I swear, this story is updated so much more often than all the others... then again I already have 13 chapters of it written out so that's probably why :P For those of you who are wondering about when Reverse and Resolve are going to be updated: fear not! It's not like I stopped writing them or anything, it's just I've been having a lot of fun with some 'behind the scenes' fics I've been working on. I'll try to get at least one updated by Saturday. No guarantees, but I'll do my best.
Alright, first and foremost: there is overlap at the beginning of this chapter. You'll see why, but I thought I'd tell you before you start reading so that you don't get confused.
Disclaimer: I suddenly want a burrito e_e Oh yeah, and the usual "do not own" blather. You know the drill.
Marco watched the boy—Luffy—leave. His eyes followed his thin frame as it unsurely dragged against the cement path that led to the front gate. After knowing Ace for so many years he finally got to meet the infamous former servant of the Portgas household. He found it ironic that the kid showed up only after Ace lost his memories. How many years had it been since they last met? He couldn't recall.
Shutting the front door and turning on his heel, he wondered what there was to do. After being at that job for a few days, he'd fallen into a routine that ended rather quickly. Seeing as he wasn't really there to do household chores and was more of a babysitter for the amnesiac son of the household, he didn't have much to do. Hell, they were paying him to do nothing but stay around the youth and help him out. The only reason he was doing other things was because he felt bad. So, that being said, he had nothing to do.
Absently he thought back to his real job—the one he was pulled from to help his young roommate. In all honesty he wouldn't have had much to do there, either—not during that time of day. His work revolved around the night. Because of that he was still able to attend, though his hours were cut so that he could sleep. Still, he would never leave completely; the idiots who worked under him needed him.
Marco glanced at the kitchen, momentarily wondering if Ace was still hungry. He may have just finished lunch but he ate a lot less than usual—didn't even ask for seconds. Shrugging, he supposed he could grab something for him.
Arriving at the heir's door, the blonde gave a quick knock and promptly entered the room. He was surprised to find Ace at his desk writing and raised an eyebrow at the sight. Whether it was before his accident or after, he never took an interest in literature. The only time he opened a book was when he had to go over readings for school.
"A diary?" he asked playfully as he went to place a serving tray on a clear spot of the desk.
Ace sent him a dull glare before turning back to the notebook and continuing with whatever he was writing. "It's a journal," he corrected. "I'm keeping track of everything."
"What are you, a teenage girl yoi?"
The freckled youth turned to the blonde once more, scrunching up his face into a look that said he did not approve of that comment. "If this happens again I'd like to have some record of my life."
Marco sighed. "Ace, the chances of you losing your memory again are—"
"Bet you would have said that before I had the accident, too," he stated, met with silence. "It happens in those stupid, cliché dramas all the time, doesn't it? They get amnesia again after already having it, or when they get their old memories back their new ones disappear."
The servant raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You remember things about bad dramas but not your own life yoi?"
"Ridiculous, isn't it?"
"Very," Marco replied, setting the cutlery down on the edge of the plate. "But those things don't happen in real life."
Ace let out a breath of exasperation, dropping his head into the palm of his hand. "I know, it's just…" His voice trailed off, filling the room with silence. He grabbed the fork off his plate and began poking at the food, searching for what he wanted to say. "I did something horrible but I can't remember."
Marco's eyes widened.
The raven-haired man turned to him, eyes pleading for the truth. "I hurt that kid, didn't I?"
"Ace…" Being put on the spot by an amnesiac was quite a new experience. He wasn't surprised that Ace noticed; it was all too obvious with the way the boy acted around him. "Yeah, you did."
The heir's head dropped to his desk with a resounding thud. "Thought so," he mumbled, clearly not pleased by the news.
Marco thought that would be a good time to change the topic. He didn't want to be the one to explain it because, quite frankly, he didn't know much about it himself. Whatever happened between Ace and Luffy happened before the former started hanging around him. He wasn't one to talk about his past, either, and the little that Marco did know he acquired from bar nights when the boy drank far more than he should have.
"Your parents are going to be gone tomorrow," he stated offhandedly as he moved to sit on the edge of the other's bed.
"And?"
"And I think it's about time you meet a friend yoi."
Ace's ears perked up at that. Head still against the wood of the desk, he turned to face the butler. "Friend you say?"
"There's a place you used to like. I'll take you there."
The freckled man's face split in the widest of grins. "I'll hold you to that."
Marco, about to head to his nighttime occupation, wasn't all too surprised by what he heard from the other room.
"You sent him away?" asked a feminine voice—Rouge's—in a raised tone that was quite different from her usual calm and quiet self.
"Yeah," grumbled a familiar male, clearly uninterested in having that conversation.
Curious, the blonde headed over to the living room doorway and peered inside. Sure enough, Ace was there with that 'I don't care, leave me alone' look on his face—one Marco knew too well from earlier on in their 'friendship'. The youth was sitting on the couch, chin resting on his palm as he looked absently across the room. Oh how he looked bored. If Marco hadn't known him from before the accident he might have said he was being inconsiderate. He knew better, though. Hell, he knew more about Ace than Ace knew about himself.
There Rouge was next to him, torso twisted to face her son as she interrogated. Marco was certain as soon as Ace told him to see the boy out that his mother would have something to say about it. She likely knew what happened between the two boys. Perhaps she hoped to make it up to Luffy. Sure Marco didn't know the full extent of what happened but he knew it ended in blood. The woman probably felt guilty.
Rouge sighed. "Ace, you shouldn't have done that. He's in a really bad situation right now."
That was obvious enough. Marco could understand his financial situation with one look at the rags he called clothes.
Ace crossed his arms in that usual, childish manner of his. The more time he spent around his parents, the more he began acting like he did before. Not before the accident—before he moved in with Marco. Well, with everything he knew about the boy it was no surprise. Maybe his body recalled it all when his head didn't. If so, he was probably instinctively pushing them away. Marco couldn't blame him, though.
"I didn't say he couldn't come back, just that he didn't have to," Ace stated, brows furrowed. When his mother remained speechless he decided to continue. "I gave him some cash. It should hold him over until he can find a place to work."
Rouge stared at him inquisitively. "Where did you get the money?"
Ace turned to face her. "My savings," he stated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Savings?"
"Yeah," he confirmed with a nod. "I had money hidden around my room. You didn't know?"
The blonde shook her head as she pondered that.
Marco knew. He knew for a long, long time about Ace's secret storage. In fact, he found out about it only a few months after meeting the boy. As he said before, Ace was eccentric. He hid money he earned from work around his room as a precaution against any 'unfortunate events' as he put it. Marco had to wonder what the old Ace's reaction would have been to giving that money away to that Luffy kid. Certainly it would be amusing.
Rouge's face fell and she rested her head on her son's shoulder. Ace's expression went from irritation to guilt as he stared down at the woman. He must have thought he did something wrong.
"I guess… I really don't know much about you, Ace."
There was a long, heavy pause.
Ace's voice was soft—almost sad—when he spoke. "Then we're even."
Morning arrived with the sound of an alarm. Ace moaned and snuggled deeper into his sheets, covering his ears with his second pillow. But just like every other morning, that damn clock just got increasingly louder and harder to ignore. Peeking out from under the pillow, Ace glared at the device, its bright red numbers mocking him as if to say 'you've got no choice'.
Slamming his hand down on the blasted thing, he groaned in annoyance when he saw he broke the button. Well, at least it was off. He needed to remember to control his strength, though. How many times had he broken something after waking from that short coma he was in? Well, it was far too many times to count, at least.
The first thing on the freckled man's mind after waking up was food. Knowing full-well that the only person in the house was him—even the chef was gone—he didn't waste time in climbing out of bed and staggering over to the door, knowing that if he didn't cook he wouldn't eat. So he made his way down the hall in a lethargic fashion. Still half asleep, that was about as fast as he could go.
He was about to head down the over-the-top staircase when he heard the distinct sound of the doorbell ringing. As he thought more he realized that it'd been ringing since he left his room—maybe before. For a moment he pondered leaving it and pretending no one was home. After all, his stomach was empty and he was still in his boxers. But, well, far be it for him to care about offending a guest. It was likely someone there for one of his parents, so what did he care?
Down the stairs he went, stopping at the front door. Again he debated pretending no one was home but shrugged and decided that since he'd gone that far he might as well see who it was.
Grabbing the handle, he opened one of the large doors at the front of the mansion. Instead of seeing what he expected—someone in formal attire asking for his mother or father—he was met with a pair of owlish eyes attached to the lithe figure of a teenage boy. The teen visibly jumped when their eyes made contact and took a hesitant step back.
Ace was pleased to see the kid. He liked him, for one reason or another. However, he knew that the boy was likely there out of necessity, not choice. Maybe he wanted to see Rouge or there was something he needed.
"Forget something?" he asked in a light an airy voice as he stifled a yawn.
The boy shook his head.
"Then do you need Rouge? Because she's not—"
"No," the boy replied shakily. "I… I came to talk to you."
Ace raised an eyebrow at that and curiously examined the teen's face. He seemed a little calmer than the day before. Deciding he didn't want to stand in the doorway wearing only his boxers, he stepped aside and allowed the other in.
The heir led the boy into the kitchen and had him sit on a stool at the island in the middle of the room. He, himself, searched through the cupboards for a frying pan, internally cursing the fact that he couldn't remember where anything was. Amnesia was a nuisance in a practical sense as well as an emotional one.
The scarred youth took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Luffy," he said simply.
"Hm?" Ace looked over his shoulder, giving the teen a questioning gaze.
"My name—it's Luffy."
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Really not much else to say, so... have a good night! Or day. Whatever time it is for you.
To my lovelies~
spoons-are-evil: There are leads, they're just really subtle :P Lol the picture that created was hilarious XD I'm tempted to draw it... Really? Sounds awesome! Lol it's okay, I've memorized lots of lines from my fics, even though I never reread them hehe... Yep, I know. Hat's are just too awesome.
jam klaoo: Glad you like! Thank you!
Holmesz: Really happy to hear you're enjoying it! Yeah, it's hard to know who to feel worse for right now. But towards the end of the fic you'll probably feel a lot worse for one than the other. Those are very interesting theories ^^ Hope you liked hearing from Marco's perspective! There will be more from his POV but not for a long while.
WeissDragon: Glad you like! Well you definitely beat me when it comes to One Piece XD
Sully-van: Yep, it'll definitely be revealed! Just not for a long time :P
RenwolfChan: Awe, I'm happy to hear you were so excited for it ^^ I will~
MysteriousEyez: Even if he asked Marco, there's no guarantee he'd get the answers he wanted :P Plus while he is wondering what happened in the past, he also isn't sure he wants to know. He'll find out eventually though ^^ Good question. Keep it in mind for later in the fic - you'll want to remember it ;)
Aimiko: Well you got to learn a tiny bit, at least ^^
Diclonious57: You'll know soon enough ^^ Or eventually, at least.
buslimpan: Yep! Don't worry, you're questions will be answered! And Usopp will show up again :)
Guest: Guess you'll have to wait and see ;)
teengens: Hehe don't worry, I promise you'll have your answers before the fic is over ;)
lone green leaf: I will!
Mon Esprite Libre: Haha thanks~
Son Goshen: Well, he's kind of like that XD Sorta. A bit. Not really. ...Sometimes e_e Everyone thinks it's rape, it seems XD Good! I like when imaginations run wild - makes for some interesting reviews ;) No, no, you'll learn more! You'll learn tiny little snipits every chapter than create more questions than they answer :P At least that's my goal. Something like Divide, you know? Yep. It's the less intense version of that fic only, you know, completely different. :D
siqwithaQ: I know! I'm horrible, aren't I? ...I will not apologise! XD There are some things I have planned for other fics that are just downright cruel. This one is practically a feel-good story in comparison :P But shh I didn't say anything. Lol that is weird. So far I haven't had anyone call me out on it, so it's going well for now! Trust me, there will be at least one more puppy comparison - already have it written ;) Wow, I didn't realize that but it's so true! That's pretty ironic XD Interesting theories! I'd like to say that you'll find out soon but it'll be quite a few chapters before I get into talking about Luffy's friends.
azab: Glad you like!
Kitsune Foxfire: Glad you like! At this point I'm not sure who to feel worse for ^^;
(And that is all, folks. Ummm... I'm gonna go hunt for a halfway decent meal now. Please remember to review! Love hearing from you guys ^^ Adieu~)
