Maldea: I'm ending up going with #3. I have another day opening I may fill, but I'm not sure. More people requested the angst than anything else. I was surprised people passed up a baby Luffy story!
Tayve Spidel: Rengoku is so sweet. I couldn't see the movie, but I read the entire manga for the story so things made sense and he was so nice and cheerful. But man, for awhile the manga art... really turned me off lol. It got better eventually, thankfully. I always notice artwork improves vastly as the story goes on, so it's like seeing someone get better in real time. ESPECIALLY in fairy tail. OMG first chapters were terrible.
"I feel bad for people with mutant quirks that have to get special clothes," Marco said as they bought parkas. It wasn't exactly a city that had blizzards where they lived. Ace nodded. "Would be annoying to have everything tailor made. Can't go window or internet shopping for anything. We're both lucky that clothes don't matter in our transformations." He nodded again.
Ace picked a red parka with a fur hood. He had enough money for things now. Not as much as he had before, but Roger's idea of posting progress was a huge success. Not because they made him a lot of money, but the nicer more dedicated people he drew thing for money were only paying to support him, and encouraged him with his left handed drawings.
It had been two days since he posted his first progress drawing. He had support from almost everyone, encouraging him to continue practicing. They would wait for him to return. Three dollars every two weeks was nothing to them. It looked like not all of his fans were horny men. He was feeling really happy.
Ace got an alert on his phone, and checked it. It was from his apartment. They were asking for confirmation that a new person was helping pay for the rent. He affirmed that he was the one that made the choice. "Gol D. Roger" was now a copayer. His name, his clearly recognized name, might give them hesitancy to kick him out if they ever found out he was a fake.
Having a top ten hero back him up was so helpful. Ace couldn't have imagined any better person to help him than someone so popular and important. And well-liked and respected. There were no further questions from the apartment, and Ace went back to shopping with Marco. He smiled lightly.
"It's nice to see you not stressed about money. Or adult things," Marco said in a bright voice. Ace nodded.
"I feel responsible, still, over everything, but having an ally is kind of comforting. I won't be all alone if I fall into trouble with any money people," he said honestly. "It is weird not living on my own, going shopping for only myself and everything, but it's nice. I wonder if this is how kids with good families feel. Supported from important things."
"Well, that is what a good family is for, right? To be there for one another when they need it?" Ace nodded. "Maybe you'll find a family some day. Would you ever consider finding a family and living with them?" he wondered. Ace shrugged. He didn't know how he'd find anyone to want him. It's not like he could go on the internet and ask if anybody wanted to adopt a kid. "True. Maybe you could find someone at work or something once you become a hero."
"Maybe. That would be nice. If they were the right people. I would still want independency for a lot of things. I'm just so used to it. And parents would want a responsible kid," Ace replied. Marco agreed. They got some thick sleeping bags, with a large cart with the things in them. Ace had to spend over $200 on supplies. Too much for many families. Ace had a lot of money in savings. Not actual savings accounts, but how much money he made sure to always have in his own account.
Not once did he get an alert or irregularity over anything, and Roger didn't text so there wasn't a problem. Ace wanted to be his sidekick. He hadn't really ever had his own hero goal, he was just wanting to be one. He didn't want his own agency, he never wanted to be a boss. So being a sidekick would be his preferable position. Plus, he was good at support.
"I wonder what it's gonna be like in the mountains. I've gone to cold places to explore as an animal, but not for a long time and not in human skin."
"You could always just transform yourself into a human with fur. If this was a normal summer camp, you could be the monster that haunts the test of courage thing."
"Ah! That would be awesome! I could freak people out sooo bad. I don't think a lot of people know to the extent what I can turn into," Ace replied, walking through the mall with their multiple bags of supplies necessary. It was nice to shop with Marco, he was glad he didn't go with the whole group.
Sabo was at Midoriya's right now while the other two shopped. "I can't wait to get my provisional license and be an awesome hero at Roger's agency. Are you going back to Hawks, do you think?" Ace wondered. He was carrying a light bag in his bad arm, but it was on the side of Marco so he saw if Ace dropped it and didn't notice.
The blonde shrugged. "He didn't really stick on me, now I want to work at Roger's agency. Damn, he sounds like the best guy."
"Maybe if you apply he'll let you in, too," Ace said brightly. Marco said he hoped so. "I bet most of us won't go back to our first work studies agency. So many didn't like the experience," Ace mused. "So I wonder where they'll go?" Marco shrugged. Hawks only wanted him and Tokoyami because they had bird attributes. "He wanted more who could fly in his agency. He's the only one with wings."
"I wonder if you could impersonate him."
"It would be stupid to try and impersonate a hero, probably would look bad for me, like identity theft. I was someone completely original as Ami, after all," Ace explained. "Roger said I shouldn't let others know about that part so soon as a hero. Katakuri-sensei knows, though. So it's you guys, him, Recovery Girl and Roger. And only you guys know about the embarrassing way I made money…"
Marco snickered. "Yeah, it was pretty funny finding out you draw porn for a living." Ace's face flamed red and he put his hands up. Marco just laughed again.
"The amount of research I did to pull that off… god. You know Amazon, right? Well, I looked there sometimes to see… toys and stuff - and they hide what they are and just call them back massagers." Marco spit out his drink, causing a lot of people to look over. Ace started laughing at his expense as he wiped his mouth and hurried them somewhere else.
"That's disgusting."
"You think that's bad-?"
"I really don't want to hear anymore," Marco said, his face still red. Ace laughed and didn't elaborate on his knowledge of the inappropriate world of adult content. "And to think we have a teacher into that stuff hardcore…" Ace snickered.
They finally got all of their necessities and left the mall. They were about to walk to the station when Ace had a sleep attack. Marco dropped the bags to catch him from falling. "It's okay, he's fine," he said to bystanders. Marco shoved all of his and Ace's bags up on his arms while Ace was sleeping on his back.
Ace woke up five minutes later at a bench, resting against Marco. "Sorry," Ace said in shame. "I bet a ton of people looked." Marco nodded. But at least nobody called the police or ambulance. "Yeah. Sorry to cause you trouble."
"I had fun. And it only lasted maybe five minutes." Ace nodded, not arguing further. "We should get going. It's nearing 2:00."
Nap time for Ace. Ace turned into his dragon form and Marco put all the bags up, Ace flying his things home and then taking Marco's. He didn't have his keys, but he saw there were no notices on the front door. "Has anyone come lately?"
"Not to this unit," Marco said. He unlocked his door and called out if anyone was there. Ace didn't walk in, but he said he could come in. Ace walked in, and put one of Marco's bags down. Now that he wasn't in public anymore, Ace took the thin sling out of his pocket and put it on, resting his arm inside.
His place looked more lived in than his did. Books of all kinds were around, an empty coffee mug on the table. There were family photos on the walls, with a ton of guys, all of Marco's brothers. "Aww, you were so cute when you were little," Ace commented. Marco bristled.
"Isn't everyone cute when they're little?" Marco asked, taking his things to his room, Ace following when he gestured.
"Who knows? I could have been the ugliest baby in the world. There's nobody who would remember and no photos, so it could have been true," Ace said casually. Marco frowned at him deeply. "Don't look so sad. There's nothing to do about it now."
"I guess…" Ace looked at Marco's room. It looked like a normal teenage bedroom. Posters on the walls of all sorts of things they'd talked about, framed photos in some areas. There was a framed photo of the two of them with Sabo and Midoriya in their hero costumes. He smiled at the picture.
The freckled one said, "Your room looks like a bedroom. My house has always been kind of empty. Nothing there that really shows that it's mine."
"Why not?" Marco wondered. Ace shrugged, and added that his room meant no significance to him. He didn't live with other people, so his room wasn't a sanctuary for privacy. It was just the room he slept in. "You're making me really depressed, Ace, jeez."
"I'm not meaning to make you sad! I'm just being honest," Ace said in slight irritation. "Anyways, I should get going. But before we go to camp, I want to meet your family. I'll make sure I don't sleep through any plans again."
"Ah, if only you had just had a late night of sleep."
"Yeah," Ace agreed with a nod. Marco wished him safety on his way back. Ace just flew out of the window as a bird and then moved next door, looking through the window through the crack between the curtains of the living room. That apartment wasn't a home. Not compared to Marco's. Ace wished he had posters up and family photos on the walls.
He wished he had a family.
-x-
"What's wrong? Out with it," Sabo said when Ace was laying face first on his bed.
"Nothing," he grumbled, not lifting his head.
"Did something happen when you went shopping with Marco?" Ace shrugged his shoulder. "Did you get in a fight?" he asked in worry. Ace rolled over and shook his head. "C'mon, tell me what's wrong."
Ace sat up and sighed. "I went into Marco's apartment." Sabo blinked a few times, and asked if that was bad. "There were family photos all over the walls. And I said that Marco was a cute baby, and then I said that I have nobody who remembered me or have any photos. His apartment was all warm and lived in. And I realize my apartment doesn't feel like a home. It's just where I live. And… I thought it would be nice to have a family…" his face was red in shame and embarrassment. Sabo frowned in sympathy. "It's easy being your friend. You don't have a loving, warm family. I think it would have been harder to relate to you if you did. Harder to be around.
"I love Midoriya and Marco and all, but sometimes it hurts to hear and be around their family that loves them. It's stupid... I'm just jealous," he finished. Sabo looked sad and forced him to lean against his shoulder.
The blonde said, "You could talk about this with your counselor."
"No way. She'll just tell me to go to a foster home or some shit. Then they'll boss me around all day and I won't get to do anything."
"Well, if you have parents, they'd be your bosses. I think it would be hard for any family to take you in when you act like an adult a lot of the time. It would be more hard for you, too. But I also understand why you want to have a family, people to love you," he finished softly. Ace sighed and nodded. He didn't think it would work out.
Nobody would adopt him, he was too old, wasn't he? And he really didn't want to be bossed around. He went out when he wanted to, he stayed safe. He would be a good kid in other ways, though. Fine with cooking and cleaning, going grocery shopping, not needing to be driven places. He could be useful.
Parents would want somebody useful. He was smart, too. He wouldn't be too much of a bother, and if he could, he would support them with his own money. Paying rent and all. "Ace, what is your idea of a good child? What kind of kid would you be?" Sabo asked. It was a weird question, but Ace gave all the reasons. He could cook and clean, help pay rent, go shopping and wouldn't waste their time having to take him places. "That's not how parents would see their kid, Ace. You wouldn't be paying rent, it would be your home. And driving you places, well, it wouldn't be a waste of time. It's just what parents would do."
Ace blushed. He didn't know any better. "I would be a good kid. I wouldn't be a bother to them or anything." Sabo bit his lower lip. "And I would help pay for my medications, too. I wouldn't want to move in as a burden."
Sabo hunched his shoulders. "You have no idea what a family is, Ace." He turned away, and nodded. It was to be expected, he'd never had one. "I'm sorry I can't be a good example, either. I keep to myself, Hack and I aren't very close, more like roommates mostly. My parents are not not around."
"I hope this doesn't bother me or anything. Moving in with you changed things, I think. Once I do move outta here and back to my place, I'll be lonely. I don't want to leech off you forever. I know it's a lot of work to deal with my stuff and all-"
"Ace! Stop it," Sabo said firmly, surprising Ace, who didn't know what the problem was. "I'd be fine if you lived with me for the next three years. We're not like normal friends. I haven't gotten tired of you, and you haven't gotten tired of me. But I don't want to be your only family if you want more."
"I don't know what I want, though. For now, I just want to work on myself, but it's still in my head - I don't want to be lonely anymore. I don't want to go home and not have anyone to tell about my day." Sabo smiled and said he was sure hero work could give him some resources. Could ask the other heroes.
"I'm sure they've dealt with a lot of missing kids, homeless kids, abused or abandoned ones. They no doubt found them homes!" Sabo suggested. "And Roger's agency does all sorts of stuff, too. They handle with rescues, criminal cases. Surely child care is there, too." Ace smiled and nodded.
He was going to be a good sidekick, and hopefully find someone who wanted him on the way. He was determined. He felt in a better mood, but in the back of his mind, he felt a little timer ticking. He had three years until he was an adult. He had until 18.
-x-
"Are you free right now?" Marco asked over the phone. Ace was practicing drawing, but that was it. "My brother and dad are both here. They're fine with meeting you now, if you're okay with it." Ace was suddenly full of butterflies.
"I… I don't know anymore, if I want to see them," Ace said honestly. He's told Marco on their flight the previous day after talking about it with Sabo.
Marco said, "That's fine. I understand your reasoning. But do you think you could meet them separately? Like you don't see us all together? They'll just be normal people without me or the other around. Though it might be awkward to be with them without me, as strangers." Ace was just being stupid. "We could meet Thatch together. He's annoying a lot of the time, we aren't gooey with each other."
Ace agreed. He felt stupid for not wanting to see how close Marco was with his dad, who he absolutely adored and adored him. "Cool! Well, you already know where we live, of course." Ace agreed to come over now. He hung up and told Sabo he was going to meet Marco's brother.
"Really?"
"Yeah, not his dad yet, though. Cause of the stupid new thing," Ace said, and flew away. He knew the route home easily. He'd flown to it from many other places for so long. He didn't want to step foot in it anytime soon. He was only having it as his home because he needed a place to fall back to.
He wouldn't find a family, probably, and would need to return there. So keeping it was better than moving all his furniture out, and then moving them back in to someplace else, wasting another deposit and moving costs. His apartment complex was relatively cheap in the two bedroom. So it wasn't costing much to Roger. The settlement was being handled by him, but it wasn't going anywhere, which annoyed both of them. Roger kept him up to date. He was like a family in his own way, but Ace didn't think anything of that, really.
Ace landed in front of his apartment, standing at the door. He didn't want to go in, even if he had his keys with him, he didn't want to enter again. He sighed and shook his head. He knocked on Marco's front door.
It opened quickly. "Oh, you're Ace!" Thatch said, a twelve year old kid. He was short with shaggy hair and a big scar on his face that Marco told Ace was from his first attempt at cooking with a knife. Despite that terrible injury, he still wanted to cook for a living.
"Shut it, don't say anything stupid, okay?" Marco asked. Thatch giggled and nodded. Ace entered and was stiff. Marco put a coat on, and Thatch did, too.
"Are we going somewhere?"
"Outside. It's nice outside." Ace thanked him. The three left, and Thatch asked him about his quirk. It was generally looked down upon to ask someone what their quirk was when just meeting them. Marco sighed in frustration. It was funny. Seeing Marco irritated at someone when he was usually so easy going and positive.
Thatch continued. "Marco said you have an awesome quirk that you can do all sorts of things with!" he exclaimed. Ace admitted that was the truth. "He also goes flying with you. That's cool." Ace nodded, saying he enjoyed it, too. "I would have made you something to eat, but somebody didn't give me enough time."
Ace smiled at the exasperated sigh. Was this how siblings acted? "I've had some of your cookies before. They were really good. Me and Sabo tried to make them but it didn't work."
"Oh, what ones?"
"The frozen ones, the peanut butter and honey ones," Ace said. "We missed something. It should have been easy, it didn't require any baking." He had been very frustrated for wasting so much peanut butter and honey when he and Sabo attempted to recreate the delicious cookies. They told themselves they were healthy because there was no direct sugar. (Only honey has a lot of sugar.)
"You have to have powdered flax for it to hold together." Ace didn't know what flax was. "It's a plant used in many recipes!" Marco told him to not start a cooking tyrade. Thatch frowned but didn't. Ace wondered if they got in a fight before. "So, can I see your quirk? It sounds better than Marco's or mine."
"I don't know, Marco's power would be awesome. To never get hurt or sick," Ace replied. "Okay, what do you want me to turn into?" he asked. He didn't want to bring up his injury and illness right now. Or ever. He hated talking about it if it wasn't necessary for somebody to know.
Thatch thought for a moment. "Anything?"
"Any creature, maybe?"
"Hmm, can you turn into Toothless? From the How To Train Your Dragon movies? I loved those when I was little!" Thatch said. Ace knew what it was, having looked up most popular creature characters. He nodded, and they were in the grassy area of the complex. Ace transformed into Toothless, the harness and all. "Wow! You even have the fake tail! That's amazing!"
"Mommy! A dragon! It's Toothless!" a little girl screamed, wanting to run over. Ace sat back on his hind legs and made that gummy smile that he'd seen gifs of. Marco chuckled, and Thatch was in awe, as was the little girl. The mother let go of her hand and she ran over. "Are you real? Are you really toothless?!"
Marco spoke for Ace. The girl was young enough to think he was real. She would be upset if she was told it was just someone with a quirk. "Well, this isn't Toothless, it's just another night fury." He had watched the movies, too, with his little brother, no doubt. "He has to go now, though."
Ace put his hand out and tapped her head very lightly, making her giggle. He shot off and flew into the distance before he was far enough so he could turn into a small bird and fly back. The little girl was gone by then. Ace transformed back into human form and bowed dramatically. "Wow! I want your quirk, that was amazing!"
The teen grinned. "People love it when I turn into what they want me to. I've done a lot of research on pop culture stuff," Ace said brightly. Marco was sitting on the picnic table nearby, watching with a soft smile. Ace was getting along with his brother, after all. Thatch's quirk had nothing to do with cooking. He could whistle in a frequency humans couldn't hear. It worked on animals, but he never used it.
So he was jealous of his brother and Ace. It must be hard to live under the shadow of someone with a quirk like Marco's. "I really wish you could meet dad, too. I think he'd really like you!" Thatch said cheerfully.
"Not right now, Thatch. But he'll meet him soon enough. Maybe after we get back from camp." Thatch nodded. Thatch asked if Ace did fall asleep a lot. "Thatch!" Marco hissed.
Ace said he did have a sleep disorder. "That's why I missed your barbeque." Thatch said Marco had been really sad. Ace frowned, and Marco was angry at Thatch because he couldn't keep his mouth shut. "Well, I hang out with him all the time, so hopefully he's not too sad about it anymore."
"I'm not. We do hang out all the time and I have fun. Flying sure is convenient. It's not like we live near one another or anything," Marco said, making Ace snicker. Thatch frowned and crossed his arms, mumbling about his stupid quirk.
"You could always try and develop your quirk with dogs someday. Maybe you could communicate with them with the whistle or something," Ace said, trying to make Thatch feel better. He didn't know what it was like to not like your quirk, but he could express sympathy. Thatch said maybe, but they were only allowed one pet there.
"Dad would rather have a cat. He said we're his last kids, and he considers a dog a kid, heh," Marco said. Ace nodded. He'd never had a pet, but it would be like taking care of a child. He agreed with that.
The three of them ordered take out from a nearby restaurant, and Ace picked it up and brought it back. Thatch said he'd make the food next time Ace came over. "Marco's never had friends like he does now, always a lonely one."
Marco told him to shut up, his cheeks pink. "Well, then I'm happy to be Marco's first close friend," Ace sais brightly, making Marco's face even redder. After they were done eating, Ace went on a flight with Marco.
"Siblings seem tiring," Ace said as they flew to the nearest beach. Marco said it was annoying sometimes, but he was glad he grew up with Thatch. They were adopted near the same time. Marco when he was four and Thatch when he was two. Ace nodded. Well, he was glad he didn't need to look after a younger sibling on his own. Life would be even harder that way.
They hung out at the beach a bit before Ace headed home and had his phone visit with the doctor, reminding him of how to take care of himself at camp. If he felt like he was nearing a sleep attack and was for some reason alone, he had to get to where others were. So he didn't freeze while unconscious.
"Your teacher has been told all of this. Chiyo made sure to tell him, remind him that you have disabilities that need to be attended for. Keep your hand warm, you can get frostbite regardless of whether you can feel it," he said. Ace agreed, he would be careful and cautious. He would isolate himself in the freezing weather. Though there wasn't supposed to be any sort of storm there then.
"Good. Call me right away if there are any problems." Ace promised he would. Right as he hung up, he felt a wave of tiredness came forward. He fell down and the carpet and fell asleep. He'd need constant supervision at the camp. Hell, even if the temperature wasn't a problem, being in the wilderness had wild animals and all.
He didn't want his friends to be constantly worried about him, and was sure that Katakuri would keep track of him. And the other teachers were coming, too. He would be safe. When he woke up, it had only been ten minutes or so. He sat up and yawned and went to take a bath in his used bathroom.
He looked forward to the camp a lot. Having sleep overs with a bunch of friends, bundled up in freezing cold, playing in the snow, campfires! He hoped it wasn't too difficult. And he'd be forced to only work with forms that can handle the snow, though. He did wonder if there was any other camp place they could go to that wasn't super cold. But that didn't matter by then: they were all definitely going to camp Drum.