Halfway through writing chapter 16! Yes! But... I'm tired. And hungry. And tired. Bleh. Still, this was actually one of my favourite chapters to write so far. The next one was fun, too. Plus I just updated Divide last night so I'm in a really good mood! Still tired, though.

Also, I'm going to make an FAQ for my profile so if you want to ask me anything about my fics or in general, just leave your questions in a review or PM and I'll be sure to add them :)

Disclaimer: I'm too tired for this...

When Marco arrived at the mansion that evening, he felt a bit awkward. Rouge gave him a key so that he could still visit Ace even while his parents were away and opening to an almost-vacant space was pretty uncomfortable. He decided not to visit in the morning to allow Ace a bit of time to himself. It seemed he never had a chance to relax. Sometimes a few hours alone were all he needed. Though not long before the accident he opened up and became more social, he still needed days of solitude once in a while. Marco understood that well because he was the same way.

The blonde didn't expect to find his friend lying face-first on the living room floor. There he was, though, snoring away. He nudged him with his foot a few times, hoping to rouse him, but each attempt ended in failure. Sighing, he knelt down. After going almost a week without a narcoleptic attack he thought maybe that blow to the head cured him. Apparently that was just wishful thinking.

"Oi, Ace," he called, jerking his shoulder a bit. His only reply was a snore. Rolling his eyes, Marco thought back to his usual waking method. He wondered if it would still work despite Ace's lacking memories. "Dinnertime," he announced simply.

Immediately Ace's head rose. He pushed himself onto his knees with a hungry look on his face. "Food?"

Once more the blonde sighed. "I just said that so you'd wake up yoi."

The freckled youth pouted. "But now I'm hungry."

"Deal with it. We're leaving in an hour—you can eat then yoi."

"…Leaving?" The gears in Ace's tired mind started spinning again. "Oh, right! We're going to that place to meet that guy!" He paused. "Who is that guy, anyways?"

"A friend," Marco answered.

"You're not really helping, you know."

Marco shrugged. He thought seeing would be better than explaining and left it at that, rising to his feet.

Ace followed suit. After noticing his friend wasn't about to answer him—because Marco was stubborn as hell—he decided to drop the subject and instead looked around, finding himself in the middle of the floor. Blinking in confusion, he turned to the blonde. "Why…?"

"You're narcoleptic yoi," he explained, moving to sit on the couch a few feet away.

"Oh," he noised absently. The heir mimicked his actions and sat across from him, mauling that over in his head. He remembered what narcolepsy was, at least—didn't know he had it, though. At least it explained him falling asleep in the middle of the floor. "Have I always been like that?"

The blonde took a moment to think. "Since before I met you, at least," he answered. "But I don't think you had it when you were a kid."

"Hmm…" Ace thought that over a moment, but the word 'kid' changed his train of thought. "Oh, right—guess what."

Marco raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, silently showing his attentiveness.

Ace grinned. "That kid—Luffy—stopped by."

Well, that was interesting. From what Marco recalled Ace telling him in the past, the boy despised him to the point of doing everything he could to stay away. But apparently he wasn't above paying him a visit. He had to wonder why. "Oh?"

The freckled youth scratched his head. "I'm not sure why but he still wants to work here."

"What do you think about that yoi?" He knew what Ace would have said when they first met, going off on a curse-filled tangent about how annoying the brat was then proceeding to brood all day. But he'd changed a lot over the years, even more so after the accident. He wasn't like that anymore. So what would he say?

"I'm glad."

The blonde raised his head attentively, curious about that reply.

"Maybe I can make it up to him for… whatever I did." He paused. "And I like him."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "He reminds me of… I don't know, a little brother or something." After a moment of silence, he looked questioningly at his friend. "Hey…"

"Hm?"

"Back at the hospital… why did Thatch say you two were my brothers?"

They stared each other down for a while, neither looking away. Eventually Marco sighed, wondering what to say. He didn't really care that Ace forgot, nor did it bother him that he may never remember. In all honesty he thought it was best not to bug the boy with a past he couldn't recall. Wouldn't that make it harder on him? "It's nothing; don't pay that idiot any mind yoi."

Ace's face scrunched into a pout, making him look far more childish than he usually was. "Fine, I'll just ask him next time I see him."

Marco rolled his eyes. "You do that."

Marco watched from the couch as his roommate scowled and cursed, holding his head as he downed a glass of water, swallowing two painkillers. He simply rolled his eyes at the sight, slightly amused by the boy's foul mood. It was his own fault for drinking so much.

Collapsing on the couch, Ace wiped a hand across his forehead, taking a deep breath. His head was probably pounding. Looking at him like that made Marco feel the boy was younger that he really was. He wasn't even responsible enough to monitor himself at a bar. Really, he was hopeless. He supposed the heir's parents were the ones to blame for that, though.

The silence stretched between them and Marco decided then would be a good time to ask about a certain person the youth mentioned while incoherent the previous night. "Luffy," he said simply.

Ace's eyes shot open and he glared at the blonde, ignoring his hangover for the moment. His stare filled with irritation and they stayed like that, allowing silence to take over.

Marco sighed. "You mentioned him last night yoi." At that he saw the freckled man close his eyes and relax at that realization. "What's your relation?"

He groaned. "Can we not do this right now? In case you can't tell, I'm in a bad mood."

"You break anything and you're fixing it yoi."

Ace snorted. "What? Don't trust me?"

"Who would?"

"Good point," he acknowledge, resting his head against the back of the couch.

"So?"

After taking a moment to think, Ace's scowl returned. "He's nothing—just some damn kid my parents felt sorry for."

"That wasn't what I asked."

The youth lifted his head, glowering at the older man. He didn't seem to want to keep to the topic but Marco knew he would. He was freeloading; if he didn't want to be forced back into his father's home, he knew he had to keep to his roommate's rules—one of which was not to hide anything. Instead of complaining a bit before answering like expected, though, his mouth curved into a cocky grin. "I guess you could call him my toy. Or maybe 'pet' is more suiting."

Marco's eyes narrowed. "Is that so?"

Again Ace threw his head back, rubbing circles into his throbbing temple. "He was my servant up until a few years ago." He paused. "I couldn't stand the brat."

"What happened?"

"Let's just say I lost my temper one too many times. Kid goes to the hospital, runs away. I get my solitude back." He went quiet a moment, musing himself with various thoughts. "He was annoying so it was nice to see him leave."

Somehow Marco could tell that wasn't the whole truth—that the boy was making it out to be less than it was—but he said nothing. It was an accomplishment to have him speak at all of his past. He'd just moved in there a few weeks earlier so it wasn't surprising he didn't trust the blonde with the details. Before he wouldn't open up at all, so that was progress. And, as bad as it sounded, he was used to Ace's cruelty. He'd heard all the harsh comments he could come up with and saw the damage he could do. That was just a part of him. But… was it always?

Ace pouted as he entered his room. Marco just finished scolding him for walking around the house all day in his boxers and told him to get dressed. Really, what was the problem? He was alone; it wasn't like anyone was seeing him in only his boxers. Well, except that Luffy-kid. But that was his fault for just randomly showing up. And Marco, too… but Marco let himself in!

Grumbling something under his breath, Ace staggered lazily over to his walk-in closet. He opened the door and stepped inside, glowering darkly at the formal attire that hung around him. The blonde brought some clothes over for him the other day—comfortable stuff that was easy to move in—but where did he put it?

Searching the shelves for any sign of the bag that held his shirts and shorts, Ace shuffled things around. Moving aside boxes of unknown origin, half a dozen pairs of dress shoes he was determined to never wear and some bags, he spotted a bit of yellow peeking out of the top shelf. Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, he reached up and pushed aside the stuff that was in front of it. Before he had a chance to grab it, it fell to the floor along with something orange.

Kneeling down to get a better look, he analyzed the two hats. Both looked old and worn. The one that caught his attention most—the orange, because of its bright colour—was smaller, child-sized. There were red beads strung around it and two circular pendants, faces, one smiling and the other frowning.

"They're like you."

Ace blinked, looking around to see that no one was there. He scratched his head and pulled his mouth into a taut line. Maybe he was going crazy. Or maybe the tests the doctors made him take at the hospital missed something and there really was something wrong with his brain. Either way, he shrugged it off. No use worrying, right?

The other hat—the yellow one—was made of straw. It was a simple hat but was far more worn than the other. In fact, it looked to be in serious need of repair. Across its middle was a crimson band. It seemed familiar…

His eyes widened.

Picking the hat swiftly with his left, he stood and walked out of the closet, immediately moving to his desk. Opening the fourth drawer, he removed the faded, aged picture he saw the day he was released from the hospital. Something that he didn't notice when he first saw the photograph was that his younger self's smile was fake—forced. So he wasn't a very happy kid, then? But that didn't matter. What did was the tiny child off to the side—the one openly showing his sorrow. Graced upon his head was a straw hat too big for his skull. It rested partially over the boy's eyes, darkening his features in shadow. It was the same hat Ace held.

That boy… he was Luffy, right?

Slumping back in his desk chair and fiddling with the dog-eared corner of the picture, Ace sighed. Apparently he'd known that kid for a long time. While part of him sparked new interest in that development, the other half of him dreaded it. He knew he'd done something horribly scarring to the boy, but if they'd known each other that long then did that mean he'd hurt him more than once? He hoped not; he felt bad enough already.

Glancing at the straw hat he placed on the desk, he frowned. It was Luffy's, so why did he have it? And how long did he have it? For one reason or another, he felt that it was important. He needed to keep it safe. Because… that kid would be sad if something happened to it, right? He'd hurt him enough already.

Ace sighed, running a hand through his hair. He didn't like the picture that was beginning to form in his head.

A/N: This was actually the first time we had a flashback with adult Ace in it :D What are your thoughts on him, now that you've seen a bit? Leave a review if you'd like to share!

To my lovelies~

siqwithaQ: That's okay, it happens ^^ Funny how you mention that because-I can't say u_u Damn it, spoilers! But I CAN say that that'll be addressed in one way or another. I love your theories. Seriously, they're very interesting and fun to read about :D Yeah, Ace has basically been bombarded with guilt since he met Luffy and he doesn't even know why. You gotta feel bad for the guy, you know? That's true, it does! ^^ Hehe nope, I don't mind! Like I said, I really enjoy reading the theories my readers come up with! Plus hearing what you guys think of it can help me better plot the story, like change the way certain things are revealed and how much focus I put on one point or the other, so I actually really appreciate it when I get reviews like this. Actually, in my other story a review pointed out a hint I added to something without realizing it, which was hilarious XD So please, continue writing reviews like this! They brighten my day :)

Mon Esprit Libre: Lol XD You'll find out eventually!

TheAnalei: Don't worry, you'll learn a lot about what happened before later on. By the time the fic is over, everything will be made clear, I assure you :) As a hint: you can trust what Marco says about Ace more than any other character, including his own parents.

samettikettu: Well here's another flashback :D One that hopefully reveals a little more about Ace from before the accident. Well there was more than one thing that caused Luffy to fear Ace, but I promise you'll understand everything before the fic is over! Lol I agree, you would make a great narrator!

jam klaoo: Yep, Luffy knew Ace's parent's house better than he did. I say boring because this story has a lot less action and drama when compared to my other fics :P It's pretty simple in comparison.

spoons-are-evil: Who knows? :P Yep, you gotta love how they can make something like that seem natural XD Maybe, maybe not. Won't know unless you continue reading :P Funny thing: I'm working on a bonus for Skip and even being on his ship Ace doesn't get along with him XD Well actually it was around his temple and the something else was stitches (because he was hit so hard) but I didn't want to outright say it. Guess I didn't imply it very well XD I love you for the fan art. Seriously, it's great. Thank you!

teengens: Lol well then I'm very happy you enjoyed it XD

FlightWulf: ...It was the longest chapter posted thus far, actually ._. It was 2,426 words. Second longest was chapter 2 at 2,263 and shortest was chapter 1 at 1,471. Glad you like it! :) You're welcome~

buslimpan: Actually a lot happened :P I was sure to add in lots of important hints for you guys ^^ Yup, who would think that Luffy would show up with a wad of cash, right?

ssspooky: When I read your review I pictured Ace being an evil overlord, wearing a spiky cape and laughing manically XD Yup, that'll be written out, don't you worry. Trust me, the wait will be worth it. You're welcome!

azab: Well now you got to see a bit of what he was like :P

Honeydee: ...Maybe XD Lol that's fine. Actually I've been leaving a lot of hints the past 3 or so chapters, but it seems only a few people are spotting them. I wouldn't really call it bonding, more like... a casual interrogation e_e

Diclonious57: Sort of XD

yukiko hyuga-chan: Yep! And *singing voice* It's all down hill from here~

MysteriousEyez: I can't believe you would suggest that! I'm not mean to the characters, never! W-what gives you that idea? *cough* I'm not good at lying :P To prove your point, just read the above response XD

Guest: Yes, yes he is. Even in his boxers :P Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm not THAT mean of a writer! *flashbacks to most recent chapters of Resolve* ...Okay... I AM that bad. But not always! Just... normally. I can't guarantee any family bonding before things get worse, but there will be more family scenes throughout. It's just going to take a while because I have to get some crap out of the way first.

Kistune Foxfire: You will find out eventually, my friend ;) Gotta love that, right? XD

Spiders-Are-Our-Roommates: Isn't it?! It'd be so fun to write. But I suspect it wouldn't end well e_e Of course I'll continue it! As stated before, I'll keep updating so long as I see you guys are still enjoying it. Well what do you think now that you've had a glimpse of how he was before? That would be interesting! Though I can't say it'll happen or not :P

(Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review, tell me what you think and all that lovely jazz. I, in the meantime, am going to sl-no! No sleep! Bad! I will... write e_e Maybe some of Skip or Imagined Life. Yes... That. Adieu~)