Note: Hello again readers! Thank you so much for all your kind comments and for following this story! I'm really grateful to all of you! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

[Updated 11th March 2019] + 3500 words

Chapter 2 : Just Go On

"A... A... Ace."

A gentle voice was calling out to him, but his mind was still too foggy to understand where it was coming from. He was having such a nice dream. Everything felt warm around him. He was running after Luffy on a dream-like beach threatening him for whatever reasons. Something silly presumably, but when was his brother not up to something silly? Sabo was sitting on the side, smiling at them both. It was peaceful.

A hand shook Ace's shoulder and he opened his eyes slowly, the sun streaming through the window blinding him. Sleep ebbed away as his consciousness returned, his body making itself known in the form of an aching neck. Sleeping sitting in a chair, head resting near his brother's hand would do that to anyone, really.

"Sorry Ace." The nurse who had woken him up apologized. "I need to give him his therapy so his muscle won't atrophy."

He blinked a few times, feeling drowsy. He was at the hospital. He had slept next to Sabo and now it was morning. What day was it? It didn't really matter right now, he knew it was a week day, so he needed to go to work. Ace rose into a sitting position and winced as his back cracked. Urgh, definitely not sleeping like that again. He felt sore all over. He stretched to get rid of the ache in his muscles and of the crick in his neck before letting out a loud yawn. He felt incredibly tired, as if he hadn't slept at all. Yet, seeing that the sun was already up and high in the sky, it had to be late in the morning. Checking his wristwatch, he noticed it was already eleven. Well… it was indeed pretty late. Thanks God he was his own boss, or he would have gotten an earful for his lateness. Not that he wouldn't get one, knowing both Kid and Bonney. His employees weren't the type to "respect authority". Not that Ace asked that of them, they were friends after all.

The nurse cleared her throat, staring pointedly at him, still smiling but her impatience showing as her left eyebrow twitched every so often. Ah yeah, he had been so lost in thoughts that he had all but forgotten about her.

"Sorry, Sorry." He apologized quickly. "I'll get out of your hair!" He said smiling politely.

He had delayed her work so the least he could do was apologize. She nodded and got to work as Ace made his way out. He cast a last lingering look at Sabo, face lax and unmoving. Nothing like the Sabo of his dream.

Ace couldn't believe he had fallen asleep at the hospital. He must have been more tired than he had thought. Yesterday had taken its toll after all. All those feelings and emotions he tried to keep concealed, out of reach, they had all rushed forth. Go figure that burying them wouldn't work… It was to be expected. Rolling with the punches and getting back up was becoming harder and harder.

The sun was high in the sky, but it was a bit chilly outside, autumn having brought colder temperature with it. Ace hurried to his tattoo parlour. He was never late. Or well, he hadn't been in a long while. Soon after Marco had left, he had gone on a rather slippery slope and his working hours hadn't meant much then… And now that the bastard was coming back, Ace was once again late? He didn't know if he felt angry at himself or simply put out. He didn't want to think about it anyway. He had already given too many years of his life to this, he didn't need to give it any more.

Ace broke into a run, needing to feel the wind rush past him, drowning his thoughts. Working would do him good. He ran full speed, avoiding bystanders by an inch most of the times, buildings somehow blurring before his eyes as he ran past them– or was it because he felt light-headed?

He arrived breathless, cheeks red, hair in disarray and more than a little winded in front of his shop. He had run too fast and had exhausted himself in no time. Beginner mistake. His side hurt, his feet hurt, getting air in his lungs hurt. Or maybe he was just out of practice and seriously needed to do some exercise.

"Ace. Fancy seeing you showing up. Not that you're late or anything." Kid greeted him, a mocking smile stretching his lips as Ace made his way inside, the bell above the door chiming lightly.

"I'm never - never late. You're probably just – just early." He wheezed, bent over, elbows resting on his knees as he tried to breathe normally. God his lungs burnt, and he felt light headed.

"It's eleven thirty. Pretty sure I'm not 'early'." He jeered, leaning on the counter. "You didn't have to run to get there. A little lot or a lot late, at this point, there's no real difference. That and you sound like a dying seal. You might want to go to the gym more often."

"Fuck you, Kid." Ace gritted, pulling himself upright and pushing his sweaty bangs out of his eyes.

"Just telling the truth. Sorry if it hurts." Kid threw back, sarcasm dripping from his mouth.

Kid's smirk widened as Ace glowered. What could he say? He did sound like a dying seal, wheezing and trying to catch his breath as he was.

"I am quite alright, and I don't want to look like a freaky body-builder." Ace spat, eyebrows raising and falling in an obvious taunt.

Kid let out a gruff laugh, shaking his head. Admittedly he didn't really look like a body builder. He was ripped but not overly so. He was just really tall and big, but Ace used what ammunition he had to make fun of his friend. What really made Kid stand out was his punk style. His hair was dyed a violent shade of red and he had piercings in his nose, eyebrows, ears, lip and probably somewhere else but Ace hadn't asked and didn't really feel like knowing. Even his clothes showed a certain… personality. Ace didn't care much for fashion, but he was glad Kid had outgrown his horrendous yellow pants with the little red fringes at the end he used to wear a few years ago. That and his crimson feather coat…Those had been a bit wild. These days Kid mostly wore black, be it leather or jeans in a rather provocative way. Ace didn't know how Kid was even able to put on, and worse to take off, his leather pants as they were so tight they seemed to be painted on his skin.

"Tell yourself that… And get to work." Kid ordered making Ace smile. The man was his oldest employee but also his best friend. He was raw, sarcastic and pretty unapologetic but also really loyal and thoughtful even if he didn't show it outright. You had to get to know him to discover such things.

Ace shook his head but didn't answer, simply bypassing his friend to go into the breakroom, needing to change clothes. Closing the door, he went to his locker and began undressing.

"Anyway, why are you late and looking like death this morning?" Kid's voice sounded through the closed-door startling Ace.

Ah yeah. Next to nothing went past Kid, he knew Ace too well. He quickly pulled new underwear and jeans before grabbing his shirt.

"I'm alright." He replied. "My alarm clock just didn't ring." It sounded pretty unconvincing and Ace prayed for Kid not to ask more. He always took his best friend role really seriously, usually not letting Ace bullshit him.

Ace knew that Kid wouldn't be convinced but he hoped that he would drop it for the time being. He didn't feel like rehashing every little details of what lead to him sleeping in the hospital, wallowing in self-pity. It wasn't one of his greatest moment, but not one of his worst either. Either way, Kid would probably ask why he hadn't called him instead of Izo. Admittedly it would have been the best choice, but Kid and feelings didn't seem to match. Ace had needed to vent not to be told what an idiot he was for blowing everything out of proportion. Which he had been, okay, but that was not the point at all.

Kid was really a great friend. He had been there when Ace had lost first Marco and then Sabo. When he had almost drowned in alcohol and drugs, coping with his loses in a very toxic way. Kid had kept him working, hadn't hesitated to be harsh and to punch him in the face when he was going too far. Luffy could have been there too but Ace was the big brother, and as such he had to do the looking after, not the other way around. Everyone needed someone to look after them after all. People broke under the strain of life and putting yourself back together was hard. Sometimes, friends helped, and Kid had. He had picked up the jagged pieces of Ace and made them fit again.

Kid banged outside the door, starling Ace into hurrying to put his shirt on.

"Get out of here, Ace. I'm not buying your shit."

Ah damn it.

"But as you don't seem to be in a sharing mood, I'll drop it. For now." He said somehow ominously before moving away, the sound of his footsteps fading.

Well, it was the best Ace could hope in this situation. Kid sure as hell wasn't going to drop it anytime soon, but Ace would do his best to act as normally as possible to get his friend off his back. He was touched that Kid worried about him, but he just didn't feel like spilling his guts right now.

He opened the door and walked into the shop, pasting a well-practiced happy smile on his face. The sight of the front room was enough to make the smile more genuine. He had invested so much in this place, to make it what it was today, he couldn't help but feel if not happy at least content. He had named it Spade. Quite a good pun if he said so himself. Ace of Spade. He didn't know if he felt proud or ashamed. A little bit of both maybe, but he liked the name of his shop

He had designed the shop entirely and it was exactly how he had pictured it when he had first thought of opening a tattoo parlour. Three of the walls were a very light beige, splotches of every colour imaginable thrown haphazardly on them because "beige was boring" or so Luffy had told him before waving his brush dripping with blue paint in front of a wall. It hadn't been a bad idea because all those splotches of colours really brightened the room and gave it a very lively feel. Only the back wall had been spared the same fate because it was already colourful as Ace had chosen to paint it a deep red. Frames upon frames covered most of the walls, showcasing some of Ace's and his employees' best works. A few of them were just drawings that had never been inked on anybody but looked nice and gave a sense of what the artists here could do. All four of them, Kid, Bonney, Bartolomeo and Ace were rather proud of their skills and the shop was pretty well known around the city because of that. The front of the shop was all see-through glass, floor to ceiling windows that let the sun stream in easily. Next to the front door on the left was a large plushy couch that was really nice for napping and a coffee table from IKEA that had been hell to build. On the right was a door to the bathroom. Directly across from the front door stood a solid high counter painted black with flames licking its sides, making it look as though it had caught fire. There was a cash register and a computer on it and a really ugly pencil holder that Luffy had made. For that reason alone Ace loved it and couldn't get rid of it. A door behind the counter led to the breakroom from which he had just emerged and on his left were two doors one that led to a room to tattoo clients in privacy and the other to his office. On the right was a staircase leading to the first floor, where there were two other rooms to tattoo their clients and a large storage room. All in all, it was a world full of splotches of colours. Cheerful and colourful. Home.

Kid stood behind the counter, back to Ace, looking at the appointment book.

"So, I had to reschedule one client who had booked you this morning but the rest agreed to have Bonney or me do their tattoos. We told them you were sick." Kid told him, looking over his shoulder.

Ace hummed and came to stand closer, taking a look at the book. No need to linger on his lateness or it would give another opportunity to Kid to ask questions.

"I see. Ms Alvida is next so I will go prepare the room and fetch her file. We'll start the inking today if I remember correctly." Ace said.

Kid cast him a sideway glance, lips pursed and eyes clearly disapproving of Ace's avoidance of the elephant in the room.

"Yeah she finally settled on a design last time."

"Ah yes, I remember."

Alvida had been rather peculiar about what design she was going to get. Some people were like that, wondering if they made the right choice in getting a tattoo. It was, after all, for life. Or well, now you could burn it off with a laser, but it was expensive and hurt like hell. Ace had a few tattoos of his own, but he never regretted getting any. Thankfully he hadn't been as stupid as to get a heart tattoo with his and his ex-lover's initials. Some people actually came here to do just that, and Ace hoped for them that they would last. Most would come to regret it though, he was sure of it.

"You know that I won't drop it, do you?" Kid said as Ace was about to go upstairs.

"I'm sure you won't… But I assure you it's nothing." Ace replied before hurrying to climb the stairs and get out of Kid's sight.

- LG -

Kid's constant staring and glaring had been tiring. All day long he had been breathing down Ace's neck, not necessarily asking question but simply being there, a little bit too close, eyes a bit too narrowed to be anything but full of suspicion. Ace had tried to act as normal as possible and he thought that he had done a pretty good job, especially because working had made things better. He had been in a better mindset and still didn't wish to rehash everything.

He liked working, liked losing himself in the practiced gesture of tattooing people, liked chatting with his clients about the meanings of their tattoos, of why exactly they wanted one. Some had deep personal reasons whereas other simply wanted one, just because. And it was fine, it wasn't Ace's job to be nosy or judgmental. People were free to do what they wanted with their own skin and maybe they'd come to regret it but at least, at that moment in time, they had been free to choose. And that kind of freedom was exhilarating. That's one of the reasons he had decided to open a tattoo parlour. He had always liked drawing, had even majored in Art in college but hadn't known what he wanted to do for a job. That's when Marco had come in… As much as Ace hated him and hated the thought of him, he couldn't simply erase the guy's existence from his own life because he had been the one pushing Ace to just take a leap of faith and do something he liked, to be free. He had noticed Ace's passion for drawing and had told him that his talent was wasted in college, that he definitely should do something he enjoyed and not try finding a desk job or a job in which he wasn't his own boss. Ace had never been that good with authority.

"You, me, dinner." Kid's gruff voice sounded behind him, startling Ace from his thoughts.

"Wha-" He began, eyes wide at being caught unaware. He had been going over the appointment book and now there was a large black line in the middle of the page. "Kid, can you not do that?" He sighed taking the correction fluid from Luffy's pencil holder.

"I could." The jerk replied smirking, coming to stand on the other side of the counter, staring at him.

"Bonney already left, why haven't you yet?" Ace asked, knowing that it was already past eight. He had hoped that by staying in late he would avoid the "talk" but no such luck.

Kid cast him an unimpressed look and actually snorted as though Ace's question was dumb.

"Move your lazy ass, we're going to eat something and you're gonna spill what's wrong with you." He ordered, already making his way to the door.

"I am the boss, in case you didn't know. So I should be the one to give orders, not the other way around."

"Yes yes, boss. As long as you don't think you can evade the issue. I'm cleverer than that." Kid said, a toothy smile spelling trouble stretching his lips

"I'd have tried." Ace muttered a bit sullenly. He went to fetch his coat in the break room before coming out and following Kid through the front door. He locked it and pulled the roller shutter down, locking it too. A huge tag covered the metal, representing a pirate ship with Ace's very own jolly roger. A skull wearing an orange hat on fire. Two circles rested on the brim of the hat, one representing a happy face and the other a sad one. The skull was drawn inside the form of a spade from a card game.

"So" Kid began and Ace thought that his leeway had run out and that Kid would press him for answers, but he was proven wrong. Kid was as subtle as a as bulldozer, but he could be thoughtful when he wanted to. "What do you wanna eat? I'd go for greasy food."

"Sure. Let's go to Holly's Diner. I could eat a burger."

"You'd eat anything…" Kid drawled, sniggering.

"True but I feel like eating a burger so that's what we're gonna get. I'm the boss so I get to decide."

"Tell yourself that."

They spent the rest of the walk to the restaurant bantering, Kid's snide remarks making Ace laugh more than anything. The place wasn't crowded as it was a week day, so they placed their orders quickly before finding seats. Soon they were presented with their orders and they digged in, Ace stuffing his mouth rather noisily. Of course, Kid would choose this moment to begin the questioning.

"So, Ace..." Kid said, taking a fry and dipping it in ketchup. "Mind telling me what's bothering you ?"

Ace looked at him, mouth still full, glaring before swallowing quickly.

"You won't drop it till I tell you?" He asked despite already knowing the answer.

"Probably."

Ace wasn't really pissed off at his friend's attitude, he knew where it came from and he also knew that his behaviour from this morning would be worrying, especially because he refused to say what was wrong.

"It's ... complicated ?" He said tentatively, stuffing his mouth full of fries to avoid having to elaborate.

"Is it ?" Kid replied sarcastically.

"Don't be a jerk..."

"Don't be a moron then."

"I'm not !" Ace exclaimed. God with friends like Kid he didn't need any enemy that was for sure.

"You are, because you refuse to talk."

"For good reasons."

"Which are?"

"None of your business."

"Oh, is that so?" He didn't sound pissed but his control over his temper was thinning by the minute, Ace could see it clear as day.

"Okay, you asked for it." Ace sighed, lips pursed. "Marco's back."

He said it in a matter-of-fact manner, not looking at Kid. He settled on trying to open another packet of ketchup rather unsuccessfully and missed Kid's expression upon hearing his words. Kid had been there back in the days, when Marco had broken up with Ace, had witnessed first-hand how bad it had gotten. Ace knew that hearing about him wouldn't make Kid happy, after all Marco had hurt Ace and his friend had been relentless about telling him to let it go and start living his life again, not pin after an underserving moron.

"So what ?" Kid asked tonelessly, a dark look on his face that Ace couldn't see.

"So... nothing... ?" Ace said, trying to brush it off, still attempting to open this damn packet which was resisting a bit too well. Ace was close to just taking his knife and cut it savagely.

"It's bothering you."

"No shit." Ace sighed, finally admitting defeat and letting the packet fall on the table.

Kid levelled a hard look at him, lips pursed, not eating anymore.

"Of course, it bothers me. I'm just… it's messing me up, I don't know what to feel." Ace finally said, taking another packet but this time of mayo. He managed to open it on the first try.

"What do you feel ?" Kid asked a bit brusquely, reaching for the discarded packet of ketchup and tearing it open forcefully before handing it over to Ace.

"Thanks. I don't know, I told you. I just learnt about it yesterday and I really don't want to think about it."

"But what do you feel? Apathy ? Hatred ? Sorrow ?" Kid pressed him.

"I…"

"Well ?" Kid urged him, frowning. He was leaning over the table a bit too much, getting in Ace's space. Ace was taken aback by his friend's reaction, not expecting him to pry this much. He knew that there was no love lost between Kid and Marco but still… Kid was looking at him darkly as if he was angry at Ace for bringing Marco up again. He knew that he should have moved on a long time ago and for the most part he had, but Kid couldn't expect him to just be bullet proof and not feel anything at all when he knew that his ex-lover who had left without a fucking note, or well with just one phone call, was back in town.

"I see that it's making you angry. I knew that you wouldn't want to hear about it. I won't bother you with this if you don't want me to." Ace offered.

"No, no sorry." Kid apologized quickly, leaning back again and going back to eating his burger as if nothing was wrong. The atmosphere was still tense, but Kid didn't seem to realise it. He just wolfed down his burger before speaking again. "I'm just… worried."

Ace looked at him and nodded slowly. Kid was being rather strange but maybe Ace was thinking too much. His friend was rather overprotective so it may be normal for him to react like this

"So what do you feel?" Kid asked again, his voice softer, placating.

Ace frowned but settled on not thinking too much about it. Kid had every right to be this angry with Marco anyway so maybe that's all there was to it. That and he was rather uneasy with dealing with emotions so maybe it was his weird way of showing that he cared.

"I told you. It's complicated. I feel angry of course…"

"But…?"

"But." Ace repeated sighing. "But I … can't help but feel regrets…" He trailed off before settling on being honest. "I mean, we never really ended our relationship and knowing that he is coming back…"

"He did end it." Kid replied mercilessly, tone cold.

Ace winced, his friend's words feeling like a blow. Marco had ended it, yes. In the most cowardly way imaginable but… but Ace hadn't been able to accept it for the longest time and now he sort of had but he wanted to understand why. There was so many questions left in his mind. He shouldn't want to even see Marco's face.

"I know."

"What would you do if you see him?" Kid muttered.

"I would punch him in the face."

A smile stretched Kid's lips and he seemed to relax a bit, settling more comfortably in his seat.

"He deserves it." He nodded.

"He sure does." Ace agreed and just like that the conversation was back to a lighter mood, but it didn't prevent Ace from thinking back on those events. That was why he hadn't wanted to discuss it. Because he was sure it would drag everything out in the open once again, everything he had so carefully buried.

It had been so long ago, his break up that is and yet, he could remember every word. Or maybe not word for word but the gist of it. It would be hard not to after all, it had hurt like a bitch and had been a one-way ticket to his own personal hell and a period of his life he wasn't really proud of. He hadn't known he could let go of reality in such a way but things adding up and life keeping on grinding his face in the mud had helped him get there. All in all, what he should remember was that Marco was a damn coward not worth anything. And a cruel one at that. Every one of his words had been hurtful, filled with poison. Every word had felt like blades cutting his heart to ribbons.

"Ace, snap out of it." Kid said sharply making Ace look up quickly. He stared at him lengthily before exhaling quietly and breaking his gaze.

"Sorry, I was lost in thoughts."

"I noticed. We should go, you look tired and you should catch some sleep." Kid offered, probably concerned.

Thinking about Marco had left Ace feeling strange. Not the good kind of strange. Somehow hollower and more disorientated. He would have liked never to remember this.

They rose and excited the restaurant, the chilly wind making Ace's teeth chatter. They walked in silence for a bit, Kid not talking and Ace counting his steps, not wanting to let himself think.

"I don't understand why you react like this!" Kid exclaimed suddenly, not stopping. "You should be angry! He hurt you and you still seem to care… I was there I know what he did and still you… you care…" He spat the last word as if it was an insult. Ace stayed quiet. He didn't want to argue with Kid right now and he still needed to put words on his feelings. Did he care? He didn't want to, but maybe he did.

"Ace. I'm talking to you." Kid sighed, stopping, probably thinking that Ace wasn't listening, too deep in thoughts. Seeing his friend like this fuelled his rage but Kid couldn't blame anyone but himself. He hadn't been able to make Ace forget about Marco.

"I hear you."

"It'd be better if you actually listened."

"Sure, but I don't feel like it right now. Could you just, drop it for tonight?" Ace asked, wanting to change the subject.

Kid nodded but didn't reply, starting to walk again in silence. They soon parted way at an intersection, both going in opposite direction.

"Take care Ace. I don't want you to get hurt." Kid murmured, a wry smile stretching his lips.

"I know. Thank you and thanks for being such a good friend Kid." He replied, clasping his shoulder tightly, conveying his gratitude by this simple gesture.

"Sure." Kid replied gruffly before turning around quickly and hurrying down the street to his home.

"Goodnight then!" Ace shouted out at Kid's retreating back.

"Goodnight." His friend answered not looking back but waving.

- LG -

The walk back home had been uneventful as Ace hadn't met anyone. Opening his front door quietly he got inside. It wasn't late, close to ten but if Luffy was home and asleep Ace didn't want to wake him up. His brother usually slept a lot and he had a strange schedule. He worked at Ivankov's bar a few nights a week, depending on Iva's and Luffy's mood, most definitely. Luffy's boss was weird on his – or her, because he was an okama and enjoyed dressing as a woman when he felt like it - best days and downright crazy most of the time. His fashion style alone was enough for people to get a sense of who he was. Wearing a pink spandex suit was a bit of a fashion statement, indeed. That and his purple afro. What kind of people wore their hair that way anyway? Ivankov's bar was just as strange, catering to all sorts of people, having theme nights such as "Wild Boys" and Ace was still having nightmares over this… Anyway, Luffy was only a waiter and even if his working suit was way too short for Ace's taste, there usually wasn't weird people or at least they would get thrown out if they were behaving inappropriately. Ivankov could be quite the mama bear and Ace felt that Luffy was as safe as possible working there. And it's not as if he could get another job such as the one he had at the bar. Ivankov was a friend of Luffy's father and him and Luffy had hit it off really well so he had offered him a job. Luffy had accepted because it was fun and because he could get free food at the end of the night.

On his working nights Luffy was home by three or four a.m. but on the night he didn't work he liked to go to bed early to catch up on some were no lights on the flat and it was quiet so Luffy probably was working, it was just so hard to keep track of his schedule.

His brother not being here was somehow a relief as Ace didn't really feel like talking after his night. Especially after being pressed for answers by Kid who had been a bit insensitive over everything Ace had told him . It was who Kid was, but he could work on his people skills. He wasn't mean usually, just overly frank and sometimes he didn't realise how he talked to people.

Ace went to the bathroom to take a quick shower and noted that there was no light in Luffy's room and a quick inspection showed that it was empty. Ace was grateful for this small mercy, he just wanted to sleep and eventually talk in the morning, but his brother would have insisted on talking right now. There was no need to bother him with such things though. Marco was Ace's problem, if he was a problem at all. He shouldn't be anymore. There was no problem. So, no need to get Luffy involved. Feeling exhausted, he quickly put on his pyjamas and went to bed, pulling the cover up to his nose and burying his face in his pillow. Closing his eyes he willed himself to sleep, to no avail. The more he tried to empty his mind the more unwanted thoughts came to the forefront of his mind. Marco, Kid, Luffy, his feelings. He should have drunk something. No. he had stopped drinking because he knew that sorrow and alcohol didn't mix well in the long run. They were a cocktail of misery, that was all there was to it.

The rattle of keys in the lock startled him as he was busy staring at the ceiling. What time was it? It felt like only minutes had gone by since he had gone to bed but checking his clock, he noticed that it was already 3.17 a.m. He must have dozed off at some point. He could hear his little brother locking the door and make his way into their home as discreetly as was possible for Luffy. He wasn't really thoughtful of the noise he made, or he probably didn't even notice he was making noise at all. Soon, he could hear his brother's footsteps coming closer to his bedroom and the door was pushed open, the light from the corridor casting some light in the room.

Luffy's head appeared at the door, followed by his body as he entered the room. He was still wearing this god-awful uniform showcasing way too much of his skin. His outfit coupled with his innocent and naïve demeanour… no wonder he attracted perverts. Plus, he was cute for a guy, not really short but definitely not as tall as his brothers and rather scrawny even if he packed some muscles and was strong. His skin was soft and tanned from all the times he spent outside, he had big wide brown eyes sparkling with warmth and mirth most of the times and a mop of messy hair as black as Ace's. Of course people would be tempted by his brother, he was just the cutest thing on earth. That was exactly why this Trafalgar had latched onto him like a leech, that was for sure. But Ace would be damn if he let his little brother unprotected.

Luffy walked slowly toward the bed, eyes squinting probably trying to make out if he was in his bed.

"Ace ?" He tried to whisper but failed. "You're awake ?"

His voice was cautious and warm, if a little put out. He had probably worried yesterday, not seeing him home. It wasn't often that Ace slept elsewhere without warning his brother beforehand. He usually did because Luffy would worry otherwise and he knew it. Since Sabo's accident, he had become a bit clingier.

"I'm awake, Lu." He replied warmly, already feeling the last dregs of worry slipping from his mind at seeing his brother and feeling him all but lunging on his bed, wrapping himself around Ace like a giant octopus.

"I missed you yesterday. Where were you ? I was worried." He said, squeezing him hard. How such a small guy could be so strong was a wonder.

"Sorry Lu. I just had a lot on my mind."

"Is it about me and Torao ?" Luffy asked lowly.

Luffy sounded so sad saying those words that Ace couldn't help but feel bad. It was after all his fault if Luffy seemed down about this. He hadn't been the smoothest considering the situation... He hadn't wanted to make his brother miserable, but Ace just couldn't trust Trafalgar for the life or him. Or Torao as Luffy called him because he presumably couldn't say his name properly

"No, it's not Lu." He said nonetheless and it was true. He had ended up at the hospital not because of Luffy and Trafalgar but because of the drama in his life that had caught up to him. He just had felt way too overwhelmed to deal with it on the spot. "It has nothing to do with you, don't worry."

"You sure? Cause Torao is a great guy you know ? He's really smart and funny!"

In the dark Ace couldn't see his brother's face but he was sure Luffy was grinning.

The description that Luffy made of Law didn't fit the Trafalgar Ace had come to know though. Admittedly he didn't know him very well, he had just met him a few times because he was part of his baby brother's circle of friends. Whenever Luffy organised some group activity, which happened quite a lot, this strange man was there, and Ace hadn't hated him at first, but he definitely should have. Once he had caught on to Trafalgar's … less than pure thoughts regarding his brother he had put on his big brother-hat and gave the man "the talk". After that, let's say their relationship hadn't been that great. Ace had thought that Luffy wasn't interested anyway and that there was just no way he would accept being in a relationship with Trafalgar, but he had been wrong. Obviously.

"I'm sure" He murmured, freeing his arms from under the cover and squeezing his brother against his chest.

What if something was troubling him? There was no need for Luffy to worry about it too. He had his own life, his own worries, there was no need to add any more by telling him about his ex-lover or whatever. He was the big brother here, he could deal with things on his own. He would deal with his own problems and as for Trafalgar… Ace might go and see him to make things right. Or maybe he would make them worse because there was just something about the man that made him want to punch him across the face. Probably his smug face. Definitely his smug face. Anyway, he wasn't going to drag Luffy in any of this.

"No lying." Luffy said in a no-nonsense way, visibly not convinced by Ace's reassurance

"I'm not." Ace replied simply.

Luffy yanked the cover away from Ace, earning himself a sharp cry from his brother because of the cold before wiggling next to Ace and settling more comfortably in the bed.

"You are."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm not."

"You are !" Luffy was probably scowling or pouting at this point but Ace couldn't find it in himself to stop this utter silliness.

"I am then." Ace admitted, just to further confuse and anger his brother.

"You are !" Luffy shouted, not falling in the verbal trap Ace had set for him.

"Yeah. That's what I said." Ace laughed unbothered.

Luffy growled before squeezing Ace even harder to convey his annoyance.

"Hey ! Don't squeeze me like that !" Ace protested as he laughed.

"You're lying. And lying is bad."

"It is. But I'm not lying. I went to see Sabo and fell asleep at the hospital."

A white lie was better than telling the truth. He couldn't bother Luffy with his non-existent problem.

"Oh." Luffy murmured then, releasing his tight embrace and burying his face in the pillow.

Yet, making his brother sad wasn't any better. Good job, Ace.

"Yeah, well, anyway, I'm not mad at you or anything, don't worry. By the way, how was your night ? Did you have fun ? Were the clients nice to you ?" He finally asked, trying to stir the conversation on a safer subject.

Luffy's peculiar laugh rung in the room.

"Yeah I had sooo much fun!" Luffy exclaimed, easily derailed from his earlier train of thoughts. "It was so cool ! Bentham nearly fell on the stage but he's fine! But Iva didn't let me eat any meat! I was soooo hungry! I snicked into the kitchen though…"

Side-tracked at last, Luffy went on telling his brother about his day. How Iva had caught him in the act and how he had gotten away scot free because the cook liked him anyway and hadn't ratted on him. He went on telling him how yummy the meat had been, melting in his mouth.

Luffy's voice droned any unwanted thoughts and lulled him into a deep slumber. Soon, he found himself asleep next to his brother, warm and comfortable.