I do not own One Piece or any of the characters.

A/N: This was planned to be finished yesterday, but I had a friend over and got distracted, so that did not happen! But, it's here now!

Luffy was excited and bored. He was also feeling slightly impatient as well. It had been an entire week since Ace had woken up from his coma. Luffy still did not get to visit as often because of work, and on one of the few days that he actually was off work, he was left to wait until he could go to the hospital. He was so anxious that he could hardly stand it. He needed something to distract himself with.

What had happened was this. Zoro initially had to go to work at the usual time he did on Saturdays and Sundays, if he wasn't off, but today he happened to be called in earlier to take over another waiter's shift. Neither of them had even gotten ready for the day, so by the time that Zoro did shower and get dressed, there was no way he had enough time to stop by the hospital and drop Luffy off. Instead, he told the younger to wait at his apartment and he'd make sure to call Shanks on his way to the restaurant and tell the man to pick Luffy up from there.

Zoro had left approximately fifteen minutes ago and Shanks was apparently staying with Ace at the hospital since Luffy was unable to do so. That meant it shouldn't take Shanks too long to get to Zoro's apartment to get him. Luffy hoped that Shanks was on his way to pick him up. He had no way of knowing if the man was or not.

He had to be there though! Today was an exciting day. The reason why it was so great was because Ace got to go home. When Zoro and Luffy had found out, they began moving Luffy's things from Zoro's apartment back to his own apartment a few days ago. The only thing that disappointed Luffy about this was that he would miss living with Zoro. He planned to return home with Ace today too, so he wouldn't be here by the time that Zoro returned. He'd get to see the older teen tomorrow at work, but he was so used to being around Zoro a lot since he lived with him, that it would be odd when he suddenly wasn't. He knew he'd miss all of this.

Luffy sighed and moved to sit at the small table that he and Zoro eat at. He glanced down, noticing the stack of envelopes sitting on the table top. Zoro hadn't checked the mail today, but he did yesterday. He'd simply placed it all on the table, saying he'd look through it later. Luffy had nothing else to do while he waited on Shanks, so he idly shuffled through the pile.

He just could not wait to see Ace again and go home with him, yet he had this sinking feeling in his chest of having to leave Zoro. He always hated when he was stuck in situations where he wanted to do something, but doing so would make him feel bad about not being able to do something else. In this case, he felt ecstatic to move back in with Ace, yet he didn't want to leave Zoro at the same time.

Luffy recalled that day at the hospital, a week ago, when Ace had woken up, and the doctor had been examining him. After the doctor finished, he mentioned that Ace would have to remain in the hospital for another week, and if he was doing fine by then, he could be released. During that week, they would work on getting Ace up and walking around, so that by the time he left the hospital, he could actually move. They also had to make sure that any internal damage he had sustained from the accident would continue to heal okay. If Ace was in good enough shape, he could leave the hospital in a week. Shanks had called them last night to inform them that there was a high probability that Ace would get to go home the next day, which would be today.

From what Luffy could gather, the only other injuries that Ace had that could take some extra time to heal was his leg and his arm. Apparently, because his arm had only been fractured in a few pieces, and had two months to heal, it was almost fully healed, but his leg was another story. Ace's leg was broken in more than one place and that would definitely take months to heal. During that time, Ace would have to be on crutches until he could walk on it without them. He wouldn't be able to return to work for a few more weeks either.

Luffy came to the last two envelopes in the pile and stopped, realizing that they were both from his and Zoro's school. One was addressed to Zoro and the other was addressed to him. He wasn't surprised that one was for him considering a few weeks ago they had finally gotten around to getting Luffy's addressed changed to Zoro's at school while he was staying with the elder. He was simply curious more than anything.

He placed Zoro's aside and opened his, pulling out the paper from within. Once he unfolded the paper, he immediately knew what these were. They were their midterm grades from school. Luffy glanced over his, happy to see that his grades were better than they used to be. They weren't the best, but they were good enough for him. When he was done, he folded the paper, and stuck it back in the envelope.

Then, his eyes traveled to Zoro's, and he suddenly found himself curious about what Zoro's grades were. Zoro wouldn't really care if he looked at them, so Luffy opened Zoro's as well, scanning over the paper. He pouted when he realized that Zoro's grades were a lot higher than his own. He wasn't happy with his grades anymore since Zoro's were better.

Luffy was about to refold the paper and stick it in the envelope, when something near the top caught his attention. A grin broke out onto his face when he realized what he was looking at. Right at the top of the paper, on the left side stated Zoro's date of birth, which was his birthday of course! Luffy had never thought to ask Zoro about his birthday, and it was this month too. He'd have to get the elder something most definitely, but how long did he have until it was Zoro's birthday?

He looked at the day of the month, and his eyes widened. The eleventh was really close, wasn't it? What was today's date anyway? Luffy pulled the paper away from his face, trying to remember what today's date was. But, for the life of him, he could not remember. He wasn't very good at keeping track of things like that.

The longer he sat there trying to remember, the more frustrated he got because he couldn't remember and he wanted to know. He was startled out of thoughts, about what the date could possibly be, when there was a loud knock at the door. Luffy placed the paper down, and got up to answer the door.

Luffy was delighted to see that very man he had been waiting on to pick him up. He couldn't stop himself from grinning. "Shanks! You actually came!"

Shanks returned Luffy's grin with a smile. "Zoro called. He said he needed me to get you, so here I am."

"Okay! But, wait a second!" Luffy left the door open as he ran back into the apartment. He retrieved his last bag from Zoro's livingroom, and returned to the door where Shanks was waiting for him. "Ace is coming home today, right?.!" He asked as we walked out of the apartment. Luffy stopped and pulled a key from his pocket, making sure to lock Zoro's apartment behind him.

"The doctor said Ace can go home today." Shanks replied, watching Luffy's eyes brighten up at that news. "We just have to go back and get him."

"Really?.!" Luffy asked excitedly as they made their way out of the apartment building. "This is so awesome! I'm going to help take care of Ace once he's back home! I can't wait!"

"I've been thinking," Shanks began as they exited the building. "and since you have school and work, and it's obvious Ace needs someone to take care of him for a little while, that I'll stay with you two for a bit. That way if he needs anything while you're not around, at least I'll be there."

Luffy stopped just outside of the passenger's side of Shanks' car. "You'd do that?"

Shanks smiled at the boy. "Of course I would." The two got into the car, and Shanks hesitated before starting it. "Does this mean you officially are not living with Zoro anymore?" He asked, glancing over at Luffy.

Luffy looked down at his bag resting in his lap. He wished he could have at least told Zoro he'd see him tomorrow or something. The elder knew that Ace would probably be released today, so he was aware that Luffy was leaving as well. "Yeah, I'm going home with Ace tonight. I'm really going to miss it though. Living with Zoro's been fun!"

Shanks started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. "You'll still see him at work and school, so it can't be too bad. You'll see him a lot."

It was silent after that for a few minutes. Luffy was left to his thoughts, and that's when he suddenly remembered Zoro's birthday. He turned to Shanks with wide eyes. "What's today's date?.!"

The older man found that question to be random, but answered nonetheless. "The tenth. Why?" He glanced at Luffy just in time to see the younger's eyes grow even wider.

"Are you serious?.! That doesn't even give me a whole day!"

To say Shanks was confused would be a correct assumption. "What are you talking about, Luffy?"

"Zoro's birthday! I just found out today and it's tomorrow!" Luffy looked distressed to know that it was so soon. How was he supposed to get Zoro something when he didn't have that much time?

"Why didn't you know before? Didn't Zoro ever tell you?"

"No!" Luffy shouted. "He never once told me, but I didn't ask either. I saw his grades that came in the mail and it was on there! I didn't know today was the tenth though! I don't have time to get him anything now."

"If you want, I could take you somewhere later to find him something, but also remember that you don't always have to buy someone things for their birthday."

Luffy sighed. "But, if I don't buy him a present, then what else can I give him?"

"Well, there are lots of possibilities. You could make him something or go somewhere. It's whatever you want to do for him."

The younger thought about what he could potentially make for Zoro. There were so many things you could make for someone for their birthday. You could make them a present or bake them something too. And, when that last part crossed his mind, Luffy got an idea of what he could make for Zoro. He hoped they'd have it at the apartment. If not, he could just have Shanks take him to buy it.

The ride to the hospital wasn't very long. They would have gotten there sooner, but Shanks had to stop at Luffy and Ace's apartment to grab an outfit for Ace to wear home, considering he didn't have any clothes at the hospital. He also planned to go to the grocery later for the two since most of the food they had went with Luffy to Zoro's when he first moved in with the older teen.

The second Luffy could see the hospital he found it very difficult to contain his excitement. He couldn't wait to go inside and see Ace. Then, once the doctor said it was okay and they got him ready, Ace could go home.

Shanks parked and they both got out, heading into the hospital. By this time, even Luffy had the way to Ace's room memorized. The only one who probably didn't was Zoro. So, he took Ace's clothes and headed straight for his room while Shanks talked to the woman behind the desk.

He grinned as he walked into the room, seeing Ace sitting up in the bed. "We brought clothes and a shoe, since you can only wear one." The younger laughed and placed the pile of clothes on the bed next to Ace.

Ace absently looked through them, glad to see that they'd grabbed a pair of loose sweatpants, because he wasn't sure if he could wear jeans or anything like that with the cast, and it was too cold for shorts. Well, for him it was, Luffy wore shorts all year round when he could for some reason. He always found it difficult to get the boy to wear pants in the winter instead of shorts.

"The doctor told us that I could leave today, so I guess I might as well get dressed." Ace remarked as he unfolded the black sweatpants. His arm was no longer in a sling and he could use it pretty well which made the process of getting dressed slightly easier. He did find it difficult to get the cast through one leg of the pants.

Luffy watched Ace, noticing how he was having some trouble with that leg. "Need help?" He asked, moving closer to the bed.

Ace fiddled with it for a few more seconds before giving up. He sighed. "Maybe."

Luffy leaned over and assisted Ace in pulling the fabric over his cast. Once that was done, the elder turned his body so he could stand from the bed easier. With Luffy's help, Ace managed to stand on one foot, and pull the pants all the way up. It was a tedious way of getting them on, but at least they were.

"There!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly.

Ace sat back on the bed and worked on pulling the hospital gown off. He grabbed the shirt and the one sock that Luffy had brought, tossing it to the younger. "You're a huge help, Luffy. Now, put that on." He ordered, smiling and lifting his foot.

While Luffy did that, Ace put his shirt on, feeling much more comfortable in his own clothes. Luffy stepped back after slipping the material over Ace's foot. "When do you get to leave today?"

"The doctor said he'd send someone with a wheelchair once you two showed up, so probably soon." Ace replied, attempting to put his shoe on.

"Oh! Can I push it?.!"

Ace gave Luffy a weird look, but noted that he shouldn't be surprised by anything that comes out of that kid's mouth anymore. "Sure. Knock yourself out."

Shanks came into the room right after Ace's statement followed by a nurse with a wheelchair. He grinned and held the papers in his hands up. "I got prescriptions, instructions, discharge papers, and a wheelchair."

"Does that mean we can leave now?" Luffy asked the older man, unable to contain his happiness.

Shanks nodded. "Yep."

Luffy turned to Ace with a large grin and giggled. "Come on, I'll help you!" He held out a hand for Ace to take. The elder did so and the nurse smiled, pushing the wheelchair closer to the two. Luffy helped Ace lower himself into the chair without hurting his leg. He then turned to the nurse. "Can I push him?" He asked, hoping that she'd say yes.

The nurse pondered on it for a few seconds. "I guess as long as I accompany you, it'll be all right. So, yes, you can."

Luffy gripped the handles on the wheelchair, bouncing on his feet, eager from being able to push it. Ace's eyebrow twitched when something important dawned on him in this situation. He tilted his head back to look at the younger. "Luffy, you better be careful." He warned, knowing how careless Luffy could be sometimes.

"Don't worry! I will!" The nurse made sure to grab Ace's crutches that were next to the bed. They had begun the process of having him use them over the past few days since his arm was in better condition. He could use them, just not for long amounts of time because they would strain that arm too much.

Luffy made sure to be extra careful when wheeling Ace so as not to bump into anything. When they reached the entrance of the hospital, Shanks went on ahead and got the car, so that he could pull it up to the front of the hospital. Luffy pushed the wheelchair outside of the hospital, waiting for Shanks to get back. He leaned on the chair, resting his arms on the handles.

"Hey, Ace…" Luffy suddenly began.

The elder didn't bother to glance back. "What?"

"Do you remember if we have cake at the apartment?" That was something that Ace had completely not expected Luffy to ask. Who asks that anyway?

"What the hell are you talking about? What do you need it for?"

"Well… I wanna make cupcakes is all!"

"Why?" Ace was beyond confused. Luffy had to be the most random person he'd ever had the pleasure of knowing in his entire life.

"Tomorrow's Zoro's birthday! That's why!"

Oh, then that definitely explained that random question. Ace frowned. How in the world was he supposed to know? "No, I don't remember. Maybe."

"I don't know if Zoro likes sweets that much, but if he doesn't, then I'll just eat them all!" Luffy exclaimed, laughing.

Ace rolled his eyes. His brother was such a dork. "Even if he doesn't, he'll probably still eat one since they're from you."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"I'm going to make them tonight and give them to him tomorrow!"

The elder chuckled. "Good luck with that."

When Shanks pulled up, Luffy once again helped Ace move from the chair to the passenger's side of the car. He smiled at the nurse and took the crutches from her, placing them in the backseat, and thanking her before they left.

It was pretty much a given that Shanks would be staying with them for at least the first week or two. When it became apparent that Ace could get around more easily and do things for himself better, then he'd go back home. So, he decided that once he got Luffy and Ace back home, he's probably go to get some food since they needed some.

He told them this on the way to the apartment, which meant that when they got there, Shanks gave Luffy the key, and told him that he'd be back in a few hours. Luffy helped Ace get out of the car and reached into the back for the crutches, as well as his bag that he'd taken from Zoro's. He closed the door, giving Ace the crutches, and waved to Shanks as the man left to get some groceries. "It's not hard to walk with those, is it?" He asked, worried that Ace may have a difficult time walking with them.

Ace smiled reassuringly at Luffy. "It's kind of hard, but I'll have to get used to them."

Luffy was still worried about Ace using the crutches on his own, especially with his arm not fully healed. He hesitated for a few seconds, before he let a grin seep onto his face. "Okay, but if you have trouble, tell me! I don't know what we'd do, but we'd figure out a way to get you to the apartment somehow!"

The elder brother laughed and moved the crutches forward, concentrating on the ground so that he wouldn't accidentally hit something on his way into the apartment building. They were difficult to get used to, but he knew he had to, so he had to try his hardest to use them. And, he definitely had to be cautious while using them, because if he ended up falling even once with them, oh he was so going to be pissed.

With only a few stops here and there because of Ace's arm, they made it to their apartment, using the elevator for obvious reasons instead of the stairs. Luffy unlocked the apartment and pushed the door open, allowing Ace to walk in first. He followed behind, closing the door behind them. It felt so odd to be home with Ace once again after not being able to for over two months.

Luffy flipped the lights on and followed Ace into the livingroom. "Couch or your room?" He asked, needing to know where Ace felt comfortable staying for right now.

"Couch is fine." Ace replied, placing his crutches together off to the side. He held onto the back of the couch so he could keep his balance on one foot.

Luffy placed his hands out in front of him in a gesture for Ace to stay there. "Wait right here! I'll be back!" He then proceeded to run into Ace's bedroom and retrieve a couple pillows, as well as a blanket. Luffy returned to the couch, stacking a couple on one side so that Ace would have something to prop his leg up on. He'd seen them do this at the hospital a couple times. "Then, you stay here. If you need anything, I'll get it for you!" Luffy announced. He walked over to Ace and helped the elder around the couch.

Ace got comfortable on the couch, since he figured he'd probably be here for a while, and rested his leg on the pillows that Luffy had gotten him. Luffy put the extra pillow he had behind Ace's back and handed him the blanket. "Let's see…" He thought about anything that Ace might need before he got started on making Zoro's cupcakes. "Here's this!" Luffy picked up the television remote and handed it to Ace. "Are you hungry? Do you want something to drink?"

"I'm fine, Luffy." Ace was immensely grateful to have a brother like Luffy. The younger just kept wanting to do things for him so he wouldn't have to.

"I'll be in the kitchen!" Luffy exclaimed. He went to the kitchen and began his search through the cabinets, realizing that he had taken more food with him to Zoro's than he'd originally thought. Luffy continued his search, his face brightening when he actually found a box of cake mix. He pulled it from the cabinet and turned the box around, reading the instructions and ingredients. He desperately hoped that he didn't mess these up. It said that he needed eggs, but he didn't actually think that they had those. Great, now he'll have to wait until Shanks gets back before he could make those cupcakes.

What could he do in the meantime? Luffy took a few minutes to think about that before it hit him. He could so make Zoro a birthday card! With that in mind, he walked out of the kitchen, passing Ace who was watching something on tv, to go to his bedroom. Luffy looked around his room for some paper and colored pencils. He didn't use those that much, but he did know he had some in there somewhere.

When he did find them, he went back to the livingroom, placing the paper and pencils on the table, and sitting in the floor opposite of Ace. The elder glanced over at him curiously. "I thought you were going to be in the kitchen."

Luffy opened the pack of colored pencils, dumping them onto the table. "I was because I wanted to make those cupcakes, but we don't have any eggs, so I'm going to make this until Shanks gets back." Luffy explained while trying to decide on what color he wanted to use first.

"And, what's that going to be?"

"A birthday card!"

Ace smiled at the younger. Luffy was definitely something else. "Zoro's going to love that." He replied, watching as Luffy folded the piece of paper in half to make it look more like a card.

"I hope so." Luffy said absently, picking up the red colored pencil. "He doesn't know that I know tomorrow's his birthday."

Ace lifted a brow. "Then, how do you know?"

"I saw it today on his grades that came in the mail!"

That was a different way to figure something like that out, in Ace's opinion. Why Luffy never thought to ask before, he wouldn't know, but knowing the younger it was just because the thought had never crossed his mind. Luffy did get lucky finding out the day before though. "He'll be in for quite the surprise then."

Luffy spent the next hour or so decorating Zoro's birthday card. He couldn't wait until tomorrow when he'd get to give it to him, but he was also excited for Shanks to get back home so he could make those cupcakes. The fact that Zoro had no idea that he knew made it all the better. Luffy figured that since the only time he would probably get to see Zoro tomorrow would be at work, that he'd give the elder his card and cupcakes then, as long as the cupcakes did turn out good.

By the time that Shanks got back home, Luffy had been waiting on the floor, leaning against the couch, watching whatever was on television. He was just on the verge of dozing off when he heard the door open. Ace had already fallen asleep sometime ago, which left Luffy to simply sit there and wait. The second he heard the door open, he got up and rushed to the man who had his hands filled with grocery bags. Luffy grabbed a few from him. "Did you get any eggs?.!" Those were essential for the cupcakes, so Luffy hoped that Shanks had bought some.

Shanks laughed. "Of course I did." He replied while walking into the kitchen.

Luffy followed behind, placing the bags he had next to the ones that Shanks set on the counter. "Where are they?" He asked, beginning to sort through the various bags.

Shanks grinned and picked up the correct bag, handing it to Luffy."Here. What do you need them for anyway?"

The younger picked up the box of cake mix he'd put on the counter earlier and held it up. "Cupcakes for Zoro!"

"So, you decided to make him something after all?"

Luffy nodded. "Yep! And, I'm going to get started right away!" He took the eggs from Shanks and placed those, as well as the cake mix, next to the stove. Then, he proceeded to look through the cabinets until he found Ace's flamed apron. He pulled it out and put it on so that he wouldn't get his clothes dirty. Not that he really cared if they did get dirty, but he also found it awesome to wear the apron.

Shanks went about putting all of the groceries away while Luffy read the back of the box, and began to look around for everything he needed in order to make the cupcakes. This actually wasn't the first time Luffy had baked something before. He wasn't the best at it, but he was getting better. He used to help Ace all the time, and they also baked a lot of things in his home ec class. Sanji had taught him how to bake quite a few things. Cupcakes were not something he'd attempted before though.

Luffy retrieved a large bowl from one of the cabinets and set to making the batter with as much concentration as he could muster. Shanks finished putting the groceries away and decided to leave Luffy to it, going back out to his car where he had some of his clothing that he'd picked up from his apartment while he was out. After he got those, he decided to go and shower since he didn't plan on leaving anymore for the rest of the day.

It took some time, what with having to get the exact measurements of things that he needed to add to the mix, but Luffy succeeded in making the batter okay. At least, he hoped it was okay. Even though he did manage to make a mess with it, especially once he found a pan made to bake cupcakes in, Luffy was satisfied when he put them in the oven to bake. The only thing left to do now was to wait until they finished.

In the meantime, since they usually did take about half an hour or so to bake, Luffy felt that a nap was in order. Though, he probably should let Shanks know about the cupcakes in case he didn't wake up when they finished. Once he sought out the elder man, then he could go and get comfy on the floor next to Ace.

And, that was exactly what he did. He discovered that Shanks was in the shower and called through the door, asking the man if he'd wake him up when they finished. Then, he resided to the couch where Ace was still asleep.

He definitely hoped that Zoro would like his present. And, he couldn't wait until tomorrow at work. Zoro would most definitely be surprised.