A/N: Hey guys, I have a new fic called Shape & Collide. It's three chapters in and I'm really proud of it, so it would mean a bunch to me if you went and checked it out.

Shanks grinned, leaning back in his chair. "What brings you here, Freckles?"

"…I have questions," Ace said, a bit ruffled at the nickname.

"Shoot," Shanks said, grin growing wider.

Ace's eyes darted uncertainly to the officers hanging around. He tucked the phone closer to his ear. "Was that… true? The human trafficking thing?"

Shanks glanced at the officers as well; they didn't seem to have heard Ace's question. Still, Shanks stared at the younger for a long moment before answering. "Yes."

The already guarded look in Ace's eyes intensified into a glare, his posture drawing up. "What the hell did you want with Luffy?" he hissed into the phone.

"Not what you're thinking," Shanks said, adjusting his position in the chair in an attempt to look as nonthreatening as possible. "I was just in the area, and I thought I'd pay my favourite kid a visit. Is that so bad?"

"It is when you could probably sell him into slavery at any moment!"

"Oh, come on. I don't do that anymore, and I didn't even want to in the first place." Shanks tipped his head. "You never been forced into something against your morals?"

Ace avoided eye contact, but Shanks could tell he was wondering how someone could be forced into such a cruel position without consenting. People always did. "You said you knew his mother," Ace nearly whispered, looking back at Shanks. "What was she— How did you— Tell me about her. Please."

Shanks looked at him curiously. "Hm, well… I first met her when she was a child, and my old… boss… took her in. We were like siblings, really, until I sort of splintered off from the group — it was a bit more complicated than that, but I won't go into it — and we lost contact. Then, fifteen years ago, she showed up at my hideout with a man at her side and a baby in her belly."

"Luffy," said Ace, to which Shanks nodded.

"Right, though she wouldn't know his name. Like I said, she split as soon as he was out of her, and left the naming rights to his father."

"And who was that?"

"A man named Dragon. Since you're a civilian, you've probably never heard of him."

Ace shook his head.

"But anyway, Dragon named him and vanished off into the night. I can't blame him — he was pretty powerful in our world, so being associated with him was dangerous. He probably knew Luffy's mom was going to disappear before she did it, maybe even asked her to. The underworld was going through this huge… upheaval, you could say, and we were caught in the middle of it. I couldn't keep Luffy around, so I took him to the Centre and left him with my old friends, Marco and Makino."

"And his — our mum — did you ever see her again?"

Shanks' brow dropped in confusion. "What do you mean, 'our' mom?"

"The Centre ran a blood test," Ace explained. "Why did you think he was staying with me?"

"I figured you'd adopted him."

"Well, they found out that we're maternal half-brothers. That's why Makino asked me to look after him."

"Ace…" Shanks glanced backwards at Benn, who was talking patiently to a rather unhappy looking guard. "Someone must have made a mistake."

Ace glared. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"I mean…" Shanks sighed. Stubborn kids were the bane of his existence. "Look, how old are you?"

"I'm twenty-two."

"And I'm thirty-seven. Think about how old I would have been when you were born."

The calculation took a second. "Fifteen…" Ace blinked. "That's old enough to have a kid. A bit young, but possible—"

"Ace, I'm eight years older than my little 'sister'."

Eventually, Law and Luffy decided that if Ace wasn't going to pick up his phone, they were just going to go back to the dorm anyway.

"Not replying is technically silence," Law had pointed out to Luffy, after the fourth message they'd left on Ace's cell. "Silence implies consent."

Nami had dropped them off at the building in her mustang. They pushed through the simple glass doors, and Luffy walked straight to the elevator without noticing that Law had detoured. It was only when the doors began to close on Luffy that the receptionist, Thatch, called out to tell him.

Luffy quickly bounded out with a hurried 'thank you,' shuffling over to Law, who stood by rows upon rows of small metal boxes. Law merely raised an eyebrow at him while opening one.

Luffy had never really spent time in the building's lobby. At least, not since the first day he had come here, when he had to ask Thatch for directions to Ace and Law's room. He didn't really know for sure, but he could guess from television shows that the box Law was rooting through now was for mail.

He was internally thrilled when Law pulled out a handful of envelopes. Luffy was normally a very bad guesser.

"I didn't know we had a mailbox," Luffy said. Law gave him a strange look, which he returned when Law tucked the letters into a pocket. "Aren't you gonna open them?"

"Not down in the lobby," Law told him, turning towards the elevator. He gave Thatch a wave as he went, which the man returned cheerfully, and Luffy suddenly felt a bit ashamed for always ignoring him.

As soon as they reached the room Luffy hopped over to the kitchen to check on Zoro. He added a few pinches of 'marimo food' to the cup, while Law sat down on the couch and carded through the mail.

Law sorted the letters into three customary piles on the cushion next to him; one for bills and junk, one for Ace's letters, and one for Law's. He only had two left in his hand when he found one that didn't fit in any of the three. "Luffy, you have a letter."

"Hm?" Luffy peaked around the half-wall. Law waved the envelope about his head so he could see, and Luffy walked over, carrying two glasses with him. One contained milk and the other contained a marimo. "Who's it from?"

Law squinted at the return address as Luffy took a seat next to him, placing the cups carefully on the coffee table. The writing was borderline calligraphic. "Someone called Sabo. There's no last name."

Luffy had snatched the letter out of his hands just as his second sentence was beginning. He was smiling wider than Law had seen him do in a long time. "Really? I haven't gotten a letter from him since before I moved in with you guys!"

"Who is he, exactly?" Law asked, watching Luffy rip open the envelope. The letter he pulled from inside was double-sided, and practically drowning in the same flowing script as the address. Whoever wrote it was either very wordy or very excited about something.

"I think I told you about him," Luffy said, already scanning the first few lines. "Or maybe I told Ace. I dunno. It was back when I'd just met you two, I think… He lived across from the centre when we were kids but now he travels." Luffy's grin brightened as he kept reading. "Now he's in… where's Åland?"

"A land?"

"Åland." Luffy showed him the letter. "He says he's in Åland."

"That's in Scandinavia," Law said. "Also, that's not how you pronounce it. The Å is less like ay and more like oh."

"Well, he's in oh-land, then." Luffy went back to reading. "How do you know that, anyway?" he asked distractedly.

"I used to vacation in Sweden when I was little."

Luffy looked up, blinking. "What does that have to do with—"

"Sweden is also in Scandinavia. They speak Swedish in Åland."

"Oh."

Luffy went silently back to his letter, and Law turned his attention to the last envelope. It was addressed to him, and he recognised the handwriting. He scowled, and for a second considered ripping it in half, but common sense got the best of him and he slipped it guiltily into his pocket.

"Are you okay, Law?" Luffy asked. Law looked up, surprised to see that Luffy had stopped reading to pocket his letter as well. "You look…"

"I'm fine," Law said. "I'm fine."

"If you say so… buuuut…" Luffy glanced down at the letter, then at the two cups on the table. He picked up the one with Zoro in it and gave it a little shake. He held it up at eye-level and said in a gruff voice, "Eh? What do you think you're doing, wakin' me up? Zoro, Law's upset and he won't tell me why! Tell him to be a man and suck it up." Luffy gaped at the cup. "Zoro! Be nice! Tch. Fine." Luffy turned the cup around, to signify that Zoro was now facing Law. "Oh Law, you poor boy. Whatever is the matter."

Law raised an eyebrow. "I have to admit I never imagined 'Zoro-pi' to be so gruff."

Luffy giggled, putting Zoro back down on the table. His eyes landed on the tattoos on Law's knuckles. "I think I know what I want done, by the way. For a tattoo."

Law sighed and rolled his eyes. "What is it?" he asked indulgently.

Luffy grinned, placing a hand in the centre of his chest, where his birthmark lay. "The letter S!"

It was late in the day when Ace returned home. He seemed a bit shocked to find Law making a snack in the kitchen, and more distressed to hear that Luffy was there as well, in his and Ace's bedroom. Law suddenly had the realisation that whatever made Ace want them to stay away might really have been dangerous.

"Uh, sorry," said Law. "We couldn't reach you, and we were getting a bit fed up with Sailor Moon… Well, I was. Luffy was loving it."

Ace just looked at him for a moment, then collapsed on the couch with a groan. "...Fourteen..." he muttered.

"Pardon me?"

"Fourteen," Ace repeated. "Fourteen years old."

"Um, Ace?" Law sat down next to him, trying to connect what Ace could mean. "Luffy is fifteen."

"Not Luffy. His mother." Ace shook his head. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "She was fourteen when she gave birth to Luffy."

"Oh," Law responded, mildly shocked. "So, when you were born…"

"She was seven," Ace finished. "Which means…"

"…She couldn't have been your mother." Law looked down at the coffee table. Luffy's cup of milk from earlier that day was still there, though now empty. "Where did you learn this? I thought no one knew who his family was for sure."

"I met a friend of his parents."

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that we — me and him — we're not really brothers, are we? We only met 'cause whoever ran the blood work messed up."

"Don't say that," Law said, eyes narrowing. "Don't you dare fucking say that. He's your brother."

"No, Law, he thinks I'm his brother! I'm not!" A distinct flash of pain entered Ace's expression as the man stood up abruptly. "I'm not his brother!"

"Keep it down!" Law hissed, standing with him. "How do you think he'd feel if he heard you say that?"

Ace groaned again. "God, I need a drink." He raced off to the fridge before Law could stop him.

Law trailed after and found Ace popping open a can. "Why the hell is this messing you up so much?"

"I feel like a jerk," Ace said, leaning his forehead against the freezer. He glanced up at Law, expecting sympathy, but saw that he had to keep explaining. "Doesn't it feel cruel to keep him here, and not tell him?"

"No," said Law. "It seems to me that it's crueller to tell him the truth."

"Oh, great. Cruelty all around." Ace took a long gulp of his beer. "He might as well just leave now."

"Ace!"

"What? What reason does he have to stay anymore?" Ace and Law glared at each other with equal intensity. "Because it's either lies from here on out or we get it over with and destroy everything he believes in."

"You're being dramatic. It wouldn't destroy everything he—"

"Yes it would, Law! Don't you see?" Ace took another gulp. "No matter what we do, if he stays here we're just going to hurt him. I'm not his brother, not his family, I don't even have legal claim over him; it's all just lies! God, he'll be crushed…"

"You mean as crushed as you are?" Ace nodded and went to drink again. "For fuck's sake!" Law snatched the can out of his grasp and, before Ace could do anything, poured it down the sink.

"Hey!"

"I don't believe you sometimes. You are so fucking emotional and you're determined to push people away. I thought Luffy had changed that." Law crushed the can and threw it into the recycling. "But no, you're still the same fucking wannabe-martyr weepy preteen as ever. You, hurt Luffy? Sorry, I don't speak bullshit. You fucking love that goddamn human parakeet! And he adores you back, and if you can't see that you have got to be blind. And deaf. And probably mentally deficient, too."

"It's worse than that," Ace stressed, catching Law by the shoulders. "Anything could come through that door and tear this world apart!"

Law shoved Ace off, hand travelling self-consciously to the pocket where the letter he'd received was encased. "You. Are. Overreacting. Do you really, really think anybody cares that much?"

Ace opened his mouth to answer, but Law cut him off. "No. Don't. Just go to bed, all right? And at least try to explain this all to Luffy."

Ace nodded sullenly. He skulked off to his bedroom, and Law sighed, knowing Ace wouldn't work up the courage to say anything at all.

Law walked back to the couch, but didn't take a seat. He pulled the letter out of his pocket and, when he was confident neither brother was about to get up and leave their beds, unsealed the envelope. Doflamingo's message slid out.

When Ace got to his bedroom he found Luffy sitting curled up on Ace's bed instead of his own, still wide awake. He looked up when Ace entered, and then scooted over, patting the space next to him. Ace took it cautiously.

Luffy leaned into his side immediately. "You've been distant lately," he commented.

"Yeah," Ace said simply, draping his arm around Luffy's warm shoulder. "I, ah, sorry."

Luffy hummed. "I don't want to be alone, Ace. I hate being alone." He shifted as Ace wrapped his other arm around Luffy as well, burying his face in Luffy's hair. "It… It hurts to be alone. It's much worse than being sick. Please, don't leave me alone?"

"No," said Ace. His eyes stung, and blinking only made his vision blurrier. "No, of course not."

Ace leaned back until he was lying down, bringing Luffy with him. He covered them both in the blanket, and adjusted it until they could both be comfortable. He felt Luffy's arms wrap around him as well as he fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Luffy hid his face in the crook of Ace's neck. His grip tightened, and his fingernails dug in, the words he'd just heard coming back to mind.

Anything could come through that door and tear this world apart.