I don't own One Piece or any of the amazing characters
It was like any other day. At least it was supposed to be…
It was during summer vacation where Nami's new little brother Luffy had gotten really sick. For weeks on ends he was battling against a fever that wouldn't leave him alone. It didn't help that the weather itself was unbearable. It just added onto the heat he was already feeling.
Earlier in the week Roger had bought them a kiddie pool for Luffy and Nami to enjoy. Ace couldn't really join in the fun since he was too and Ace had set up the pool inside since they lived in an apartment and didn't have a yard. The plan was for Nami and Luffy to have fun and hopefully the pool would keep Luffy cool.
Now their apartment itself wasn't all that bad for the most part. It was a moderate size building but looks wise well it wasn't too pretty. Some of the wood on the roof was falling off it also looked like they tried to paint over the paint that was already there so of course it would make it much more unappealing. There were flowers around the building to make it seem alive and happy. It failed to sale that idea when the poor things were beyond salvable and just succeeded making the apartment look dead.
The inside was a little better though. It had some space for kids to play and the flowers in the garden were well kept unlike outside. Rouge had insisted that they put the kiddie pool outside for the other kids to enjoy as well but Ace and Nami shot down that idea immediately. They didn't necessarily get along with the other kids ever since their cousin Sabo moved away. So they went with Plan B: have the kiddie pool 's a good thing they had a tile floor or else they would of have had to clean up the mess that for sure Luffy and Nami would of caused. Before filling up the pool Rouge and Ace put down three towels on the floor as a precaution.
The pool itself wasn't all that big to be honest. It was small and cute. Around the whole pool was the picture of sand from a beach and on the beach there was random treasure chests all over it. There also was a young man dressed in a simple red vest, jean shorts with a straw hat on. He had a small scar under his left eye and had a huge smile on his face. It was almost like he was inviting you into the pool to have fun with him.
Anyways the pool was about 3 foot x 10 inches not too big but not too small. Even so Rouge only filled up the pool halfway just to be on the safe side. She made sure the water was room temperature, not wanting to make things worse for Luffy.
The day itself started out good. Luffy had woken up that morning with lots of energy. In the first time in the last weeks he was happy. For a one year old Luffy was a very energetic baby. Most of the time you would see Ace chasing after his baby brother who had become quite the expert crawler. When standing on his wobbly legs Luffy would reach just a little below of Ace's knees. Considering all the food the black hole would inhale he wasn't all that big in height or in weight. But lately with getting sick he's lost his appetite and his energy to do anything. Now all Luffy would want to do is stay in his crib, styled as a boat, and curl up like a ball. When he's not curled up like a ball he'd be sitting up screaming bloody murder all day and all night. The minute he was in either Rouge's or Ace's arms he would cease to cry. That quiet tranquility would only last for about five minutes at most before he's screaming Rouge's and Ace's ears off. It's a miracle that today he woke up happy and bubbly like he usually did before he got sick.
Anyways Rouge had taken off his clothes and left him in just his diaper. Nami had on a simple white shirt and had put on one of Ace's black shorts. He even tried to put her hair in pigtails. Keyword tried. After that whole hair fiasco they were finally ready to have some fun.
" Mommy can I have Luffy now?", Nami was starting to get a little impatient. She just wanted to have fun with Luffy already.
Rouge smiled," Alright honey but be careful ok?", after making sure that Nami had a firm grip on Luffy she sat back on the sofa with her eldest son. The both of them enjoyed the sight they were seeing. Nami had her arms around Luffy and was being very cautious with him while still being able to have fun.
From the sofa Rouge looked at both of her children having fun in the pool. As her gaze locked onto Nami she couldn't help but feel proud of her daughter as well. As a nine year old Nami still required their attention and it was something she loved. She's always been quite the greedy little girl and now standing at the height of four feet Nami still retained that feature but lately she's been very understanding. She would share her toys with Luffy, look after him when she could and would even start doing stuff for herself instead of demanding it from Rouge and Ace like she usually did. It would seem like her little girl was growing up as well.
Being exhausted from not being able to sleep for a couple of weeks was finally starting to take a toll on them. Rouge had been kept up trying to calm down Luffy fever down. She got no help from Roger since the poor man would come home tired from working all day. Her eldest son would stay awake with her helping when he could. Often he would tell her to take a nap while he would take care of Luffy.
Sitting down on the sofa Ace finally had the chance to relax his muscles. For the last few weeks he's been on edge lately. On top of worrying about Luffy he had to think about high school. Staying up late taking care of Luffy really takes a toll on him later on in school. It certainly doesn't help that he has narcolepsy and it would attack him at the most random part of the day. He could remember one time when it got him while he was using the bathroom and his teacher Mr. Buggy was the one who found him since he was taking way too long. Yeah that was a real lovely day.
It's not like New World High was a prestigious school or anything but it did its job of providing an education to their students. His mother always told them that they needed an education to make it into this world. You can't go wandering around with no knowledge of anything. That's why he made it a thing to actually try this time. Besides he didn't want to make any more problems for his mother since mustache man has been getting on his case about his grades. She already had enough on her plate with Luffy she didn't need to stand Ace and Roger arguing day in and day out.
He leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes tiredly. He honestly didn't even feel like a fifteen year old. He stood at about an impressive height of 5'7 and he was already starting to build up some muscle definition. With all the rough housing he did with Nami, Marco and Thatch not to mention whenever mustache man would drag him to work he would have him lift a lot of heavy objects. It's good to know that its finally starting to pay off. Good thing too because he didn't like the way that Arlong kid was staring at his sister lately. Anyways things just haven't been going too well for his family. He just hoped that for one day things could just go okay.
Rouge looked over to Ace and felt proud of her son. Already at such a young age he was taking his title of a big brother very seriously. Its very rare to see that in a child of 15 years old. She lifted her arm up and ran her fingers through his short black wavy hair.
Ace was startled from his thoughts when he felt his mother's comforting hand on his head. Looking over to her he saw that she was smiling at him.
" What's wrong mom?", he looked back at his younger siblings making sure nothing happened while he was in lala land.
She giggled," Nothing's wrong Ace so don't worry. I just wanted to tell you thank you for all the help you've been giving me with Luffy. I really appreciate it honey."
Ace's eyes widen a little and he felt his face heat up with embarrassment from his mother's words," You don't have to thank me mom you know that I'll always be here for you. Unlike mustache man," Ace had said those last words with a little bit of hatred.
Rouge sighed and put her hand on her forehead," Ace we have already discussed this. Your father comes home exhausted from working all day. The last thing he wants to deal with is a crying fussy baby."
"That shouldn't matter mom! Its his son! I mean he hasn't even carried Luffy all that much. If you ask me he's a poor excuse of a father for his last kid.", Ace was beginning to get mad once the subject involved Roger. Lately the both of them were starting to have problems.
"Ace despite what you believe that man is still your father and you will respect him. I know that lately he's been distant with Luffy but you'll see he'll warm up to him. I mean that's how he was with Nami and now he practically adores her. Just give him time please", Rouge practically begged Ace to lay off his father. She didn't want more problems to arise between the two.
The freckled teen puffed up his cheeks and crossed his arms over his chest," Fine. But he better start acting like a dad soon."
Rouge smiled at her eldest son and also hoped that Roger would soon start acting like a loving father. He was a weird man. First he would act cold but he would loosen up with time. Once the conversation was over they went back to looking at Nami and Luffy having fun in the kiddie pool. Everything was going wonderful. Nami and Luffy were splashing away in the pool. Rouge and Ace were having a little break and were glad that Luffy was happy now. He honestly looked a lot better now. All was good until things turned for the worst.