hyerina97 - Thank you very much for joining in another story!

Zoysite - Thank you!

Had thought of writing multiple men with Rouge before finding the one (who's ofcourse Marco, duh), but gonne single it out to just one.

"-nd then I just ate the whole pie in one bite and won the bet!"

A giggle echoed over the deck at the back of the house where two people were enjoying some drinks together.

"Moh Teach, you really love your pies, don't you?" Rouge smiled at the bigger bulkier man sitting next to her.

"Zehahah, I do! And I had to show them I could do it, but-" A smile with some missing teeth was returned to the women and a big hand reached out to take her chin, "Your pies are the tastiest I ever had." He pulled her closer for a kiss, already wetting his lips as he leaned in.

"Mommy!"

He was just able to bit back the curse at the squeaking voice. They had been inches apart and he would have gotten that kiss if that stupid god forsaken brat hadn't interrupted them!

But like always it seemed it didn't bother the fair woman as she turned to the voice with a smile. Leaving the man to curse the child in his mind.

"Hi baby, what is it?" Rouge smiled at her little boy, humming when she saw he was holding up his orange ball. "You want to play?"

Furious nods were there making her giggle, so cute! Before she however could get up her child didn't hold out the ball to her, but to-

"You want to play with Teach?"

"Yea!"

The man named Teach scowled, but at the next words of the women quickly put his smile back one.

"Oooh! I'm sure Teach would love to play with you!" She looked to the other with shining eyes, so happy her son wanted to play with someone that to him was just a stranger, "Maybe something like fetch? That would be fun together, won't it?"

"Ahem yes, maybe just a little bit." He stood up amid the ugly child's cheering, following after the child and onto the grass. Taking the ball as it was offered to him.

Ace then ran a bit ahead, eagerly waiting for the ball to be tossed.

Teach looked back to the beautiful women behind him and she smiled brightly at him, making him turn back and grumble as he threw the ball in a small arch to the kid.

"Almost had it Acey!" Rouge smiled.

The woman so immensely happy compared to the man who was speaking under his breath, murmuring about the kid not even able to catch a ball. Why did the brat want to play if he can't even catch.

Yet he caught the ball as it was thrown back and threw it to the child himself, even softer than he did before so the child could catch it. He did it over and over and over again. Not for this brat, he hated this brat. He took all the attention of the beautiful woman behind him, interrupting everything with him just being in and then his stupid falling asleep at random. If this child wasn't here he could have already bed the woman!

"Teach." Rouge called out as she stood up, "I'm going to get us some new drinks, these have gotten a bit warm from being in the sun."

Oh the woman was so lovely, he smiled back at her, not throwing the ball he had back even if the child was asking for it. The brat should behave while adults talk for god's sake! "Thank you, You're so kind."

Rouge smiled, watching as the man threw the ball another time at her son and back. Her son laughing every time he caught it, so cute! Teach may not be the most handsome man she met, but if his heart was kind and the relationship between her son and him could be good, that was all that mattered.

After a minute she took the almost glasses of the table and walked into the house only to stop and give herself a soft slap to the forehead, "Should have asked if he wants some ice cubes in it with the hot water." with a shake of the head she turned around. Opening the door and holding onto the doorframe as she stuck her head out. "Teach, do you wa- ACE!"

Her face was horror-struck as she saw the events that unfolded before her. She dropped the glasses, letting them shatter to the ground as she ran out, over the patio and into the garden, dropping to her knees next to her weeping boy.

"Oh baby- Ace- Let me see your face, oh my baby-"

Even if she wanted to scream at the man, her first priority was her baby boy. Her sobbing baby boy.

"It's okay, mommy's here, let me see, please."

She coaxed the small hands off the face, "hold onto mommy, that's good, good boy." she praised him as Ace sobbed and moved to hold her. Giving her the space to check over him, gently touching the already discolouring spot around his eye.

She praised her son more as he didn't try to push her away and just held on harder as she pressed and felt the spot, she knew it hurt yet her son was staying strong. Sure that there wasn't anything that required an ambulance or other serious measures she gently made Ace let go of her, kissing her head, "give mommy one moment, okay? I love you." a gently ruffle to dark hairs later and she was getting up and turning around. She didn't want to let go of her baby boy, but she didn't know how the other man would react to what was going to happen, and she also didn't want to hurt her son's eardrums.

A glare was in her eyes as she regarded the man, "How dare you throw a ball at me son!"

"R-rouge." Teach held up his hands, maybe he could talk his way out, he didn't know how much the woman saw. "We were playing fetch, ofcourse I had to throw the ball to him. He just missed catching it and it hit his face, it was an accident."

"An accident, AN ACCIDENT!?" She repeated flabbergasted before yelling, her eyes burning with anger, "I saw you! I saw you raise your arm all the way back and throw with all your might! Does this even look like a bump or sounded like cries that would come from a little tap on the head from a ball he didn't catch?! It would have been obvious what you did even without me seeing it! Why would you do that!? If you didn't want to play you should have just said so! What did my son ever do to you!?"

Teach gritted his teeth, his cover was blown, "That brat did everything!" he yelled back, "That fucking brat ruins everything! He falls asleep every single moment we try to go out or do something and then you don't want to do anything but cuddle him! He interrupts our moment for stupid shit like a hug or a kiss and just wants to show the most ugly drawing I've ever seen! He's a pain in the arse! I'm not here for that kid! I'm here for you! And if that fucking shit wouldn't be here it would be perfect!" he took a step forward, motioning between them, "C'mon rouge, we've clicked so well. We can be together and make new kids, let's just get rid of that one-"

SLAP

The bigger man stumbled back, holding his cheek as he looked stunned at the woman. The beautifull woman that looked like she would never hurt a fly.

"How- HOW DARE YOU!" Rouge shrieked, tears welling in her eyes from pure anger at the words, "Ace is an angel! He's my sweetheart! He's the best child a parent can ask for. And even if he wasn't, he's mine! MINE! And I am NOT getting rid of him. How dare you even suggest that! He's my everything! My everything that you can't ever get close to. Now get out."

"Rouge-"

"OUT! BEFORE I CALL THE COPS ON YOU FOR HURTING MY CHILD! GET OUT! AND DON'T EVER COME NEAR MY CHILD AGAIN!"

She watched him run of, making sure he left her house before she was turning back to her child and picking him up in his arms, holding him close as she pressed kisses to his head as she walked inside, careful of the glass in the doorway.

Her child was so strong, cries already to sniffled as the small hands clutched to her. "I'm sorry, Ace, I'm so sorry." she whispered as she put him on the couch, crouching before him and brushing a finger over the bruised flesh, tears falling at seeing her baby boy hurt. "Mommy's going to take the first-aid kid, I'll make you all better."

She went to get up, but a small hand stopped her and she couldn't get it over her heart to peel it off so she once more picked up her baby and went to take the kit with him in her arms. Even if manoeuvring was harder this way, she still did it before bringing him back to the couch and sitting him down.

Out of the kit she took some cotton wool and disinfectient, putting it on the wool ball.

"I'm sorry baby, this can sting a little, but it will help you, okay? Can mommy use it on you?"

A tiny nod was there and she pressed it to Ace's forehead, her heart breaking at the sob breaking free. "I know baby, I'm sorry, I'll be quick."

She worked as fast as she could to make sure there was no more dirt around the area, using some regular water to clean under his eye, she didn't want the disinfected to have a chance to get in and sting even more.

"Now a little ointment, you know this right? From when you have a boo boo when you fell on your knee."

"P-pain go away."

"That's right, it makes the pain go away. And mommy will give a tiny kiss too to make it heal faster, is that good?"

"Y-yea."

She smiled softly as she placed a dollop of the ointment on her finger, making her son look up as she applied a layer over the now blue area. She hadn't even put the tube away or she had to catch a small hand that was about to rub into it.

"Don't touch it, sweetie."

"Hurt and itchy."

"I know, I know..." how could she make her son not touch it... it was right around his eye... she couldn't just paste a normal bandages there and she didn't have special ones for over the eye either... "Mommy's going to make you a special band-aid. A magical band-aid!"

"Magic?"

She nodded and quickly made up a little story while she worked. Taking a gauze pad and measuring it to be a bit bigger than her son's eye and cut it in the right shape before she took some of the tape for sensitive skin and pasted it around the edges to make a way to paste the thing.

"All pirates?"

She nodded as she looked for the final touch, "yes! All pirates wear this to get stronger! And my son wants to be a strong pirate too, right?"

"Yea!"

A smile was on her lips as her son could still smile after everything, "ah here it is" she pulled out a specific bandage from a colourful small box and showed it to Ace. "Doesn't it look fierce!"

"Parrot!"

"A pirate parrot!"

"Pirate parrot!"

She chuckled at her son repeating it and carefully pasted it over his eye to cover the bruised area and give the eye a chance to rest. She had meant to find a bandage with a pirate cross that she knew was in the box of child-band-aids, but maybe they had used that one already, her son did like pirates. But she's glad her son accepts the parrot too. She took her phone and made a picture to show it to her son, "Look how fierce my pirate boy is!"

The boy squealed and soared around her neck. And while her son laughed in her ear, Rouge couldn't help the tears that fell from her eyes as she held the boy, her smile she had held up falling as her son couldn't see her.

Was there no one she could trust? No one that would accept her and her boy? Every man she had tried to date, they all had gotten annoyed with Ace at some point. Many had said he was too clingy and that it was annoying he always came to show her things, like finished drawings or bugs he found or a pretty leaf. But that's how kids are, they want to show what they discover, a parent should be happy their children are discovering things and want to share them.
The clingy part... yes, she agreed that Ace was more clingy than other children, but the child lost his father for goodness's sake! It wasn't that strange of a consequence! Something that will get better over time too as the boy will understand more what's going on.

But even the ones that had accepted those things, seemed to like her son, they all got put off when they figured out Ace had an incurable disorder, narcolepsy. And as a consequence suffers from hypersomnia.

She however didn't get why! Yes, her son had a sleep and nap schedule, and yes he sometimes would still fall asleep at times. But together with the meds and the schedule, they had it under control almost all of the time. And even besides all that... it's just falling asleep!

He doesn't suffer from sleep paralyses, or hallucinations, cataplexy, any other worse symptom that Narcolepsy could give one person.

He doesn't suffer from involuntary movement or speech, from uncontrolled bouts of anger or sadness. He doesn't suffer from unwilling aggressiveness. He's not bound to a wheelchair or suffers from other causes that would limit his movements.

No! Besides falling asleep, he's a healthy boy! Every child, no matter their condition deserves love. And some parents have it so much harder, will need so much more patience, need to conquer so much to be able to give their children the love they deserve.

Yet her child, her little Ace, he just takes naps. That's nothing compared to everything else he could have had, everything that other people have to go through. So why? Why is it such a problem? It never was a problem to her, had never been a problem to Roger. They would even take impromptu naps with their baby if he fell asleep sometimes. They both loved their baby as much as they would have if he had been fully heathy. Ace will always be their little baby.

"Mommy?"

"Yes baby?" she whispered back, wiping her tears before pulling away to look at her son.

"Why did the mister hurt Ace?"

Breath caught in her throat and a lump formed as her child asked if he did anything wrong.

"No! No baby, oh god no, you didn't do anything wrong. You're mommy's angel, you know that." She put her hands on the side of the freckled face, careful of the hurt side, and gently weaved through his dark locks. "That man... that was a bad man. Mommy- Mommy made a mistake. But I'll do better. I'll- Mommy will do better for you Acey."

Leaning forward she pressed a kiss to his forehead, "You didn't do anything wrong. Nothing at all." For a moment she pressed her forehead against her child's, "I'll do better. I'll be strong. I'll take care of you. I'll protect you. I won't let anyone hurt you again. I promise you, my baby. Roger. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll protect him. I'll protect him." She ended in whispers, catching herself after a minute and pulling away, seeing her son look a bit confused at her.

She put a smile back on her face and picked Ace up, kissing his cheek, "Because you were so good today, and so so brave, I think someone deserve some Ice cream."

A gasp was there, the child obviously knowing that someone was him, "Ice cream!"

"Yes! And with all the sprinkles my little man wants!"

To Rouge's delight the house was once more filled with laughter as she made her son a big bowl of Ice cream with as promised lots of sprinkles. Smiling softly as she watched him enjoy the treat. The smile only trembling as her eyes were often pulled to the bandage. That place making her resolution to protect her son so much firmer. If she couldn't find a man to love her son like he deserves... then she would just need to work twice as hard to fill that position too.

And next chapter we meet Marco!