Silmeria - Thanks for being patient everyone. Enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer - I claim no rights to One Piece or Sentinel.

Chapter Two - The Alpha and Omega - A Beginning

The dinner had been far from quiet-although, dinners with Luffy were never quiet, not with the way the boy ate out of him house and home every night, but that was another story for another time. He watched as Ace stuffed himself with meat and potatoes and drank the water and wondered when was the last time the boy ate? He was far from skin and bones, but that spoke little how often the boy ate. Did he have any beri? How long had it been since he visited an inhabited island that welcomed Sentinels who weren't a part of tribe? The Alpha Sentinels that inhabited the surrounding islands were extremely territorial and had eyes and ears in all villages reporting on stray Guides and Sentinels entering the island without permission and the punishment for it was exile or in some harsher cases, execution. The World Government didn't interfere with the seemingly unjust executions. After all, wasn't it the lone Sentinel or Guide's fault that they wondered upon that land in the first place? Snuck onto it without permission? It was harsh, but Garp understood the primal part of it. Too many times did an Alpha Sentinel's island became overrun by visitors who claimed peace only for them to raid it and take over the island. Too many times had Garp seen islands that were ruled by the Alpha Sentinel's family for generations be destroyed in a blink of an eye. So, Garp understood it. He didn't like it, but he understood the necessity of it.

"Where are you from, Sentinel Portgas?" Luffy questioned with his mouth full and his cheeks puffed out and littered with potatoes. "How old are you? Are you an Alpha, Beta or Omega? Where-"

"Luffy." Garp interrupted sharply earning a flinch from his grandson. "What have I told you about asking personal questions?"

Luffy lowered into his seat, his shoulders slumped at the chastising. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Ace beat him to the punch by actually answering the questions which earned Garp's curiosity and a shaky smile from Luffy.

"I'm an Alpha, I'm fifteen and I don't have a home, so to speak." Ace tossed a smirk in Luffy's direction and was quite pleased to get a shy smile in response. "What about you?"

"Um-"

"Luffy is a Guide and he comes from Foosha Village." Garp interrupted swiftly earning a look of surprise from his grandson and a dreadful, wicked smirk from Ace. "You know that I'm his grandfather and that I've been raising him since he was a child and frankly, that's all you need to know, boy."

"Grandpa." Luffy whispered with twinkling eyes and Garp knew he was in trouble. "You're being rude and what's our number one rule?"

Stunned that he was scolded, Garp grumbled and dug back into his own plate. "Not to be rude to others." Garp shook his head as Luffy and Ace let out small chuckles at his flushed cheeks. To be scolded and laughed at by two children was shaming as a marine of his caliber. Shaking his head at the audacity of it all, Garp turned back to Ace who was studying Luffy with something akin to curiosity. That was the thing with Luffy, he gained others interest without meaning to and he didn't know whether to chalk up to the boy's natural charm or his Guide abilities, but whichever it was, it was dangerous and Garp would make sure to be more careful in the future.

"You don't have a home?" Luffy asked with confusion. "But, people always come from somewhere-"

"That doesn't mean that they stay there, Luffy." Ace countered swiftly. "Not everyone likes where they come from and they leave when they're old enough." Ace pointed to himself. "I didn't like my home so I left."

"Oh." Luffy stared back down at his plate in thought and Garp felt dread grip his stomach. He knew that look. The boy was getting ideas and Garp knew that when Luffy got an idea, he would do anything to accomplish it. It was one of the few traits that Garp adored about his grandson and he wouldn't change it for the world.

"What kind of places have you seen?" Luffy continued, the thoughtful look quickly shifting into one of curiosity. "I always wanted to go past the Grand Line and see Alabasta."

"The Desert Kingdom?" Ace scrunched up his nose at the thought of it. Alabasta was a Liberal Kingdom-one of the few that allowed Sentinels and Guides to enter and leave as they please. "Why there?"

"I heard it was a really nice place to live and visit and that the royal family always welcomed people to their doors." Luffy cheeks flushed lightly at the silence that was greeted at his words. He didn't know if they found him funny or if they were impressed. He was never able to tell with his grandfather who always wore a manic grin and gleaming eyes. As for Ace, he couldn't really tell anything with the older boy so he didn't mind the smirk.

"That's an admirable dream, boy." Garp responded after a short pause. "I hope that you can go one day."

Ace grunted, catching Garp's attention and the man wasn't surprised to be under a withering glare. For a brief moment, he had forgotten that the younger man was an Alpha and would be able to tell if he was lying or not and he wasn't pleased by the fact that he was lying to his grandson. It mattered little to Garp if Ace disapproved of his methods of raising Luffy. The only thing that did matter was keeping Luffy safe and sound and if he had to keep the boy on Dawn Island than so be it. He would be hated, but as long as his grandson was safe then it didn't matter if he was hated. Luffy's safety was top priority.

"You'll go one day, Luffy." Ace spoke up firmly, his eyes still locking with Garp-as if daring him to counter his words-but when Garp made no move to correct him, a smile pulled at his lips and he turned his attention back to Luffy with fond eyes and a softened face. The look made Garp's stomach roll with apprehension and he clenched his fork in his hand tightly as a thought entered his mind. Ace wasn't that much older than Luffy so it wasn't hard to see that the two of them would get along quickly, but as a fellow Sentinel, it wasn't hard to see the beginnings of a bond, to feel the inkling of a connection that spanned down to the soul and up to the heart. Garp couldn't remember the last time he had seen a Guide and Sentinel connect so quickly and frankly, it frightened him how fast the bond established. It reminded him how the world changed in regards to bonding. The only time a Sentinel and Guide met were either through arranged meetings or a happenstance in the street. It was unheard to have a Sentinel and Guide in the same home unless they were bonded or siblings.

The whole situation that sat before him made him wary and just a touch worried about Luffy. The boy had interactions with the Sentinels in the village, but they were all beyond his age-the children Sentinel avoided Luffy as if he were the plague, a little manipulation on Garp's side-so Luffy never really had a chance to properly interact with a Sentinel, so it was possible that Luffy was sending out signals that he hadn't meant to do. Without the proper training, Guides could send out signals that could attract Sentinels for miles, but for Omegas? It could range from to a small village to an entire island. It was the main reason why Garp kept Luffy locked away like a Prince in a tower-forbidden to interact with others. It hurt him to do such a thing, but he didn't regret it. This was Monkey D. Dragon's Omega Guide son and Garp couldn't risk him being exposed to the wrong Sentinel. He knew, deep down, that Luffy would bond no matter what action he took and from the looks of it, it was aiming to be this Ace boy.

Whom Garp had yet to figure who was his sire. He wanted to ask, but he knew that he would be shot down and countered with his how he was raising Luffy which he didn't want to exactly want to hear at the moment.

"Grandpa!" Luffy reached over in an attempt for his food, but Garp reflexes kicked in and he pushed the plate out of Luffy's reach, while his gaze turned to Ace who had finished his dinner and sipping down the last of his water with a look of content.

"Where are you headed now, boy?" Garp asked, not bothering to take the question back when Ace narrowed his eyes at the question. He fed the damned boy, he better get some form of information.

"I really have no destination in mind at the moment." Ace responded cordially shooting Garp a blank look. "It feels good to be on land every once in a while."

"If you had an idea, where would you go?" Luffy leaned closer, peering at Ace with curousity that reminded Garp of Dragon at a younger age. It was disheartening and yet, it made Garp happy to see traits of Dragon in his grandson.

"I would like to go beyond the Grand Line." Ace admitted softly. "See what the rest of the world has to offer." Ace looked up at Luffy with a small grin. "It's similar to your dream, but on a much grander scale, you know?"

"Are there places better than Alabasta?" Luffy pursued his lips, his eyes darkening at the thought. "Places that accept people like me?"

"There's nothing wrong with you, Luffy." Ace stated firmly. "There isn't a thing wrong with you and never let people tell you that's something wrong. I've met people who are terrible and would do anything to get ahead and survive, but you're not like that, Luffy. I've only known you a little while, but you're a fun person to be around and you're not a push-over. No matter what kind of Guide you are, you're not a pushover, okay?"

"Okay."

It didn't surprise Garp to see that shy smile that appeared on Luffy's face. It was a rare smile, meant to tell the person that he really appreciated what was being told and the sight of it made his heart skip a beat. It had been a smile that he hadn't seen in a long while and to have Ace make it appear so easily forced Garp to come to a decision. He would allow Ace to be around Luffy for the duration of his stay to see what would become of this infant bond. If it failed, fine, then they would move on, but if it succeeded? He would prepare in preparation for Ace's eventual return. The boy didn't seem the type to leave a bonded behind.

"Would you like to stay the night, boy?" Garp rose from the table and started grabbing the plates and grumbled when Ace stood and lent a hand, Luffy could learn a thing from this one.

"Yes, thank you." Ace set the plates on the kitchen sink before Luffy dragged him outside, screaming about seeing the stars really clearly at night, leaving Garp alone with his thoughts. He didn't know if letting them be together was the right thing to do. He didn't know if locking Luffy away to keep him safe was the right thing to do? What was the right thing to do? To Garp, there was a thin line between doing what was right and what was wrong so he would wait. He would wait to see where this path ended.

Later, he would look back and see that there was no true path for a Sentinel and Guide such as Luffy and Ace.