Neglected Responsibilities

Smoker decided it was probably a good idea that today's shift was just a desk shift. If he had been on patrol he probably would have caused more accidents than prevented them. His mind kept wandering back to the warm body he had left in his bed. After the previous run-in with Ace he had been distracted by replays of the day, his brain focused on the past. This time not only was he replaying the afternoon in his head, but his thoughts were whirring to the future from as close to when he got home and as far as a month from now.

The stack of paperwork on his desk wasn't getting any shorter as his shift wore on. He had maybe managed to go through two or three files which only meant that tomorrow was going to be a long night. He found himself wishing that when he ended up in the hospital he had called in a sick day. He never used them and he would much rather be back in bed with Ace than here at his desk. He found his hand reaching for his desk phone and he had to shake himself to prevent himself from doing something as stupid as calling his house to see if Ace was still there. Then again Ace might not answer the phone if he was. Smoker laughed darkly, no, Ace would most certainly answer the phone and god knows what he would say. Thankfully not many people called him at home.

After what seemed like long agonizing hours of torturous boredom and paperwork Smoker's shift came to an end. He couldn't leave his office and the station fast enough. It was only 12:01 when he climbed onto his bike and peeled out of the parking lot. He forced himself to slow down and drive the speed limit otherwise he'd be home before Tashigi even made it to her car. He pulled his bike into its spot and cut the engine before sauntering up to the entrance. He waited patiently, well semi-patiently, for the elevator and punched the button for his floor.

The first thing he noticed when he got into his apartment was that the orange hat was gone. He felt disappointment course through his veins as he realized Ace had left. He didn't know why he was expecting the brat to be here, he had a life and wasn't going to just hang around all evening waiting for Smoker to come home like some housewife. He kicked off his boots and headed towards his room, stopping in the kitchen to grab a beer on his way. Popping the cap he took a healthy swig and shrugged out of his jacket, draping it over a chair in his room. His bed was a mess of tangled sheets and there was a blanket half off the bed trailing on the ground. The pillows were piled together showing where Ace had napped.

Smoker went to put his beer down on the bedside table so he could clean up the mess. As he put the bottle down he noticed a scrap of receipt paper with words scrawled across the back. Picking it up he read the short message that Ace had left behind.

Gone to brother's. Back later. I get the left side.

Smoker chuckled at the brat's arrogance and went back to straightening up the room. The room was all clean and Ace had yet to show up so Smoker changed into pyjama pants and got under the covers, being sure to be on the left side of the bed. Grabbing a magazine he flipped through it idly as he waited.

-/\-

Ace scarfed down the food on his plate, it being refilled before he could even lift his head to ask for seconds and thirds. He had woken up from his nap shortly after 5:30 and had decided it had been awhile since he saw Luffy. Makino had been pleasantly surprised at the addition to dinner and had welcomed in with open arms.

"Ace you need to come by again soon! You should come to Sunny's sometime!"

Ace chuckled at his brother's enthusiastic demands. He had been avoiding the house as of late because of everything that was going on and he knew that it would bother Luffy. The kid was fine on his own and had Zoro here with him but the two brothers shared a special bond that no one could fake.

"What about this, next Friday I'll meet you and the gang there."

"Yosh!"

After dinner the group got caught up on all that had been going on, with Ace conveniently leaving his recent hospital visit and things with Smoker out of the story. He listened amused as Luffy told him tale after tale about the trouble he had gotten into at school and all the crazy things his friends had been up to. For the most part Zoro sat quietly in the corner dozing, every now and then he would interject a comment or chastise Luffy for some trouble he had caused.

It was getting late but Ace didn't want to leave the comfort of his childhood house quite yet and Smoker still wouldn't be back from work so he suggested a movie. The others agreed and they three boys settled on The Last Samurai. Before it even got half an hour in Ace had fallen asleep, tuning out Zoro's indignant grunts and Luffy's cheerful laughter.

Sometime later Ace was shaken awake by Zoro, the credits playing on the tv. Looking at the clock on the wall he saw that it was already 12:30. He yawned and stretched out his long limbs before heading to the door.

"You could stay the night if you want." Makino said softly from the bottom of the stairs. "Your room is still available."

Ace smiled lovingly at the woman who had raised him, he didn't find it hard to imagine Makino keeping his basement room clean in case he ever needed to crash overnight. Any other night and Ace probably would have taken her up on the offer but the thought of Smoker waiting in his bed had him declining.

"Thanks Makino, but I'm meeting someone still."

"This late?"

Ace noticed the sparkle in her eyes as she raised an eyebrow at him. Makino was a smart lady, she knew whoever he was meeting was more than just a friend just as she had known when he had snuck girls and boys over throughout high school.

"Night Makino." Ace replied with a smile before leaving.

When he got to Smoker's place he was relieved to see the door was unlocked, he was too tired to break in. He quietly made his way through the apartment towards the bedroom. The light was still on but Smoker was lying in bed, a magazine on his chest and his eyes closed in sleep. He laughed silently when he noticed that he was on the left side. He had known by claiming the left side he would get the right like he really wanted.

Ace quickly shed his clothes, keeping on his boxers and flipped the room light off. Pausing a second for his eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness Ace crossed the room to the bed. He slipped under the covers and placed the magazine on the bedside table. With a soft smile he placed a kiss against Smoker's cheek before snuggling close and falling asleep. As the new body pressed against him Smoker shifted drawing Ace closer and wrapping an arm around him before settling back into a deep sleep.