A/N: Hi everybody! I'm back with the next chapter! So, I wanted to thank a lot everyone who reviewed, added this story to their favorites and/or alerts! You're all awesome! ;D

So, I wasn't supposed to be uploading this chapter yet :P I still have some things to figure out, though I wanted to put this up soon, so here I am! Initially, this chapter was going to be bigger because I wanted to add more things, but then I saw that it already had a good length and enough information and decided to split it in two. Now, the chapter may seem a bit slow but I needed to show these things to you guys, so have patience and in the next one you'll see more ;P I sincerely have no idea when I'm going to finish it, but I'll try to work as fast as possible.

Well, I guess that's it! Don't forget to review telling me what you thought about it! Whether it's a compliment, a constructive critic or a doubt I'll be happy to receive and answer it ^.^

Hope you enjoy!

This chapter has now been betaread by AllHeroesWearHats and lunarshores ^.^

He sighed wearily as he took his hand from Luffy's forehead.

"Your fever is still high..."

He watched as Luffy tried to suppress a shudder.

"But I'm not feeling bad!"

Liar. He kept the word from escaping his lips, knowing it was an attempt to make him feel better. He could clearly see the exhaustion radiating off the small boy, who looked like he could barely keep his eyes open, despite his protests.

"Of course you're not." He pressed his lips together, considering. "I'll be right back. Can you stay awake till then?"

Brown eyes widened in surprise before a small hand moved so it could hold firmly the wrist of the older one, in spite of his obvious weakness.

"What?! Why?! Where are you going?!"

"I need to get an extra blanket for you. I'll be quick."

"I don't need another one! Seriously! Just stay here..."

Another sigh passed through his lips before he decided to lie on the blankets next to the younger one, who quickly snuggled close to share his warmth. After a brief hesitation, he put an arm around Luffy. He was rewarded by a small satisfied smile before sleep overcame Luffy and he dropped off.

He watched Luffy with anxious eyes for a while. As close as he was, he could clearly feel the heat pouring off Luffy's skin.

Another tired sigh passed his lips.

"What do I do with you, Lu?"

Ace's eyes snapped open at the barely perceptible noise coming from the hallway. The young man stared at the white ceiling of his bedroom for a few more seconds before he closed his eyes in exasperation. He never learns. Ace thought bemusedly before quickly getting up and standing beside his bed with his arms crossed. As he moved, the quiet noises from the hallway approached his bedroom. He only had to wait two more seconds before it was thrown open.

"ACEE!"

The source of the ruckus was, of course, Luffy, who was too intent on waking him up by pouncing on his bed to notice that he was no longer in it.

"Aha! I got..." Luffy stopped as he looked down and saw no sign of Ace. "...you?"

In a quick move, Ace tackled Luffy onto the bed before he could understand what was happening and started tickling him. Luffy laughed loudly and squirmed trying to get away from his brother.

"Nice try, but no." Ace commented before he stopped, messed Luffy's hair up and got up. "Next time, try not to make noise."

"But I didn't!" Luffy replied indignantly before sitting on the bed. "Well, not before getting here."

"Really? Well, you still have to improve if you want to catch me by surprise." Ace stretched before rubbing his eyes. "I don't know why whenever Sabo asks you to wake me up you do this."

"I still need to get back at you for the time you woke me up by tickling me," Luffy huffed.

"Oh, right." Ace said absently while searching for clothes in the closet. "That was fun."

"Only for you!" Luffy remarked before one of his grins appeared on his face. "Now that you're awake, you have to hurry up and get ready so we can eat breakfast! Oh, and then go to the terrace too."

Ace just rolled his eyes and smiled. No matter how excited Luffy was for their morning routine on weekends, food always came first.

"Alright, alright. Now let me change my clothes, and I'll see you in the kitchen." He said to his younger brother who quickly left the room. His cries to Sabo that he'd woken Ace up could be heard even through the door he'd slammed shut on his way out.

As soon as he found himself alone, the smile on his face disappeared, giving way to a small frown. He stripped and, ignoring the cold air hitting his skin, slowly put on his clothes, lost in his thoughts. Why did I dream about that old memory now? It's been a long time since I last dreamed of back then...

Shaking his head, he decided to leave pondering dreams for another time. Though he only dreamed of such things before big changes – unfortunately, they used to be only bad ones related to his work -, thinking about it now would get him nowhere. Ace would find out when it happened and not a bit sooner, so agonizing over it would just ruin his weekend with his brothers. Still, he'd be more alert when he was out.

After a quick visit to the bathroom that was connected to his room, he went to his bedside table and grabbed one of the two phones charging on it. He glared down at the white one, then tucked it into his pocket. He couldn't forget to bring that cell phone, even if these were technically his days off. Lastly, he checked that his two knives were secure and well hidden underneath his clothing. Ace had no reason to think he'd need them, but old habits die hard, and he was on edge after the dream last night.

Arriving in the kitchen, he saw Sabo setting the table, and Luffy sitting and staring intently at the food tantalizingly within reach.

Smiling at the scene and taking his seat, Ace said, "You better close your mouth, Luffy. You're drooling."

Luffy started in his seat before he absentmindedly passed the back of his hand over his mouth; apparently, he had been too focused on staring at his food to notice Ace's arrival.

"I wasn't drooling, Ace!" He exclaimed when he saw no signs of saliva on his hand.

Ace just laughed in response.

Orange juice was put on the table before Sabo joined them with a smile.

"Now that Sleeping Beauty has appeared we can eat." Sabo grinned at Ace, obviously trying to provoke him.

Not disappointing, Ace opened his mouth to retort when both realized that Luffy was already attacking the food and that if they didn't start eating soon there'd be no breakfast left for them. Without another word, both brothers joined the youngest one and the rest of the meal went calmly - or at least what passed for calm in their household.

Not long after, they found themselves leaving the apartment and going up the stairs of the building until they reached the top floor. There they climbed yet another flight of stair to reach the terrace.

Luffy immediately ran to the edge, leaned on the railing and looked at the view of the city with a big smile. At a slower pace, both Ace and Sabo joined their brother and simply stood there, enjoying the peace and tranquility of the moment.

This lasted for a few more minutes until Luffy abruptly stepped back and, with a huge grin, looked at his brothers with anxiety written on his face.

"We can start, right?" He asked.

Ace raised an eyebrow. "You're really excited today."

"Of course I am!" Luffy replied throwing his arms up. "On the last few weekends you haven't trained with me because of your work! Besides, you banned me from sparring with people at school, so it's been a long time since I last fought someone! I'm tired of having to train up here alone!

Sabo just laughed at Luffy's indignation. "Alright then. You two can start today." With that, he moved away from them and sat down quietly.

"YOSH!" Luffy exclaimed putting some distance between him and Ace before taking off his coat and throwing it on the floor.

Ace just shook his head at the enthusiasm of his brother. It really had been a long time since they had last sparred and with himself and Sabo being the only ones against whom he fought, it wasn't surprising that he was restless; Luffy really enjoyed training with them.

Repeating Luffy's action, Ace discreetly made sure the knives wouldn't end up hurting his brother before settling in a defensive position.

"Try not to forget everything we taught you," Sabo advised Luffy.

"Right, right, I know that." Luffy rolled his eyes before also getting ready, his fists already closed.

A few seconds passed in silence while Ace and Luffy stared at each other until the cry of "Go!" from Sabo sent Luffy flying forward.

In the blink of an eye, he was already right in front of Ace, an arm pulled back with a closed fist. Luffy's amazing speed would be enough to leave most surprised long enough for him to hit them. However, Ace just rolled his eyes mentally. Of course he'd choose to start like that.

Contracting his muscles, he prepared to dodge the punch only to change his action at the last second and barely escape from one leg that came trailing along the floor, which had the objective to trip him, and two punches directed at his chest.

With a smirk appearing on his face, Ace used his knee to hit Luffy's belly, leaving the younger teen breathless for a moment and barely being able to block the punch that followed.

Luffy continued with a handful of punches, all of which were either dodged or blocked easily. He jumped back to avoid being hit by another attack before shooting forward and trying to strike again.

This lasted for a while until Luffy was knocked to the ground, Ace's foot on his belly preventing him from rising back again.

"And... I won." Ace remarked with a smirk. He had forgotten how much he liked these weekend training sessions.

"Shishishi!" Luffy just laughed as an answer to that, his smile not having left his face for one second. "Yeah! But next time I'll definitely beat you!"

"You still have to improve a lot more before being able to defeat me," Ace sneered slightly as he helped his younger brother get up.

"That's true." Sabo reaffirmed as he approached them. "But you're much better now, Luffy! The time you've spent training alone is taking effect, though you still need more agility in your movements."

Luffy beamed before nodding vigorously. Always after the spar, they gave Luffy pointers on how to improve. It had been four years since they had begun to train like this and since then Luffy had progressed a lot. At that point, both Sabo and Ace were sure the younger one could take care of himself in case he got himself in some kind of trouble. It was bound to happened eventually, though, seeing how Luffy could be a trouble magnet sometimes. He was still no match for his older brothers, but that was to be expected since both had had much more rigorous training.

Ace observed with a rare serene smile as Sabo continued telling Luffy what he should and shouldn't do next time. These sessions were one of the dew times where he could truly relax.

A small noise coming from his cell phone quickly gained his attention; he had received a message.

The smile was instantly wiped from his face at the noise. He removed the white phone from his pocket and quickly read the message that destroyed his good mood.

Great. Right on our first day off in weeks, they get another job for me, he thought irritated while he grabbed his coat from the floor and put it back on.

This immediately drew the attention of the other two on the terrace with him.

"Ace?" Sabo questioned and Ace soon found himself being observed attentively; Sabo was obviously trying to figure out what he was doing. He saw the other's blue eyes find the white cell phone still held tightly in his hand before his expression darkened slightly, having figured out what had happened.

"Where are you going, Ace?" Luffy asked tilting his head to the side, a confused expression on his innocent face.

And that's how it must remain. He doesn't have to get involved with anything. Ace thought grimly. It was amazing how a simple message could change his mood so abruptly.

He smiled weakly, knowing both of his brothers would see through it instantly, and started towards the stairs. "Nowhere important. I just have to deal with something, but I'll be back by dinner." I hope.

"Okay then," Luffy replied despondent because he wouldn't be able to spend more time with both of his brothers.

"See you later," Sabo said with the same smile Ace had and a wave. Their eyes met briefly, and Ace nodded before disappearing behind the door leading to the stairs. They both knew that since Sabo hadn't also been called that it couldn't be something as 'normal' as other requests were, meaning Ace had to be as wary as possible.

Sighing mentally and with his mask of boredom already in place, Ace began the descent. He only hoped that wasn't going to take much of his time.

The ticking noise of the clock echoed throughout the otherwise silent room, marking the slow passage of time.

Tapping his fingers impatiently on his knee, he looked back with narrowed eyes at the door through which he had entered. How much longer did he expect Ace to keep waiting? The message was very clear on the fact that he was expected there in half an hour to get the details of the request, causing him to rush to arrive on time. There, instead of meeting his boss, getting the request and going to do his job, he was left to a waiting room with no idea how long he'd be expected to wait.

Smug bastard. How much longer does he want to keep me here with nothing to do?

However, although impatient and frustrated, Ace was still alert. He knew there had to be some reason for him to be called in on a day he had off. It wasn't like him to do unnecessary things, which meant that this was supposed to bother bother Ace somehow or teach him a lesson. Damned sadist... Ace sighed mentally.

Looking around the room he was in, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. There was a sofa and a couple of chairs arranged haphazardly around the small coffee table which was covered in papers. The damn clock was the only thing breaking the monotony of the walls apart from the large window in the corner. Ace grimaced. He didn't have the patience to deal with his boss' little mind games today. Why couldn't he just take the damn request, go kill someone and return home?

The ticking of the clock resounded in the small space, mocking his impatience.

Ace rubbed his temple; at least he was going to earn extra cash. Inspecting the waiting room again, he finally saw something that caught his attention.

Almost covered by the other papers scattered on the coffee table, there was one in particular with small red edges. Narrowing his eyes, Ace tried to see what was in that paper without having to change from his comfortable position on the couch - because now that he had found what he was most likely supposed to see, Ace wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of later seeing the teen through the security cameras doing exactly what he wanted.

A few seconds later, Ace's eyes widened before he had to rebuild his mask and redirect his gaze to the other end of the room. Shit. This can't be a good sign.

Because all papers with red edges in this place contained some invaluable information, and that one he had just seen had the record of a person written on it. Ace had managed to take a good look at the picture of the man, though he didn't know whether he was an enemy, an ally or a target of his boss.

Ace glanced at the paper again; he only needed a name. From where he was and with it being almost hidden from sight, he knew he wasn't going to read any of the details of the man's record. Even so, he at least needed the name since everything screamed that whoever this man was, he would quickly become a problem in Ace's life. The fact that in the upper corner of said paper was written in red 'LOCATION: IN TOWN AT THE MOMENT' only reinforced that idea.

Deciding not to care if it was exactly what his boss wanted him to do, Ace leaned slightly forward, just enough to catch the first name of the man.

"Mar...co." He muttered to himself, his eyes passing again over the picture of the blond-haired man with a weird hairstyle and half-lidded eyes. Nodding to himself, he decided to keep even more alert when he was outside. He need to treat this Marco as someone dangerous, since he knew nothing about him and the picture was left out so obviously for him to see. The last thing he wanted was to be caught unprepared if they met.

He returned his gaze to the window just as the door of the room opened and in walked a man he recognized clearly, not being, however, who he expected to see.

"Basil Hawkins..." Ace said raising an eyebrow.

"Portgas D. Ace." The man replied as he approached Ace. Stopping in front of the couch, Hawkins handed a folded paper to Ace.

Looking at it briefly, Ace recognized it as the request he had come for.

"Why did it take so long? And why are you here?" Ace questioned while getting up and easily returning the cold, calculating gaze of the other.

"The boss had an appointment, so I came in his place." Was all Hawkins replied before turning around and heading towards the door. "It's not a difficult one, so it's expected that you return the completed request by midnight at the latest."

And with that the door was closed, leaving Ace alone in the waiting room once more.

And so you send one of your precious Supernovas come in your place. Ace thought annoyed. Basil's avoidance of his first question was enough to prove there was a reason for his long wait. Now all that remained was to know whether he was only supposed to have seen that almost completely hidden red-edged paper or if there was more to it.

Very well. He began to move toward the exit. He finally read the request properly, paying attention to the necessary details this time, since Sabo wasn't there. Let's see what your goal is this time.