How I'm managing to survive the hellish temperatures that plague the northern part of Europe is beyond me, but look, here I am offering you the new chapter much faster than the last ones! I'm sweating my ass off sitting here in my garden, but I got it done!

Happy (belated) birthday, StrawberryGirlKairi! I really tried, but I'm only one day late, right?! :)

Relevant Tarot Cards:

Nine of Swords : To be at the height of your anxiety, too absorbed by your own failures and too critical of your shortcomings.

Judgment: To face your past, forgive it and let it go.

Domo everyone! Do enjoy!

13. The Nine of Swords - Judgment

"Luffy!"

He'd gone straight to bed when he'd gotten home from Ace's, his body feeling completely drained from the accumulated stress he'd endured over the past few days. He now blinked his eyes open to find his darkened room lit up by a lightning strike, casting the shadows of the rain rivulets that ran down his window across the space. Luffy sniffled and sat up when he heard the approaching footsteps on the stairs. He placed his feet on the floor and looked up just in time to see his door open.

"I came as fast as I could."

New tears formed in Luffy's eyes and he began to sob when his grandfather approached him and took him in his arms. As far as he knew he hadn't asked for his grandfather to come, but he felt an immense sense of relief now that he was here.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered, his voice trembling.

Garp tightened his hold on his grandson and smiled a little. "Newgate's son, that boy— Ace, called me, right after you did last night. He called me to report criminal offences Squadron Leader 'Captain' Kid Eustass of the 7th militairy squadron of the Air Force had committed towards you."

Luffy froze and let go of him, not daring to look him in the eyes. Now he knew why Ace had left the party last night with Law and Marco.

In that moment, he didn't even care that Ace had betrayed his trust by telling his grandfather everything he'd told him.

Somehow, it warmed his heart to know that Ace really had meant it when he said he'd do anything to keep him safe. Ace was ready to make Kid pay for what he did to him. Putting his wellbeing ahead of his, even if it meant jeopardizing his relationship with Luffy and sending a man he was once friends with to prison.

The regretful smile that appeared on his lips quivered ever so lightly as the tears continued to fall.

"I finally understood the reasons why you chose to move out of your dorm after your third year," Garp said. "I'm immensely saddened by the fact that you did not tell me any of this prior. I have however been able to connect the dots between the reason why you asked me all the information about Military Court Martials and the information that boy Ace gave me and I booked the first available flight to Sabaody once I did," he explained, looking at him worryingly now. "What is this about, Luffy?"

Luffy took a shaky breath and nodded to himself, silently agreeing with the fact that he should've been the one to tell his grandfather everything. He was now searching for the courage to tell him the bits he'd even hidden from Ace as he took his grandfather's hands in his. "Okay..." he whispered, taking the time to collect his thoughts, trying hard to keep the upcoming tears at bay. "Alright... I need to know if... if with the information that Ace gave you it's enough to strip him of his Military credentials, or not."

Garped continued to look at him sorrowfully, but answered nonetheless. "It isn't, because what he did to you happened before he became a service person. He was still a civilian then, so a civilian court is best appointed to deal with those offences."

Luffy nodded, having had expected that much. He was trembling now as he prepared to give his grandfather the facts he knew would be of substance in a Military Court Martial. "Okay, then… what is the maximum punishment for… for a service person who has committed assault and… sexual battery on a civilian…?" His voice had gotten very small during that last part, thick drops of his tears falling on their joined hands as he gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, wanting nothing but to hide from the ever growing shame he felt.

Garp felt his insides grow cold. "Luffy…?"

"He raped me!" Luffy confessed in between hiccupping gasps. "I couldn't stop him, and he just… he just…!"

"Shhh... it's alright... it's alright..." Garp said in a consoling manner as he immediately moved in to hug his grandson, placing a comforting hand over his forehead as he let him cry in his embrace, his lips pressed together in a thin line to mirror the quiet anger he felt inside. "A dishonest discharge, 25 years of imprisonment ruled by a civilian court and being placed on the Violent and Sex Offender Register for any period, including life," he said, looking at him now. He took a calming breath and placed his hands on his shoulders, his expression grown regretful. "I know that this is hard, son," he said sternly, but diplomatically. "But I will need for you to write everything that happened between you and that man down in a statement when you'll feel ready to do so."

"Granddad? Luffy?" They both heard Robin call from the large hall downstairs.

Luffy looked into Garp's eyes and nodded. "I understand, Grandpa."

Robin entered his room a moment later, holding Zoro's tablet in the crook of her right arm. She looked shaken and out of breath from sprinting through the house looking for them. "Luffy…?"

"Robin, dear, if you don't mind, your brother and I need to discuss a private matter," Garp told her, his calm eyes still on Luffy's dispirited expression.

"Granddad, I don't think that this can wait..." she countered agitatedly, her eyes filling up with tears as she squatted next to him in front of Luffy. "Ace called."

Luffy lifted his pained eyes up to her but couldn't hold her gaze, he couldn't bring himself to admit he screwed things up while looking at her. "We had a fight earlier this evening... I think we broke up."

"Luffy..." she whispered, looking for his eyes. "That man wouldn't have called if he considered things over between you, not with the information he just gave me," Robin notified him with a ghost of a smile, shaking her head pleadingly as she placed a hand against his bruised cheek. "He asked me to check the security footage of the 'Bloom Room's" private parking lot. He begged me to tell him what I would find if I looked at the footage from Thursday night."

Luffy gasped in terror and looked up at his sister, who was now crying openly.

"What's his name...?" she said through clenched teeth, the anger clear in her eyes.

The realization that he'd never told Robin how Kid looked like dawned on Luffy and he broke down in sobs, his entire body trembling. Everything had been caught on tape...! They would all... all— "Kid Eustass..." he whimpered, his mouth barely moving.

Garp had taken the tablet from his granddaughter and now played the video that was opened on it. He averted his eyes and stifled a curse underneath his breath a few seconds into the footage and stood again, taking his phone out of his pocket to make an urgent call.

Robin took her brother in her arms, closing her eyes when he began to sob again, shedding tears of sympathizing pain. "Ace didn't know and this is why you couldn't… That's why you fought isn't it…?"

"I wanted—" he whimpered, sniffling at the bitter memory of what had happened at Ace's place. "I wanted to deal with Kid on my own, through grandpa, so I could start over with Ace after it was done. But Ace… he knew that something was wrong, but I couldn't tell him! I couldn't—"

Robin listened to her brother's broken whimpers, getting the whole picture now. "He'll be Court Martialed. Granddad won't let this stand and we have proof and your statement of his violent past."

"And Coby," Luffy whispered letting go of her, suddenly remembering that Coby knew of his past with Kid as well. "Coby Morgan."

"Do you think he'll be willing to testify? He is an international celebrity," Robin said with a worried frown, her attention briefly taken by the fact that she heard their doorbell ringing in the distance.

Luffy gave her a watery smile and nodded, reminiscing Coby's actions and words of that ill-fated night. "He will," he answered her resolutely. "I'm certain that he will."

Robin gave him an encouraging smile and moved her head in acknowledgement. "Okay, then the sooner you can ask him to write down his testimony, the better," she whispered, watching him nod. "I'll go contact Bartholomew."

"Dad's lawyer?" Luffy whispered. "Isn't he in Water 7?"

"He's our family's lawyer," Robin corrected him with an affectionate smile. "He came back into town because there were matters that required his attention here, or so he told me," Robin informed, smiling at the reassured expression on Luffy's face. "You'll be in good hands with him."

"But then dad—"

Robin gave him an uncompromising stare. "There is no way you can avoid it, Luffy."

Luffy looked away and nodded, knowing that he didn't have much of choice anymore.

A knock was heard against his open door and they both looked in the direction of the entrance of his room to find Ace standing there, looking like he'd had to run through the pouring rain; his hair and the white t- shirt he wore underneath his open trench coat both partially wet.

"Ace," Luffy whispered breathlessly.

"Luffy," he rasped, taking a hesitant step closer when Robin let go of her brother and began to stand.

"I need to go see granddad and go place that phone call," she said, bending over a last time to kiss her brother on his forehead. Robin then turned and walked up to Ace, pausing to place an encouraging hand on his shoulder which he briefly covered with his own before leaving the room.

He then closed his eyes and sighed, lifting his head to look at Luffy who had his gaze fixed on the floor.

"How much do you know?"

Ace approached and kneeled in front of him. "Only that the security cameras caught something, but I don't know what."

Luffy let out a trembling breath and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before nodding. "Then I'll tell you now."

Ace noted the calm and collected sense of defeat Luffy exuded and prepared himself for what he was going to tell him next.

The impact of the news was something akin to taking a pointblank rock salt shot from a sawed off shotgun; the initial scattered blow was nothing compared to the pain that ransacked his body long after.

Ace was at a loss of words for a few minutes, his body suddenly feeling extremely weak when he made himself sit on the bed next to Luffy.

No curse word was powerful enough to express the ever growing feelings of wrath that welled up inside of him and no amount of given comfort was enough for him to lessen the chagrin and pain he felt when he thought of Luffy and what he'd had to go through all by himself.

When he opened his eyes again and turned his head to look at him, his heart ruptured at the silent tears that flowed out of his closed eyes.

Ace scooted closer and wrapped his arms around him, letting him rest his head against his chest.

Luffy tentatively grabbed onto Ace's shirt and began to sob again when Ace only held him closer. "I'm sorry, Ace… I'm so unbelievably sorry. I wanted to spare you this. I didn't want to drag you into this mess."

"Please, Luffy, no…" Ace said, his voice trembling too. He took a breath and looked up at the ceiling when Luffy only cried harder, his expression pained as he kept embracing him. "Don't apologize. Don't… God…" He ran his free hand through his dark locks and kissed the crown of his head. How could he still be thinking about Ace's image with all that has happened? How had Luffy even been able to function this past weekend, with all of these facts weighing on his head?

Ace waited until Luffy's sobs had subsided and they remained in their embrace for a few silent moments, the rain that kept falling outside the only sounds around them.

"I love you, Luffy."

Luffy stopped for a moment before breaking down in tears again, this time out of heartfelt relief and happiness. He'd known of Ace's feelings and he acknowledged them, because he now realized that he felt the same.

He'd been scared, felt insecure and guilty, but he understood that al those feelings were because of what Kid had done to him over the years.

Admitting to the pain and to the horrid things that man inflicted upon him felt liberating and now that his family and Ace knew, he'd found the strength he didn't even realize he'd lacked.

He was never supposed to fight on his own in this.

And he refused to be a victim any longer; to put his life on hold any longer. He wanted Ace, he needed Ace because Ace made him see and feel how good life was supposed to be.

He'd helped him crash into the fear and punch through those wretched walls that enclosed his heart.

And he felt it now, with every fiber of his body.

This was it.

"I love you, too."

He still had tears in his eyes and his lips were trembling when he finally said it, but what he felt was unmistakable.

And Ace saw it shining in those rich brown eyes of his, even more clearly now. "You…?"

Luffy grinned and moved in to kiss him lovingly. "I do. I love you," he said after the kiss, looking him in the eyes. "I love you, Ace Portgas. With all of my heart." He laughed happily when he caught Ace's moved expression and wiped away stray tears with the back of his hands before meeting his lips in another kiss. "I love you."

Ace sighed in relief and smiled against his lips, whispering his name adoringly while rubbing the tips of their noses together.

"You make me happy," Luffy whimpered, emotional tears rolling down his face. He mewled into the next kiss that Ace claimed from him, placing his hands over the ones cradling his head, moaning when the kiss deepened and a blush of arousal colored his cheeks. "So happy..."

Ace broke the kiss and looked at him intently, wordlessly searching for a sign of hesitation but not finding any. "I'm so thankful for you, Luffy," he murmured, pulling him closer and kissing him passionately, requiring to convey his need for him. "And I want you. I want you so much, Luffy."

Luffy gasped and let his eyes roll into his head when Ace's lips moved to the side of his neck, breathing his name. His eyes then fell on his closed door and he took a hold of Ace's head to have him look at him with a small smile. "Then we need to lock the door."

"Are you sure?" Ace breathed, looking him over a last time.

"What I need right now," Luffy began, eyes going over this wonderful, considerate and beautiful man, "Is for you to love me. I need you, Ace, please don't leave me alone tonight."

Ace nodded and moved in to kiss him again, silently vowing that he wouldn't allow Luffy to ever feel alone and lonely again. "I won't," he whispered against his lips, watching him from underneath his eyelids as Luffy kissed him once more, letting his hands go through his hair. "I want to make love to you tonight."

"Yes," Luffy whimpered beseechingly in consent, sighing happily as Ace pressed his lips against his cheek lovingly.

"Okay," Ace whispered back before he let go of him and began to stand to go lock the door of his bedroom. He then turned around to face him again, smiling reassuringly when he began to take off his trench coat and threw it on the couch to his right and let his pants and his wet t-shirt join it a few moments later.

Luffy was still sitting on his bed and had watched Ace take off his clothes with building anticipation, now reaching for his own clothes to take them off. Ace shook his head however and walked up to him calmly, coming to a halt right in front of him. "Move up the bed and lay down for me, babe."

Luffy gulped and did as told, almost nervously watching Ace crawl on top of him, not used to have a sex partner not expect anything from him in bed.

"You don't need to do anything other than feel me, okay?" Ace murmured in his ear, pulling the earlobe into his mouth with his tongue to suckle on his briefly, smirking at the gasped moan that elicited.

Luffy nodded from his lying position in between his pillows at the head of his bed, his eyes following his movements on his body, giggling softly when he lifted his t-shirt and hide his face under it, pressing his face against his stomach playfully. His laughter soon turned into soft moans when Ace's lips caressed kisses on his skin, with his tongue dipping into his bellybutton for a taste.

His hands that rested on Luffy's hips moved up, dragging the fabric of the black top with them until they reached his nipples, halting there to caress the sensitive buds of flesh.

Luffy arched his back at the dual sensation of Ace's lips and tongue against his lower stomach and the warm touch of his fingers against his chest, calling his name when his shirt fell somewhere to the left of his bed. Ace kissed his way up Luffy's torso, pausing to give his nipples some wanton attention, taking his time to reach his lips, drinking in his moans, groaning as his naked body fully settled on top of Luffy's half-clothed one, the feel of their exposed skin touching electric, the sensation of their mutual desires rubbing against each other dizzying.

"Yeah..." Luffy moaned, breaking the kiss for some much needed air as he arched his back, legs falling open wider as Ace grinded his hips against him harder, using his elbows on each side of his head in counterweight. The soft, yielding fabric of his pajama pants didn't do much to keep the throbbing of Ace's manhood concealed and he bit his lower lip as another jolt of arousal coursed through his body, deepening the blush on his cheeks.

Ace watched him with a satisfied smile, reaching a hand out to cup his face, using his thumb to brush away residual tears from his bruised left cheek bone before letting that same thumb play against his sinfully swollen lips, feeling himself getting harder just at the sight of them.

Luffy followed the movement of Ace's thumb with small movements of his head, letting the tip of his tongue dart against his thumb and moaning when Ace pushed the digit inside of his mouth, eyes falling closed as he took suckle.

"Fuck..." Ace whispered breathlessly, watching his thumb slowly slide in and out from in between Luffy's puckered lips. "I love those lips of yours, Luffy. Seriously."

Luffy mewled in response, wrapping his legs around his hips, pulling him closer, needing to feel him press harder against him, to have him take him over, claim him, to be no other's. Ace removed his finger from his mouth and took possession of it with his lips, growling acquisitively. "You have no idea what you do to me, Luffy. No idea."

Luffy raised lust filled eyes to him, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he watched him move backwards on his knees in between his legs, pulling the fabric of his drawstring pants down his legs as he went. Chuckling amusedly when Ace flicked his pants nonchalantly to the side, making it join his top on the floor next to his bed. His heart began to race as Ace's eyes went over his now fully exposed body, his gaze the only one to make him feel self conscious in years.

Because this time he wanted for him to really see him. To take him all in for the person that he was, for the man he was willing to offer him, the one he'd seen a glimpse of possibly becoming.

He was ready to give him everything now that he'd found what they had, the love that he'd grown to cherish and treasure in those eventful two weeks they'd known each other. It was like he'd told him; he already needed him more than he could ever had imagined possible and in turn, Luffy chose to open himself up to him, completely, unabashedly and if allowed to, lavishly unconditionally.

His unease must've been deducible from his face because Ace soon moved to cover his body with his again, settling in between his legs while their lips enmeshed together. "Are you okay?" he asked gently, rubbing the tip of their noses together again. "Do you want to stop?"

Luffy shook his head, looking him in the eyes, searching and finding nothing but love in them, dispelling the feeling of insecurity he'd suddenly felt. "Make love to me, Ace," he whispered calmly, pressing a last kiss against the side of his mouth.

Ace complied, reaching for Luffy's bedside cabinet that he'd wordlessly pointed at and took out the tube of lube out of its drawer, squirting a small amount of the transparent gel on his right index and middle finger, spreading it over his two digits. He kept his eyes on Luffy as he lowered the fingers and placed them at his tight ring of muscles, slowly pushing his way into him, careful not to cause him any pain, mindful of his bodily responses.

Luffy grinned at how considerate Ace was being, wiggling his hips slightly in encouragement, making Ace laugh. "I'm sorry, I'm just not used to being prepped like this," he admitted with a nervous chuckle. He immediately regretted having said that, incapable of stopping the flood of memories that spilled into his mind. "It kind of tickles," he then whispered, forcing himself to return into the here and now.

"Does it now?" Ace chuckled, moving his hand faster as he curled the tip of his fingers a bit, smirking at the gasp Luffy emitted. "And now?"

"Ace...!" Luffy whimpered, arching his back in pleasure and beginning to push himself down on those fingers. "That feels good, baby..."

Ace made an inquisitive sound, bending over nimbly to lick the precum from Luffy's twitching erection, adding his ring finger to the other two and groaning in response to the smaller male's gasping murmurs. He watched his fingers move in and out of his lithe body for a few moments while grabbing the lube with his free hand, removing his fingers from him not much later. He whispered for Luffy to look at him, grinning at the small whine he got in response to the absence of his fingers inside of him, proceeding to coat his erected member with the lube, preparing himself as he watched Luffy writhe sexily on the bed with one hand on his own member, stroking himself as he waited for Ace to finally make him his again.

With their faces a mere few inches apart from each other they remained staring at one another while Ace settled in between Luffy's legs once more, pushing his thighs underneath his while dexterously grabbing an unused pillow from the head of the bed to support Luffy's back for the position he needed him in.

Breathing growing more ragged with each second that passed with their eyes still locked on each other like that, Luffy felt like he'd be lost for ever if he didn't keep staring into those deep, compelling dark brown eyes of his, his body already covered with a thin sheet of perspiration, his need for him ever ascending, driving him mad with want. "Ace..." he heard himself whisper pleadingly, body trembling from the ferocious lust that was now taking over.

And with the sonance of a throaty chuckle and a praising murmur, the sound of rolling thunder and the clattering drops of rain in the courtyard, Ace claimed him as his.

A surprised cry tore itself from Luffy's throat when Ace pushed inside of him, slowly, gently, going in ever deeper, claiming him inch by inch, gasp by gasp, tremor by tremor.

"Luffy..."

He couldn't breathe. He didn't dare move. He was so full... so deliciously full of Ace.

Ace gave him a moment to adjust to having his complete length inside, heavy and throbbing. He watched him gasp soundlessly a few times, felt his clutching fingers dig their nails into his broad back, his thighs against his flanks trembling.

It was like Ace's heartbeat pounded through him, making his own heartbeat vibrate to his rhythm, threatening to make it explode from the intensity, caught in a firestorm he had no way of defending against.

"Ace...!"

The solitary tear that found its way out of Luffy's eye was his cue and Ace pulled back out slowly just to slide just as slowly back inside, moaning Luffy's name, searching for his lips.

He couldn't escape him, he was all he felt, all he heard, all he smelled; all of his senses registered but Ace, his lips producing nothing but his name as the rain continued to fall outside, washing away all the regrets of the day.

Their hands intertwined against the board of the bed what seemed hours later, their enraptured bodies still working against each other, both surrendering to the pleasure that was theirs alone, celebrating their joining in the intimate quiet of their embrace.

"I love you…"

Resting the back of his head against Ace's shoulder now, a blissful smile on his lips as the familiar maelstrom built within him for the third time that night, Ace's lips worshipping that sensitive spot in the side of his neck feeling heavenly.

"I love you, too."

It was all in the way that he made him feel, the way every second of the day felt empty when he wasn't there, the knowledge that Ace could have him forget about the world around him just by touching him the way he was now. He'd taught him that making love to him now meant more than the raw physical contact, it being just another aspect of the way in which Ace loved him, its sole purpose to elevate their relationship to a higher, more meaningful level.

If happiness was a byproduct of being in love with this man, then he wished to never fall out of love with Ace.

And Ace was watching their hands against the headboard quietly, his nose nuzzling the side of his face as their bodies rocked towards completion, feeling like the luckiest man in the world, wishing, he too, to never fall out of love with Luffy.

Ace was the first to wake up much later, finding the room to be completely dark and the house to be quiet now that the rain had finally stopped. Luffy was lying still asleep on his stomach next to him, his naked body barely covered by the sheets they shared.

He looked behind him at the bedside alarm clock and read 10.52 at night. Ace then noted the light that shone up from the courtyard and decided to go downstairs, making sure not to wake his sleeping boyfriend as he dressed and exited the room.

He hoped for, and was pleased to find the patriarch of the Di Monkey family sitting in the breakfast corner of the abandoned kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee while in his pajama's and bathrobe, visibly lost in his thoughts.

Garp lifted his head when he heard Ace's naked footsteps approaching on the tiled floor. "I had figured you asleep with Luffy, son."

Ace shook his head. "Luffy still is," he whispered back, sitting himself on the opposite side of the U-shaped bench around the table, facing Garp. "Is there no one else in the house?"

"Robin and my future son in law are both asleep," Garp answered, looking at him intently. "Now that you are here, let me take this opportunity to say that I'm really glad you called me, last night, son."

Ace nodded in acknowledgement. "After Luffy told me everything, I couldn't think of anyone else who could be of help in this situation. I knew that he has a great relationship with you, so I took a gamble, by not knowing how he'd react if he found out that I told you what he had confided me."

An approving smile formed on the general's face. "The fact that you chose to take that risk for Luffy's sake, proves you truly care for him. For that too, I am grateful, boy. How old are you, Ace?"

"28, sir," Ace answered, nodding gratefully at the praise he had just been given.

Garp took a sip from his coffee and made an acknowledging sound. "As I thought."

Ace blinked in confusion. "Sir?"

"You inherited her freckles, you know."

An inquisitive eyebrow rose on Ace's face. "Whose?" he asked, having decided to pour himself a cup of coffee as well.

Garp continued to observe the youth with a knowing smile, pointing towards the third cupboard from the right near the range hood. "Rouge's of course. Your mother's."

Ace stilled and took out a black mug from the cupboard, turning around to face the older man again. "How did you know?"

"I met Rouge when she was still pregnant with you, on Baterilla. I was stationed there as a Lieutenant-Colonel then," Garp explained. "I befriended her, but left before she was to go into labor. True to your father's and Newgate's wishes, she never revealed whose child she was carrying. She was a courageous woman, your mother. When I returned to the island 18 years ago, I got the saddening news of her passing and that her son had been adopted by Edward Newgate."

"So then, you know who..." Ace let his voice die out on purpose.

"I do; having known that Edward and Roger had been best friends, it wasn't that hard to make the connection once he adopted you. The world believes your mother and you to be dead, son, but I unveiled the truth." Garp whispered. " I have no intention of sharing this truth with anyone else, do not worry," he added when Ace looked at him apprehensively, smiling when he saw the young man lower his guard. "You've inherited Roger's good looks and I hear his nose for business."

Ace smirked a little at that and reached for the coffeepot, pouring himself some caffeine. "What is the next step in the Eustass case, sir?" he said instead, changing the topic.

Garp smirked back and looked at his blue mug of coffee, acknowledging the shift of tone. "We have appointed Bartholomew Kuma as our lawyer, I have sent the necessary evidence to a friend judge. Eustass should receive a summon from his commanding officer in the upcoming days, from there on things will proceed according to the protocols emplaced by the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the Air Force."

"Kuma?" Ace echoed, impressed. "That man is ruthless."

"Ruthlessness is required in matters as these," Garp calmly said, eyes grown cold. "No scum lays a hand on my grandchildren without paying the price."

Ace nodded once in complete agreement.

"I need to thank you again, though, Ace," Garp said a few moments later, inviting him to sit back in front of him at the table with a hand gesture.

Ace did as requested and sat back down. "What for?"

"For Luffy," Garp answered with a knowing smile. "Your influence has been a source of great motivation for him and he's only grown for the better because of it," he continued before taking a last sip of his coffee. He then gave him a cheeky grin. "I take it that whatever happened between you two because of this situation has been resolved? It was raining pretty hard, but I guess that whatever you were doing to Luffy must've been enough to settle whatever differences you two might have had…?"

Ace blinked, not knowing if he was supposed to feel uncomfortable or laugh. "Uh... ?"

Garp waved his comment away with an amused laugh. "It's my fault, I wanted to check up on him, but I didn't get further than the top of the stairs after hearing some... noises."

"Oh, God," Ace said amusedly as he continued to stare at the laughing old man. "Don't tell me you stayed? If I had known we were having an audience..." he let his voice quiet down again, returning Garp's cheeky grin.

Garp laughed even harder at that, liking Ace's sense of humor. "Good God, no! I do not wish to have a visual representation of what happened in there. It's my grandson we're talking about here."

Ace laughed with him and took a sip of his coffee too. "It'd may be best to not tell Luffy about this, he might never be able to get over it."

"One time, when he was 12," Garp began, still chuckling. "I took him and his sister on a boat trip to one of the surrounding islands of the Archipelago. School was out and it was very hot, so he decided to only wear swim-shorts and a loose shirt on top. When we got to the harbor and were walking on the docks towards my boat, Luffy somehow managed to catch his short on something, ripping the entire left buttock side of the short off, the piece of fabric flapping behind him like a piece of tarp flapping in the wind."

They both broke down laughing at that, Ace sniggering with a hand over his eyes at the mental image. "And he didn't notice?"

Garp was wiping away a tear from laughing so much, shaking his head in answer. "It was only when he got on the boat in front of Robin and that I helped him get on, that she noted the naked butt cheek staring her right in the face!"

Ace's head fell into his arm as the both of them laughed harder, hitting his palm on the table with mirth.

"Oh man, that boy still felt embarrassed about it a whole month later," Garp said, chuckling with a shake of his head and with clear affection in his voice. "So, your judgment is sound. Let's not tell Luffy I heard you two."

A conspiring smirk appeared on Ace's face and he took another sip of his coffee, nodding in agreement.

"You guys, I can hear you talking and laughing all the way up in my room."

Garp and Ace looked towards the hall entrance of the kitchen to find Luffy standing there in his grey drawstring pajama pants and his black tank top, his hair even messier than usual, and his eyes still heavy with sleep.

"Hey," Ace greeted joyfully, watching him saunter closer on his flip flops.

Luffy sat down next to Ace on his part of the bench and kissed him tenderly on his lips. "Hi," he whispered, closing his eyes with a smile as Ace nuzzled the tip of their noses together. "What were you guys talking about?"

Garp smirked. "What, I wonder?" he answered with a twinkle in his eyes, beginning to stand to go refill his mug of coffee. "Do you want something, Luffy? Coffee, tea?"

"No thanks, grandpa…" he said with a slight pout, wrapping his arms around Ace's waist and burying his nose in his throat sleepily. "I have work in the morning, so I'll be going back up soon."

Ace kissed his forehead and held him closer. "Why not stay home tomorrow? If I recall correctly, this week should be a lot less eventful than the last one."

Luffy grunted and shook his head. "I still need to finalize some key elements for the event, plus Vivi is shooting the ads for the Mera S tomorrow, and they need to be approved by the product manager and Marco, so I need to assist him with that. I have another project with Vivi and the Thousand Sunny Foundation as well and my presence is required at the scheduled meeting tomorrow evening."

"Oh, you mean next Saturday's Marathon?" Ace whispered back.

Luffy nodded. "Yeah, there's still so much that needs to happen before Saturday. And the Launch Event is only 3 weeks away. I can't take a day off, no matter how much I'd like to spend the day in bed with you."

Ace chuckled, watching Garp sit himself back at the table. "Damn, you saw through my plan."

"Like that was so hard," Luffy retorted with a snort, smiling as he heard him chuckle. "And besides, Marco already gave me half the day off on Friday. I can't leave him hanging tomorrow."

"Then I insist that we at the very least have lunch?" Ace asked.

"About that," Garp interjected, catching both their attention. "Kuma has agreed to meet for lunch tomorrow. You can come as well, Ace, if you're willing."

Luffy let go of his boyfriend and sat up. "Will you need me to have my statement ready by then?"

Garp nodded. "That'd be best, that way Kuma will have one and I can send a copy to Judge Sengoku."

"Okay, I'll type it up at work and make two copies," Luffy said before looking at Ace with a wondering look.

"I'll be there," he told him without hesitation, taking his hand in his under the table. "Where does Kuma want to meet?" he asked Garp.

"The Moby Dick, do you know it?"

Both Luffy and Ace nodded.

"Okay," Garp told them. "We're expected at 1.30 tomorrow."

"Grandpa," Luffy then whispered, sitting back with an uneasy look on his face. "What about... what about dad...?"

"What about that fool?" Garp sharply said, taking Ace and Luffy both by surprise. "If he finds out about this, so be it, but I sure as hell am not going to tell him. He's the one who allowed this to befall onto his own children, so don't worry about him, just concentrate on getting that lowlife from the Air Force behind bars."

"Yes, sir," Luffy whispered back with a thankful smile, looking up at Ace when he felt him squeeze his hand approvingly.

"Now, if you lovebirds will excuse me," Garp announced, taking his mug with fresh coffee in a hand and moving to stand again. "I still have some work to do, I did leave Mariejois while on duty and all. I'll see you both in the morning. Goodnight."

They both watched him, a decorated General of the United New World Armies - Commander of the UNWA 'Grand Line Command', leave the kitchen with a salutary wave of his hand.

"Your grandfather is an impressive man, Luffy," Ace remarked in an awed tone.

"You haven't seen him being impressive unless you've seen him in his fully decorated ceremonial suit," Luffy replied with a proud smile. "My grandpa... my grandpa is badass."

Ace chuckled with him and nodded agreeingly. "He really is and I totally must have his autograph."

Luffy looked up at him and found that fan boyish expression on Ace's face that made him hopelessly crack up with laughter. A clear, sincere laughter he hadn't thought to be capable of ever again.

And yet, there he was, in his own kitchen, laughing to the point of tears, his heart lifted and floating.

Simply and truly.

All because of Ace.

To be continued...

In: 14. The Ten of Swords - Justice

-BDP-