Last night I dreamed of Cacti that grew tomatoes on them. It was an odd dream. Just thought I'd share that thought with you all. Today was crazy. Hell, this week was crazy! Worry not, I survived. Don't discount my tenacious nature, people. Let's see...I've noticed a bunch more people adding this story to their alerts and faves these last few days. So, welcome! You're free to lurk, but don't feel shy about dropping me a review about what you think. (I have a few stories I lurk about and almost never review, I'll admit it...) Anyway, I've got a few ideas for some One Shots, so you might be seeing those in the near-future when I have a little more free time. This week is going to be crazy for me again.
Question of the chapter: "What's the most you ever spent on a plant?" Well, for outdoors, $150. A dwarf Cherry tree, I love it, though I average around $20-$50 for outdoor landscaping plants. I'm in charge of the yard, and I get ones that'll last from this awesome nursery. Indoors, I do bonsai...I start from seedlings, but I've spent $50 on a small one I had for years (till an early frost killed it. Got cold in my house!) and I got a Tillandsia Duratti air plant for $45...I spend a lot of money on plants. O_O
"Well now, I heard you boys have had quite the exciting day." Ducky smiled as he opened the door to the small conference room the brothers had been sequestered in. He was greeted by a pair of glares that would have been terrifying if he had not gotten to know them. Instead he held up a large bag of Arby's and kept smiling. "You've been in here all day. Why don't we go out front to eat?"
Neither said a word as they stood and followed behind him. The tension in the air was thick, and he was beginning to see what Abby had meant when she said something didn't seem quite right between the two. He hid a sigh as he divided the food equally between the two bottomless pits. Ace barely acknowledged him with a grunt before digging in. He practically inhaled his fries before turning his attention to the large wrapped sandwich. It had cost a bit extra for them to double up on the meat, but the look on Ace's face when he saw the mounds of red meat covered in cheese was worth it. Just as the young man was about to bite into his meal, he seemed to notice his bother wasn't eating and nudged him with his elbow, wordlessly telling him to get a move on.
Luffy stared at the ground pensively, ignoring his brother for the first time since Ducky had met them. Naturally, he found the behavior worrisome. Added to the fact that Ace seemed oblivious to his brother's mood the medical examiner could only conclude something was wrong. "Are you alright, Luffy?"
"Ignore him. He's just throwing a tantrum." Ace muttered around another bite of his roast beef sandwich.
"I am not!" His cup of soda was crushed in his grasp, cola going everywhere.
Ace rolled his eyes, "Calm down. You're acting like a baby."
"And you're being selfish!" Luffy shouted as he lept to his feet.
Ducky could only watch as the other rose as well, responding with some heat, "How exactly am I selfish, huh? How dare you say that! I always put you first, Lu!"
He decided to step between them, sensing tempers rising. "I think you both need to take a deep breath and calm down." Both ignored his words as they pushed against his arms in an attempt to reach each other. Off a little way he spotted Gibbs talking still to Garp and Sengoku and found himself wishing they'd notice the commotion sooner rather than later.
"That's what I'm talking about, Ace! Stop doing that, I hate it when you do that!"
"You hate it? If you even knew half the crap I had to do to keep you safe...!" Ace froze, realizing he'd stepped over some line. "I didn't mean it like that, Lu. It's just... you're my little brother and-"
Luffy snapped. Seeming to forget that physically attacking his brother was foolish and difficult he threw a punch that sent a surprised Ace to the ground in an ungodly sprawl. Holding his jaw his grey eyes stared up at his brother in shock. "You're a crappy big brother, you know that?" The younger brother snarked, ignoring the former marines who had finally noticed what was going on. "Selfish! You say it's for me, but what if something happens to you?" Luffy flexed his fists, "What if Pony-chin is serious, Or T-T-Blackbeard finds out you talked?"
"Better me than you," came the sullen response, "I can handle it. If anything happened to you, though..."
"You don't get it! You think you're protecting me, but you're not! I'll be alone, Ace! I don't have anyone else, not really!" Tears formed but didn't fall even though Luffy's voice broke, "I'd rather die than be alone. It hurts too much."
"Don't talk like that!" Ace sounded truly panicked, and Ducky couldn't fault him in the slightest for it. The freckled youth was on his feet, reaching for his brother who stayed just of reach.
"Why not? If, if it weren't for me, he would have left you alone. You wouldn't have to be a monster, Ace...!"
"Luffy..."
The boy was crying now, "You would have been better off without me, Ace...so it's ok. It's ok when he hurts me...because you're all I got, and he's not gonna hurt you then. I know I'm stupid, weak, and useless, Ace..."
"Luffy, you're not useless! Never useless!" Ace crushed his brother against his chest, muffling the rest of the boy's words.
Ducky imagined that it was a stream of self derision; though how anyone could mistake Luffy for weak was beyond him. The willingness to be hurt worried him. Ace's willingness to protect Luffy by any means necessary was nothing surprising to him at this time. He got the feeling the man would do anything to protecting Luffy and had come to terms with it long ago. Luffy, though...Ducky realized shamefully as he watched the teen being held close that he'd been deceived by the cheerful grins. The child was broken, so very broken for all he hid it well. Looking up, he noticed Gibbs had a hand on Garp's shoulder, holding the man back even as Sengoku looked on with a frown. I need to talk to Jethro...I need to talk to him now. But the boy's can't hear... he spotted Anthony leaving the building with Abigail and Timothy, teasing them about something as Ziva followed a short distance behind and sent a quick prayer of thanks.
"Anthony, my boy! Have you decided on what movie we are all seeing tonight?" He shot the younger man a desperate look, one the two brother's wouldn't be able to see.
Tony looked at him, confused. Then he looked behind him, noticing something was wrong and caught on quickly, "Uh, no. Sorry, Ducky...Tim here distracted me. Isn't that right Mc-Dork?"
"Huh? But...?"
"Anyway, Ziva thought it was a better idea to see what the kiddos wanted to watch, so we thought we'd steal them for a bit and check movie times. That cool with you, Boss?"
"I did?" Ziva glanced at the boys and at Ducky, reading the situation at the same time Abby went over to the brothers and started to lead them over to a still slightly confused Tim. She blinked, "Ah, with that fantango"
"Fandango"
"Yes, thank you Abby. Fandango thing. There were just so many movies to choose. Tony wanted to see some action one, but Abby and I thought a comedy would have been better and Tim said you might enjoy something perhaps animated, Luffy. So we thought we'd come get you."
"Not a good time..." Ace weakly protested as Abby latched onto both of their arms and dragged them back towards the building, ignoring the way their feet dug in in an attempt to slow or stop the goth-woman. She wouldn't be stopped, though, and before long the whole group was once again back inside the building.
Ducky glared at Sengoku, "You, sir, should never have been allowed near those poor boys without their lawyer present."
"I don't see what you're problem is, I got you the answers you needed," the man bristled. "Besides, the harpy already bitched me out."
"By frightening them half to death! Do you realize what you've done?" Ducky snapped, "Of course not, you people rarely do. More concerned about the results. I'm of half a mind to contact Miss Nico and suggest she sue you for negligence and reckless endangerment."
"Ah now, don't be like that, Doc! So the brats got a little worked up. They'll be right as rain in a bit. They're tough little bastards." Garp grinned, though the glance he sent to the entrance belied his confidence as everyone fell quiet.
Gibbs spoke after a moment, "Ducky, why don't you tell me what's got you so worked up? This got any reason with why we're all suddenly seeing a movie?"
Ducky took a deep breath. "Yes. I'm afraid it does. Abigail brought it to my attention after she brought the boys their lunch. She said both were acting quite strangely. Only to be expected, I'm sure. I became worried when she told me Luffy didn't eat." Abruptly he looked at Garp and seemingly switched topics, "Were you aware that your grandchildren were prescribed new medications the other day?"
"What's that got to do with anything?" The man grumbled before answering, "No. What kind?"
"Ace is on an anti-anxiety medication as well as something for his narcolepsy. Luffy for his ADHD and another for his night-terrors." Gibbs explained, having looked at the medication himself. He added, "It's an anti-depressant."
"Are you suggesting the younger one is depressed?"
"I'm not suggesting anything." Ducky told Sengoku, "I'll tell you that Luffy truly believes he is useless and weak, though. If you were to follow through on your threat to arrest Ace, or in any way separate the two of them at this point, you would be directly responsible for anything that happened to that boy."
"We wouldn't do such a thing till Blackbeard was taken care of, Doctor Mallard." Sengoku frowned, "The man is a threat to more than Luffy, you know. Ace will need to be dealt with, though. He's a Logia, or element user, and he's got a temper. If nothing else he needs to be trained in a secure location before he hurts himself or someone else. Like his brother."
Donald frowned right back, "You're not listening to me. If you separate them, you'll do more than hurt Luffy. You could quite possibly be signing his death warrant."
"He's suicidal?" Garp's voice was barely more than a whisper, but his partner looked to him before his gaze snapped back on Ducky, his eyes narrowed.
"Possibly. It would be more accurate to say Luffy has no regard to his own well being; he considers others more important. Ace in particular." Ducky sighed and turned to Gibbs, "With him going on a new medication that is an antidepressant in the middle of all this, and now threatening to lock them up, I'm going to have to recommend a suicide watch for the next few weeks. I'd suggest stopping the medication, but in the long run this is the better solution for him."
"Ducky, you must be over reacting?" the boys' grandfather asked.
Gibbs spoke up, "I keep typing to tell you. They've been brutalized for a decade. You think POWs are bad? These kids run hot and cold at the same time, all the time, Sen. They're both very badly damaged, even Luffy. Treating them as you would a normal user is going to end up with someone dead, and it's going to be your fault. So back off."
The other looked frustrated as he shook his head. "I can't just take your word, Gibbs. You know I'm going to have to explain to my bosses why I'm going to turn a blind eye to these kids. They're not buying the victim angle, and even if they were, the fact remains that untrained Devil-fruit users are dangerous. Emotionally unstable half trained users? Garp, I'm sorry, but the more I hear the more it's looking like I'm going to have to lock them up for their own good until they learn some control."
"If you do that, you'll be no better than Blackbeard," Gibbs snapped at him.
Ducky spotted movement by the door and held up a hand, "It seems we are about to have company. I would suggest we continue this at a later time. Perhaps when we'd be less likely to be overheard by the temperamental subject of our conversation."
Ace was the first one out of the building. The young man had apparently taken it upon himself to get the last two members of their group that were present for the movie, despite Tony's attempts to stop him. Duck was relieved to see that he was smiling, and Luffy was animatedly chatting with Ziva about something or other, hands waving for added effect as she just nodded. The smile faded when the elder brother reached them. His eyes narrowed as he looked between the two groups, arms crossed over his muscular chest.
"You were talking about us, weren't you?" It sounded more like a statement to Ducky. Ace snorted, "You think there's something wrong with us, with Luffy. I can tell...there's nothing wrong."
"Ace, you can't honestly expect us to believe that." Ducky admonished, "I know you are a smart young man. Surely you've se-"
"He's just upset, alright?!" The younger man snapped, cutting him off. "You people keep pushing and pushing us for answers, expecting us to...and we can't, Luffy can't! I won't let him take the blame for any of this. It's selfish, but he's my kid brother, and I have to look out for him."
Sengoku raised an eyebrow, "These two were suggesting that your brother might not be able to handle being on his own. That he might become suicidal." Ducky wished not for the first time in his life that he was the type to slap people upside the head for saying stupid things as he glared at the man.
"Luffy?" Ace blinked, seeming surprised but luckily not offended. He opened his mouth then closed it again, looking pensive. When he finally spoke it was with obvious reluctance, "I don't think so... but Lu doesn't handle being alone well. I've never been gone longer than a few weeks, and he doesn't spend much of that time by himself. Hell, he used to be happy to see Teach after being locked in a closet for a day. I don't think he'd try to kill himself deliberately, but he'd probably do something really stupid. Like, 'let's see if getting hit by a train worse than being alone' stupid." He offered a shrug, "It's Luffy."
Sengoku pinched the bridge of his nose like he had a headache, "Alright, I'll talk to our superiors, Gibbs. They're still going to want that evaluation, though. Which means I want the both of you at our training grounds at eleven hundred tomorrow. Got it?" He jabbed a finger at Ace's chest, "I'm sticking my neck out for you, boy. Don't make me regret it." With that the man turned and strode away.
Ace blinked after him, "Did I just miss something?"
"Nah! Senny likes you! He's just shy!" Garp grinned, slapping the young man on the back before turning and following his partner.
"Gramp's is nuts."
"Yep." Gibbs smirked as he turned, heading over to where the rest of the group was now waiting, listening to Luffy's story. "Still have to go tomorrow, though."
Noticing the look of annoyance on Ace's face, Ducky attempted to lighten the mood, "Come now, it might be fun! Ah, speaking of fun, did you ever decide on what movie we are going to see?"
"Well, in the end we kind of let Luffy pick. He wanted to see Avengers again, so..."
LATER
"It has been quite a while since I've seen a movie in theater. That was quite the experience " Ducky still felt a bit muffled as he unlocked the front door. Somehow, when they'd met Palmer at the cinema, he'd bought tickets for the IMax version of the movie, which was a bit louder than he'd been expecting. It had been a surprise to run into Director Vance in the theater with his wife and children. Apparently his son was a big comic book fan and had begged to see the movie on the big screen one more time. It had been quite fun, if he was honest with himself. Most of the group was more then a little familiar with the movie, but none gave away scenes, only saying the occasional line together. They'd stayed all the way through the credits, something he'd found amusing. He held the door open for Ace and Gibbs who were still animatedly discussing the benefits of Hawkeye's bow while Luffy followed behind, staring at his hand while clenching it into a fist. Ducky instantly worried, "Luffy?"
Brown eyes looked up, startled. "Hmmm?"
"Is something wrong with your hand?"
"My hand?" Luffy cocked his head to the side, obviously confused for a second before brightening and giving him a wide, happy smile, "Oh! Shihihihi! That! Nope! Just thinking."
"Is it something I can help you with?" He rest a cautious hand on the boy's shoulder as he shut the door behind them.
"Mmm, I don't think so. Thanks, anyway, Ducky." Luffy grinned, "Don't worry, it's not bad or nothing. It'll be really cool if it works! Ah! But don't tell Ace, ok? I want it to be a surprise."
I don't even know what it is I'm not supposed to be telling Ace. Ducky ruefully thought, a little confused. At this point he was getting used to feeling like that around the brothers, though. At least he seems genuinely happy. "Alright. Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help."
