Happy New Year everyone! I hope you enjoy the chapter, and thanks so much for your patience!
Rouge brushed a few stray strands of her strawberry-blonde hair out of her face as she watched the boys play, sorry, train. They weren't playing, they were training, as she'd been told multiple times before (it still looked a lot like playing to her).
They were hiding something from her and she didn't like it. Neither of them had ever kept secrets from her before.
Lying to get out of trouble? They tried.
Keeping secrets? Not until now.
This hadn't happened until they'd started their weekends away up in the mountains. Rouge had thought she'd won the battle against Garp, not willing to go along with his 'training' spiel, but the old man was craftier then she'd given him credit for. He'd managed to appeal to the boys' sense of adventure which had left her to face off against two pairs of pleading puppy-dog eyes.
Garp 1, Rouge 0.
The final agreement had been weekends only. The boys would leave Saturday morning, stay one night up the mountain, and then be back in time for tea on Sunday night. She should have known something was suspicious the moment they started asking her to leave earlier and earlier. However, it wasn't until she had put her foot down at three full days up the mountain that she'd noticed.
There was something up there that they weren't telling her about.
Sweet little Luffy had almost given it away when she'd said 'no' but Ace had stopped him from telling her. It was cute that they thought they could keep something from her, but she'd get to the bottom of this secret, she was sure. All she needed was the boys separated and some time with Luffy.
"Ace, Luffy, let's have some lunch."
At the magic word, both boys broke apart from their training, eagerly scrambling over one another to see who could get in the house first.
Opening the fridge Rouge did a quick scan of what they could possibly need from the store. Not seeing anything missing that could be used for lunch, Rouge switched her attention to the counter, catching on the empty bread box, the last pieces having disappeared at breakfast. Perfect. She had intended to make onigiri, but neither of the boys needed to know that...
"Ace, do you mind running down to the store to buy us a loaf of bread for sandwiches? I'll prepare the fillings whilst you're gone."
"Sure mum."
Fishing her purse out of her bag, Rouge plucked out enough change to cover the bread. Handing the coins over to Ace, she ruffled his hair.
"Thank you darling."
Ace shrugged off the thanks, rushing to the front door, only pausing to slip on his sandals before shooting out of the house. Rouge's head tilted as she watched him go. He was such a good boy. Shaking herself from her thoughts, Rouge focused at the task at hand.
"So Luffy, are you looking forward to your trip up to the mountains this weekend?"
Rouge pulled the ingredients for lunch out of the fridge as she spoke, carefully keeping one eye on her youngest son.
"Yeah! Dadan and the others are really funny!"
A smile crept onto Rouge's face. Luffy held a joy that was simply infectious. Dadan and the bandits, for all Rouge disliked her boys spending time with them, wouldn't have secrets that the boys would keep from her. Slicing up the meat, Rouge continued her prodding.
"Really? It's not too boring up there with nothing to do?"
"Nah-uh. There's loads to do! Me 'n Ace 'n Sabo always go exploring and hunting!"
Turning around to lean against the kitchen bench, Rouge trained her full attention on Luffy.
"Sabo? Who's Sabo?"
Luffy's eyes blew out to the size of saucers as his hands clamped over his mouth.
Bingo.
Setting down the kitchen knife, Rouge knelt in front of Luffy, gently peeling his hands away from his face. Luffy's eyes roved around the room, pointedly looking anywhere but at her. Rouge did feel a little bad for putting Luffy in this situation, but if her boys just told her, she wouldn't have to go to such lengths to find out the truth.
"Luffy? Won't you tell me?"
"He'sourbrotherandhelivesintheforestandhedoesn'thaveanyoneandme'nAceonlygettoseehimwhenwegostayintheforest!"
Rouge blinked vacantly as she tried to process the rapid fire explosion of information she'd just received. Sabo, a boy, lived in the forest, had been adopted by, or had adopted, her sons to be each other's brothers, and was the reason her son's were so desperate to disappear up the mountain whenever they could. A boy. In the forest. On his own.
"Please don't tell Ace I told you!"
"Don't tell me you told mum what?! Luffy! What did you say?!"
Luffy wilted at the sight of Ace standing at the kitchen door, the bread cradled in his arms. Curling in on himself, Luffy pulled himself into a ball. He hated when Ace was mad at him!
"Luffy?!"
Rouge pushed herself back up onto her feet, her hands falling to her hips, as she stared down her oldest son. Like a deer startled by an unexpected light, Ace froze.
"You are both in so much trouble. I can't believe you haven't brought the poor boy home!"
"You told mum about Sabo?!" Ace exclaimed dropping the bread as he did so.
Luffy whimpered at Ace's rage, tugging the edges of Shanks' hat over his eyes.
"I didn't mean too!"
Ace's anger vanished as quickly as it had come as his mother's words finally clicked inside his head.
"Home? As in here, home?"
Rouge smirked Luffy's head shot up from between his legs, leaving her with two gaping children.
"Well where else are my sons supposed to live?"
Sabo is oh so close!
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