Ace is in the middle of taking a math test when one of the teachers finds a freshman screaming himself hoarse in the schoolyard. Luffy tells him all about it on the walk home in between bouts of skipping; Ace doesn't know much about this kid, Usopp, other than that he's in Luffy's grade and has been a few screws loose ever since his dad skipped town. Poor guy seems to have finally lost it, apparently, because he's in the local hospital, babbling about having seen a clown.
"We should go look for him," Luffy says, breaking Ace out of his thoughts. His flip flops slap against the pavement as he bounces over the sidewalk lines, straw hat and backpack bobbing.
"Who, Usopp?"
Luffy looks at him critically. "No, silly. The clown."
Ace barely restrains himself from rolling his eyes. Of course Luffy believes this guy, he thinks. Luffy believes there's an adventure to be found in everything, a truth to every story. The reality that they're just very boring kids living in a very boring town, surrounded by very boring people, has yet to hit him; Ace hopes it never does. It's one of the things Ace loves most about Luffy.
Still, sometimes people were just crazy, and stories were just stories.
But Ace also knows that when Luffy sets his mind on something, it's impossible to pull him away, so he just sighs exasperatedly at the sky and then makes Luffy promise to finish all his homework before investigating the town for clowns.
o-o-o
"You know, I always thought he was a little twitchy, but he never seemed that bad," Sanji says the next day, when Ace brings up the topic of Usopp during lunch. "At least, not bad enough to hallucinate clowns, anyway."
Ace has to strain his ears to hear him over the bustle of the cafeteria and the clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen. "Don't tell me you believe him too," he says. He wouldn't put it past him. Sanji, like his brother, can be a little idealistic.
Sanji doesn't answer immediately, busy with serving another student the day's special. Ace leans to read the menu: green bean casserole. He glances at the pitiful thing on the student's tray and feels eternally glad that he packed his own meal, and then slightly annoyed at the school administration for advertising the sad pile of long gray things as food.
Zeff, Sanji's adoptive father, is, for lack of a better word, one of the school cooks. They don't actually let any of the employees do any of the cooking, content with mass buying frozen goods in bulk from some company out of state (something Sanji has grumbled about to Ace a little over a thousand times). But despite his complaints, Sanji has never skipped out of helping out the cafeteria staff at the lunch counter. He thinks Sanji would be happy to do anything if it means being near a kitchen, even if it's serving cranky teenagers mediocre grub.
Back in the present, Sanji slides a carton of milk across the counter to a tired bespeckled girl. Ace catches a glimpse of the weekly missing kid's poster on the side of the carton; he's seen so many in the past year that he's become desensitized.
Sanji turns back to Ace. "I'm not sure if I believe him," he says. "But you have to admit, it's a little strange."
"How so?"
Sanji twirls a pair of tongs in his hand thoughtfully. "Let's say he really did see a clown," he says. "It still doesn't explain his reaction. I mean, clowns can be creepy, but they're not terrifying."
"Maybe it was a killer clown," Ace jokes. He sobers at Sanji's flat look. "Are you seriously suggesting we have a serial killer dressed as a clown running around the school? Because our lives aren't nearly exciting enough for that."
"Speak for yourself, shithead," Sanji retorts, but he's smiling slightly, like the absurdity of the conversation is catching up to him. "It was just a thought."
"A dumb one," Ace says, and then ducks when Sanji lobs a wadded napkin at his head.
Almost on cue, a loud voice booms from the back of the kitchen. "Eggplant! Stop flirting with the clientele and go wash the dishes!"
"Shut up, Zeff!" Sanji yells back, pink-faced, and then grumbles, "Shitty old man," under his breath. Ace takes great satisfaction in watching Sanji's blush work its way past his shirt collar.
"Watch out for clowns back there," Ace calls out. Sanji flips him off as he leaves, and that's the end of it.
o-o-o
That is until four days later, when Roronoa Zoro gets detention for trashing one of the music rooms. A week after that, there's a huge commotion in the downstairs bathroom, where they find one of the junior girls, Nami, curled in a fetal position against the wall.
The school chalks the former up to juvenile delinquency the latter up to stress. They host a seminar about drugs in the gym before going back to not caring about the students, and from the outside, everything looks fine: all wrapped up in a neat little bow. But Ace knows from the whispers in the halls that there was something else in that music classroom, at least, according to Zoro, and there was something in the bathroom too.
"It's the clown," Luffy keeps saying. He's been spurred into another one of his adventure-seeking frenzies, Ace barely managing to wrangle him into doing all his schoolwork on time and passing his classes.
If there'd been a little more substance to the hearsay, Ace might've been inclined to believe him. But the school had checked the security cameras after Usopp, and after Zoro and Nami, and there was no trace of anyone ─ least of all a goddamn clown.
"They're just rumors," Ace always responds, and when Luffy's jaw inevitably sets in determination, he sends a quick prayer up to Sabo to lend him some sense. It's the least he could do, after leaving Ace behind to play older brother all by himself.
It's another week after the last sighting when Ace hears Luffy's scream echo through the house, and he doesn't stop until his voice cracks completely. Instantly, Ace's veins fill with ice, and the horrible memory of the house in flames cleaves through him like a knife. He's on his feet before he knows it, tripping up the stairs to Luffy's room and throwing open the door. It bangs against the wall, deafening, and Luffy wrenches himself up from where he was kneeling on the floor.
"Where is it?" he snarls, his face ugly and twisted, and Ace stops in his tracks.
"Where's what?" he asks in a rush. Luffy throws himself at the closet, yanking it open.
"It was here!" Several clothes hangers go flying, along with some shirts, and then Luffy is storming around the room, tearing it apart. Ace watches helplessly as Luffy shoves past him into the hall and down the stairs, overwrought.
"It was here!" Luffy shouts again, and Ace follows just in time to see him lunge outside. "Where are you, you bastard!"
"Luffy ─ " Ace tries to call, but his voice breaks in his throat halfway. He hasn't seen Luffy this distraught since the night Sabo ─ but Dadan's not home to sweep him into her arms and calm him down, and for the first time in a long time, Ace doesn't know what to do.
Outside, Luffy is winding down like an old toy. Ace's knuckles are white around the banister of the stairs; he carefully lets go of it and heads down, to see if Luffy's alright. He's feeling a lot of emotions at the moment, most unnameable and lost in the vast obscurity of fear, but what he isn't feeling is confused, because there's only one thing Luffy could've seen in his room.
And for such a ridiculous thing, it shouldn't have made him so scared.
o-o-o
sanji: it's real. i saw it
sanji: what do we do now?
o-o-o
By the time Usopp comes back to school, Luffy has cobbled together a club full of people who have seen the clown. The kid's always been obsessed with pirates, Ace thinks fondly, so it was about time he'd assemble his own crew, though the circumstances could've been better.
They've taken to frequenting the Sonic Drive-in down the street, cramming themselves into the farthest booth in the back every day after school. Sanji had dragged him to one of their earlier meetings, and he's been a regular ever since. Mostly for the milkshakes, though.
"We gotta get rid of It," Luffy declares on a dry Friday afternoon.
That's what they've decided to call it: It, with a capital I. Usopp had suggested a longer, more operatic title, full of 'terrifyings' and 'horribles', but it had been vetoed. Besides, Ace thinks, 'It' is a more fitting name anyway, a million cryptic and unsettling possibilities hidden in the syllable.
"We don't even know what It is," Nami points out. She's a pretty girl with fair skin and fiery hair; Sanji had spent his entire sophomore year mooning over her, but now he mostly just looks aghast and pale. Ace finds his legs under the table and knocks his shoe against Sanji's. When he glances up, Ace tries for a reassuring smile.
The others don't respond. Sanji's hands twist apprehensively in his lap. Across from him, Usopp fidgets beside Zoro, nervous. Only Zoro meets Luffy's determined gaze.
"We know It's not good." His earrings jostle lightly against each other when he speaks, three molten drops of gold. "We know it's dangerous, and that it can't stay."
Sanji scoffs. "That's easy to say." At Zoro's glare, he adds, "We've no fucking clue where to start."
"That doesn't mean we should do nothing."
"Doesn't mean we should start making moronic decisions without a plan, either," Sanji snaps. "I'm not exactly rushing to die, here."
Luffy bristles. "No one's going to die."
"You don't know that," Usopp says the same time Nami mutters, "Famous last words," and then the conversation devolves into a furious almost-shouting match as everyone tries to speak over each other.
Ace watches all this with a detached sense of care. Out of everyone at the table, he's the only one who hasn't seen It yet. He doesn't know whether to feel glad or left out.
"You guys can't have been the first ones to see It," Ace says. Somehow, his words cut through the fray and everyone stares at him. He shrugs. "Start there."
"Well, the internet's got to have something," Usopp says slowly, after a pause. "Stories, urban legends, creepypastas."
"Mrs. Robin might have some books in the library that could help," Nami chimes in. "I'll talk to her after history class next week."
Sanji exhales forcefully, and Ace can feel it from where Sanji's shoulder is pressed against him. "Well, good. Hopefully something comes out of all this."
Everyone mumbles their agreements, and then Usopp says quietly, "Whatever it is, I don't want it around anymore. I want it gone."
"We'll get rid of It," Luffy promises, and it's not the strongest of pacts, but Ace knows that he means it.
o-o-o
"Its name is Pennywise," Nami tells them, about a week later.
They're back at the drive-in in the same booth, this time with an assortment of fries and drinks cluttering the table. Nami pushes aside several corn dog wrappers and drops a small stack of papers in front of them.
"Pennywise?" Sanji repeats, skeptical. "Sounds like an investment company."
"He's actually some sort of demon, from what I can tell." Nami spreads out the papers and they're all met with images of grisly murder scenes. Ace gingerly picks one of them up: it's an old newspaper clipping, detailing a factory explosion that killed over a hundred people. He gets the sinking feeling that they're in way over their heads.
While the others pore over the papers, Nami continues. "Every twenty-seven years, there's a series of horrible incidents where a bunch of people die. Then, there's a blank period where nothing really happens, before it starts up again. Rinse, repeat."
"I take that it's been twenty-seven years since the last 'incident'?" Sanji asks flatly. When nobody says anything, he runs a hand through his hair, looking harried. "Well, good of him to keep a fixed schedule, I suppose."
"The missing kids," Ace realizes suddenly. "That's what's happening this time. Thatch, Lami ─ "
"Saga," Zoro says, and Sanji gravely, "Coby."
"But how is It catching them," Ace murmurs, mostly to himself. He doesn't expect Usopp to answer:
"It feeds off fear," he says quietly. "Our worst fears, to be exact."
Ace frowns. "How'd you come up with that?"
"Because I saw mine." Usopp jerks a thumb at Zoro. "And he saw his. And I'm assuming you guys saw yours too."
"Yes," Nami replies faintly and Sanji nods. Luffy's mouth flattens into a thin line as he says nothing.
Then, Usopp shakes his head like he's trying to wake up from a bad dream, as though everything has just caught up to him. "We have to tell someone," he says, voice rising. "The authorities, teachers ─ any adult ─ "
"The adults don't care," Zoro interrupts. "Kids have been going missing for months now, and they haven't done anything." He says it blunt, but kind, a hand clasping Usopp's forearm to keep him from leaping out of his seat. "We're on our own," he says, softer.
There's a moment of silence, before Sanji snorts. "Well, that's nothing new," he says. "So, what's the plan?"
"We clobber it," Luffy says. He's been quiet up until now, and he stands at the head of the booth, hands pressed on the table, framing the pictures and newspaper articles. Ace kind of wants to cry, half out of pride for Luffy, because that's his little brother, the captain of their motley crew, but also half because they're all going to die.
"That's it?" Sanji demands. "We're just gonna beat the shit out of it? This is a fucking demon clown we're talking about. There's got to be something else ─ some sort of exorcism we can do." He looks around uncertainly. "Right?"
Nami shakes her head slowly, looking drawn.
Zoro peers over at Sanji. "You got a better idea, curlybrow?" he asks, even though they all know the answer.
"'Fear does not stop death'," Usopp lets out randomly. They all stare at him, and he shrugs. "Read that in a gas station bathroom."
Nami rolls her eyes. "Eloquent."
"If I die, I'm haunting you shitheads for the rest of your lives," Sanji announces. There's a pause. Then, "Not you though, Nami. You've been lovely."
o-o-o
The two of them are out throwing rocks in the creek behind Dadan's when Ace blurts, "I wonder what It'll turn into for me."
Sanji's fingers slip on his rock and it goes careening off to the side. He wipes his hands on his pants. "What, you haven't seen it?"
"No," Ace says. "But Luffy has." He hefts a flat stone with his palm and lets it fly across the water; it skips twice. "He won't tell me what he saw, though." It's actually been worrying Ace a little, but he doesn't know if it's warranted or if he's being an overprotective older brother. Probably the latter, he muses. Sabo would've known; he was always better at these kinds of things.
Beside him, Sanji hums. "Mine was zombies," he says casually. "They were in the storeroom. Found them while I was stocking the kitchen after school." His tone is unnervingly cheerful, and Ace gets the feeling that there's more to it than he's letting on. He doesn't ask, and Sanji doesn't elaborate further, just throws his next rock a little harder into the water so it makes a loud splash.
"The mosshead won't tell me either," Sanji adds after a brief lull in the conversation. "He surprised me the most, actually. Always had this sort of idiotic fearlessness about him. Never occurred to me that he was afraid of anything."
Inexplicably, Ace is reminded of Sabo again. He swallows. "Well," he says slowly. "Everyone's afraid of something."
o-o-o
They end up finding out Zoro's fear pretty quickly.
They're walking by the Neibolt House when it happens. Ace had always thought the place was creepy whenever he passed by it on his way home, but he'd never thought it was demon clown creepy. In hindsight, it should've been obvious, but they don't find out until Usopp gets dragged in through the front door.
There's a moment of shocked silence, before Zoro goes barreling after him, and then everybody's swearing and charging into the house. It's only after they're past the threshold that it strikes Ace how much of a bad idea it is to go rushing in, but by then, it's too late to turn back. Instead, he follows Sanji up the stairs to the second story, forcing bile down his throat.
"Zoro!" Sanji hisses. "Zoro, you lunatic, what were you thi ─ oh Jesus Christ."
Ace feels his entire body go rigid, because standing in front of them is a girl. That in of itself shouldn't be strange, but there's something about her that makes Ace want to run away, not unlike the staggering unease that comes with staring over the edge of a cliff. Her inky black hair falls over part of her face, and the white shirt she's wearing coupled with her pale skin makes her look like a ghost. She might as well be, with the way Zoro is gaping at her, stricken and terrified.
The girl turns around and shuffles towards the edge of the floor, where the railing is broken. Zoro takes a step after her and Sanji hisses his name again, and then chokes when the girl slowly twists her head around to look at them, the bones in her neck cracking. Ace makes an uncontrollable noise in his throat when her dead eyes meet his. He thinks he hears Zoro saying "No" over and over again, over the pounding in his ears.
And then she tips herself off the ledge.
Zoro screams, loud and raw and wounded, and Sanji and Ace have to grab him before he launches himself after her. The snapping noise that echoes through the house like a gunshot shouldn't be realistic, and it makes Zoro's joints lock up; they have to drag him back across the floor and down the stairs. Halfway to the front door, one of the floorboards creaks, and he and Sanji are so wound up that they both shout in alarm.
It turns out only to be Nami, who's in tears. "He ─ he just ran off," she falters, and it doesn't take Ace long to figure out she means Luffy.
He leans Zoro, who's so out of it he's practically comatose, against the wall by Nami's feet. "Stay with him," he tells her. "I'm going after my brother."
"I'm coming with you," Sanji says immediately. "Don't argue with me on this," he snaps when Ace opens his mouth to do exactly that.
The house is huge, and Ace has no idea where to begin. They press into the yawning hallway and step into what looks like a kitchen, with a cobwebbed sink and an old, yellowed refrigerator. Ace expects Sanji to comment on the horrible condition it's in, but he says nothing, inching forward slowly to observe their surroundings.
Sanji's fingers suddenly dig into his arm. Ace follows his gaze to the ceiling, where several woodlice are roaming the panels.
"I don't like bugs," Sanji whispers, answering his unasked question.
Ace squeezes his hand. "Let's leave then." Luffy and Usopp weren't in this room anyway. As though to emphasize the point, the floorboards above them creak and cough out dust as someone upstairs crosses them. A fat cockroach slides from between the cracks and lands on the ground, making Sanji jump violently. Ace risks another glance at the ceiling, and where there were once just a couple of insects before is now a nest of large spiders, silverfish, and beetles.
Just as they're about to bolt, the ceiling caves in, wood, dust, and bugs all slamming into the floor. Among the debris is Usopp, unconscious and floppy.
"Oh shit," Sanji says. There are bugs everywhere, skittering around near their shoes; they tumble over each other in waves, amassing between them and the doorway. The two of them watch in horror as the bugs become fleshy and mold into each other like clay, forming a roughly humanoid shape. Ace can feel Sanji quaking beside him. He tries to pull him over to Usopp, but he's frozen in terror.
Zombies, he remembers Sanji saying, somewhat hysterically.
Thinking quickly, Ace grabs his face with both hands. Sanji's eyes are a wide blue expanse, and he's breathing in sharp little gasps.
"It's not real," Ace says. Sanji tries to turn back around towards the bug-flesh-zombie thing and Ace tightens his grip. "No, look at me ─ it's not real."
"Easy for you to say," Sanji chokes. "Your worst fear isn't materializing right in front of you!"
"I'm right in front of you," Ace says. He presses his forehead against Sanji's. "It isn't real," he repeats. "Be brave. For me."
Sanji screws his eyes shut and exhales harshly and Ace does the same. To be honest, he's not sure if this will actually work, or if he's just signed both of their death warrants, but they don't exactly have the option to run ─ not with Usopp possibly dead behind them and that thing blocking the only exit ─ so he focuses on keeping his breathing steady so Sanji can follow.
Eventually, he notices that the skittering sounds from the bugs have stopped. Ace cautiously opens one eye, then the other. The kitchen is empty, save for Usopp and them, so he takes his hands away from Sanji's face, relief crashing over him like a wave.
"Wow," Sanji says, awed, "I can't believe that worked," and then the refrigerator door flies open.
Pennywise unfolds himself from the fridge, grinning unnervingly wide as his limbs contort grotesquely. A small part of Ace registers that this is the first time he's ever seen It; he's tempted to memorize it for future reference ─ it's blood-red smile, the piercing eyes ─ but he's distracted by the pure, unadulterated terror that seems to have been directly injected into his veins.
"Why can't this thing let us catching a fucking break!" Ace yells as they scramble backward towards Usopp. Pennywise draws himself to his full height and bares an endless mouthful of serrated teeth and holy shit they are going to die.
A crazed laugh bubbles past Sanji's lips. "Guess I wasn't brave enough," he remarks.
"If it's any consolation, I think you were exceptionally brave," Ace says.
"Thanks, but evidently that isn't going to stop this shitty clown from murdering us."
That's precisely when Zoro bursts into the room, armed with a wooden plank and copious amounts of rage. With the sunlight streaming in through the slats of the house framing his figure in the doorway, Ace can't help but think that he looks exactly like an avenging angel.
"You," he snarls.
Zoro doesn't kill Pennywise, but he sure as hell tries.
o-o-o
The rest of what happens is a blur. Ace vaguely remembers Sanji checking Usopp for a pulse and feeling the knot in his chest loosen when he announces that he's fine, and then Usopp coughing himself awake and the three of them shrieking in alarm as Pennywise whirled around the room in a hurricane of claws and teeth. At some point, Luffy and Nami had crashed into the fray and, upon seeing his brother, Ace regained control of his legs and dragged Sanji and Usopp out of the house, the others quickly following suit.
When his brain finally starts processing events in real-time again, they are a few blocks away from Neibolt, and Luffy and Usopp are screaming at each other in the middle of the street. The others form a loose ring around them, watching the argument with varying worried expressions on their faces. Ace looks down and realizes he still has Sanji's hand in a death grip.
"You're crazy!" Usopp is shouting at his brother, high and shrilly. He's cradling his arm against his chest, which looks decidedly less okay than the rest of him. "We're not going back!"
"We have to," Luffy argues back. "We ─ "
"I broke my arm!" Usopp yells, and Luffy visibly falters. "Zoro almost got sliced in half!" He's right; there's a long gash stretching from Zoro's shoulder to his hip. It's gruesome but doesn't seem immediately life-threatening, and Zoro doesn't seem to be very bothered by it, though Nami keeps shooting him alarmed looks.
As though to voice this, Zoro starts, "I'm fine ─ " but Usopp bowls right over him.
"No," he interrupts. "You're not. You almost died. We all almost died." Then, at Luffy, "You're going to get us all killed for nothing!"
"We can't let fear rule us."
Usopp barks a laugh. "Oh yes we can," he sneers, almost-malicious. "Fear keeps us alive. Your brother could've used a little bit of it."
Instantly, Ace's blood freezes. Every fiber of his being screams at him, and the only thing keeping him from lunging at Usopp is Sanji's grip on his shoulder.
Luffy's tone is ice. "You take that back."
"We all know the story," Usopp continues coldly. Aiming for where it hurts. "Faulty wiring, house on fire. He ran straight in."
"He ran back in to save people," Luffy grits.
"THERE WAS NO ONE LEFT TO SAVE," Usopp explodes. "THAT'S THE FUCKING POINT, LUFFY, THERE'S NO ONE LEFT TO SAVE."
Luffy looks like Usopp has just struck him. He stares, face bone-white, as Usopp repeats, quieter, "There's no one left to save. Not Thatch, not Saga, not Coby. And I'm not running back into the house."
And then he turns and walks away, leaving them in the middle of the road.
o-o-o
The group breaks apart like water on rocks and they drift, debris in the current. Ace goes back to only seeing Sanji during lunch hours and going straight home after school. Occasionally, he spots the others in the halls ─ a lick of orange hair, a flash of gold earrings, a glimpse of a plaid bandanna ─ but he never speaks to them. They don't talk about what happened in the house on Neibolt, they don't talk about what happened in the street, and most importantly, they don't talk about It.
Back home, Luffy seems to have returned to his regular self, back to bouncing from day to day. He'd been inconsolable for the first week, before his cheerful personality had slowly leaked back into him. Still, if Ace looks close enough, he can see the cracks in his veneer, but Luffy doesn't want to talk about what happened, so they don't, a forced semblance of normalcy falling over them.
The next few weeks are quiet, and no other kids go missing. It's weird going back to worrying about normal things like grades and finals and graduating. The end of the school year draws near; Ace has applied to all colleges out of state and heard back from three of them. He's in the process of choosing which one to attend. Even before he knew there was a demon clown wreaking havoc in his hometown, he'd wanted to get out of it ─ the clown just gave him more incentive. But the idea of leaving Luffy behind to fend for himself sets his teeth on edge.
"When I graduate, I'm going to open my own restaurant," Sanji declares one day after school. They're alone in the storeroom, Sanji restocking the fridge and cabinets and Ace lounging on one of the counters, legs swinging. "I'll call it the All Blue, and it'll sit right on the bay by the sea."
There's a pause, where Ace guesses he was supposed to chime in with his own aspirations. He doesn't really have any. "Tell me more," he says, instead.
"There'll be an aquarium in the back, with fish from all over the world," Sanji says, "and I'll line the front with clear windows, for a view of the ocean." He makes an outstretched motion with his hands, like he can see his future restaurant right in front of him, eyes bright. "The kitchen will be fully stocked, of course. Only the best ingredients."
Ace snorts. "Of course." Sanji's days serving terrible food in the cafeteria have ensured that.
"I'll have a rotating menu," Sanji continues. "The magazines and food blogs will sing praises, and critics will be flocking from all over just for a taste of my cooking."
"I'm sure they will," Ace inserts, aiming to sound sarcastic, and is surprised at how much he truly means it. "And I will too."
Sanji falters, but recovers quickly. "Don't be stupid," he says. "You'd never be able to afford my prices." He goes quiet then, systematically filling the freezer to the top with boxes of different labels as Ace watches him. When he finishes, he takes the spot on the counter beside Ace.
They sit in silence for a bit, before Sanji whispers, "It's just a dream, you know. But, I think I would like that. Having something that's my own. Not being afraid of ─ not being afraid."
It's the easiest thing in the world to lean over and kiss him, so that's what Ace does, leans over and cups his chin and softly presses their lips together. Sanji's eyes are wide, and Ace lets his slide closed. It only lasts a second, before they pull away from each other.
Sanji leans heavily against his side and Ace twines their fingers together. "You'll open that restaurant," he says.
In the dimly lit kitchen, Sanji smiles humorlessly. "Not if that fucking clown kills me first."
o-o-o
sanji: you ever feel like a coward?
o-o-o
The next day, Ace comes home to find his room completely torched. Sanji finds him curled in a ball outside his house, trembling uncontrollably.
"Dadan can't see it," Ace tells him when he catches his breath, and is proud when his voice only slightly shakes. Sanji doesn't respond, just wraps his arms around Ace's shoulders as he tries to wash the miasma of smoke out of his memory. He retches, and Sanji holds him tighter.
Two hours later, Luffy goes missing.
o-o-o
Nami is friends with Nefertari Vivi, one of the student council members, so they're able to get their hands on the keys to the athletics room. They stuff a duffel bag full of baseball bats, golf clubs, and other items they think might serve as decent weapons. Usopp comes armed with one of his father's old pistols, and Zoro brings several wooden sword-looking things.
"Kendo," he explains. "They're bokken. Koshiro won't let me use real katana yet." In another life, Ace would've lauded the man for having the sense not to equip teenagers with knives, but right now, the only thing he can think is that's a damn shame.
Ace is practically vibrating with rage, a baseball bat in one hand, when Usopp approaches him. He wants to demand what he wants but stops at the solemn look on his face.
"I'm sorry about what I said," Usopp says in lieu of a greeting, "but I'm not sorry for why I said it." He presses his dad's gun into Ace's hand and picks up one of the bokken. "Let's get your brother back."
They gather in front of the Neibolt house again and hover on the edge of the lawn, twitchy and nervous.
"Remember to be brave," Nami whispers.
"Easy for you to say," Usopp retorts, equally hushed.
"Well, you know how the saying goes. Nothing to fear but fear itself."
"And clowns," Sanji mutters. "Fucking clowns."
They go in.
o-o-o
The house is empty. The five of them split up and search the rooms, Sanji and Ace tactfully avoiding the kitchen. They find a well in the back leading down to the sewers, and in grim agreement, they descend into the dark.
Things immediately go wrong.
One moment, Usopp's there, and the next, he's gone. Zoro notices first, spitting curses as everyone frantically scrambles around trying to find him. Their flashlights whirl around dizzyingly and the whole time, Ace can feel his heart trying to beat up his throat. He grasps Sanji's hand in the dark and squeezes. Sanji squeezes back.
Then, there's a bloodcurdling scream. "Zoro!"
The end of the tunnel opens into a larger area; they pour into it, skidding to a horrified stop when they're met with Pennywise who's ─ who's eating Usopp, teeth embedded in his face. Upon everyone arriving, It detaches itself from Usopp and slinks into one of the side tunnels, casting them all a bloody grin before disappearing. Usopp crawls across the floor towards Zoro, wailing, while the other looks torn between outrage and terror. Nami drops to her knees and starts checking Usopp for more damage and Sanji swears vehemently, before doing the same. Ace is about to join them when, in the corner of his eye, he sees a flash of familiar, unruly blond hair.
He lets go of Sanji's hand and starts to walk away.
o-o-o
"Sabo," Ace breathes. Beside him, Luffy digs his fingers into his arm, hard enough to bruise.
He looks like how Ace last saw him, kind of sleepy and confused, still clad in his pajamas. There's a large, starburst mark over his eye that's new, like a burn, and it makes Ace's arms go limp, the tip of his baseball bat hitting the floor.
Sabo's face breaks into a boyish grin that's so familiar it hurts. "You came for me," he says, and something in Ace's chest throbs.
"Yes," Luffy answers. Ace doesn't say anything, frozen in disbelief. Then, "How?"
Sabo's expression changes slightly, and he paces in front of them, contemplatively. "I got out," he says slowly. "It was so hot, and I ─ I couldn't find anyone."
"We were already outside," Luffy whispers.
"No," Sabo insists. "I saw someone in there."
"There was no one."
Sabo looks like he wants to protest, but his face softens in increments. "I'm glad," he says. "I'm glad you guys weren't hurt." He runs a hand through his hair, exposing the burn more, and Ace winces. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you two. You're my best friends."
"We missed you," says Luffy.
Sabo smiles. "I missed you guys too." He reaches out with a hand and Luffy makes to grab it, but Ace yanks him back. Sabo shoots him a confused look, and Ace pushes Luffy behind him with his bat, raising the gun Usopp gave him with a shaking hand. He'd been so willing to believe, and yet ─
"We were brothers, Sabo," Ace whispers. "Brothers."
He fires.
o-o-o
By the time the others arrive, Pennywise has started shuffling around on all four limbs like some sort of demented spider. Luffy circles It with Ace's bat in his hands, swinging with a newfound vengeance.
"That's my little brother," Ace says apropos nothing. "Beating up a clown." He feels weirdly proud about it. Somewhere, Sabo is probably frowning down at him in disapproval.
"He takes after you," Sanji responds dryly. He's covered in grime, blond hair matted and frazzled from running around in the sewers, and Ace thinks he's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. He hands Ace another bat and pats his shoulder. "Let's go kill this fucking clown."
If a year ago, someone had told Ace he would be fighting a demon clown in the sewers with his younger brother and a ragtag group of neurotic teenagers, he would've told them to get their head checked. It's funny how life works out, Ace thinks as he leaps into the fray. Weirdly enough, he doesn't mind it much.
He decides to take a leaf from the school's book and attribute his inane train of thought to the stress finally catching up to him.
o-o-o
Because there's no time like the present, Usopp tells Zoro he's in love with him as soon as they set foot outside. Luffy ruins the moment by loudly announcing that he's hungry.
o-o-o
They go back to the Sonic Drive-in, where it all started. Nami pays for everything, much to the surprise of everyone, but they're too wiped to question her about it. Ace collapses into an Oreo milkshake while the others work their way through an array of fried foods and drinks.
Sitting there amidst the subdued chaos of his friends, Ace feels a sense of satisfied contentment he hasn't felt in a while, not since Sabo was alive. He's found a new family in this, like puzzle pieces sliding into place: Nami smacking Luffy away from her fries, Zoro snoring quietly against the wall, Usopp reenacting their fight in the sewers with mozzarella sticks, Sanji smirking at him from across the table.
"Hey," Ace says cheerfully, in response to the last.
Sanji raises an eyebrow at him. "Hey," he echoes, sounding a little perplexed, and Ace laughs at his expression.
Yeah, he's happy.
o-o-o
"Decay," Sanji confesses on one quiet Saturday morning. They're by the creek behind Dadan's again, this time pressed against each other under the boughs of one of the willow trees. "That's what mine was. Festering away. Starving." He takes a rattling breath, fingers stuttering in Ace's hair. "I've been there before. It's not pretty."
Ace tilts his head, considering. "That's why you want to open a restaurant," he realizes, and Sanji nods, almost imperceptibly.
They sit in silence for a little longer, and then Ace says, "Sabo thought he saw me in the house. Me and Luffy."
Sanji stills. "But you weren't."
"We were standing right next to him," Ace whispers. "It was like he didn't see us and ─ " He cuts himself off and inhales sharply. Exhales. "I wonder if he saw It," Ace says, and he knows Sanji hears the capital I. "I wish I knew, but I'm also glad I don't. Would it mean anything, if he did?"
"Yes," Sanji says, "because it would mean his worst fear was losing you."
o-o-o
Life moves on.
The last few weeks of school are a surreal blur of activity. Ace spends them packing up in preparation to move out, clearing his things from the house with Luffy and trying to decide which of his posters to keep and which to throw away. Dadan cries three times, and Luffy makes him promise to write to them, as though Ace would ever forget to.
He's not old enough to drink, so on his last day in town, the others shove him into their usual booth at the drive-in and force milkshake after milkshake into him, like shots. Ace makes it to eleven before he pleads mercy on account of needing to throw up.
Sanji doesn't let the distance separate them; he regularly texts Ace to complain about 'that insufferable mosshead' and his 'shitty old man', as well as provide him with regular updates regarding the others. Luffy is doing rather well in school, courtesy of Nami, and Zoro and Usopp are still going strong. Their little crew has expanded to include two more members: Chopper, a young pharmacy intern who's recently moved into the neighborhood, and Vivi, the student council member who Nami is apparently now dating.
In return, Ace tells him about his time in college and the new friends he's made: Izo, whose sense of fashion is just as impeccable as his aim with a gun, and Marco, an aspiring ornithologist.
Maybe he can do something about your face, Sanji replies to the former, and Ace is in the process of responding when a car rolls up in front of him.
"Yo, Ace!" Marco calls from the open window.
Ace texts, you like this face, before looking up from his phone. "You're late," he complains, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Classes ended fifteen minutes ago."
Izo pops his head through the sunroof. "There's a carnival in town," he explains.
"A carnival?" Ace repeats.
"Yeah, traffic was crazy." He leans over the side of the car, arms slung over the top. "You wanna go? Marco says it could be fun."
Ace hesitates. His phone vibrates, and he looks down at the screen.
o-o-o
sanji: i do really like your face
sanji: shame about the personality, though
o-o-o
Smiling, Ace stuffs the phone into his pocket and climbs into the backseat of the car. "Nah," he responds. Then, "How do you guys feel about going to the bay?"
"Sounds good," Marco says the same time Izo answers, "Works for me!" He slides back into the passenger seat and then switches on the radio, turning the volume up so loud that it's just this side of painful.
They drive in the opposite direction of the carnival towards the ocean, and Ace gladly watches the city shrink into the distance. He still doesn't like clowns.