Okay guys, the final pairing of AcexLuffy is here now, so if hints of AceLu creep into the unpaired chapters, you're just going to have to try to overlook it and forgive me. This is the pairing I've worked towards in the whole fic and that pairing is now the main focus of the fic. I will however do my best to keep the unpaired chapters as free of this as I can.

Growing Up With Roger
Year 18 (Unpaired)

Ace wondered if maybe Marco thought he was high, or if Sabo was looking down on him from heaven (for he had no doubt if there was an afterlife, that's where his friend would have gone) with that mixed look of confusion and amusement when Ace did something he didn't expect he would. After all, Ace wasn't exactly known for laughing. Since he'd met Luffy though, it seemed as though that was all he did.

It had been a few months since he'd seen anybody from the gang and Marco was the last one he'd expected to run into doing some late night shopping with Luffy. The blonde biker looked just as surprised to see him. He greeted Ace with the usual lift of the hand and a quiet, surprised 'oomf' as Ace grabbed him into a hearty hug. It was strange how quickly Luffy's affectionate behaviour rubbed off on you. Marco awkwardly returned the affectionate greet with a jerky pat to Ace's back. He hadn't 'hugged' Ace since he was a little kid and it felt strange. A commotion had sounded at the back of the store followed by a familiar cry that abruptly tore Ace's attention from his childhood idol. The freckled teen cast Marco aside like an old sock and moved to locate the source of the commotion with a soft call of 'Luffy?'. His worry had quickly dissolved though as an easy grin fell on his face. Marco's head tilted at the expression. He'd had to admit – he'd never seen Ace look so content. Luffy for his part had been far too busy having a barking match with a blind man's dog. Ace moved to intervene, smacked Luffy's nose and offered a sincere apology for his stupid little brother's behaviour. He'd suggested That he and Marco catch up over coffee the next day and before marco could accept or decline, he'd whisked the mystery kid out of the shop and left Marco standing there feeling more than a little confused.

So here they were. Marco wasn't really the type of man to frequent places like coffee shops or normalplaces. His leathers and piercings often attracted unwanted attention he could do without, but last nights run in with Ace had left a curiosity burning in him that wouldn't extinguish. He'd been sitting for only a few minutes when he spotted Ace waving to him from across the road. He lifted his hand in a motionless return of the gesture, eyebrow lifting gently as he spotted the kid from last night. Ace had a hold of the back of the boy's collar and dragged him along like a little boy might an overenthusiastic puppy. Just who was this kid?

"Yo." He greeted as the two finally joined him.

"Acccce!" Luffy whined. "I'm hungry! You said I could eat something when we got here...!"

"Be patient, ya whiney little brat!" Ace replied and grabbed him in a headlock before he ground his knuckles into the younger boy's head. Ignoring the yelps and struggles, Ace turned to Marco with a sheepish smile. "Yo! Sorry we're late!"

Marco leaned back in his chair and scrutinised the pair. Ace either didn't notice or didn't care as he made his excuses and continued to grind his knuckles into Luffy's head. The younger boy suddenly fell limp and Ace blinked in surprise and looked down at him. "Oi... you dead?" No response. "Yep, he's dead." Ace continued and released the boy. Luffy's flopped across his lap lifelessly and Ace sniggered softly. Luffy really never did cease to amuse him.

"So, who's the kid?" Marco asked, his voice soft and low.

"You mean this thing?" Ace asked and pointed to the lifeless heap of human spewed across his lap. "He's Luffy."

"Ahuh."

Ace's joyful demeanour dropped a little at Marco's lack of enthusiasm and he realised he should probably explain things a little better. They ordered drinks and a snack for Luffy as Ace began his story. He wasn't sure how long it took, but by the time he was finished he'd ordered three coffees for each of them, two hot chocolates for Luffy and an ungodly amount of snacks. Marco listened intently, sponging in every detail of Ace's story. His eyes drifted to Luffy now and again, distrust evident in his eyes. Luffy didn't seem to notice as he made himself comfortable using Ace's lap as a cushion for his upper body and somehow managed to squash his lower body onto the small armless chair he was sitting on. Ace rested a hand on his head and shushed him briskly when he tried to interrupt or point out traits on a passerby, like a mother hushing her child. Luffy grew bored eventually and drifted into a light doze which left Marco and Ace to chat in peace.

"So what's so special about him?" Marco asked, as he lifted his coffee to his lips.

"Nothing," Ace replied as he moved the hand resting on Luffy's head over the boys eyes to block out the sunlight and help him sleep. "I've just... never met anybody like him. He brings out the best in me. That's what my Dad and Ray say, anyways."

"Like how?" Marco pressed. He wasn't convinced. Just a few short months ago, Ace had been on the verge of killing himself through alcohol abuse after Sabo's death and now here he was laughing and chatting like some normalperson that hadn't gone through all the shit he had in his short life.

"I dunno..." Ace sighed and scratched the back of his head with his free. He really didn't know what it was about Luffy that made him so special and ordinary at the same time. "He just makes me smile... and laugh. I've never laughed like I do with him. He's my best friend. I just wish... I wish Sabo was here too."

"Why? You have a new best friend now, don't you?" Marco answered, eyes narrowed in anger. He didn't like just how quickly Ace had 'moved on'.

"Don't be a fuckin' idiot, Marco!" Ace snapped back and turned his face away, glaring at the wall of a building across the street. "Sabo knew Luffy long before I did. He told him all about me and even told the stupid kid that he should look after me if something ever happened to him."

"...so he's looking after you now? Is that it?"

"You just don't get it. I didn't want him anywhere near me! He talks about Sabo like he's just around the corner and we can go see him any time we like... but he's not; and that hurt." Ace explained, his angry tone dissolving into a soft sigh. "I couldn't cope with that, but then Luffy came along. It's not like he sought me out either – I went to the bar he was in and I spoke to him. He figured out who I was by himself."

Marco's anger softened a little at Ace's explanation. "But still, you're frolicking around here like nothing bad has ever happened to you. This isn't you."

"You're wrong, Marco. This is me." Ace replied, his tone firm with a resolve Marco had never seen. "All Sabo ever wanted was for me to be happy, and I didn't think I could ever give that to him. Luffy... he just lives from day to day, never wondering about tomorrow or wasting time with the past. I want to live like him, because he lives, Marco! He really lives instead of just existing. I want to live twice as much for both me andSabo. I want to laugh and play and dance and cry and hurt twice as much in everything."

"And the past?"

"It's just a memory. What's done is done and I can't go back and change it, so why should I keep thinking about it?" Ace answered and then smiles fondly at the sleeping brat in his lap. "That was what Luffy told me – and he's right."

Marco stared at Ace intensely for a few seconds before he downed the rest of the coffee and jammed his hand in his pockets in search of a note to pay for them. "I guess he's fulfilling Sabo's wish and taking care of you then."

Ace beat him to it, and slipped a twenty bill onto the table. "I got it. I got a new job now." He explained and then laughed. "And hell no! This kid can't look after a cactus! It's a miracle he survived this long since Sabo... Anyway, I think Sabo looked after him before. He's got no parents and lives like a pig. I'm the one that looks after him!"

"Yeah, I can see that." Marco replied and snorted softly as Ace grabbed the back of Luffy's shirt again and hoisted him into a sitting position like an oversized baby. "Where are you working?"

"It's just a small place." Ace answered distractedly as he coaxed a half asleep Luffy to climb onto his back. "Not far from my home, a small building firm. They need strong workers. Geez, this kid is like an oversized baby!"

Marco snorted softly. He'd rarely seen this gentle side of Ace and it fascinating to watch the care he took when dealing with his new friend. "I guess I'll see you around then."

"I'll be around." Ace replied with that foreign content smile. "I'm gonna get this big baby home. He lives with me and Dad now. He always does this because he doesn't sleep so good at night."

"Maybe I'll come round and see you some time then."

"I'd like that, Marco." Ace replied sincerely and stopped to offer a strained wave to the biker.

After a short moment, they turned away and headed their separate ways. Marco was left with a mixture of feelings in his heart. A few underlying suspicions still lingered about the boy Ace referred to as his 'little brother' but most of Ace's explanation had made sense and he was happy that for now at least, his long time friend's suffering seemed to be over. He couldn't help but feel a bit blue. He'd looked out for Ace since he was a little boy, and now he was grown up and moving on. The blonde biker snorted at his own jealousy and gave himself a soft punch to the head. He needed to stop acting like a mother hen. Ace was going to be alright now. Sabo knew what he was doing when he sent that kid to him. He'd given him someone that needed him and someone to protect; he'd given Ace someone to live for.