"Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. I miss you like hell."―Edna St. Vincent Millay
"Hiding never worked well on my Ace-ya." Law said standing up straight and turning to stare at the 10 year old boy.
"I wasn't hiding." He countered and Law felt like laughing but he didn't, he just waited for the child to make his move.
"I was just wondering where Luffy went, that's all." Ace said simply before trying to climb up to the railing to sit.
"We needed to talk." Law wasn't going to fall into these children's hands like the rest of this crew.
"About what exactly?" Ace asked him and Law eyed him carefully.
"You're smarter than Straw hatter but not smarter than me." Law said moving to walk away from the boy.
"But you're not as smart as Sabo." Ace said to him and Law didn't say anything for a moment as he turned his dark eyes onto Ace.
"Is that all you could come up with?" He asked and Ace scowled.
"I'm ten." He grumbled out and Law looked away hiding his smirk with the darkening sky.
"I'm going to bed it's late." Law said turning away ready to go to his spot on the deck to keep an eye on the prisoner.
"Thanks." Ace said suddenly causing Law to stop mid step and turn back to the child a brow rose in confusion.
"I still don't like you but thanks for cheering Luffy up, I've noticed that's what you always do right?" Ace looked away a red tint on his cheeks embarrassed because he had to thank someone he didn't exactly trust.
"Do you really want to know what we're planning Ace-ya?" Law asked him turning his body around to give Ace his full attention Ace nodded seriously.
"What if I tell you that we are facing an enemy we may have no chance on beating? You want to protect your brother but what if you can't? What good will this knowledge do for you knowing that here right now there is nothing you can do to stop us?" Law asked him and Ace just stared at Law like he was an idiot.
"There is no such thing as an enemy Luffy can't beat." Ace told him and Law smiled "If Luffy says he'll do something it will get done, he's stubborn that way and annoying." Ace told him.
"Even if this enemy is incredibly strong?" Law asked him needing to hear this.
"Especially, he was always a cry baby but when he needed to he could be pretty brave." Ace said thinking of all the shit him and his brothers had gotten into.
"From what I've learned so far Luffy is stronger now." Ace said and Law closed his eyes the smile still there.
"He hasn't changed a bit then, good night Ace-ya." Law left Ace there and as much as he didn't want to like the tall, dark man he had to admit Luffy was good at judging people.
"Oh Ace-san!" Ace turned quickly to see a skeleton walking towards him in the dark and if he wasn't the brave kid he was he might have been scared.
"Ah Brook right?" Ace asked him his heart still beating rapidly from fright.
"I didn't see you out here, ah! But I don't have any eyes to see you!" Brook said laughing at his joke.
"Yeah I was just talking." He said and Brook motioned with his hand for Ace to follow him.
"With Law-san?" Brook asked Ace and the kid nodded.
"I don't like him…much." Ace admitted and Brook laughed his normal laugh.
"Luffy does have a way of picking his friends." Brook sat down at a small table away from the main deck. On the table a pot of tea and cup set was sitting steam rising from the pot indicating it was hot.
"Did you set up before you came here?" Ace asked the man who laughed some more.
"Sanji knows that I enjoy a nice cup of tea before bed, care to join me?" Brook asked and Ace nodded he hadn't really had tea before.
"What's on your mind Ace-san?" Brook asked the boy as he poured the tea into a china cup and warned Ace to be careful since it was still hot.
"That Law guy's an outsider." Ace said simply and Brook sat down to look at the boy.
"We were all once outsiders on this crew." Brook told him and Ace looked at the skeleton curiously.
"We didn't go looking for Luffy-san, he found us." Ace nodded knowing what that was like.
"But you knew you had a place here and fit in right?" Ace didn't feel that Law wanted to fit in with the crew; it almost looked as though he was fighting it with everything he had to stand on his own.
"Not really. Luffy-san found me when I had no one at all. When I had lost everything and everyone he appeared and asked me to join him." Brook said and Ace's eyes darkened at the thought of how lonely this man must have been.
"He just asked you?" Ace wondered and Brook chuckled.
"Yes right away, I think he must have sensed that I needed someone and he asked me to join this family of his. Unfortunately I couldn't join him at the time even though I would have given anything to say yes truly." Brook admitted and Ace blinked at that information.
"But you're here…" He said and Brook nodded.
"You see I had my shadow stolen by a very scary man which then wouldn't allow me to enter the sun without burning up and dying, ah, but I'm already dead." He said chuckling lightly.
"Yeah so what happened?" Ace asked him and Brook began the tale of how Luffy risked his own life to free many people plus himself from the terror of Thriller Bark.
"Luffy-san freed me from my loneliness and welcomed me into his family and for someone like me who had been in the dark for so long the presence of my captain was like the sunshine itself." Brook said and even though you couldn't see it Ace knew he was smiling.
"I think that Luffy-san can see loneliness so clearly because he hates it so much, I don't know Trafalgar's past but if Luffy wishes him here then he must see something we don't. No matter what Luffy-san decides I will follow him for the rest of my life even though I don't really have one-Yohohoho!"
Ace thought of the conversation Law was having with Luffy before he had talked with the man. Was there something there that Luffy saw? Does maybe Law see the same thing in Luffy, the same loneliness that he seems to have learned to be able to hide?
"Being alone hurts more than being hurt!" Those words rang through Ace's mind Luffy was trying to save his Nakama not just from loneliness but from being alone.
"Drink your tea Ace-san." Brook encouraged as Ace seemed to drift off into his own mind. Taking the cup in his hand Ace took a small sip and found he liked it a lot!
"What is this!?" Ace asked drinking more and Brook laughed.
"It is a special blend Chopper mixed for me to help sooth these old bones." Brook said and Ace smiled.
"Sabo would love this!" He was wondering where his brother was at this moment in time actually.
"Then I shall mention to Chopper to prepare you some to bring with you home." Brook said standing up.
"I do believe we should get some sleep now that we have finished out tea, do you feel any better Ace-san?" Brook asked and Ace found he did feel better.
"Thanks brook." Ace said and Brook laughed some more.
"It was nothing I wouldn't do for a friend." He said and Ace followed him into the men's quarters where he found Sabo laying in his own Hammock his blue eyes searching Ace's with worry written all over them.
"I'm fine." Ace said getting into his own small bed.
"Are you?" Sabo wanted to be sure.
"Yeah, I discovered I like tea." He said and Sabo chuckled.
"That's new." Sabo said pulling the blanket up towards his chin.
"It made me feel all warm inside, I liked that." Ace said thinking of how the tea seemed to warm him up and it felt right.
"Common let's get some sleep we go home tomorrow night." Sabo said and Ace nodded even though secretly deep down inside he wasn't too sure he wanted to go home anymore, this place had started to grow on him-this crew was starting to grow on him even mister dark and cranky.
Luffy was lying in his hammock watching the boys talk and he rolled over to look at Brook who had just slipped into his own.
"What did you say to Ace?" Luffy asked him and Brook chuckled softly.
"Nothing anyone else hasn't already told him." But Luffy wasn't so convinced.
"Earlier he was so cranky about everything now he's relaxed." Luffy thought out loud and Brook just smiled even if Luffy couldn't see it.
"I just told him the story of how we met and offered him some tea." Brook said and Luffy made a confused face not understanding how those things could calm Ace down.
"When did my brothers get so complicated?" Luffy whined quietly so the boys couldn't hear him.
"Probably when you grew older. Those may be your older brothers Luffy-san but here they are very much younger than you." Brook said and Luffy sighed.
"I keep forgetting that, when I'm with them it's like I'm allowed to be a kid again, it's refreshing." He admitted and Brook almost felt the need to ruffle Luffy's hair since it was times like this he remembered that Luffy was very much younger than himself.
"You're still young Luffy-san; you're allowed to act like anything you wish." Brook said to Luffy and Luffy rolled over lying on his back looking up at the ceiling.
"Of course, I'm a pirate I can do what I want." Luffy said simply and Brook smiled to himself glad to hear Luffy acting more like himself.
"Let's make tomorrow the best day ever for them, one they'll never forget!" Luffy laughed and Brook chuckled.
"Of course, good night Luffy-san." He said and Luffy laughed quietly before wishing Brook good night in return. Tomorrow morning was a new day and the last day before they had to return to boys and continue on, Luffy would make tomorrow fun for them no matter what.
Oh goodness this is short! Please forgive me there! I'm trying to get all of the crew talked to since they deserve to have time with the boys! Since I originally planned this to be super short I only gave the boys 3 days with the crew but now that it is longer I kinda wish I made it longer but oh well that's how life works :)
Since there is 1 day left that's about 3-4 chapters left I'm really stretching it out now but I hope it still holds the same quality. Ace and Law had a mini talk but I plan to do something a little more to fix their mistrust :) I didn't give Sabo time in this chapter because I felt that I needed to complete the Ace mess with Law and Brook was fun to work with ^^ Any ways I'm off to do more writing so I'll see you guys later! Keep well! Dr