best you can do, is to fake it


There were few things Ace truly hated that came with being one of Luffy's primary caretakers. One of those things that firmly belonged in that category, however, was lying in wait on the kitchen table when he came home late from work one day.

"No."

The look that Sabo threw him did not even give him an inch.

"I did the last one, Ace, and the one before that. It's your turn."

Ace would later deny it, but there was a definite whine that escaped him when he picked up the school letter from the table. "But you're so much better at this, Sabo."

"Don't care. Besides, how are you ever going to learn, if you keep avoiding these meetings?"

Ace groaned. "How can he have gotten in trouble again ? Wasn't the last time they wanted to see us only a week ago?"

Sabo just looked at him. Ace had to concede the point.

He sighed. "What's it this time?"

"Some boys a couple years above Luffy picked on Robin. He seems to have beaten them up."

Ace frowned. "How much older were they?"

"Year 4, I think. And you should probably wipe that proud grin off your face, before you go see Luffy's teacher."

"Well, knowing Luffy, they probably deserved it …," Ace shrugged. "Wait, Robin …? So she's back?"

Sabo nodded. "Yeah, apparently she was trying to stay away so that Luffy and the others wouldn't get bullied by Lucci and his gang, too - that's the boy Luffy ended up in a fight with," Sabo snickered. "I guess turnabout is fair-play."

"You're as bad as me," Ace commented, grinning.

"Yes," Sabo agreed, "which is why you're just as suited as me to go to this meeting. Enjoy."

And he left Ace in the kitchen, his brother having a slightly peevish expression on his face. Bastard.


Truth be told, it was not exactly that Ace hated the idea of meeting Luffy's teacher per se. The trouble only was that Makino-sensei with her understanding nature and her kind smiles was very likely the nicest person in the universe - and thereby unintentionally made Ace embarrassingly aware of his own shortcomings when it came to manners. The few times he had met her, he had invariably left her classroom feeling like he had put his foot so far in his mouth, it might as well have come out the other end - and that still would have been the less embarrassing situation.

So it was with a definite feeling of trepidation that Ace woke up on Friday morning, knowing that in the afternoon he would have to walk to Luffy's school for the dreaded appointment. His little brother, predictably, was no help at all, giggling about Ace having to go to school and behaving nicely.

"You do know that I'm going there to talk about your punishment?"

Luffy thought for a moment, then shrugged. Trouble would come later, whether or not he stopped teasing his elder brother now.

"Ne, Ace, you should ask her if she poops!"

Ace banged his head against the table, wondering if this day could get any worse.


In spite of what Sabo seemed to think, judging by the numerous iterations of 'remember it's at five ' and 'no dinner for chickens' sent by text over the day, by the time it was 4:55 p.m. Ace obediently trudged into the school, taking a seat opposite Luffy's classroom. There was no use in delaying the inevitable after all.

Looking around at the various children's pictures decorating the walls of the hallway, he was quick to spot the one that was sure to have been drawn by Luffy. His brother's artistic skills - or rather lack thereof - were a permanent feature on their fridge after all, as Sabo for some inexplicable reason insisted they were cute. Regarding the picture, Ace frowned when he took note of the subject.

He was startled out of his thoughts, when all of a sudden the door next to him opened, revealing a boy with the angriest face Ace had ever seen on one so young. He was soon followed by a middle-aged man with a head of rather badly dyed purple hair.

"I'll have the concert tickets sent over by next Friday!" the man called into the classroom in a smug tone, Ace taking an immediate dislike to him. "Come on Lucci, I need your help with the Franky family, they - WAAAH!"

There was a definite tremble to the hallway's floor, as the man faceplanted in front of Ace, having fallen over the black-haired teenager's right foot in a rather unfortunate mishap. Groaning, the man looked up at Ace with a glare, "Why you-!"

"My bad," Ace said with no hint of apology in his voice. Much more intriguing than the apoplectic grown-up at his feet was the look on the boy's face, however, as he regarded his downed guardian with a rather sardonic expression. Ace felt more than ever that Luffy's reasons for picking a fight with Lucci had probably been justified.

The door opposite him opened. "Good afternoon, Ace-san, you may come in now!"

As Ace got up and stepped around the still spluttering man on the floor, he could hear another chime from the phone in his pocket.

' Sabo … '

His annoyed look quickly morphed into a smile, however, when he glanced at the screen.

You can do it, big bro!

Ace walked into the classroom.


"Thank you for coming, Ace-san, I really appreciate it," Makino said, as she sat down at her desk at the front of the class.

"N-no problem, Makino-sensei," Ace said, taking the seat opposite her. "It's my pleasure."

The tiny amused smile on Makino's face told him that that was not a reply she often heard from her students' guardians and Ace inwardly slapped a hand to his forehead. ' Damn it … '

"How's Luffy?" she asked and it was the genuine affection in her voice that finally made Ace relax.

"Bummed that he is grounded at the moment, but other than that alright, I think," Ace said.

"That's good to hear. I miss him in class - it's so much quieter without him around."

Ace did not doubt that for a second - although he did wonder why that would be a bad thing in any teacher's books.

"He's still suspended until Wednesday, right?" he asked.

"Yes," Makino confirmed. "There are extenuating circumstances, of course, since Luffy was not the principal aggressor in the fight - but I'm afraid we're very strict about there being no room for violence on school premises."

This was not news to Ace, having been suspended for similar reasons numerous times during his school career. Finally, his irascible temper had led to him having to leave school only last year. Although he supposed the time would never come when he would start regretting teaching Blackbeard a lesson about hurting his friends, Ace did not necessarily want Luffy to go down the same path.

"When Luffy returns, it'll also take some time before he gets his privileges back - like spending breaktime in the backyard. We need to know that we can trust him on his own again first, so you might want to prepare him for that."

Ace winced, already dreading the long face that piece of news would produce.

"However, the main reason I invited you here today, Ace-san, wasn't to talk about Luffy's punishment," Makino continued. "To be honest, Luffy's behaviour has been worrying me for a while and his academic achievement has been slipping, even in PE."

Ace looked up in worry. "Is he failing?"

Makino shook her head. "Not as of yet," she said reassuringly. "But the truth is, he has become quite withdrawn in school. First there was the fight with Usopp-kun, and then there seemed to be some sort of break with Robin-chan too - although I'm hopeful that's been resolved now. I think that Luffy has been feeling very lonely lately and I just wanted to make sure you're aware."

With no small amount of guilt, Ace thought of the picture in front of the classroom that had drawn his eye, sporting a little boy in a yellow strawhat, seemingly lost in a huge forest. "Thank you," Ace said sincerely. "Sabo and I were aware of the trouble with his friends, although I have to say, he's been hiding how it's been affecting him well." Pensively, he thought back to the display only this morning.

"I was afraid of that," Makino said. "He's been the same with me when he knows I'm looking. I think it was probably a contributing factor in the confrontation with Lucci, too."

Ace could imagine that well. If things had been weighing on Luffy this much, he had probably welcomed the opportunity to blow off some steam, especially when one of his friends had been threatened.

"I just wanted you to have the full picture of his actions. I'll talk to Luffy, once he returns to school."

Privately beating himself up for having been unaware of the extent of the situation, Ace nodded and then got up. "That won't be necessary, Makino-sensei. Sabo and I will handle this. Thank you for drawing it to our attention."

"It's no trouble at all," Makino said, standing up herself. "It's part of my job. And I'm glad Luffy has such caring older brothers."

Feeling the embarrassment creeping up his neck, Ace bowed and then wasted no time in finally getting out of the classroom.


"Aaace!"

Stepping out of the school building, Ace blinked in surprise at the sight of his two brothers standing near the school gates, Luffy excitedly waving at him from Sabo's shoulders.

"I'm picking you up, so now I'm the big brother!" Luffy giggled, obviously pleased at the role reversal.

"Are you? Well, then I guess you'll be cooking dinner tonight," Ace tried to grin mischievously, attempting to bury the remaining feelings of guilt and embarrassment for the time being.

"Why? Ace never cooks dinner either …"

"Oi!"

"He's right and you know it," Sabo rolled his eyes. "How'd it go?"

Ace sighed. "Well, he's still suspended until Wednesday. But Makino-sensei had a bit more to say to me. We'll talk about it later," he added at Sabo's questioning look.

"Why can't I know?" Luffy pouted from atop Sabo's head.

"It's a big brother conversation," Sabo said, tickling his little brother's legs that were resting on his chest.

"I hate those …," Luffy muttered, a sullen expression on his face.

"Yeah? And how much do you hate this?" Ace asked, suddenly lifting Luffy from Sabo's shoulders and plunging him up and down like he last had when Luffy was in kindergarten.

Predictably, their little brother loved it.

"If he throws up, you're cleaning it up," Sabo said, but he was smiling as he followed after Ace and Luffy.

Ace pretended not to have heard him and instead continued entertaining his giggling little brother. Everything would turn out alright in the end. He just knew it.


sometimes you can't make it on your own


Author's note: What can I say, the muse kissed me last night and the idea didn't let go of me all day. I'm bound by the adorableness that is ASL. So you get a second part to yesterday's fluff. Enjoy!

Title inspiration: Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own by U2

… Although I hope that didn't need saying …?