Ace- "Normal" Life

"You attract too much attention sometimes."

"Yeah, yeah," Ace muttered, eyes refusing to meet Sabo's as he fixed up the damage on his cheek. This wasn't the first time Sabo nagged him about such things, and surely it would happen again.

"I don't like to give you orders," Sabo continued not stopping his work, "but would it kill you to stop picking fights now and then?"

"Can't die," Ace countered.

Sabo rolled his eyes, pulling away and setting down the tube in his hand. "There's that sarcasm we love about you. Anyways, just be glad Luffy wasn't around. He probably would have gotten involved too if he was."

"You know I wouldn't let that happen." The fight had taken place in a bar after all, and Luffy wasn't old enough to get in. On top of all that, that had been Ace's fight. He wouldn't let Luffy fight it for him.

"Of course you wouldn't, but it never hurts to warn you."

"Then just tell me not to do it."

"I won't stop your curiosity. It would be inhuman of me," Sabo said. He turned away, and Ace noticed that his hand was twitching, something that happened when he was uncomfortable, and why wouldn't he be? The twitch, the dark undertone of his voice, the sad look in his eyes Ace briefly saw before he turned away: he was thinking of his parents, people who had squashed his own curiosity with their inhumanity.

A sinking feeling resonated within Ace. Was this guilt? He had no way of knowing, so all he could do was assume that he was correct. He was feeling guilty, strangely enough. He was supposed to be the older brother, wasn't he? At least, that's what Sabo always told him. "Sorry," he apologized reaching out to comfort Sabo, but before his arm reached, he was stopped.

Sabo faced him again. "Don't be." Hi sadness had vanished, a kind smile replacing it. "I guess we're pretty similar in some ways, don't you think?"

"Why do you say that?" As close as they were, Ace wasn't sure if he could have called them similar.

"We hate our parents-" Sabo was quickly cut off by Ace's snarl.

"You could hardly call that man my parent." Ace had never known him, but was that he hated him. He was the reason that Ace held this curiosity, this doubt. He was the reason Ace was fighting all the time. "I don't have any parents."

"Then join the club!" Sabo grinned, seemingly unfazed by Ace's anger. He himself had abandoned the scum that gave birth to him years ago, and Luffy didn't even know he had parents. He was too innocent for his own good, but that's exactly why Ace was tasked with looking after him. Ace thought Luffy could look after himself every now and then though, despite his recklessness. For the most part Ace let Luffy do what he wanted, but Sabo was the one who worried.

Still, they were brothers, yet Ace wasn't sure that he wanted to be a part of this "club" as Sabo called it. He had a point though since Ace refused to call that man his father, but it would be strange to call any man his father considering the circumstances he was under.

The fact that Luffy and Sabo were there for him was all that Ace needed, even if he was limited, even if he wanted his freedom just as much as others like him. Besides, what would he even do if he was free? Someone like him couldn't do much of anything.

Well, there was at least one thing he wanted to do. The mere thought of it lifted him up and made him feel as if he was floating. It brought a smile to his face, a strange fluttering-

"Ace!" Sabo called, bringing his attention back.

Ace rubbed the back of his head. "Er- yeah?"

"Did you hear me? Start on dinner please. Luffy will be back soon."

He nodded, hopping off the table, though it's not as Sabo would have seen him when he was turned towards the computer monitors. The metallic floor of the lab rang underneath his feet as he wiggled his fingers and toes, glad that everything was still working exactly as it had been. Thankfully, the punches he threw earlier weren't enough to break, but even if it had, Sabo would have fixed him right up.

Ace left the lab by climbing up the staircase. The actual house was quite small, so Sabo's lab being built underground helped to save space. Unfortunately, this didn't help with the cluttered mess, Ace mused as he carefully cleaned a pot from the sink out with a sponge. The dishes were piling up again, but it wouldn't be home without the mess. Koala nagged them to clean it every once in a while, but none of them really listened.

Ace was almost finished cooking when Luffy burst through the door happily shouting, "Food!" Before Ace knew it, Luffy was next to him, reaching over to try and get to the beef stew simmering on the stove.

"Oi! I'm not done yet!" He barked, shoving his brother's face away. "Just wait. Didn't Sanji make some food for you or something?"

"Sanji had work today," Luffy whined, slinging an arm around Ace's shoulders in an attempt to get close to the meal. This didn't surprise Ace at all. He wouldn't want to cook if someone kept devouring what he was making while he was making it. Thankfully, Sabo didn't do this, and Ace tended to cook meals before Luffy got home so incidents like this could be prevented.

Not for the first time, he found himself musing over the fact that nothing would get cooked if he ate the meals he made.

"Can you get Sabo? I'm almost finished."

"Sure!" Luffy grinned. He bounced away, practically stampeding down to the lab. Ace chuckled to himself as he moved the pot and set the table. Luffy was always enthusiastic.

"Something smells good," Sabo commented as he entered the room. Luffy was dragging him by the arm.

"Thanks, I guess," Ace shrugged. "You don't need to tell me that every time though."

"I want to. You need to know." Sabo smiled. "Anyways, let's eat!"

"Thanks, Ace!"

'Humans are strange,' Ace thought as he watched his brothers dig into the meal. 'But I guess that's just what I have to deal with, being a robot and all.'

I know this may seem like a slow start, but things will pick up next week. I promise.

Please review!