Chapter 4: Makino
Ace hesitated at the doorway of the bar, simultaneously feeling nostalgic and unwelcome. He softly untangled his hand intertwined with Luffy's, freeing himself of the insistent tuggings of the excited younger boy. Luffy looked back at him curiously, as did Sabo, and opened his mouth to blurt out a question,
"Ace wha-"
Sabo, seeing a familiar expression of reminiscing on Ace's face, slapped a hand over Luffy's mouth and smiled, "Hey Luffy tell me more about Makino. Are you sure her fried rice is the best that you've ever had?"
Sabo hoped that the question redirected Luffy's attention enough.
Luffy's eyes twinkled as he gave an excited laugh, "Of course Makino's is the best! I bet you that you'll cry in happiness when you eat it."
Sabo sighed in relief and led Luffy into the bar, holding the door open for the younger boy. But it did not pass by the younger boy's attention, as much as Sabo thought, that Ace was acting off, more off than the time Ace was when watching them sleep.
Ace, meanwhile, was consumed by his internal dilemma to notice what Sabo had done.
Makino was a prominent mother figure he had, apart from Dadan's disastrous attempts at reeling in the boys. (Not that she ever tried with real effort. They were a force pushing through the odds and Dadan knew to never interfere). Ace did not want his past to alter how Makino viewed him. But Ace was no longer the boy filled with hatred. He knew that everything would be different and knew meeting Makino was one of the steps to accepting it.
So Ace pushed forward, walking through the entryway and taking in the familiar bar.
Wooden chairs and tables shined under the soft fluorescent light. A few empty beer glasses lay on the tables Makino hadn't gotten around to cleaning up, the customers having left moments before. The air smelled musty but fresh at the same time, in a way that the dark would be frightening but welcoming at times.
The bar was the same, but Ace was not. He had far outgrown it like a pair of old shoes. But like an old pair of shoes, it held memory. Some good, some bad, but mostly great memories.
Makino was wiping down the counter, preparing the place for the next batch of customers. Luffy and Sabo were furiously digging into the bowl of fried rice in front of them. Luffy would forget to breath and Sabo would have to pound the boy's back to dislodge miscellaneous rice pieces.
At the bell on the door chiming from Ace opening it, Makino looked up to greet him.
She smiled. Ace smiled back.
"Ace! Ace! Come get your bowl!" Luffy waved from the counter, rubbery arms flailing in excitement.
Sabo calmly stopped Luffy's frantic waving and smiled at Ace.
Ace walked over to the counter and took a seat. Makino pushed a plate of steaming fried rice in front of him.
"Itadakimasu" Ace grinned. Makino ruffled his hair.
If his eyes were moist, Ace blamed it on the delicious fried rice. It was definitely not from Makino's presence, Luffy's laughs, nor Sabo's smiles filling up his memories.
A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you all for the favourites, follows, and reviews. And thank you for sticking around to read this story. I'm still not so sure how to write Ace or any other characters, but I hope you just enjoyed the softness(?) in the stories. I actually have no idea where this is going so it might not have a coherent story line for those of you who might want that.
Thank you for reading once again!