Only one update this week guys... Exams, you know? I got biopsych in a few hours. That'll be fun. I'm going to die. No I'm not. Yes I am... Why am I updating this story again? Well, because it's the only story I have a lot of chapters written for. The others I have like 1 or none, so... yeah.

Hope you enjoy!

...FML

Diclaimer: There are too many parts of the brain... Too many... And I've memorized them ALL. AHHHH. Oh, don't own and stuff... yeah...

Blanket cradling his shoulders, Ace stared out into the darkness of the room, listening to the heavy patter of rain that refused to cease. When he was alone like that, in the darkness of his parent's mansion, he realized just how big it was. Every room was expansive, every piece of furniture lavish, and it couldn't have felt move empty.

What was he doing there?

He stood as another flash of lightning shot through the curtains, illuminating the living room in white for neigh a second. The blanket draped around his shoulders slipped from his hold, dropping to the couch cushion haphazardly. Something was telling him that he shouldn't stay there any longer. That wasn't home.

Step by step he inched out of the room, thoughtlessly heading to the door as a pang surged through his head. He reached for the handle, feeling the cold metal against his palm, and paused. He didn't know where he was going or why—didn't care. All that mattered was that he was gone, that his feet took him to a place far, far away from the isolation of that house.

The door creaked open and the sound of thunder flooded his ears. As he stared out from the porch, he replayed a scene from earlier in the day.

"You were scary."

"What's wrong, buddy?" Thatch asked as he placed a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder, taking a seat next to him.

The blond glanced at his companion and sighed, shaking his head. "It's Ace," he began, looking out into the expanse of the room. "He's… I don't know yoi."

"You're not making much sense, Marco."

The other groaned. He knew. He didn't really know how to explain it, though. Something just felt… wrong. Lately that boy had been questioning things more—even gained a few tiny memories. That was great, right? Marco was fine with him remembering, but he didn't mind him remaining oblivious, either. Ace was Ace—memories or no. Then why did he feel this surge of unease?

Slumping back in his chair, Marco closed his eyes. "I'm tired."

"The kid wearing you out, old man?" the redhead teased.

"I lived with him for over a year—he's not the problem yoi." Then he realized what Thatch said. "And stop calling me that."

"I only speak the truth," his friend stated, giving a cheeky grin. "So what is the problem?"

When asked that, all he could imagine was the face of Monkey D. Luffy. But he couldn't really say that, could he? The boy may cause problems for Ace later, but he wasn't doing so intentionally. Whatever stress was brought on by his appearance wasn't his fault. That didn't stop Marco from worrying about his little brother, though.

Sweeping a hand across his forehead, the blond had to wonder how Ace would react to his current situation if he hadn't lost his memories.

"Marco, take me home. I refuse to be in same room as that bastard."

"No. No way—absolutely not. That kid is too damn annoying. I was happy to be rid of him. I'm not taking him back!"

"Marco, I… I couldn't be…"

He smiled. There was no doubt it'd go something like that.

Wandering aimlessly through the city gave Ace too much time to think. The rainwater seeping into his shoes told of how long he'd been walking, but he dismissed it. Instead he looked at the golden lights lined along the road, coming from shops and stores. The few pedestrians who still hadn't taken shelter rushed to the nearest open establishment, regardless of what it was, desperate to get out of the storm. Eventually Ace was the only one still walking outside.

"A gift!"

Ace froze as the voice rolled through his mind. He looked around, met with nothing but the continuing downpour. No one was there.

"We wanted to cheer you up since you look so sad."

The heir swallowed. That was Luffy's voice. He stood still, listening to the memory playing in his head.

"You were always smiling before but… you weren't happy."

His eyes widened. After that… after that, something bad happened. All he could hear were the muffled sobs from the child as the memory faded, leaving nothing but the crash of the storm in its wake. He let out a strained breath, cupping his forehead in his palm as he mauled over the boy's words. What was he talking about? Gift…

The hat, maybe?

"…Ace?" came an unsure voice from behind. The heir spun around, met with a dark umbrella and equally dark eyes. "What are you doing out here?"

Marco froze in the living room, sweeping a tired hand across his forehead. That bad feeling remained throughout the evening and he decided to pay Ace a visit, just in case, seeing as the youth wasn't answering his cellphone. He wasn't too pleased to arrive only to find the boy nowhere in sight, leaving the house completely vacant, void of even the smallest signs of life. Where did he run off to? Where could he possibly have gone in weather like that?

It did nothing to quell his nerves.

If it was before the accident, Marco would have shrugged his absence off. He was known for staying out all night without so much as a word. Sometimes he'd end up completely wasted at Thatch's house and the redhead would keep him for the night. Other times, well… the blond wasn't exactly sure where he vanished off to other times, but knew that he would return without fail in the morning.

That was the old Ace. He wasn't like that anymore.

Biting his lip, the man wondered what might have happened after they parted earlier in the day. When he went to drop Luffy off at his apartment, the heir told him that he didn't have to return—that he was getting a headache and want to rest. If he wasn't feeling well, why would he leave? Why walk out in the rain?

Sighing, the blond staggered back to the front door. Having thoroughly searched the whole damn mansion, he was starting to feel his heavily-lidded eyes droop even further. He was tired, sure, but would he be able to sleep when he was so worried? There wasn't a chance. Who knew what trouble the amnesiac could get into? It was Ace, after all—troublemaker extraordinaire.

As he pulled out of the driveway, Marco couldn't help but curse the day. When he found that kid, he was going to make sure he knew pain.

Staring down at the black-haired youth hunched over on his couch, Sabo let out a breath of exasperation. Dropping a towel on the other's head, he assisted the youth in drying his hair, watching carefully as those gray eyes continued to stare blankly across the room. He wasn't sure what to make of Ace since he encountered him on the streets; the man was barely responsive, speaking only when necessary, and lacked his previous energy and enthusiasm. While he'd only met the heir once since he lost his memories, he was still able to tell that wasn't normal behaviour. It was worrying.

In all his years knowing the youth, he'd never seen him like that. Sure there were times when he wouldn't talk—where he ignored everything around him—but they were few and far between and all had very obvious reasons. As he stood over him, drying his soaked hair and shoulders, Ace just seemed… disconnected, like he wasn't all there. But, through his mask of indifference, Sabo made out a faint glint of worry in his eyes. If he didn't want to explain what was wrong, however, the blond wouldn't press.

He'd brought the freckled man back to his place to get out of the rain, seeing as he was adamant about not returning home for whatever reason. It felt kind of weird, have Portgas D. Ace in his house, but that soon faded when his mind began to hypothesize about what he was doing, wandering the streets.

Leaving the towel atop the other man's head, Sabo left for his bedroom. He returned moments later and dropped a set of clothes onto his guest's lap. Ace was finally brought out of his daze, looking from the garments to his host curiously.

"Change," the blond commanded, plopping down on the couch across from him where a warm cup of tea was waiting. "I don't want to feel guilty if you get sick."

After a moment of silent contemplation, the youth nodded and rose from his seat, wordlessly heading to the bathroom. Seeing Ace so compliant was downright disturbing. The heir he remembered was a proud bastard who took orders from no one, even if he agreed with what they told him. That trait of his led to many fights between the two, especially as the years went on, but just then… he hadn't even made a snarky remark. He knew very well that he was different now—that his amnesia changed him—but he wasn't quite comfortable with it yet. The way he looked at him with those confused eyes of his, he reminded Sabo of a clueless child.

He reminded him of Luffy.

Leaning forward, the blond went to grab his cup when he realized he was still wearing his jacket. Pulling his mouth taut, he slipped the offending material from his arms and threw it over the back of the sofa, moving once more to drink his tea.

Only a few short minutes later, Ace emerged from the restroom, dried yet holding firm to that dead expression from before. He just stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do until Sabo motioned for him to sit and, again, he did as he was told. Never before did he see that confident man look so lost.

After an uncomfortable silence, Sabo placed his cup back down on the coffee table. "Did something happen?" When he saw the other flinch, he added, "You don't have to say if you don't want to. I'm not going to force you to tell me."

A long pause passed before Ace, for the first time since their arrival, made eye contact. He seemed to be fighting with what to say, playing around with his thoughts before finally deciding on how to word it. "…You know me, right?"

Sabo blinked. That wasn't exactly what he expected. "Yeah," he answered. "We, uh, we go way back."

Ace nodded before lowering his gaze back to the floor. It seemed he wanted to say something but he didn't know how. The blond decided to give him time to think, moving into the kitchen to refill his cup and get a drink for his guest, as well. He was sure the man had the same tastes—preferences like that weren't very reliant on memory—and wondered briefly if he should bring out some wine. But, well, the current Ace didn't seem to be very interested in alcohol, at least not based on their last encounter, so he opted to make a quick pot of coffee instead.

Returning to the living room, he found the heir staring blankly at his hands, falling back to the dazed state he was in before. The clank of the mug hitting the coffee table snapped him out of it and he eyed the beverage curiously before grabbing it, tracing its rim with his index finger.

"That'll warm you up," Sabo stated as he returned to his place across from his guest.

A flash of gratitude crossed the other's face before he began staring at his reflection in the liquid. He seemed to be loosening up despite his quiet and, moments later, was comfortable enough to continue their conversation. "…I was really bad, huh?"

"Hm?"

"Before the accident," he elaborated. "I did some really horrible things, didn't I?"

"You remember?" the blond questioned.

The youth shook his head. "I just… Luffy, he…"

Luffy? So he met the kid, then. It made sense that he was acting that way. The boy probably took one look at him and ran the other way—couldn't blame him, really. He didn't want to get hurt and since he was on the receiving end of the heir's explosive anger in the past, well…

"…I'm scared."

Sabo lifted his head, leaving his thoughts to return his full attention to the one who sat across from him. He never saw such raw fear on that man's face before then. "Of what?"

Ace swallowed before answering, "Of remembering."

A/N: So... yeah. It's not a big reveal to you guys that he's scared of remembering because he mentioned that before in his inner monologues, but he never vocalized that fear to anyone so it's still an important part. And I put A LOT of hidden hints throughout this chapter, so search for them if you want!

To my lovelies~

TheAnalei: Nope, it does not. Hope you like!

shadowmarialove: You'll find out eventually~

Diclonious57: I think that would scare him even more XD

Bluebird42: That'll come eventually :P

Blueh: Yep, he will! Just not right now :P Short reviews, long reviews, doesn't matter to me! I love them all :D

Kitsune Foxfire: He figured it out a long time ago, but hearing it actually said to him was kind of different, you know? I will XD

azab: Glad you like!

Frostheart D. Blaize: Glad you like :)

samettikettu: It won't be soon, I'll guarantee that :P Nah, birthdays don't matter much.

ssspooky: Lol it's only my city that's that bad, not the whole country. It's because our factories are closed and when Detroit went bankrupt it affected us too because we're right across the boarder... I'll survive. Probably. I'll still be writing fics on my deathbed ;)

leo from: You're the only one who voted that, so... ^^;

mad100141: Moving? To where? How? I don't have the cash to move. You need money if you want to go somewhere and most of us don't have enough. I'm majoring in psychology and visual arts. There are no jobs in this city that are in constant need, I guarantee it. Trust me, I've been looking for like a year now. There's virtually nothing left. Nobody really voted except a few people, so that's what I'm going to do. It's called a red herring :) Nobody says anything because nobody cares. We all just want to hurry up and finish the class. Not all of the characters are going to be in this video, although Zoro has a minor role to play a little later. Yep, it's AceLu. Says so in the description. Though it's not one of those 'suddenly they're all over each other' fics. I don't really like those.

MysteriousEyez: Yep, you guessed it. He feels like shit. But it's more than that, muahahaha...

(I feel dead. I'm not, but it feels like I am. Biopsych, you know? Anyways, hope you enjoyed and I'll hopefully be done my hiatus next Thursday once exams are over. Adieu~)