I swear I'm too nice, updating this story as often as I do :P I just finished writing out chapter 16 and I was like "I wanna post it now! :D" but then I was like "Oh yeah, we're not there yet..." so I settled for chapter 11 :P And suddenly I'm tired. But I wanna write more...

Disclaimer: Can I stop with this yet? ...No? Fine then e_e

Rouge and Roger returned in the late hours of the night. Honestly they hadn't expected to return at all. They normally didn't on business trips. They were happy they did—one more than the other. Rouge was worried about leaving Ace alone. She knew better than to treat his amnesia like a disability, that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. That wasn't what ailed her. She was scared—scared that he would leave… again.

Her muscles relaxed once she entered the living room to find her boy splayed out on the couch, half his body slipping off the edge as he snored. Her mouth curved into a warm, endearing smile and she knelt down next to him, analyzing his features.

He looked content—happy, even. To see her son like that… it felt great. He'd changed a lot since the accident and, though she didn't care to openly admit it, she thought it was for the better. He hadn't lashed out at anyone since he lost his memories and his temper had quieted. There were a few times he even smiled, laughed with his friends… How angry was he when last she saw him?

Brushing his hair away from his eyes, she placed a quick kiss on his forehead then turned to look up, met with her grinning husband. She glanced back down at Ace, features softening. "He's… He's grown, hasn't he?"

Noticing his wife's uneven tone, Roger stepped closer and, placing a soothing hand on her shoulder, confirmed, "Yeah."

"I didn't think he would change so much after he turned eighteen…" She bit her quivering lip, trying to steady her voice. "We've missed so much."

Standing, she allowed herself to fall into her lover's arms, feeling his warm embrace cradle her as she trembled, trying to settle. A year and a half ago their son walked out their front gate. A year and a half ago he never returned. Never—not once. They didn't get to see his face or hear his voice, not even over the phone. Without warning, her boy vanished.

Her son was at the door, handle on the knob. He had nothing with him but his usual black and green bag, slung lazily over his shoulder as his body twisted to step forward. She stopped him before he could, gently wrapping her arm around his. They shared a glance briefly before she spoke.

"Your father will be home tomorrow morning," she stated, stretching up to kiss his cheek. "I'll see you tonight, Ace."

Saying not a word, her boy simply smiled at her, then turned away and opened the door.

The next time they met, he forgot who she was. The day he woke up he just stared at her with vacant eyes, not even really looking at her. When his strength returned and his mother went to hug him, he shied away. She remembered seeing him like that, thinking that her son was no longer himself. He didn't seem to feel any sort of emotion.

Fortunately, that didn't last. His energy returned and, with it, his smile. It seemed to change most after the second day, when he met with Thatch and Marco. Truthfully she was thankful to them… and a little jealous. Ace opened up to them almost instantly. He felt comfortable around them and even after a week remained awkward around his parents. But perhaps that was expected; he lived with Marco all that time he was away…

Marco—she'd have to remember to thank him for all he'd done for them. They met the day they got the call stating that Ace had been in an accident. That was the first time she heard anything about her boy in over a year. He introduced himself not as Ace's roommate, but his brother. Even then she didn't know why. Maybe one day she would ask.

He went on about them living together and told her about some of the things her son did while he was gone during their wait outside the emergency room, trying to quell her worries. The way he described Ace seemed fake at first—like he was talking about someone else. After taking him home and living with him again, though, she noticed the similarities. It was like Marco was talking about amnesiac Ace and not the boy from before. He couldn't have known he would act that way, though. Then… had he changed since he left them? Was he different before the accident?

Breaking away from her husband's grasp, she looking back to her son's sleeping face. "What are we going to do?"

"Support him," Roger answered, face holding that same, upward curve it always had. "He can figure things out for himself. We're just here to help him along."

She nodded. That man always knew what to say, didn't he? Even back when they first met, the words that slipped past his lips were like magic, always turning into truth. She trusted him more than anyone else in the world… except when it concerned Ace. The boy hated him. No matter what his father said, he shoved it aside. Rouge understood. She knew why he did that and she couldn't blame him. But that made her husband's words inaccurate. Did Ace need them at all?

The blonde found herself being led into the kitchen, seated at the island in the center. Roger put the kettle on the stove then turned to face her. She offered him a smile but nothing more as she drifted back into her previous train of thought.

She knew something like that would happen—that Ace would leave eventually. She just didn't want to admit it. The older he grew, the more he wanted to break free. He knew Rouge would try to keep him there if he said something so he remained quiet and vanished without a word. No matter how long they searched, they couldn't find a trace of him. And they knew that he didn't want to be found.

It was morning. Luffy groaned as he stared at the blinding red numbers on his clock then smothered his face back into his pillow as the alarm went off. He didn't sleep. The whole night was spent lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, worrying about the day to come. How could he have agreed to work for Ace? It was Portgas D. Ace, the most dangerous person in the world! Okay, maybe he was exaggerating—just a little—but it still wasn't exactly the most ideal job, especially for him.

Ace was different. He had to remember that. The man he talked to the day before… he wasn't like he used to be. He was kind—laidback. And he was considerate. That was why he asked for the position. He thought things would be different and being there, with Ace, he felt reassured.

That all came crashing down when he went home and realized that he just agreed to spend the majority of his days with his problem. No matter how much his amnesia changed him, Ace was still Ace. And that terrified Luffy. What if he wasn't as nice as he appeared? What if he started remembering and went back to the way he was before?

Finally the teen rose from his bed, stretching his arms out wide and yawning as sleep finally caught up with him. There was no use worrying about it. If the problem was with any other person, he wouldn't have. But Ace was his weakness. He always would be.

Taking a deep, inward breath, Luffy knocked on Ace's bedroom door. Rouge let him in just moments ago and told him that Ace hadn't come down for breakfast. She seemed tired—like she was carrying a heavy burden. He couldn't' help but wonder if it had to do with Ace. Rouge was always smiling and happy except for when it came to her son. Luffy never really knew why, nor did he want to know, but he liked Rouge and seeing her like that was sad.

Not waiting for an answer, the teen turned the nob and quickly entered the room. After a short internal battle with himself in the morning, he was determined to be brave and face his problem—or, uh, boss—head on. That meant no more cowering away from him! But he couldn't really help that; it was instinct…

Luffy blinked. He was so deep into his thoughts that he failed until then to realize that the man in question was still in bed. Sure enough he was lying there, head resting comfortably on a pillow, eyes closed. He looked quite peaceful. Of course, that left the youth with no idea what to do. Should he wake him? When he held that position as a child, he…

"He's not a morning person yoi," stated a familiar voice.

"Eh?" The boy turned to see that same blonde from before—Marco, he believed he was called—sitting at Ace's desk, newspaper in hand. It looked like he made himself right at home, coffee resting next to his arm, reading glasses on… The only way you could identify him as a servant was by his uniform.

"I wouldn't try waking him," he said, sipping from his cup.

"Ah, right…" Luffy took a few steps closer. "You're…"

The blonde turned to face him, a soft smile on his lips. "Ace's brother, Marco Blue."

"Eh?" He blinked. "But I don't remember—"

"Not by blood yoi," he explained.

Luffy nodded. He didn't realize the two were close enough to call each other brothers. As he thought more, he realized Ace mentioned something about them living together when he last saw him. It seemed things had changed since he quit working there. Before, Ace didn't have anyone he would consider close enough to be family. He was always very solitary. The friends he did have were nothing more than people he used for entertainment; he only kept near them because they helped him kill time. Even then he spent most of his days out alone.

"But don't say anything."

"Huh?"

"He doesn't know and I'm not inclined to tell him yoi."

"Oh… okay. I'm—"

"Monkey D. Luffy, right?" Apparently the look on the teen's face was all the confirmation he needed. "Ace mentioned you."

Luffy's eyes widened. "He did?" He expected after he left, Ace would have forgotten all about him. They didn't exactly share the happiest of memories.

Marco was silent. He sipped once more from his cup before lowering the newspaper into his lap, releasing a sigh. Moments past and he folded the paper and placed it on the desk then turned in the swivel chair to fully face the teen. Luffy's eyes were met with cold blue and for a moment he wondered if he did something wrong. The look he was being given… it reminded him of Ace. It held the same dark feel. "Why did you show up now?"

Luffy didn't say anything. He wasn't sure what the man meant. Why did he return then? Well, he didn't have much of a choice, but it didn't seem the blonde was referring to his job.

Again, he sighed. "Forget it. You don't know, do you?"

"Wha—"

Luffy was interrupted by groan from behind. He turned to see the heir stir, stretching his arms out wide as he yawned, sat up and opened his eyes. He seemed a little lost at first—confused about the people in his room. The teen was worried. He never liked when Ace woke up; he was never happy. Not only that, but just being in that room after so long with the man that scared him more than anyone else in the world had his heart racing. He wanted to run. He wanted to hide. If he made him angry—

Ace smiled, "Hey, Lu."

"Hey, Marco…"

"Hm?" The blonde turned to the freckled youth lounging on the couch, his hands folded behind his head as he gave the ceiling a blank stare.

"How do you kill a monster?"

"…What?"

Gray eyes turned to him, a hint of irritation behind their glare. After a silent stare-down they turned away once more, looking anywhere but the other. "…Just answer the question."

Marco sighed. He had no idea what his roommate was talking about but supposed there was no harm in humouring him for the moment. Returning to his previous task of organizing his bookcase, he thought. "I suppose… you make it disappear."

A/N: Soooo... yup. That's the chapter. I have nothing to say.

To my lovelies~

Mon Esprit Libre: ...Thanks? (I forgot what we were talking about XD)

Kitsune Foxfire: Hehe I mentioned he'd be in it a while back ;P That WOULD be pretty interesting.

mad100141: Lol I thought it was obvious XD You give me too much credit. My stories are actually pretty simplistic :P Watch, we'll get to the end and you'll be like "...That's it? Really?" I guarantee it. Is it obviously rape? Is it really? Lol Ace killed Shanks? That's a new one. I'm almost tempted to use it because it came out of nowhere XD Almost. It's okay, I love hearing theories! It helps me see if you guys are catching on or not and shows me whether or not I'm making sense :)

TheAnalei: You'll find out eventually~ Does he? All I really mentioned was that one flashback where he talked to Ace and Ace was being an ass. When he was talking to Sabo, he was asked about what happened to make Ace renounce his name, if that's what you're referring to. Don't worry, I've already written the chapter where Sabo shows up again :)

teengens: You'll know eventually :P

samettikettu: Sabo wasn't the bartender ^^; Here's the next~

Guest: You're welcome :)

Honeydee: I can say that one part of the hat mystery will be revealed next chapter ;) ASL is legit? Are you sure? *evil grin* You'll find out eventually~

jam klaoo: Glad you like!

Diclonious57: Yep :)

azab: Glad you like!

yukiko hyuga-chan: We shall see :P Maybe, maybe not. Here's an update~

lone green leaf: Yep!

MysteriousEyez: What can I say? I love writing Sabo XD I think the only stories I've killed him off in are Skip and Resolve. Well he sorta kind remembered some minute sentences so far... it's something XD

siqwithaQ: I think I hinted at him being in it but that's about it. I mentioned it in the author's note, though. About the hats - they'll be mentioned again next chapter, I assure you :) Yeah, I kinda wanted to keep it vague for now. But you'll have your answers soon enough. Probably. Lol I've done that before - get so attached to a theory and then find out it's wrong only to be like "No! It HAS to be this way!" Let's just say this whole thing has a lot to do with a certain... nope, can't say it because of spoilers. Damn! u_u Ace's drinking DOES play some sort of role in the plot, though.

Guest (2): Lol glad you like XD I will~

Guest (3): No one important for now :P

spoons-are-evil: For now, a bar with little importance :P Marco jokes are awesome. I swear, I pick on him more than any other character. Lol yep, Divide!Sabo has made a lot of people like him. And now I'm stuck with writing him a certain way... but I'm working on it! Interesting theory! Let's see how long it holds up ;) Glad you like~ And good to hear that you're feeling better! :D

Son Goshen: Lol that was pretty much my reaction to finally being able to write him into the story :P I blame Divide. It made me like him too much.

Guest (4): Sorry never heard of it, and I only read fanfiction on this site for the most part. I'm not particularly fond of OCXCanon stories. If you want me to beta-read it then I'd be happy to, just send me the link in a PM. But be warned that I'll be brutally honest about what I think of it, good or bad, so keep that in mind. Otherwise... I don't read OC stories ^^;

Holmesz: Yep, we're getting somewhere! Slowly. Painfully slowly. But we are still getting there.

(Aaaand that's a wrap. I almost lost all of my responses just now =_=; Was about to rage. But luckily they survived. Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter! Please drop a review and tell me what you think! I'll see you next time! ...I feel like a narrator. "Next time on Within..." Ahem. So I'll go... do something. Write. Maybe. Or draw. It's been a while. Adieu~)