Title: Ten Years Difference (2/?)

Author: Stormy1x2

Word Count (chapter): 2750

Notes: Thanks for the reviews! They are all greatly appreciated and inspirational! I don't tend to answer questions in author's notes because I'd rather you read the story and find the answers yourself. If I do respond, it's because the answer won't be in the story in one fashion or another. However, I will say I want to adhere to the canon storyline as best I can, taking their age difference into consideration. You can assume this story is takes place ten years prior to the start of the manga and that's the last I'll say on the storyline. If you wish to know more, please continue reading. :)

Also – one tiny change because I got the timing wrong. Luffy was almost 6 when they first set out and by the time this story takes place, he's 6-and-a-half, closer to turning 7. Being younger and with such an older brother, his antics and thought processes are a bit different because...well, you'll know soon enough why.

Fic Status:

Chapter 3 – 100% complete, on 2nd editing

Chapter 4 - 100% finshed, on 1st editing

Chapter 5 – outline 50% finished.

o0o

Chapter 2

o0o

Luffy liked being on the big whale ship. He knew that he should still be careful – the man who was the captain (and was really really big too, like a giant!) had hurt his brother and that was after Ace had already been hurt by the fishy guy. Luffy had wanted to hit the big man for hurting Ace but then the giant man had apologized and reminded Luffy that Ace had attacked him first and well, that was true.

Luffy sat up, yawning, from where he'd laid curled up by Ace's side. Bluebird had offered him a room to stay in, close to the infirmary, but he didn't want to sleep alone. Besides, Ace was still hurt, so Luffy had to stay by Ace to protect him and be there when he woke up, like he was there when Luffy woke up after Grampa or the monkeys hit him until he fell asleep. Besides, Ace was always nice and warm because he was made of fire, and Luffy liked to snuggle. Ace always said big boys don't snuggle, but he never pushed Luffy away, and so Luffy was pretty sure that meant Ace liked snuggling too.

"Good morning, Luffy!"

Luffy blinked at the pretty nurse-lady. Bluebird had said her name was Whiskey, but that was what one of the bottles Gramps liked to drink was called, and so he just called her 'nurse-lady'. She didn't seem to mind. "G'morning, nurse-lady!"

She smiled at him as she moved up alongside Ace's bed to check him. She did it every morning, after lunch, after dinner and then one more time before bed. Luffy liked that she was checking Ace so much. It meant she cared about him getting better. Luffy knew that Ace believed no one cared about him except Luffy and his crew, but the crew was gone now (Luffy was afraid to ask – he was starting to like these people and he didn't want to make them angry and thinking about the Spades reminded him of what he left behind and that really would make him cry and he knew how Ace felt about cry-babies) and so it was good that someone else was helping to take care of his older brother. Ace was an amazing person and Luffy never truly understood why so many people wanted to hate him just because of who his dad was (but that was the biggest secret of all the secrets and Luffy would never tell anyone, he'd crossed his heart and everything). "After I check your brother, do you want to come with me for breakfast?"

They always asked but Luffy was afraid to leave Ace. It was four days now since the fight, and he was still sleeping! He must be really hurt, and so Luffy would always shake his head and say thank you for the invitation but no thank you, just like Makino had taught him and Ace. Someone would always bring him food later, even if it wasn't enough, but he didn't want to be a bother. If he was a bother, they might make him and Ace leave and Ace couldn't take care of himself right now. "I wanna stay here."

"Sorry, kiddo," came a voice from the door.

Luffy looked up and saw his bluebird friend. "Bluebird!"

Nurse-lady giggled, but Bluebird just shrugged and gave Luffy a look that Luffy knew it meant he was about to give up. "You do know my name is Marco, right?"

Luffy frowned. "But you're a big blue bird, right?"

"Only some of the time." Bluebird – Marco – came to Ace's bed and looked at Luffy's brother. "How's he doing today?"

Nurse-lady smiled and pulled the blanket back up on Ace's chest, tucking it in along the side of the bed. "His bruises are almost gone – he seems to be a very fast healer. The skull fracture is taking a little longer-" she gently touched the white bandages wrapped around Ace's head. "-but there's no swelling around his brain at all. I'd say give it a few more days and we'll see him start to become a bit more aware."

Bluebird nodded, still staring at Ace. "That's good to hear."

Luffy tilted his head to the side. "Why did Bluebird say 'sorry'?"

"Hmm?" Bluebird blinked and turned to face Luffy. "Oh, right. Well, I've heard complaints about you, little one." He smiled and Luffy was confused. Didn't complaints make people mad? But Bluebird was smiling at him. "It seems people have been hearing your stomach roaring like a lion, which means you're not getting enough food. So Thatch told me to tell you that you are under orders to come to the galley for breakfast so he can see just how much food it will take to calm the beast."

Luffy giggled. Adults were so silly sometimes. "There's no lion in my tummy!"

Bluebird shrugged and held out his hand. Luffy looked at it, and then looked back at Ace with worried eyes. Nurse-lady reached out and messed up his hair. He giggled – it always tickled when people did that. "Go for breakfast, Luffy," she said, sitting down on the bed next to Ace's. She gave him a soft smile, the kind Makino always gave them. It made Luffy's tummy feel warm. "I'll sit right here and watch him until you get back, okay?"

Luffy bit his lip. He really wanted to go and have a real breakfast – a big breakfast, so he'd stop feeling so hungry. And nurse-lady had been really nice all this time. "You won't leave?"

The nurse-lady crossed her heart. "Promise."

Luffy nodded. Heart-crossings were serious business. "Okay. I'll trust you." He leaned over to look his brother in the face. "I'm just going for breakfast, Ace-nii. I'll be back soon." He wrapped his arms around Ace's arm, snuggling close for a second – and then sat up, jumping off the bed and looking up at Bluebird. "'Kay, I'm ready."

Bluebird had a weird look on his face, but then he smiled and held out his hand. "C'mon, little lion. Let's go see how much food it takes to fill you up."

Luffy laughed as he took Bluebird's hand. "Lots and lots," he said. "Let's go, let's go!"

The whale ship was even bigger than Luffy thought. Bluebird led him down halls and up stairs to the main deck and Luffy stopped in shock at how much of a main deck there was. "Whoa," he murmured, ignoring all the curious looks he was getting from some of the people on deck. "You could put the whole Spade ship on the deck here!"

A chuckle came from behind and Luffy turned his head to see a very pretty lady walking up to them. "It's that big, huh?"

Ooops – not a lady. A man that looked like a lady. Luffy blinked, and then blinked again. Ah. "It's like Dadan!" he said cheerfully. A backwards Dadan. Dadan was a lady who looked like a man. This was a man that looked like a lady. Mystery solved! Luffy cheered for himself – it wasn't often that he solved mysteries all by himself. Ace usually had to step in and help him. "What's your name?"

The man-lady was staring at him, looking surprised and confused. "I'm Izou. What's your name, little one?"

"I'm Luffy!" he said cheerfully, throwing his hands up. "You're pretty! You're almost as pretty as Makino and she's really a girl but you just look like one and that's amazing!"

Izou still looked surprised, but he was starting to smile. "Thank you." He reached out and Luffy automatically leaned forward, letting the man-lady ruffle his hair, wiggling at the touch. "So, you like the Moby Dick, Luffy?"

"Yeah!" Luffy stretched his arms out – and only remembered at the last minute to keep from going beyond what was a normal limit. Ace always told him not to tell anyone about his special ability until Ace said it was all right. Ace had repeated that one rule like a million times to make sure Luffy wouldn't forget, and Luffy just bet Ace would be really proud of him when he woke up. "It's way way waaaaaaaay bigger than the Mystic!" Which reminded him about the Spade pirates and that they weren't there and neither was his special 'thing'. Luffy lowered his arms and stared at the deck.

Where were they? Did they abandon him and Ace? Did they take his 'thing' and run away? Ace was always afraid people wouldn't like him or stay with him, and it had taken a long time for him to trust the people he allowed to stay on his ship with him and Luffy. Luffy loved all the members of their crew. He didn't think they would just leave them. But that meant they hadn't come with the Whitebeard pirates – that's what Bluebird had told them they were – and maybe that meant the Whitebeard pirates had done something...

"What's wrong, Luffy?" Bluebird was suddenly crouching in front of him, one hand gently resting on his shoulder. "Do you want to go back to Ace?"

Luffy shook his head and bit his lip, trying to keep the tears from filling his eyeballs, because once they got full they'd fall, and that would make him a crybaby and Ace was always telling him not to be one. "N-no..."

Suddenly Bluebird was standing up, and Luffy was up in the air with him, sitting on Bluebird's hip. Blubird was stroking his hair and it felt so nice and he didn't want him or any of the pirates to be mean to the Spade pirates because he liked them both. He knew his eyeballs had filled up, because he could feel water running down his cheeks, and he buried his face into Bluebirds shoulder, trying to hide and dry his face at the same time. Luffy could hear Bluebird calling his name, sounding worried, and Izou was asking if he should go and get the nurse, but nurse-lady had to watch Ace which that meant Luffy had to stop being a crybaby and just ask.

He pushed himself up so he wasn't face first into Bluebird's shirt, rubbed his arm over his eyes roughly to stop the tears and looked straight at Bluebird, as serious as he could. He was a pirate too and he should act like one. "What did you do to the Spades?"

"What?" That was Izou. He sounded confused. Like he didn't even know the name of the pirates he'd probably helped beat up.

Luffy could feel the tears wanting to come back. "The Spades," he repeated, choking a little on the name. "Big Doc who took care of everyone. Laurel helped Eddie cook and she'd sneak me extra pieces of meat!" Stupid tears were falling again, and his nose was running but he ignored it as much as he could. "Tyger and Spook who were really smart and really good fighters! And Du-Dusty-" A sob tore free at the thought of Ace's First Mate who had been pretty much the best friend Luffy had ever had besides Ace and Shanks. "He played with me and yelled at Ace and made sure we never got lost an-an-an-"

"Whoa, calm down little guy," Bluebird said loudly, and he bounced Luffy in his arms, rubbing his back. Luffy bit down on a howl and buried his head in Bluebird's shoulder again. "Did you think we hurt them?"

Luffy shrugged, and lifted his head to stare at Bluebird. "Our boat is gone," he said softly. "An' if they were here on Moby, they'd be with me and Ace. Dusty always said he'd take care of me when Ace couldn't and now Ace can't and Dusty's not he-e-e-r-r-e-" he buried his wail back into Bluebird's shoulder which was soaking wet by now, but Luffy didn't care. It wasn't just the Spades and the Mystic he was worried about. He had thrown his special 'thing' at Dusty before he'd run through the fire, not wanting it to burn and he knew if Dusty had seen him, he would have picked it up. Right?

"Oh, you poor thing," said Izou, and Luffy felt his face being tilted by gentle hands and Izou was there, wiping his face with a soft cloth. "Luffy, I am very sorry this idiot never told you what was happening." Luffy looked at him warily but hoping, sniffling loudly. "The Spade Pirates did indeed come after you and Ace. They were both furious and terrified, and even after being beaten, they refused to stay away and kept following. Oyaji had our thirteenth and fourteenth divisions take them to our third ship to get treatment for their injuries." Luffy's eyes opened wider and wider. "They're all okay, and they keep asking the commanders to call over on the Den Den Mushi to see how you and your brother are doing."

"R-really?" Luffy blinked and gasped as he took this in, and then he laughed as Izou whapped Bluebird in the shoulder again and again. Bluebird was yelping and cringing, but he never let go of Luffy.

"How could you not tell him anything about his crew?" Whap, whap, whap!

"He didn't ask!" Bluebird yelped. "And I didn't want to bring anything up when his brother wasn't awake to reassure him!"

Luffy thought that just made Izou look even madder. "So you let him think he was alone instead?" Whap!

"I'm sorry!" Bluebird made a break for it, and Luffy couldn't help but giggle as they went scrambling across the deck, Izou in hot pursuit of them both. "I am very, very, very sorry! You have no idea how sorry I am!"

Luffy giggled again when Izou stopped and straightened out his kimono. "Neanderthal," he said, and Bluebird glared at him.

"That's what you call Thatch!" He was pouting too. Luffy tried to muffle a third giggle but didn't do it very well. Bluebird sent him a look of betrayal. Luffy knew what that looked like because he saw it on Ace's face every time Luffy sided with Dusty. Sometimes Luffy didn't even want to side with Dusty but did it just to see the funny look on Ace's face.

"If the shoe fits." Izou shook his head, grumbling, and Luffy let out an actual laugh this time – he looked like Ace when Ace was fed up with something stupid. Izou smiled up at him. "How about we take you for a nice big breakfast, and then after, we can call the other ship and let you talk to – who was it? Ace's First Mate?"

"Dusty," Luffy said shyly.

"Yes, of course. You can talk to Dusty and hear for yourself that everyone is okay before we take you back to Ace. Does that sound okay to you?"

"Yeah!" Cheered up, Luffy threw his hands in the air. He could talk to his crew and he could ask Dusty about the 'thing'. Ace always told him to refer to his beloved possessions as 'things' because if someone heard you say how much you loved something, they would try and find a way to steal it. He didn't think Bluebird or nurse-lady would, but he had to wait until Ace woke up to be sure. "Thank you, Izou."

"You are certainly welcome, little one. Now-" he glared at Bluebird who went stiff under his gaze, and Luffy giggled again. "-to the galley. Mush!"

"I'm not a dog," Bluebird complained, but he started walking, flinching each time Izou's finger poked him in the back. Luffy felt much better. As a result thereof, his stomach let out a roar, and Bluebird froze, looking at Luffy, then his tummy, then his face again. "Are you sure there's no lion in there?"

"No lions in my tummy," Luffy said. Then he wrinkled his nose. "But Ace-nii once said there might be a bear."

"Then we'd better hurry before all the food is gone," said Bluebird and Luffy laughed as suddenly they were running down the stairs, leaving Izou behind to yell at them to slow down before they ran someone over. "Lions are one thing, but I don't want to have to fight a bear, yoi."

o0o

to be continued...

o0o

While I certainly can understand why everyone calls Marco 'pineapple', I've read so many fics where this is done that it's a little overdone in my head. The biggest impression made on 6 year old Luffy was Marco turning into a big blue bird – that he got to ride, the lucky little idiot – and so we have a change in nicknames.

Also regarding the use of Oyaji – it's a name, like my friends might say 'Grandma' and I was raised to say 'Memere' even though I personally don't speak a word of French. Some say Father, some say Pops, and some say Oyaji. I might have other names thrown in, if I can figure out what parents are called in other languages. I like the idea of Vista having a French background (though what that would work out to in terms of OP geography, I have NO idea. North Blue?) and saying 'Pepere'. :)

As always, I look forward to comments and con/crit. Thanks for reading! You guys were very inspirational and I managed to get chapter 4 done as a result. Chapter 5 is giving me some trouble, so feel free to inspire again. :D