whatever you want. How's that sound?"

Luffy was all smiles, bendy straw perched between his teeth and head cocked in Ace's direction. "Sure! Where do we have to go for it?"

Ace shrugged, starting up the car and frowning at his little brother as he tongued the milkshake straw.

"Not far, it'll be quick. You're gonna stay in the car, alright?" Ace said, feeling like he was talking to a toddler for a moment. Surprisingly, Luffy's face fell into something more contemplative, directing his gaze out the window instead of asking more questions. Ace wanted to ask, but figured since if Luffy wasn't, he wouldn't either.

The rest of the drive passed in silence, Ace driving up to a dirty brick building and parking outside. "I'll be back in a sec." He said, passing the remainder of his shake to Luffy and slipping out of the car.

The jog up to the seventh floor was quick. Izou opened the door, looking Ace up and down before pressing a black duffle bag into his hands. "You smell like grease," he said offhandedly. Ace chose to ignore him, hefting the bag over his shoulder and turning to leave without actually entering the dimly lit apartment.

He made it back down in under five, but just his luck, when he opened the door to toss the bag in, Luffy was nowhere to be found.

"God fucking damnit!" Ace growled, smacking his palm against the frame of his car and slamming the door. Okay, stay calm, he couldn't have gotten that far. Maybe two blocks at most. Maybe he'd seen a food stall, maybe he'd just –

"Ace! Aaaaaace! C'mere, look at the size of this dog!"

Ace's head snapped up, peering over his beaten down Honda and spotting Luffy about ten meters up the opposite street. He was curled around an admittedly large dog, nuzzling his face against its muzzle as an amused owner looked on.

Ace was on guard immediately, looking over the adult clutching at the leash. They seemed harmless enough, happy in the way most owners get when people take interest in their pets. He strode over, and Luffy was up in seconds, thanking the stranger for their time and meeting Ace halfway.

"It was so huge! I want a dog like that, do you think they'd let me get a dog that size? Dad always says I'm not responsible enough to take care of a pet, but I figure I could if it was important. And it would be important, you know? I could do it, I could totally do it." Luffy prattled, moving past Ace to climb back into the passenger seat.

"I thought I told you not to get out of the car," Ace said instead, stopping Luffy from closing his door and leaning in to give him a stern look.

Luffy blinked up at him, already seated and buckled in. "I forget things real easy, sorry Ace. I'm okay though, see?" He said, patting Ace on the chest and smiling as if that should make everything okay. Ace wanted to stay mad at him, almost wanted to yell a bit, but he couldn't find it in him. He let out a breath instead, leaning back and pushing Luffy's door closed.

God, he'd freaked for a moment. Almost went into a full blown panic over losing Luffy in this neighborhood. Not that it'd be horrible. If he was being honest, someone would probably recognize Luffy as his and call him. He was overreacting. It wasn't a big deal. The kid was only three years his junior, he wasn't a fucking baby.

Crisis averted and officially back to calm mode, Ace pulled himself over to the driver's side and climbed in. Luffy was picking at the glove box again, frowning at the lock as his fingers felt over it for dips or latches.

"Does this have a key?" He asked as Ace started the car.

"Yeah, stop messing with it."

"What's in it?"

"Licensing stuff."

"Oh. Why's it locked?"

"To keep nosy kids like you out. Do you always ask this many questions?" Ace fired back, wondering if he remembered the route to the high school. It'd been more than two years since he'd been out of there. Was admin even open on the weekends?

"Yeah, mostly." Luffy responded, removing his fingers from where they'd been fiddling with the hinges.

When they finally pulled up to the school building, Ace only spotted one lone car situated in the parking lot. When they got out and made their way up to the door, Ace smiled in relief to find the building unlocked.

Administrations was open, thank god. There was a lady there, typing away at who knows what as Ace approached.

He dealt with it all, a couple pieces of identification were the only things needed – which, thankfully, Luffy had been carrying on him in his wallet. He'd be starting as soon as Monday rolled by, and seemed fairly excited about it.

Great, Ace didn't think he could deal with one of those teens that hated leaving the house. If anything, Luffy seemed like he'd enjoy being cooped up inside as little as possible.

He picked up a couple forms on their way out, some basic stuff their parents would have to sign, and general information about the school itself. Ace didn't think it was particularly necessary, but Luffy seemed particularly delighted with snagging all the info he could, even one of those dumb little pamphlets about clubs.

When he finally managed to drag the kid out of the building and back into the car, he was all smiles. Luffy was positively shaking with excitement, clutching all the papers to his chest and turning his brightest grin on Ace.

"This is gonna be great, thanks! Like, really awesome level great." Luffy gushed. Ace would admit he was the slightest bit confused. He couldn't ever remember a day in his life when he'd been that excited to go to class, let alone have to wake up for morning high school shit.

"Yeah, sure. We still gotta hit the convenience store before we head back. You might want to put all that in the back or something." Ace suggested, gesturing vaguely at the papers as he turned a corner.

Luffy looked down at his loot before twisting around to carefully place the flyaway pages on top of the black duffle bag. Ace watched his fingers linger over the zipper in the rear-view mirror before Luffy retracted his hands and turned back to the front.

"Man, I've got forty bucks to spend on snacks. I can finally buy the good chips! You want anything?"

"Nah, keep it for yourself." Ace said, parking in front of the dingy convenience store and watching Luffy shoot him one last smile before darting inside.

Ace took the time to lean back in his seat, running a hand through his hair and letting out a deep breath. His little brother was surprisingly easy to hang around. Sure, he was jittery and talkative, but it wasn't horrible. Half of the guys he worked with talked more than Luffy did.

And Luffy was charming, in his own way. All easy smiles and real interest. It wasn't often Ace met someone that genuine, and it wasn't an unwelcome change.

And really, what would be the harm in getting to know him a little bit? It wasn't like he had to mentor him or anything. As long as Luffy stayed out of his business, maybe they'd get along.

Despite the little voice in the back of his mind telling him that he should keep his distance, Ace had a hard time denying the fact that he wanted to talk to Luffy. The kid was like his own little planet, drawing Ace in no matter how much he struggled against it.

As he watched Luffy emerge from the store, arms laden with a ridiculous amount of plastic bags, he thought that maybe, just maybe he'd make something good out of this.


so like general thoughts on time skips? I wanna get things rolling but I don't know if all of you want it SUPER slow or if I can start skippin days and weeks.
i think i'm hitting luffy's character as much as i can in this setting? trying not to make him ALL about food and give him a few other angles as well. is any of that even bleeding through? ahhhhghgdkjgkd
opinions and preferences?

-oumriel