Warnings: Dark themes, lots of mentions of death, strong language, human experimentation, experimenting on children, child abduction, graphic descriptions of experimenting, lots of needles, lots of violence, poor descriptions of panic attacks, descriptions of blood, rated M for safety.

*If I need to add anymore warnings please tell me in the reviews or a PM and I'll be sure to add it!*

Chapter 34: The New Normal

Sabo, per usual, was the first of the three to wake up the next day. Normally when it came to the Moby Dick one of the many pirates would walk by and wake the blonde up, but this time it wasn't a pirate, it was Luffy, his heavy breathing and rapidly beating heart tuned him into the fact that Luffy was once again having a nightmare.

It seemed the youngests' nightmares were getting worse and worse with each passing day.

Sighing Sabo sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes and shaking the youngest, trying to rouse him from his slumber. Luffy was inbetween Ace and Sabo so when the blonde began shaking Luffy he pushed him into Ace, slowly waking the fiery teen as well.

"Wha's goin' on?" Ace mumbled, his eyebrows scrunching together as he sat up groggily, looking around.

"Lu's havin' a nightmare," Sabo responded, yawning. It was earlier then they would normally get up, still dark out which indicated it was either late at night or early in the morning.

Sabo focused his attention back on his brother, shaking him again and speaking softly to him while Ace tried to wake up enough to help. It took a few minutes this time to the point where Sabo was beginning to think Luffy might be stuck in his nightmare, but with a start, Luffy woke up. He didn't bolt up like before, but his eyes shot open in panic and he began breathing heavier, flickering his eyes around in confusion.

"Everythings ok Lu, jus' a nightmare." Ace said, very obviously still tired if the slight slur was anything to go on. Luffy sat up, trying to calm his breathing back down as Ace and Sabo sent him warm feelings, hoping to calm him down.

"Do you wanna go outside?" Sabo asked softly, knowing that had helped him last time, but this time Luffy shook his head, laying back down and burying his face in his pillow. Ace and Sabo looked at each other before slowly laying back down as well.

"You wanna talk about it?" Ace asked quietly. None of them had shared what they dreamt about, because they already knew what the nightmares were about, but Ace wanted to help the youngest in any way he could. Luffy shook his head though, curling into a tight ball and pulling the blankets up closer to him and forcing himself to try to go back to bed.

The nightmare had been a pretty bad one, worse than the night before, but Luffy was still tired and he didn't want to bother Ace and Sabo by forcing them to go outside again, especially not this early, or late, Luffy wasn't sure, in the day. Instead, the boy decided that he would just try and calm down and fall asleep, hoping that the feeling of Ace and Sabo at his side would help him.

He could tell that they were worried, he could feel it after all, and he tried ignoring those feelings, instead focusing on the warmth they were sending him, the love, the happiness. He basked in the feelings and allowed them to slowly calm him down.

He could tell when they fell asleep not too long after because their feelings became dulled slightly, almost nonexistent except for a small hint of a stronger emotion depending on the type of dream they were having.

Luffy turned so he was on his back and looked at the air in front of him, allowing himself to see Ace and Sabo's waves that were still visible, even in the dark of the room. He hadn't needed to look at his brothers' waves in a while, but seeing them now was comforting. The fact that he couldn't see through them at all now also comforted him, showing that both of his brothers were in good health, completely healed up after everything that had happened.

The youngest smiled slightly as he reached his hand up to swipe at the waves, though his hand merely passed right through them, the air not feeling any different, not that he expected it to. After staring at the waves a bit longer Luffy turned onto his side once more, closing his eyes with a smile on his face, his nightmare forgotten.

Ace and Sabo would keep him safe, even from his own nightmares.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The next time the brothers were waking up it was because it was breakfast time. Due to the wake-up call in the middle of the night, they weren't feeling all that refreshed, but it was nothing new to them so they got up and made their way to the galley.

Aces glares were just a hint harsher than normal, his mood a bit sour from the lack of sleep, and Luffy was even more timid than usual, clinging to Ace and Sabo as if it was his first time seeing the pirates. Sabo wasn't fairing much better either, his normally easy to force smiles now much harder to conjure up as he greeted overly chatty pirates trying to stop them for a conversation.

Apparently, now that the brothers were going to be here longer than anyone expected, that meant everyone wanted to try being their friends.

Every time they turned a corner there would be a different person trying to start up a conversation with them, but Sabo would just smile and politely inform them that they were heading to the galley and that they would talk later.

'I wish everyone would leave us alone.' Ace tapped, clearly irritated by everyone prying into the brothers' lives. Sabo sighed but felt himself feeling the same way.

'They're just trying to be friendly Ace, though they could be a little less...' Sabo trailed off, trying to find the right word.

'Annoying?' Ace supplied as he glared rather harshly toward someone who was seemingly making their way towards them.

'I was going to say eager.' Sabo said with an eye-roll. Ace huffed at that but didn't say anything more. Luffy had been listening to their tapping silently, gripping tightly onto their hands and staring at the ground.

Even though he had felt happy when he went to sleep, he had woken up and immediately remembered his nightmare from last night, which made him remember the facility, which made him remember all the horrible feelings he had felt when he was there. Even though he knew these pirates weren't going to hurt them, at least not unless they were provoked, he still had an inkling of a feeling that, at any moment, someone would grab them and strap them to chairs.

He shivered at the thought, staring even harder at the ground as they walked.

His brothers seemed to notice his shiver because he could feel the worry coming off of them, quickly replaced with warmth and love, the two feelings mingling together to put Luffy at ease.

When they finally reached the galley it was like a safe haven, because everyone in here was too preoccupied with their food to bother talking to them. Well, everyone except for the Commanders.

Sitting in their usual spot Sabo noticed that everyone was there now, even the Captain. As they ate breakfast their moods slowly started evening out, Aces glare softened back to how it normally was, Luffy wasn't clinging as tightly as before, and Sabo didn't feel so overwhelmed.

Luckily the commanders or Captain hadn't pulled any of them into a conversation, either because they noticed the brothers' moods or just because of chance, but as they were finishing up and getting leave that changed.

They had just stood up from the table, ready to slip away without anyone noticing, but Haruta had other plans. Seeing the brothers walking away the commander quickly shoveled some food in his mouth, uttering a quick, "Be right back," before chasing after the trio who were now leaving the galley, the doors swinging closed behind them.

"Hey, wait!" Haruta's shout had the brothers pausing as they saw the commander run out of the galley, smiling brightly to them. The brothers immediately tensed, wondering what was happening but waiting for the commander to speak before they did anything.

'Can we just ignore him?' Sabo shook his head a bit at Aces taps, feeling Luffy grab onto his hand, noticing he had grabbed Ace's as well.

'No Ace, that would just be rude, were not trying to make them hate us.' Sabo responded, squeezing Luffy's hand a bit in an attempt at comforting the boy. The youngest had just gotten over his nightmare from last night and this was not helping.

'Doesn't feel bad, feels happy.' Luffy tapped to his brothers, noticing no ill feelings coming from Haruta as he made his way over to the three, only joy. Sabo took this as a good sign.

"Commander, what do you need?" The blonde asked with a polite tone, though his body expression gave way to the tenseness he felt. Haruta continued smiling.

"Well, I wanted to thank you guys!" Haruta said cheerily, confusing the trio.

"For what?" Sabo asked, having no idea what Haruta would be thanking them for. The man's grin widened though as he explained.

"For yesterday! I totally would have lost my game if you hadn't distracted Thatch for me, so thanks!" Haruta said, and Luffy decided he liked the man, having felt only pure, happy feelings from him.

Understanding now what Haruta was talking about Ace and Sabo both relaxed, smiling a bit as well as they remembered.

"It was no big deal, we just overheard you telling the other Commanders about it and thought you would like to keep the game going," Sabo said, shrugging it off. Haruta laughed now, nodding.

"Yeah, it would be no fun if it stopped now. Anyways, thanks again, maybe I'll see you guys later! Oh, and you can call me H- wait, no, Ruta, you can call me Ruta, Commander's too formal." Haruta said, already waving and walking away as he spoke, leaving no time for a response. The trio watched him walk off before they began walking as well.

The deck was nearly clear of any pirates, all of them still in the galley eating breakfast, but that didn't mean that no one was out there. Sabo knew for a fact that there were people in the crows nests, he could hear them muttering to themselves or shuffling around, and there was a handful of people who had already finished their meal, lounging around on the deck.

'Can we sit on the rail?' Luffy asked, already looking towards their usual spot. Sabo looked at Ace, and when he nodded Sabo changed their direction to the railing.

'Sure Lu,' Sabo answered, the three of them quickly reaching the railing and assuming their normal positions.

They sat in silence, as usual, none of them finding any reason to speak. It was another beautiful day, and Sabo had to wonder when the weather would change because from what he remembered reading, Grand Line weather was never predictable and could change in a second.

Time passed quickly, and sitting, staring at the ocean, gave the brothers a good excuse not to talk to anyone, especially Ace seeing as he was pretending to be asleep.

Unfortunately, this didn't mean others were deterred from wanting to talk to them, and by the time breakfast was over the brothers were, per the usual, the center of attention, everyone practically buzzing around them. Sabo could hear their quiet chatter, many of them wanting to approach, but no one doing so. It was a bit irritating and it made all of them twitch nervously at the feeling of everyone's eyes on them, but that didn't stop them from trying to at least enjoy their time there.

It was strange because Sabo could remember not all that long ago when the three of them could barely leave their room without being on the edge of a panic attack, but now they were able to sit out on deck with, almost, no issue. They were still nowhere near ready to go walking and talking with these pirates, but it was already a dramatic change to how they had been when they first got there.

It definitely helped that Luffy had yet to feel the darkness or see even a hint of grey around anyone.

'Marco,' Sabo began turning around at Aces tap, ready to greet the Commander. Luffy continued facing the ocean, but he turned his head so he could watch Marco as well, taking note of his feelings, searching for anything bad.

'No bad feelings.' Luffy informed, relaxing Sabo a bit.

"Hello there Marco," Sabo said with a smile, Luffy sending the man one of his own while Ace continued to pretend he was asleep. Marco nodded back in greeting, going into his normal position for whenever he talked to the brothers by the railing.

"Did you want to talk about something?" Sabo asked, swinging his legs slightly to give a carefree air around him, even if he wasn't feeling that carefree at the moment. Luffy was swinging his legs as well, but he had been doing that the entire time, even before Marco had gotten there.

"Yes, actually. Oyaji and I were just discussing living arrangements, seeing as you three are staying much longer then we had first anticipated, yoi." Marco said, Sabo, nodding in understanding. Of course, this was going to have to come up sometime. The pirates hadn't been fully prepared to take in three teenagers who had serious issues, whether they knew about those issues or not.

"Of course. And?" Sabo asked, wondering where this conversation was going to go. Right before Marco responded though Sabo heard the faintest tap from Ace, drawing his attention to the fiery teen, though he kept his eyes locked on Marco.

'Sleep attack.' And just like that Aces body slumped down ever so slightly, breathing evening out. Sabo's lips pursed slightly, but if there was ever a time for Ace to have an attack on deck at least it was when everyone already thought he was sleeping.

'Ace fell asleep.' Sabo tapped covertly to Luffy, the boy nodding minutely back as he focused more on making sure no one got too close to Ace now.

"Well, seeing as we thought you three would only be here a few days we weren't equipped with clothing, shoes, or any other things you would need so we'll need to stock up on the next island for you, yoi." Marco started, Sabo nodding along as he kept his guard up, now extra tense seeing as Ace was down for the count. All he could do was hope that Ace wouldn't have a nightmare.

"Also, if you three would like separate rooms, we can arrange that," Marco said, and even though Sabo knew they were just trying to be accommodating he still felt a pulse of anger at the words, but kept calm on the outside, shaking his head.

"No, its fine, we'll continue sharing. Was there anything else?" Sabo asked, wanting to move on. Marco nodded, continuing.

"Yes, seeing as you're not apart of the crew we don't expect you to do anything like fighting or taking watch, but seeing as you'll be here indefinitely we decided that you should at least do some sort of chores like washing dishes, yoi," Marco explained, Sabo continuing to nod, keeping a close ear on Aces breathing.

"Of course, we expected to have to do at least that much," Sabo replied because they had. No pirate was going to take on three teens for free and let them laze around forever.

It was at this point that Sabo heard Aces breathing picking back up, and he nearly sighed in relief, noticing that the teen wasn't having a nightmare, rather he was waking up. Before Ace could panic about where he was or what was happening Luffy began tapping to him, telling him that they were still talking to lazy face, and seriously, Sabo had to stop that nickname.

"Anything else?" Sabo asked, wanting to go back to relaxing so he could catch Ace up. Marco sighed.

"Well, there's one more thing, yoi." Marco started, a bit hesitant. Sabo raised an eyebrow at that, wondering what Marco was about to say. Clearly, it was something that the man knew they weren't going to like hearing, but what that was, he had no idea.

Sensing the hesitance Ace and Luffy tensed up, not knowing what to expect but knowing it probably wasn't going to be good.

"What is it?" Sabo asked in as evenly a voice as possible. Marco sighed before he responded.

"We know that you all have a strong... disliking for doctors,yoi," The brothers involuntarily shivered at that but waited for Marco to continue.

"But seeing as you're going to be staying here it would be their job to help you if any of you got hurt. Because of that Whiskey just wants to get a bit of simple information, just enough to know if she should avoid certain procedures if she has to, yoi." Marco explained, watching the brothers carefully for their reaction.

The commander knew of the brothers near phobia of doctors but this information was necessary so that Whiskey would be able to better perform her job if needed. Marco also knew that the brothers weren't very giving when it came to information about themselves so Marco knew that this was going to be a task.

'No. Hell no.' Ace tapped out, still a bit groggy from his attack, but coherent enough to know exactly what was happening.

'We can't exactly deny!' Sabo replied, feeling a bit panicked at the corner they were in. Marco hadn't exactly been asking, more like telling the brothers that they had to do this, something none of them wanted to do at all.

'Don't wanna talk to the doctors.' Luffy said fear in his eyes as he turned to face the ocean, hiding his expression from the onlooking Commander.

'I know Lu, but there's nothing I can tell him without possibly making him mad.' Sabo said, feeling fear himself.

'Then make him mad, we're not talking to no doctor!' Ace responded, a scowl quickly making its way onto his face at the thought.

'We can't just make him mad Ace, we're going to be staying here for a while, remember?! We can't have them already hating us!' Sabo tapped back urgently, trying to keep it discreet and quiet enough that Marco wouldn't think much of it, but loud enough that Ace could hear it without seeing it.

'He's worried.' Luffy butt in, sensing the worry rolling off the Commander as he watched the brothers, his face not changing from his neutral expression.

'Of course he's worried, he's worried his plan will fail!' Ace tapped back.

'And what plan would that be Ace?' Sabo asked, nearly frowning.

'The plan where he gets on our good side and then stabs us in the back!' Ace replied, anger beginning to form in both the eldest brothers. Luffy started swinging his feet faster, worried that this was going to turn out worse then he would like.

He didn't want to talk to any doctor, but he didn't want Ace and Sabo fighting either. He didn't know which one was worse.

Luffy did his best to block the anger from entering him, but the only other feeling he could focus on was the worry coming from Marco and that wasn't helping either. Maybe he should try and feel the giant captains feelings and hope for the warmth, but he didn't know where he was, not having seen him leave the galley after breakfast and not seeing him in his chair.

His feet began moving even faster than before as the nervous energy built up within him.

"If we speak to her, can we do it out here? On the deck?" Sabo asked, trying to find a compromise that would put them at least a bit at ease. None of the brothers would want to go into the infirmary where they would just be bombarded with horrible memories and smells, but they also didn't want to talk to Whiskey in the first place.

'Sabo!' The anger was rising within Ace and it was becoming harder and harder for Luffy to ignore it.

"If that's what you would prefer I'm sure she wouldn't mind," Marco said, a bit of his worry disappearing at what sounded like an agreement to talk to Whiskey.

'We're. Not. Talking.' Aces taps were sharp and deliberate, but Sabo ignored them anyway, putting Luffy more on edge as he swallowed, glancing between his brothers nervously, not even bothered if Marco was watching or not.

"Then we'll answer to the best of our ability," Sabo said, but it came out almost forced like he didn't want to be saying it at all, which he didn't. Ace had to hold back a shout of outrage at that moment, ready to wring Sabo's neck for agreeing so easily.

Was that blonde idiot insane?! He was going to willingly give their information over to a doctor?! A rational part of the fiery teens brain told him that it wouldn't be as bad as he was thinking it would be, that he should trust Sabo in what he was doing, but all he could think about was the facility and how every single doctor there had hurt them every day just so they could get information about them.

What if Whiskey heard something and wanted to know more about it? Would she start doing tests on them? Would she have the pirates hold them down while she injected them with who knew what?

"That's good to hear, yoi. Do you want to do it right now?" Marco asked, slightly surprised that Sabo had agreed at all. Sabo hesitated, knowing he was pushing the limit on Aces anger.

"I think that would be best," Sabo said, Marco nodding, saying he would go get the nurse before walking away. Ace didn't even attempt to hide that he was awake anymore, opening his eyes and spinning a glare onto Sabo who gave a sheepish smile back.

'Sabo, what the hell?!' Ace tapped out, clearly furious. As much as the hot head wanted to scream at the blonde he held back, not wanting to draw any more unwanted attention to themselves.

'Ace, just listen-,'

'Listen?! Sabo, you just agreed to talk to a doctor! Giving our information to a doctor!' Ace tapped with such speed and intensity that Sabo and Luffy almost couldn't understand it.

'Yes, but-'

'What if they end up hearing something they want to know more about?! Who's to say they won't strap us down and start testing on us here?!' Ace continued, not listening to anything Sabo was trying to say. Luffy knew it was going to happen, knew that all of Aces anger would flow into him, but he had been trying so hard to stop it.

'Ace-'

'This was a horrible idea! I should have never agreed to stay with these bastards!' Ace wasn't stopping for a second in his rant, glare still plastered on his face as he looked at Sabo. Luffy was watching with worry, feeling the anger slowly taking hold.

'Calm down!' Sabo finally got out, doing what he had done to Luffy by placing his hand on top of Aces, stopping any more taps from the eldest. Aces glare hardened at that and it was obvious he wanted to continue talking, probably yell at Sabo for even suggesting he 'calm down'.

'You're going to get Luffy mad, do you want him charging off again? When there's a doctor on her way here to talk to us right now?' Sabo asked, sending Ace a stern look, gesturing to Luffy who was slowly going from nervous to angry, his features morphing into a glare as he stared at the sea.

The sight made Aces anger fizzle out, realizing what was happening. Even though they had promised they would listen to each other to stop from influencing Luffy he had gone and done the exact opposite.

'Sorry Lu.' Ace finally tapped remorsefully, placing a hand on Luffys shoulder. The anger slowly dissipated from Luffy now, the nervousness returning at once as the straw-hatted boy noticed what had nearly happened, and what was going to happen.

'Ace, I know you don't like it,' Sabo started, Ace scoffing quietly.

'What gave you that clue?' Ace asked causing Sabo to roll his eyes, but continue none the less.

'But, we have to. We can't exactly avoid it forever, and remember, you were the one saying we don't want them turning on us.' Sabo said, this time causing Ace to roll his eyes.

'Yeah, I also said we weren't going to tell them anything about our powers or the facility.' Ace countered.

'And we won't, we're just going to tell them harmless information, and if they start asking something too personal, I won't answer. Don't worry, you don't even have to look at the doctor if you don't want to.' Sabo said, knowing that even the sight would put them all on edge. Ace glared a bit at that though, crossing his arms.

'And let her stab you with a needle? No thanks. You do the talking, I'll do the watching.' Ace said, causing Sabo to grin, realizing Ace was finally becoming at least accepting that this was going to happen. Luffy felt some of his nervousness disappear at the fact that his brothers were getting along again, but any relief he felt quickly disappeared as he smelled the familiar burning stench of a doctor walking out onto the deck.

With the salty air and everyone else's smells the doctors' scent wasn't as overwhelming as normal, but it was still enough for Luffy to feel a bit of a headache.

'Doctors here.' Luffy tapped hesitantly, keeping his eyes locked firmly in front of him, watching the horizon. He didn't want to see the doctor, didn't want to remember everything that had happened at the facility. Ace and Sabo placed their hands on his shoulders.

'Don't worry Lu, you don't have to say or do anything, Ace and I will take care of everything.' Sabo tapped, noticing the nervous tension rising in the youngest. Luffy only responded with a nod, not saying anything else as they waited for Marco and the nurse to reach them.

"Hello there boys, I'm happy that you agreed to speak with me." Whiskey said with a smile, and Sabo knew she was trying to keep them calm but everything she did had the opposite effect. The smile morphed in Ace and Sabo's minds to be a devilish grin, the happiness in her voice turning sickly sweet, hiding her ulterior motives, the carefree way she moved, holding her clipboard becoming much more menacing to them.

There was a collective shiver from all three of the brothers, even Luffy who wasn't even looking. Just the smell and sound of the nurse was enough to unnerve him.

Regardless, Sabo swallowed thickly, forcing a smile onto his face as he shifted a bit on the railing. He still didn't feel up to speaking yet, even though that was all he was going to be doing, so he just nodded to the nurse, hoping she would continue on.

"I just need a bit of simple information, nothing too complicating. If you can't answer something that's fine, just try your best." She said, still keeping the chipper attitude. Sabo nodded again, still trying to find his voice. Ace, who was still standing, had his eyes narrowed, watching every minute movement the nurse was making, just waiting for her to grab a needle.

"Would you like Marco to leave? Normally we do this in my office where no one can listen in, doctor-patient confidentiality and all." Whiskey said, and Ace tilted his head a bit at that, having never heard the term before.

Well, he also hadn't ever seen a doctor before the facility, unless Magra counted as a doctor, which, in his mind, he didn't.

'A doctor can't give away anything we tell them, they have to keep it secret.' Sabo informed Ace, having read about it before. Ace nearly scoffed, remembering the facility where their information was thrown around without a care.

"Its fine, he can stay," Sabo said, taking into account that Luffy had deemed Marco a nice person in both feelings and color. If after hearing this his color started turning grey, then the brothers would know that they should probably leave the ship. If just a bit of information on the brothers had the first mate turning grey then what did that say about everyone else?

"Alright, then let's get started, we'll start off simple. Do you three have any allergies? Anything we should avoid?" She asked, holding her clipboard up, ready to take notes. Sabo shook his head, finally finding his voice.

"No, nothing we know of." He said. Whiskey nodded, writing stuff down before looking back up.

"Before the facility did you three see a regular doctor?" She asked, Sabo, answering with another no. Even though he had been born into nobility, he had only gone to a doctor a few times before he ran away. It wasn't exactly something he would call regular. Whiskey nodded, writing that down.

"Do any of you have a pre-existing medical condition that I should know about?" She asked, causing Sabo to hesitate a bit at that. He had already pushed Ace into allowing this conversation, and if he gave away the fact that he had narcolepsy to the nurse he was sure Ace would go ballistic.

Not that he wanted to tell the doctor in the first place, he was just worried that the nurse would find out and get mad that he had lied.

"No," Sabo said simply, not trusting himself to say any more than that. Whiskey bought it as easily as the other answers and Sabo practically sighed in relief, seeing Ace, who had tensed at the question, relax a bit as well, clearly having been worried about the same thing as him.

"Any medication that you three used before that you would need?" Whiskey continued, to which Sabo was able to answer much easier, giving another no.

The rest of the questions were much easier to answer, their height, an estimate on their weight, did anyone in their family have any medical issues that might show up in them later.

Of course, she had assumed that they had the same parents, but either way, Sabo answered a no on that one. They didn't know much about Luffys parents, and his own hadn't had any issues. Sabo decided it was best not to mention Aces parents either.

"Well, that seems to be about it, thank you three for answering." Whiskey said, smiling once more to the brothers.

'Colors?' Sabo grabbed Luffy attention with the tap, and even though Luffy did not want to look at the doctor he still forced himself to at least glance, focusing more on the colors surrounding the person rather than the person itself.

'Blue, no grey.' Ace and Sabo practically sighed in relief at the answer, both of them relaxing a bit.

"It was no problem, Mrs. Nurse, I'm glad we could help," Sabo said, able to force a smile easier knowing that the nurse would be leaving any second.

"Please, Whiskey is just fine." She said calmly, Sabo nodding, though he didn't plan on talking to her again any time soon. With that Whiskey was finally walking away, any tension the brothers had leaving as she disappeared into the depths of the Moby.

"Now that that's over, lunch should be ready soon, we can head in there now if you want, yoi," Marco suggested, nodding towards the galley. Sabo glanced at Ace and Luffy, both of them nodding in response.

"That would be nice, thank you, Marco," Sabo said, standing and smoothing out his clothes as Luffy got off the railing as well, Ace stretching a bit. Marco nodded and began walking to the galley, and Sabo had to take a second to realize that they felt more relaxed around Marco then anyone else here.

Maybe it was because the man didn't show any outward interest in the brothers? Everyone else was always staring at them, always talking about them when they thought they couldn't hear, but Marco never did any of that unless he was discussing accommodations for the brothers. He didn't oggle the brothers like they were sideshow attractions, and he didn't force them into anything they didn't want to do, besides the whole answer a nurse's questions thing.

Sabo shrugged this off and began following the commander, his brothers close at his side as he did.

No matter how relaxed he felt around the man he still wasn't all that trusting of him. The possibility that he was just trying to get on their good side was still there, and not to mention, it only took one wrong thought to change a clear blue aura to grey.

The brothers and Marco made their way to the galley, only a few people in there, and Marco went to the kitchen, telling the brothers he would be right back. Izo was the only one sitting at the commanders' table so the brothers didn't feel all that nervous when they went to sit down.

Izo greeted the three with a smile, one that Sabo returned, before they returned to silence, Izo working on something in his lap. The four sat in silence, but seeing as there was no one to be worried about Ace and Luffy were much more relaxed than normal, not needing to keep their guard up as much. Because of this, Luffy was becoming more and more interested in what Izo was working on, smelling something that he recognized to belong to the commander with the cool mustache.

'Ne, whats lady-not-lady doing?' Luffy asked, trying not to stare so he didn't draw the mans attention, but still extremely curious. Ace and Sabo looked at Luffy for a second before turning their attention to Izo, though they were unable to see whatever it was seeing as the man was sitting on the other side of the table.

'I don't know Lu, I can't see.' Sabo said, causing Luffy to pout as he waited for lunch to be ready. Within a few more minutes Marco was walking back out of the kitchen, Thatch close behind, the both of them holding food for the brothers which they set down in front of them.

"Thank you, commanders." Sabo thanked politely, Ace and Luffy already digging in.

"No problem! So, what have you three been up to? Anything interesting?" Thatch asked, sitting across from them at the table, beside Izo.

"Nothing all that interesting," Sabo said simply, beginning to eat as well. Thatch sighed, nodding.

"Yeah, it's been a bit of a bore here in Paradise. Maybe things will pick up soon." Thatch said wistfully, resting his head in his hand. Marco and Izo both rolled their eyes.

"You should be grateful for this moment of relaxation Thatch, it means you've got no paperwork for the moment," Izo mumbled, still clearly concentrated more on the thing in his lap rather than the conversation. Thatch groaned.

"Yeah, but now there's just... nothing to do!" Thatch whined.

"There is lunch that you should be helping make," Marco said offhandedly as he sat at the table as well, having been standing before. Thatch shook his head but stood from the table now.

"A bunch of party poopers is what you two are." Thatch whined sadly as he began trudging away.

"Well, goodbye you three, maybe the next time I see you things will have picked up again!" Thatch called, already disappearing back into the kitchen.

"Don't mind him, he can be... overdramatic to put it lightly," Izo said to the brothers, sending them a small smile before returning to his task, whatever that was.

"That's alright, we don't mind the theatrics," Sabo said, returning the smile. It was much easier to keep a conversation with the pirates when there was only a small group. Less overwhelming, less stressful. Sabo felt he had a lower chance of making anyone angry if only a few people were listening rather than tens and hundreds.

"Well, that's good, Thatch is known for being theatrical," Izo said, pulling the thing in his lap a second before raising it, smiling brightly.

"There, finished." He said, holding up a white glove that Sabo vaguely recognized.

"Nice work as always Izo, yoi." Marco complimented, examining the article. The brothers, though, we're still confused.

"Did you make it?" Sabo asked, the commanders' attention turning to him at the question, making him a bit uncomfortable. Izo shook his head, placing the glove on the table.

"No, I just mended it. Its Vistas glove actually, he ripped it so he asked me to fix it for him." Izo informed. Sabo glanced at the object, nodding.

"You must be pretty good then, I can't even tell it was ripped in the first place." Sabo complimented. Izo beamed, looking pleased by the compliment.

"Well, of course, I've had many years of practice, but I can do much more than just mending. I'm good at embroidering and even making clothes, like yours," Izo said, nodding to the clothes that they were wearing that day, ones that Izo had given them when they first got their room. Sabo raised an eyebrow, Ace and Luffy listening but not really following along.

"Really? That's impressive." Sabo said, genuinely meaning it. Izo smiled to him again and the conversation died off there.

It didn't take long for the brothers to finish their lunch and for them to be out of the galley right as the rest of the pirates onboard began heading in for their own lunch.

The brothers spent most of their time that afternoon exploring the ship again, Luffy enjoying the giant figurehead, Sabo and Ace having to keep him from jumping up onto it, knowing that the surface was slick from the ocean spray, and knowing Luffy he would fall in.

By the time it was nearing dinner the three had explored the entire deck, deciding that tomorrow they might go explore the inside of the ship, and Sabo remembered they never did finish Izo's tour.

The pirates were milling around the deck again, and Sabo recognized a few of the commanders that happened to be out as well. Whitebeard was even out now too, having been gone from the deck earlier.

The brothers had decided that they were going to head to their room for a bit, maybe take a nap, but as they were descending the stairs from the upper deck a particularly strong gust of wind came and blew Luffy's hat off his head before he could grab it.

"Hat!" Luffy cried, Ace and Sabo having to grab onto Luffy before he could fling himself after it. The straw hat had been blown over the railing, the brothers watching as it landed on the water, already beginning to float away from the Moby.

"Ace, Sabo, my hat!" Luffy cried in dismay, and the brothers felt their hearts practically breaking. They knew that that hat was extremely important to Luffy, they knew that it was a major source of comfort for the boy, and without it, they knew Luffy wouldn't be nearly the same.

"I wouldn't worry so much." Thatch's voice clued them in that others had noticed their brothers predicament. They turned to see that nearly everyone was now looking at them, Thatch, Marco, and Izo standing near them.

"But my hat..." Luffy said softly, watching the straw hat floating even further away now. He was barely containing his tears, wanting nothing more than to stretch his arm out and grab it, but knew that would only upset Ace and Sabo and get them into trouble.

"Its ok Luffy, Namur's already going after it, yoi." At Marcos words, there was a splash in the water and the brothers could see the Fishman swimming after the object, filling them with relief.

"It's pretty important to you, huh?" Izo asked, Luffy nodding fast with a stern look on his face.

"Mm." He hummed, everyone watching as Namur swam back, someone sending down the rope ladder for him. Luffy smiled widely, running up to the Fishman with no regard to the fact that someone could hurt him in that moment.

Ace and Sabo were shocked for a moment as they saw their brother from seven years ago, smiling carefree, running up to strangers without worrying about possible consequences, but as fast as it had come, it was gone, the timid Luffy returning within seconds after taking the hat from Namur.

"Ah, um... thank you..." Luffy said meekly, realizing he had run away from Ace and Sabo. He also noticed he was the center of attention at the moment and that did nothing to help the sudden anxiety welling inside him.

"It was no problem Luffy," Namur said kindly, smiling softly to the boy who gave him a small smile back, suddenly remembering what Sabo had taught him and bowing a bit before rushing back to his brothers' sides, clinging the straw hat tightly in his hands. Sabo ruffled Luffys hair, sending him happy feelings and praise, proud that he had remembered to bow, while Ace patted his back a bit, feeling the same as Sabo.

"Hey Luffy, could I see your hat for a moment? I promise I'll give it right back." Izo said, and everyone could see the apprehension on Luffys face as he looked from his hat, then back to Izo. After a few moments, Luffy handed the hat over a bit uneasily, even though Izo was smiling and only feeling calm feelings.

Once the special object was in Izo's hands the brothers watched him carefully, ready to take the hat back if he started damaging it, but instead, Izo pulled a white string from his pocket, securing it to the hat. He placed it on Luffy's head, tying the string for him.

"There, now you won't lose your hat anymore," Izo said, standing back and allowing the brothers to see it. Luffy beamed, holding the string in his fingers.

"Wow! Thanks, lady-not-lady!" Luffy thanked happily, letting his nickname for the man slip out. Izo laughed at that.

"It was no problem, we wouldn't want you losing it anymore," Izo said, Luffy nodding in agreement.

"Ne, Ace, Sabo, look, now hat can't fly away anymore!" Luffy said happily, holding the string up to show his brothers. They both smiled to him, nodding.

"You're right Lu, that's pretty cool." Ace agreed, which only made Luffy beam even more.

"Thank you Izo, that was extremely kind of you," Sabo said, bowing to the commander in thanks, Luffy doing the same along with Ace.

"It was no problem, really," Izo said, waving of the gratitude. After that the brothers began walking back to their room, the pirates all returning to their usual activities.

"Pfft, Izo, I didn't know we could call you lady-not-lady!"

"Thatch, I swear to Kami, if you start calling me that you'll regret it."

One of my longest chapters yet! This beast took me forever to write, and even though its a bit slow I hope you still enjoyed it all the same. We're in another transition period for the brothers seeing as they now have to adjust to the fact that their staying with the Whitebeards, so its going to be a little slow for a bit. Rest assured, however, that things will eventually pick up again! After all, we've yet to see Teach, someone I know you are all eager to see for better or worse.

Anyways, I'll see you all next week! It was a shorter note this week, but I've got classes to attend and chapters to write. Love you all, and I'm forever grateful for everyone's support. Till next time!