I re-uploaded this chapter since there seemed to be some problems, sorry for the inconvinience.

Um… Hi?

I know, I know…! It took me too damn long to update, but my computer broke, and I had use my sister's laptop to do my homework, but she had to use it too… Then I finally got mine back but I was in exams… it was truly a mess. You have no idea how much I suffered with homework's and final projects… But my laptop is back to normal once again, and I'm finally free of school, meaning I'll have more time to write!

I tried to make this chapter long as an apology… yeah, I know, lame XD

Anyway, I won't bore you anymore with my excuses, once again, I'm really sorry for the late update, and I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: unbeta'ed, cursing, drunkenness…

I own nothing but the plot.

By the way, there's something Eyalane pointed out and I never mentioned, silly me haha! Ace and Luffy's ages are the same as in the manga/anime before the time skip! Sorry, my bad XD

And It All Started

An annoying ringing echoed through the small complex breaking the peaceful silence that was set within it. Ace groaned, he was having a nice dream about his favorite little idiot when the stupid ringing woke him up. He turned around out of habit only to fall face first into the floor. Ace mumbled some incoherent curses; he had forgotten he fell asleep on a couch.

"Make it stop…" Luffy moaned from that same couch, he grabbed the nearest cushion and covered his face with it.

Ace groggily stood up, dragging his feet through the wooden floor before stopping in front of the intercom. He lifted a hand lazily and pressed the required button so that he could see whoever was stupid enough to wake him up. "What?" He snapped.

"BWAHAHAHAHA!"

Ace cringed visibly after hearing that laugh that he knew a little too well.

"Sorry kiddo, did I wake you up? Well whatever, let your grandpa in!"

"Please let this be a nightmare…." Ace heard Luffy mumble from under the cushion and couldn't help but to agree silently. He turned to the small screen, but luck wasn't with him as he saw that Garp was still standing there with a wide, stupid grin.

"Why the hell are you here so early?"Ace asked, hoping with all his might that the old man would just come by to say hi and leave immediately.

"Ah well, I woke up early to go and work, but then I remembered that Sengoku told us that today they will be remodeling the office, meaning I have all day to myself," A vein throbbed in Ace's temple. "So I came by to say hi to my beloved grandsons and spend the entire day with you two! A wonderful proposal don't you think? BWAHAHA!"

He had a sudden urge to bang his head repeatedly against the wall until he lost consciousness, but a groaning Luffy interrupted him from doing so. "Ignore gramps and come sleep with me, Ace…"

Ace froze, he could interpret that in so many ways… suddenly the head-banging sounded even more tempting. He pressed the button quickly and let Garp in before his hormones took control of him and he jumped into a sleepy Luffy. Seriously, of all the things to say…! Ace knew that Luffy didn't mean those words in that way but… damn his oblivious, innocent mind…

A sudden knock interrupted the freckled boy from his internal turmoil. He went to the door quite reluctantly, and after heaving a sigh, he opened it only to be greeted by a smiling Garp with his arms wide open. "Give your grandpa a hug!"

Ace stared for a while before turning away, mumbling something about stupid old men and their stupid brain-damage, leaving a sulking Garp on the door. "It's Sunday grandpa! Let us sleep!" Luffy said from the couch as he threw some cushion randomly into the air making it land successfully at Garp's feet.

"Nonsense!" He snapped, grabbing the cushion and slamming it into Luffy's face with enough force to create a new bump on his forehead. "If you want to be officials like me there's no time for you to be lazy!"

"Don't hit Luffy, you deranged old nutcase!" Ace yelled from the door, quickly dashing into the living room and grabbing a cushion himself before hitting Garp repeatedly on the head.

"We don't want to be officials!" Luffy said behind Ace, grabbing a cushion too and joining Ace in his attack against his grandpa.

A twitch made itself present on Garp's right eye as he took the blows his grandsons were giving him without as much as a flutter. Then he snapped. "How dare you hit your grandpa, you morons!" He said as his fist connected painfully with both heads. "And you'll be officials and make me proud!"

"Don't decide that on your own!"

"My, you three are really lively this morning."

All three heads turned to the door to find the owner of that voice; a huge grin made its way to the younger D. "Makino!" He yelled before leaping out of Garp's grasp and into the smiling woman at the entrance of his home. "How did you get here?"

"She came with me." Answered Garp, taking a seat on the couch as he inspected the house quietly.

Makino nodded happily before closing the door behind her. "Garp-san visited the bar before coming here, but I was talking with your neighbors just now." She said as Ace took the bags she was holding and placed them in the kitchen. "They are really nice people, Conis-san and Pagaya-san. Have you met them yet?"

"Nope." Ace answered from the kitchen. "We haven't met anyone yet, ah, well except for Crocus-san, the condominium landlord. Luffy, we need to go with him later today to pick up your keys."

Luffy nodded, then proceeded to walk to where Ace had placed Makino's bags. He glanced at the contents inside of them before a big smile appeared on his face. "Are you gonna cook here, Makino?"

"Yep, I knew you two wouldn't be awake when Garp-san came over, hence you wouldn't have had breakfast."

All three D's cheered as Makino walked to the kitchen with her usual gentle smile, they would be having a nice breakfast today. "Well then, I'm gonna take a shower." Ace said as he headed to the stairs, he then turned his head around and glared at the other D's. "I expect you two to behave, and when I'm done this place has to be exactly as it is now, understood?"

Both Garp and Luffy took a soldier stand, placing their hand over their forehead as they yelled in unison. "Yes, sir!"

"Good." Ace said, climbing up the stairs. "Makino-san, I'm counting on you!"

Garp and Luffy stood still, their soldier pose still on as they watched Ace disappear. "Alright kiddo, show grandpa your bedroom."Garp said with a wide grin that strongly resembled the one Luffy was showing. "Have you finished unpacking already?"

"No, Ace and I spent all day tidying the living room and the kitchen; I think the bathroom's done too."Luffy said as he led his grandpa to his room. "Our rooms are all that's left now."

"Ah, I see," Garp said, standing at the entrance of Luffy's room and finding it slightly different than when he came yesterday to place the beds. "Well then, let's start with your wardrobe, shall we?"

Luffy nodded and gathered all the boxes that had the words 'Luffy's clothes' on them. He wasn't really excited about the whole tidying you room thing – he would rather stay in the kitchen while trying to steal some food from Makino – but he had promised Ace that he would help in the house, and the faster he did this, the faster he could finally rest.

The familiar ringing echoed through the house once more after a couple of minutes, and before Luffy could get up and downstairs, the happy voice of Makino interrupted him from doing so. "I'll get it!" She said before getting to the intercom and pressing the required button. "Yes? Oh, Dadan! Please come in!" She said before opening the gate and letting the rough woman in.

"Who was it?"

Makino turned around just to see a wet Ace standing at the top of the staircase, drying his hair with some towel and wearing only some sweat-pants. There was a woman in the house, of course he wouldn't be on his boxers. "Dadan, she did say she wanted to see this place so you could get her approval."

As soon as those words left Makino's mouth, there was a knock on the door – to which Makino attended, and a grumpy woman entered the house. Her sturdy form and the frown on her face combined would have been enough to scare away whoever crossed her path, but for the people standing there this was nothing but her usual self. "I don't like your neighbors," Dadan told Ace, as she walked right to the small living room. "They look too wimpy for their age."

"No, you're just too tough, you old hag."

"Ah, Dadan, don't you think this place is really nice for the boys?" Makino interrupted, knowing far too well that if those two continued with their argument the house was bound to get damaged.

Dadan turned around and stared at the house, taking in every single detail with a flick of her tongue. "Whatever is good as long as I can get those brats away from me."

Ace smirked; the temptation to tease Dadan was getting stronger by the second. "What's that? Weren't you the one holding back her tears some days ago when Luffy and I started packing?" The boy's smirk grew wider with the woman's reaction. A blush adorned Dadan's cheeks and her mouth fell open in a comical way, just as her eyes widened in such a way that they resembled dinner plates. "I'll go get Luffy." He said and ran upstairs before Dadan reacted.

"Come back here you little punk!"

Ace skipped to his brother's room with a smile on place, how he loved to tease Dadan. "Oi, Luffy!" He called, entering his brother's room without bothering to knock. "Dadan's downstairs right n- What the hell?"

The before mentioned boy lifted his gaze and – from his position in the ground – saw a face palming Ace. "Oh, she's here? Great! I thought she wouldn't come 'till next week!"

Ace sighed; Luffy was lying on the ground next to the empty wardrobe, covered by a ridiculous great amount of boxes and clothes with his goofy smile on place. His gaze then turned to Garp, who probably just got attacked by a narcoleptic fit. He was standing still over Luffy, snoring loudly and with his arms lifted over the boy; he guessed he was holding all those boxes before falling asleep and dropping them over Luffy.

"Do I want to know why Garp was holding all those boxes before dropping them at you?" Ace asked, removing some of the boxes from Luffy's back so that he could stand up.

"We were about to get my clothes and place them on the wardrobe, so gramps took all the boxes he could and dropped them on me when I was placing some of them on the ground."

"Idiot." Was everything Ace could muster before holding out his hand for Luffy to take. "Come on, I think the food's almost ready."

A beaming Luffy was the last thing Ace could see before the hyperactive boy ran away, yelling 'food' at the top of his lungs as he dashed downstairs. "Makino! Is the food ready yet?" Luffy asked as he took a seat next to Dadan, ignoring the fuming woman completely.

"What the hell am I?" Dadan asked, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Luffy. "A damn painting? Greet me properly, you brat!"

Luffy turned his head to where the sound was coming from and he let his gaze rest on the sturdy woman that was now glaring at him. A few seconds passed, but soon realization came to him and with as much discretion as he could muster, Luffy pointed a rude finger at the now fuming woman. "Dadan! That's right, Ace told me you were here!"

Dadan sighed, it was too early to deal with this boy. "Yeah well, I came by to see what kind of place you boys were living at; it's nicer than what I expected."

"It's nice, isn't it?" Luffy said with a grin, a proud expression took over his face as he stared at his new home. "Ace said we will go and see your house next weekend, by the way."

It was moments like this that Dadan wondered why she ever agreed to take care of these two. "Like hell I'm gonna let you take a step near my house!"

"What! Why?" Luffy whined, because as he saw things, Dadan was being really unfair. "It's not like I'm a little kid anymore that destroys everything in his path!"

A soft choking noise came from where Makino was standing, if Dadan knew better – and she did – she would guess Makino was having a great time watching her suffer. "You do destroy everything that crosses your path, Luffy…" Dadan said carefully, not wanting to make a scene right now.

"And you are a little kid."

Luffy turned his head around, facing the owner of that voice as a pout adorned his face. "That's not true! Stupid Ace…"

"Alright, here's your food." Makino interrupted, placing three plates of scrambled eggs and bacon before the hungry brothers and Dadan. "Hm? Where's Garp-san?"

Ace smirked, making his way to the living room along with Luffy and Dadan before sitting down on a cushion he had placed on the floor so he could sit near the table. "He's upstairs, sleeping. Too bad, he won't be able to taste your food… Serves him right."

Makino sighed, she should go upstairs and wake up the poor man… but a knock on the door interrupted her from doing so. She stared at the boys, maybe they were expecting someone from this building? But the confused looks they both gave her said otherwise. With a shrug off her shoulders, Makino walked to the door and opened without a second thought.

"Shanks?" She said, surprise written all over her face. "I didn't know you were coming here, too."

"Neither did I!" The red haired man said loudly, thanking Makino as she stepped aside so he could enter. "My, this place looks even better now that it has some furniture!"

"It does, right?" Luffy agreed, spitting food all over the place as he waved enthusiastically. "We're only missing our rooms!"

Ace twitched, there was one big problem here, and those two idiots seemed to be oblivious at said problem as they laughed loudly due to whichever conversation they were having. Makino seemed to be aware of that problem, since she casted anxious glances between Shanks and the door, and Dadan… apparently she didn't give a damn. Ace face palmed, it seemed he would have to interrupt Shanks amazing story about how he escaped the cops last night after wrecking some bar. That drunkard… "Shanks…" He started, successfully getting the redhead's attention. "How did you get into the building?"

Shanks stared, and stared, and stared. Then he smirked, "A really hot girl let me in." He said, a mischievous glint appeared on his eyes as he watched Ace. "She lives in this building, you know? You should check her out. Of course, whatever you do must be in her place, I don't want Luffy to walk into you two doing… stuff."

It was as if someone had just lit up the older teen in fire, because as soon as those words left Shanks mouth a flaming red took possession of Ace's face. "St-Stop joking, you damned pervert! What happened with all your ranting yesterday about me bringing girls home?"

"DAHAHAHA! Nonsense! You say that because you haven't seen her! But I tell you, she's really hot!"

"You know that woman, Ace?" Luffy asked, leaving his food at the side for the moment as he waited for Ace's answer.

"N-No!" He stuttered, why was he stuttering? "And I don't plan to meet her!"

"Good," Luffy said, resuming his attention to his half eaten breakfast. "Because I don't like her."

Don't like her? Why wouldn't Luffy like her if he didn't know her? He wanted to ask him, but a rather loud Shanks interrupted him from doing so. "Oh! The food looks delicious!" He said as he grabbed Garp's untouched breakfast. "No wonder your bar's always full of clients, Makino."

"Oi, isn't that Garp's food?" Dadan asked no one in particular, and her answer came soon enough by a pissed Garp that appeared on the staircase.

"Red Hair!" He all but yelled, dashing his way downstairs and stopping right before the now eating Shanks. "You bastard, that is my breakfast!"

Shanks glared, whenever those two crossed paths hell was bound to come loose. "Yeah? Well then, see what I do with your breakfast!" Shanks said, enjoying the pissed off look Garp gave him as he devoured his breakfast with amazing speed.

"Now you've done it! Be prepared to face my powerful fist of Love!"

"Bring it on, damned geezer!"

CLANK!

The quarreling duo turned their heads to the source of that sound, only to see a new plate full of scrambled eggs and bacon, and a sweetly smiling Makino behind them. "Garp-san, Shanks," They gulped, somehow that sweet voice Makino was using emitted such a scary killing aura that neither of them dared to provoke her any further. "If you two start a fight here and do as much as a scratch to Ace's and Luffy's new home, you will have to deal with me, all right?"

They nodded, Makino's sweet smile never flattered as Garp grabbed his plate and both quickly made their way to the living room with everyone else. Their tails were clearly between their legs.

"Makino is really scary…" Luffy whispered, gulping the last of his food.

"Yeah," Dadan nodded, "To be able to control Shanks and Garp like that…"

"I've got chills…" The freckled boy contributed, glancing at the two adults as they ate their food rather depressed.

"Oh my! Look at the time!" Makino suddenly said, "I have to go now."

Luffy was the first to react, "What? Can't you stay a bit more?"

"I need to attend the bar," She answered sweetly as she patted the younger D. "But don't you worry, Garp-san and Shanks will do the dishes, right guys?"

"Y-Yes ma'am!" They both said in unison, completely ignoring a chuckling Dadan.

"Good. If you need anything don't you doubt coming to the bar!" She finally said, and a few second later, Makino was already climbing down the stairs of the building.

Ace sighed, now that Makino was gone it was almost certain that those two would destroy his and Luffy's home; good thing Dadan was still here- "Well then, I've gotta go too." And there goes Ace's last hope. "I have to finish cleaning my new hose."

"Dadan too?" Luffy whined, handing his plate to his sulking grandfather so that he and Shanks could go and wash them. "But it's still too early!"

"It's 2 o' clock already." The sturdy woman answered, "Besides, I just came by to see in what kind of place you brats were living at."

Ace sighed, maybe if he was lucky enough Shanks would have to go for work… now how to get rid of Garp was the real problem… "Well then, prepare your house good enough, because next week Luffy and I will pay you a visit, old hag."

"Yeah, I'll go buy the fire extinguishers…" Dadan mumbled to herself before she too left the house.

The brothers sighed; somehow, this had been a pretty long day. "Ah~ We can finally rest." Luffy said, stretching himself as a yawn escaped from his lips.

"Yeah, I thought they would never leave."

A blink. Something was not right here…

"Ah! I forgot you two were still here…" Luffy said in barely more than a whisper, though a slightly annoyed tone could be heard on his words.

"Don't you have work to do?" Ace asked, he hoped, hoped, hoped that they would say yes.

"Not really." Was the unison answer of the two men.

This was so not right! Today was Sunday! They were supposed to get off of bed late, have a nice breakfast, finish their rooms, and if there was still time, maybe go to the movies or something. Ace was ready to do anything as long as it included cute little Luffy. But of course, lady luck was having the time of her life by annoying the freckled teen in the most ridiculous way she could muster. He could literally feel a throbbing vein in his forehead…

"Ah that reminds me," Shanks said, getting the older teen off his musings. "You boys start a new term tomorrow, right? Did you buy your books already?"

"Now that you mention it, we were so busy with the new house that we forgot…"

"Perfect!" Garp said, startling the two brothers. "We will have a guys time!"

The only thing worse than the older males fighting, was when they both agreed to something.

Definitely.

"Luffy," Shanks said, grabbing both boys by the shoulders and pushing them effortlessly to the stairs. "Go shower, Garp and I will finish cleaning here. Ace, you go and get some decent clothes, okay? Well then, up, up!"

The two did as told and walked to the stairs, a clearly confused expression adorned they faces. They somehow climbed a few more steps, turned around, and saw the two older males, side by side, waving at them with identical blissful smiles on their faces. They flinched. "Is it just me, or do they look like a married couple?" Luffy murmured, resuming his steps as soon as he could muster.

"They do," Ace answered, he was so not staying back with those two. "It's creeping me out."

But even though their reluctance, Luffy took a quick shower and changed his clothes into a yellow vest and scrapped jeans, never forgetting to wear Shanks gifted straw hat. Ace too decided to follow Shanks advice for once and changed from his sweat pants into some dark jeans and a white shirt, nothing too elaborated. They both headed to where Shanks and Garp were waiting, and after a bloody battle of rock, paper, scissors; they decided to use Shanks car.

"Ah, shit… You go ahead," Ace said, grabbing Luffy by the arm and leading him to the front door. "We'll go with Crocus-san and get Luffy's spare key!"

Ace didn't wait for any answers, he dashed to the first floor, room one, and knocked continuously until the landlord opened the door.

"Geez, you didn't have to knock so much!"

"Woah! It's a flower! Hey mister, why do you have a flower on your head? So cool!"

"I'm sorry, Crocus-san," Ace said, bowing his head and grabbing Luffy by the collar so he would do the same. "I was trying to get us away from some weirdoes… Anyway, this is Luffy, my little brother, we came here to get his key."

"Luffy, huh?" Crocus said, inspecting the grinning boy from head to toe with a stern expression. "My, my, what a happy kid! Of course, of course, hold on; let me go get your key."

They nodded, and watched as the landlord walked into his house once more and disappeared into a corner. "Oi, Luffy." Ace called, "Do you have your books list with you?"

Luffy nodded in response, rummaging through the pockets of his pants until he found a crumpled piece of paper. "Nami gave me a copy in case I lost mine." He said, placing that same piece of paper in his pockets once more without bothering to fold it up.

"Sorry I kept you waiting." Crocus said, appearing once more before the boys with a set of keys and a metallic strip for the front gate, identical to Ace's. "If you ever have any problems or lose your key, come with me."

The boys nodded, and after thanking the man they headed to the front gate where Garp and Shanks were already waiting. They all got into the car and headed to Grand Line, the center part of town which connected almost every other neighborhood around. It was fairly big, where most of the population shopping took place. There was a shopping mall located at the center of the Grand Line, along with The Baratie, a five-star restaurant with high tempered chefs; Galley-LA, a repairing center with violent workers; many arcade places, clubs, cafes and bars that made the place even more lively along with the central park of the town. A park that crossed all through Grand Line, a park which brought many memories to certain freckled man.

It was definitely a place they knew well, since Garp's and Shanks' work was located in the Grand Line, and Luffy and Ace had to cross this place daily to get to their respective working place, Luffy's being located on the east, near the amusement park in a neighborhood called Sabaodi Archipelago, and Ace's being inside the Grand Line, ten minutes away from Luffy's work.

They headed to the nearest library and asked for their books. It was rather easy to get all of them, since most of Ace's and Luffy's authors were the same, but after ten minutes of waiting in line Luffy got impatient, and decided to go and explore into town; maybe he could meet someone out there. He got out without a word, and when heading right, just after getting out of the library Luffy bumped into someone, and quite the person he was. The man was wearing extravagant 80's style pants and a white collar shirt, with the first buttons undone. He had a hat that matched with his pants, and brown, shoulder length messy hair. All in all, an odd man, but what caught Luffy off guard were his glasses, heart shaped glasses.

"Ah, sorry." Luffy said, dismissing the man's appearance as he helped him grab the objects that fell down when colliding with each other.

That man, on the other hand, couldn't do anything but to stare, with mouth wide open, at the boy in front of him. It couldn't be, could it? But everything pointed to be him… Stupid wide smile, cute face, a small scar under his eye… then he noticed something, an old straw hat hanging on his back. He was the boy from that time! And to think they would meet after so many years!

"Luffy! Why'd you run off like that?"

Luffy, if he remembered correctly, that was the name the other boy called out. And if his guessing was right, and the freckled boy that was heading to where they were was the same boy from that time, then his name would be Ace…

"Ah Ace!" The boy – Luffy – said. "I got bored there, so I decided to explore out here."

Ace, so they were those same kids! They were the ones that beat him up ten years ago! This was fate, fate was giving him one more chance to take revenge on those two for having ridiculed him. He took a good look at the boys in front of him, they were definitely taller now, and you could definitely see how they've gotten stronger… If they could take him down when kids, then right now it must be quite an easy task…

"Who's that?" The freckled boy asked, and the man could feel cold sweat running down his head.

"Dunno, I bumped into him when I got out of the library."

Ace stared at the man, his intense gaze penetrating deep inside him. "He seems familiar…"

"He does?" The younger one asked, staring, too, at the sweating man.

What was he waiting for? This was a one in a million chance to take revenge on them! So what if they were a little bit stronger than him? He had justice on his side now, he was now part of the police department of town. With a new resolution in mind, he stood up, ready to face the boys who made fun of him and make them pay.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The three confused guys turned around just in time to see a pissed off Garp heading their direction, and in a split second, Ace and Luffy could be seen face first on the ground, a huge bump on each of their foreheads. "Why did you go out without saying anything! You dumb brats!"

"What was that for, grandpa!" Luffy yelled, being the first to get up and point a rude finger at him while his other hand nursed his head. "You psychotic old man!"

A vein popped on Garp's forehead, and soon enough a new bump could be seen in Luffy's head. "Don't you call me that, brat!"

Ace, being the protective older brother that he was, jumped up in front of Luffy, and while glaring at the older man standing in front of him he too yelled. "Don't hurt Luffy, you violent geezer!"

New veins popped on Garp's forehead, "I will not allow my grandsons to-! Huh? Who's that?"

The man with the heart-shaped glasses, who was, until now, forgotten, stiffened up after being addressed by Garp. He knew that man; he was Deputy Chief Monkey D. Garp, (1) One of the most feared police officers around the world, having captured many first rate criminals, and being the first officer to decline the offer of being ascended to chief. He was a man most of the lower ranking officers looked up to, and what's more, him being related to those two? This was bad, if Garp ever found out that he tried to kill his grandsons he would be sent to prison without a doubt. "D-D-Deputy Chief, Garp-san!" The man said, placing his hand over his head as a sign of respect.

"Ah! Now I remember, you're Jango, from Hina's department, aren't you?" Garp said, forgetting the small quarrel he had with his grandsons a few seconds ago. "Bwahaha! Are you enjoying your free day too?"

"Y-Yes!" Jango squeaked, his hand never leaving his forehead as he tried his best to hide the trembling of his legs.

"What's wrong with you three? Leaving me at the bookstore all alone…"

Jango's mouth fell open at the sight before him. A red haired man made his way to where they were standing, he was carrying some books and an exasperated expression adorned his face. That was the man he could never forget, he had been there the day those kids got away. That red haired man was the one who killed Kuro! He was shocked; of course after that incident Jango realized that what he had done was wrong, trying to kill a kid just for fun? That's why he applied to the police station, so he could finally mend his sins. But the shame of being beaten up by some kids was something that never left him, he wanted revenge.

Jango stopped trembling, he had a new resolution in mind. He directed a glare at those two, he was ready to attack them. "You-!" His jaw fell open for the second time that day. This couldn't be happening! Ace and Luffy were now talking animatedly with that red-haired man, completely forgetting his existence, and Garp was now asleep, probably from one of those narcoleptic fits he often got at work.

Did he really want to take revenge on those two? Now that he thought about it, he appreciated his life very much, and he was sure the four of them could beat him pretty badly if given the chance… Right. So it was decided, then.

Jango grabbed his dropped items at an amazing speed, and without even glancing at the men before him, he dashed to the other side of town, anywhere was definitely better than here.

"Huh? That man ran off somewhere…" Shanks said, watching as a freaked out Jango turned left and disappeared into the crowd. "He looked quite familiar… Well whatever, wake Garp up, what do you say if we go waste some time and then get something to eat, eh boys?"

"Yay! Food!" Luffy cheered, going to where his grandpa stood and shaking him with as much force as he could muster. "Come on gramps! Wake up!"

It took some effort, but after a while Garp was wide awake and the four of them went over to Shanks car and on to the mall. It seemed Garp was supposed to go and get some 'stuff' for work, such as pens, blank papers, and small little officer toys that moved their heads when you touched them. It was five thirty in the afternoon when they decided to go and look for something to eat, so Shanks decided to go and look for a good bar. It took them a matter of minutes to decide on one, Blueno's bar. It was one of the oldest bars in town, the prices were not so high, and the owner, Blueno, was a good listener. Or so Shanks said.

"Hey, Blueno! Long time no see!" Shanks greeted once he got a foot inside the bar.

He led everyone to the front and up to the stool, where Blueno was now drying a couple of glasses. Blueno was tall, sturdy, and had a never-changing bored expression on his face. He had black hair combed somewhat like horns; all in all, he resembled a bull.

"Oh, Shanks, I see you brought company with you." The owner answered as he gave his new clients a menu.

"Yep, these cute little boys are my nephews, Ace and Luffy;" Ace's eyebrow twitched, he shouldn't make a scene because Shanks called Luffy cute, right? Right. "And he… well, it doesn't matter. How's been the business?

"What the hell, red head!" Garp snapped, he banged his fists into the stool and glared at the smirking Shanks. "Show some respect to those with better jobs than yours!"

It seemed that those words made the trick, because Shanks smirk turned into a glare, and words turned into yells as they began to insult each other.

"I want… BBQ ribs." Luffy said, ignoring completely the bickering pair at his side as he smiled to the nervous owner of the bar.

"Then it'll be grilled steak for me, please." Ace said, giving his menu to the dumbfounded Blueno, as he made his best effort to go prepare the food and ignore the bickering pair that was making quite a ruckus in his bar.

…

"I can't believe it! Those good for nothing excuses of grownups!"

Two figures walked through the semi-empty streets of the Grand Line. It was dark already; the light the lamp posts emitted being the only means of guidance through the empty park.

It had been quite a normal evening in Blueno's bar, that is, until Garp and Shanks got drunk. They somehow managed to get the rest of the clients slightly drunk too, giving out free sake to everyone there, and finally managed to create a damn party in the bar. It had been certainly fun, until the brothers realized that it was already night time, their rooms weren't even ready, and they started a new term tomorrow.

But did Garp and Shanks care? Not at all.

They both tried to get the kids drunk, completely forgetting their responsibility as adults, until Ace finally decided to act and got the oblivious Luffy out of there. Too bad it was a thirty minutes walk from Blueno's bar to their new house.

"They better get one hell of a headache tomorrow… Just wait until Makino gets to know about this…" Ace mumbled, cursing those two over and over in his mind. "You okay, Luffy? You've been awfully quiet… Luffy?"

Ace halted when he realized that the normally talkative boy was not at his side; he turned around and saw Luffy, as tired as he was, hugging a lamp post and snoring lightly. Ace sighed, but that sigh soon turned into a smile as he went over to the boy and – as carefully as he could manage – got him into his back.

Luffy sighed contently in Ace's back as he hugged the older man out of instinct. "Ace…" He mumbled, and he snuggled his face in the older males neck as he resumed with his sleep. Ace blushed, was Luffy dreaming about him? The tingling sensation of Luffy's breath on his neck and the light brushing of his lips made it hard for him to concentrate and curse Garp and Shanks, but he smiled nonetheless. Having Luffy this close to him was the only thing he would ever manage, and he would cherish these small intimate moments as much as he could, even though Luffy was not aware of it, and most likely never will.

The dim lights and the light music of the bar calmed him to no end. It was rather lonely here unlike any other night, but he wouldn't complain, he liked the tranquility this night offered him. He took a sip from the glass wine he had on his hand as he rummaged through the papers on his other hand once more.

Many names tainted the piece of white, but only one caught his attention. This was a name he didn't expect to find, and to think they would cross paths soon enough. A shiver ran down his spine of pure anticipation, he couldn't wait. He would continue with that task he started so long ago, and he would make sure to end it for once and for all.

A smirk made its way to his face, and a fearsome glint shined in his eyes. He managed to contain the excitement that was threatening to burst out. Another sip, and he let that name roll through his tongue.

"Monkey D. Luffy."

(1) Since this is an AU, I will use police rankings instead of Marines, so it would be something like this…

General Chief – Sengoku (Fleet Admiral)

Chief – Akainu, Kizaru, Aokiji (Admiral)

Deputy Chief – Garp (Vice Admiral)

And so on and so forth until Officer, which would be the lowest rank. If I mention another ranking I will make sure to explain it afterwards.

I'm not really satisfied with how this turned out… so think of this chapter as a filler… kind of… XD And yes, as you can see, the story will FINALLY advance. I really don't have much to say except that I'm sorry for making you wait…

Well then, review time (Yay!)

Viero D. Eclipse I'm really glad you like this fic, it makes me happy to know I'm not writing utter nonsense, XD. And Luffy loving Ace, well, we'll have to wait and see ;)

Voquo I know what you mean, I got iffy too when writing about Alvida haha, I'm glad you're liking this, and who knows! Maybe Mihawk isn't that bad of a boss…? Yeah, right, who am I kidding…

AlzeahXei Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy this. Yeah, I'm trying to bring as many characters as I can, but it's kind of complicated… lol! I'll keep trying before this gets confusing, though!

Sdfsdfasdasd I'm sorry for the long wait… but here it is! XD I know, I was looking for an AcexLuffy AU but I couldn't find many… So I decided to write one. Weird, right? Anyway, I'm glad this brightens your day, I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

hilian I'm really glad you're liking this! Yeah, I originally thought of placing a page break, but kind of forgot… :P I'll try and be more explicit next time, though!

Luffy95 Sorry, It wasn't that soon… but! Better late than never at all! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

slycooperfangirl4 Hahaha! That has to be one of the most random reviews I've got! XD Seriously made me laugh…! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Jime-chan Uh… I'm sorry for the long wait… u.u Yeah, I know, when I knew Ace and Luffy weren't brothers I went all fangirl mode. XD Thank Oda for that. Of course there will be jealousy soon enough! Besides, a jealous Luffy is just too cute!

LolyGothica I'm glad you like my story! Sorry for the long wait, but here's next chapter. And yes, Luffy's just too cute for his own good, too bad for Ace, he has to deal with the pervs out there!

bloodless Thank you so much! Sorry for the long wait though!

Sachiel Angelo I'm really glad you think that way! I really wasn't sure on posting that last chapter (or this one…) but it had to be there for the sake of the plot… sigh… Sorry for the long wait, I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

Eyalane Thank you! I try to double check for any mistake, although I'm no expert and I'm pretty sure there must be something there XD I'm sorry, I didn't mention their ages, but yeah, they're 20 and 17, just like in the manga.

SilverMajix Damn, I can't resist puppy dog eyes… XD Thank you so much! I'm glad you like this story!

kittymoon14 Thank you! I'm glad you like this, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

I'll really do my best to update next chapter fast! And thanks for sticking up with me!

~nt'kit