Hello everyone! Here is another chapter!
This is a bit on Ace's recovery
I also decided to make this into a series
Hope you enjoy
Read and relax
Marco and Whitebeard followed the psychiatrist to another room after having talked with him, and inside it sat Ace on a chair, looking up at them when they came through. And Marco moved over and hugged Ace. "You're okay, yoi." Ace gave a small confused sound. "Why are you here… What about… Akainu?" Marco let go and looked Ace in the eyes. "You will never go back to him, yoi. From now on, you are our son. We adopted you." Ace blinked, and tilted his head a bit. "I am… confused." Marco nodded, moving his hand to Ace's cheek. "I know, but we will do our best to explain everything, yoi. You will never see Akainu again." He could see Ace's eyes looking shocked, but also saw something resembling hope in them. Marco would do his best to make Ace live a happy life.
Marco stroked Ace's cheek. "Now, let us go home, yoi." Ace gave a small nod, and the psychiatrist set up an appointment for them next week, before they left. Ace was silent the entire way home, and when they did get home, Ace went to his room, and Marco knew he would need to speak to Ace about this whole ordeal soon. So, after an hour, he went to do that, and Ace didn't speak much or had any questions, but seemed glad to know he wouldn't go back to Akainu.
When the other kids came home, they were all happy to see Ace back and they had a small party to celebrate Ace being back, but kept it short as Ace looked uncomfortable. Marco just hoped Ace would heal.
The next day, Marco went to a meeting with the school, and told a bit about Ace, what he had been taught by Akainu, which they all found disgusting and had seen him on the news, but didn't know that was Ace's guardian. They all said they would do their best to help Ace along and seemed understanding. Ace also had a few days off, so he could breathe, which was fine for Marco, it meant he could spend time with Ace.
He spoke a bit with Ace at times, but never had a full conversation as Ace looked uncomfortable, so he took things slow. The next day, which was Thursday, Ace was a bit out of his room, and Marco tried to play a bit with him, but Marco also had some paperwork, as he had home office for a bit now, so he could be with Ace.
As the clock was 10am, Marco gave a hum and looked at Ace. "It is a really nice day, yoi. The sun is shining and it is warm, how about we go and get some ice cream later?" Ace blinked. "We can?" Marco nodded. "Yes, I promise, yoi." Ace blinked, and nodded, and seemed a bit happy about that, before he went and played a bit as he finished the paperwork. As he had a bit later, he saw the weather had turned for the worse really fast, and it was now raining. He had hoped for a nice day, but oh well.
He then went and found Ace. "Should we go for ice cream now, yoi?" Ace blinked, looking confused, before he looked out a window. "But… it's raining?" Marco nodded. "Yes, it is, yoi. But I made a promise, and I keep those. How about it? Rain doesn't stop us, does it, yoi?" Ace blinked, before he gave a small smile. "It doesn't." They then went and got ice cream, sitting inside the shop as it was raining, quite heavily now. Ace seemed to really enjoy himself as well, which was a relief.
They then went home, and the next few days were calm, Ace seeming to open a bit more up, as well as playing more with the other kids, which was amazing to see. The next week Ace started school again, and it seemed it went fine. When they had the next appointment with the psychiatrist, Ace got some time to speak with him alone, before the psychiatrist wanted to speak with Marco alone, and Ace was sent to another room.
As Ace was gone, the psychiatrist sighed. "Also, I think we need to do an STD check on Ace. But, it is basically unheard off to do it on a child, especially seeing his age. He is only 11. But I think we need to check, as there is a possibility of him having anything, which I hope not. But, I need approval from you to do this, as well as seeing his age, the CPS will need to be involved, as I said, he is 11. It is unheard of to do this test on such a young child, but I am worried he might have something and be sick, without us knowing." Marco nodded. "I give you approval, yoi." The psychiatrist nodded. "That is good, but a vocal approval is not enough, I need a written statement, and I have it printed out, and you just need to fill this out. Okay?" Marco nodded, and the psychiatrist went and got the papers they needed to sign.
When he had signed it, the psychiatrist nodded. "Good. I will take a blood test from Ace, to check for anything. It might take some time to get the answer, but I will call." Marco nodded, and then got another appointment next week, before he went and got Ace, took the blood test, and then they headed home. The rest of that week went fine, and Ace seemed to grow more comfortable. When Thursday evening came, Marco looked at the door as it opened and revealed Ace, who looked unsure, making Marco hum. "What is it, Ace?" Ace gave a small fidget. "I… I have some issues with my homework…" Marco nodded. "Just let me finish here, and I will come help you, yoi. Okay?" Ace gave a small nod and looked down. "I'm sorry for bothering you…" Marco shook his head. "You are no bother, and I promise I will help you. Give me half an hour, okay, yoi?" Ace nodded, before he left, closing the door carefully.
Whitebeard worked late today, so Marco was the only parent at home now, and he was glad Ace dared to ask for help. A bit over 20 minutes later, he was done, and went and found Ace, who had issues with his math homework, so Marco did his best to help Ace, without giving the answer, so Ace needed to find that one himself. Marco just said how to solve it, where to move the numbers and such, and after a bit, Ace managed it, making him smile as he moved a hand to Ace's shoulder. "You did it, Ace. I am very proud, yoi."
Ace blinked, before he gave a small smile, and Marco was sure Ace was rarely praised, before Marco gave a small hum. "Remember to put it in your backpack, yoi. So you don't forget it for school tomorrow." Ace nodded, and Marco knew Ace still had a lot of trust issues, and Akainu had burned Ace's homework so he had nothing to turn in, and then punished Ace for it, so Marco did his best to not touch his homework. Yes, he did at times ask to see it, to be sure he had done it, but then said a praise and to pack it down again, so he didn't forget it. Ace was still very careful and at times looked very nervous when showing his homework. It was a long road, but they were getting there.
But when Monday came, Ace broke a rule. Granted, it wasn't a big rule, and Ace did it more accidentally. But as they were eating dinner, Ace was making some noise, which he hadn't before, so Marco was a bit happy as well, but also said that when they ate dinner, to speak with an inside voice, and not create a mess, which was a rule, and Ace knew this. But Ace had probably forgotten himself and had spoken very loudly and thrown some bread across the table, which was not okay. So, he had told Ace that when he was finished eating, to go to his room and wait for him.
Ace had gone completely silent at that, hanging his head and trying to be as small as possible, before he finished eating and went to his room. And when everyone had finished, Marco went up to Ace's room, and Ace looked like a nervous wreck, which he got, as this would be the first punishment to Ace, and Marco would be as calm as he could, and was sure to stand a bit away from Ace, just so Ace didn't get a chance to touch him.
Marco looked at Ace. "Ace, you broke a rule, yoi." Ace nodded, looking down at his feet. And Marco gave a sigh internally, and hoped this would go fine. "Before you move or speak, I will tell you your punishment, please let me finish, yoi." Ace nodded, and he could see Ace tensing up, before Marco continued. "You have room arrest for half an hour." Normally, he would have said an hour or two, but this was Ace's first punishment. Ace blinked, before he very slowly lifted his head a bit. "What… is that?" He asked slowly and in a low voice. Marco gave a small nod. "You are not allowed to leave your room in half an hour, yoi. If you do, the time resets. I will come tell you when it is over."
Ace blinked, looking very confused. "But… I broke a rule…" Marco nodded. "Yes, the reason you are getting room arrest, yoi. When the half hour is up, you have served your punishment and are free to do what you want afterwards." Ace looked even more confused. "I don't need to… pleasure you?" Marco shook his head. "No, and you never will, yoi. That is not how punishment works. You can get time out, room arrest, house arrest, or a talking to, yoi. That is how punishment works." Ace looked at his face with a searching look. "So… I just need to… sit here?" Marco gave a small hum. "You don't need to sit exactly there, yoi. But you can not walk out the door, unless something happens and you need help. You can read, play, draw, or listen to music. You just need to stay in your room, yoi. That is your punishment."
Ace blinked, seeming very confused and unsure, but did give a small nod. "O-okay…" Marco nodded. "I will come back in half an hour to say the punishment is over, yoi." Ace nodded, looking shocked and confused, and Marco left. He then updated everyone that Ace had room arrest, and to not go to his room, and everyone said fine, they knew how punishment worked, and if they did, they would be punished too. Then Marco did some very light house chores, being sure to not vacuum or do anything loud, so he could hear if Ace opened the door, which he didn't.
When half an hour had passed, he walked back to Ace's room, giving a small knock before he opened the door and walked in, seeing Ace not having moved an inch, probably not believing his words, that this was it. Marco gave a smile to Ace. "You did very well, Ace. You did your punishment and it is now over, yoi. You're free to go do what you want you to. Be it playing, watching Tv, going outside in the garden, you choose." Ace blinked, looking a bit around, before he looked at him with a bit of blank eyes. "This… was it?" Marco nodded. "Yes, Ace. This was the punishment, yoi."
Ace looked at him searchingly, before shaking his head. "I- I don't get what is happening." Marco gave a comforting look. "You broke a rule, I gave you a punishment, you did the punishment, and now it is over and you're forgiven, yoi." Ace looked confused and a bit scared. "But I didn't… do anything?" Marco shook his head and gave a smile. "You did. You did your punishment, yoi." Ace blinked, eyes looking a bit around as it looked like he tried to make sense of this, as if Marco had just spoken another language or asked an impossible task. It was sad to see.
Ace shook his head a bit, looking lost. "I… don't get this." Marco gave a kind smile and moved Ace's chair to sit on and looked comfortingly at Ace. "Ace, I know this is confusing, yoi. But Akainu was a very very sick man, what he taught you, is not how punishment worked. This is how it works. You can get room arrest, like this. Or house arrest, where you can't leave the house, yoi. Or a timeout, where you will need to be in your room as well, but this time be silent and think of what you did. Or, I will talk with you and say what you did wrong, and maybe give a punishment, like room arrest, time out, or house arrest yoi. At times, I might give small chores as punishment, like vacuuming the living room or hallway, or cleaning the dishes or the bathroom, yoi. That is how punishment works."
Ace looked even more confused. "But… that doesn't include… pleasuring you." Marco nodded. "Correct. You are not supposed to pleasure me sexually, that is very very wrong, yoi." Ace looked more lost, and Marco carefully moved a hand to Ace's leg. "No longer will you need to pleasure anyone sexually as punishment. No longer will you need to touch anyone sexually, or be touched sexually, yoi. That will never happen here and I, nor Whitebeard, will allow that to happen, because it is wrong." Ace looked at him with tears in his eyes. "R-really?" Marco nodded with a smile, and Ace gave a small sniffle. "Can you promise me?" Marco nodded and gave a sincere and comforting look to Ace. "Ace, I promise you. You will never have to pleasure anyone sexually again, yoi. You are safe here with us, and that will never happen again."
Ace looked at him, before he heard Ace's breath hitching before the tears fell and Ace sobbed. Marco then carefully moved and hugged Ace, giving out comforting words as he comforted Ace. When Ace calmed down a bit later, Marco moved his hands to Ace's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "I know you probably won't believe this yet, but you are safe here, yoi. Never will you pleasure anyone sexually again. And I hope you will realize this. This is not a lie, you are safe, yoi." Ace looked relieved, but also had disbelief in his eyes. Marco knew this would be a long road, but he hoped Ace would heal and not be afraid to be raped on a regular basis.
He then said that if Ace needed anything, even if it was just talk, to come get him, and Ace said he would, but Marco had a feeling it would take some time before Ace dared to try that. The next day, the psychiatrist called, and said Ace was healthy, he had no STDs, which was a huge relief. The rest of the week went fine.
The next week also went well, and when it was time to go to the psychiatrist, Ace went in to talk with him while Marco sat in the waiting room as Ace had a session alone now, and he hoped Ace dared to speak to the psychiatrist, but also knew it would be hard for him. Half an hour later, the psychiatrist came out and asked for him to come inside.
Marco moved into the psychiatrist's office, and noticed Ace wasn't there, which made him frown a bit as he sat down, and the psychiatrist hummed. "Ace is in the other room. But we had a lovely chat. But he is also very confused and unsure about something." Marco nodded. "About what, yoi?" The psychiatrist nodded. "Ace says, every time you have said 'I promise', you have kept it. You've always kept your promises. And apparently, when Ace did something wrong earlier, and you gave him room arrest- which he found very scary and confusing- you said after it, that you promised that Ace would never need to pleasure anyone sexually again. You have always kept your promises until now, and therefore not sure what to make of this. But he feels hopeful, more so than he has before."
Marco blinked, before he realized the psychiatrist was right. Marco did often say 'I promise', without really noticing it himself, and he always kept them, as promises were to be kept. Marco had no idea how those small words, 'I promise', would have this kind of effect, a good effect, but it clearly did. He was now glad he did say it, maybe Ace would believe him, maybe Ace would trust him more, open more up. Because Marco always kept his promises, no matter what. And he would prove this to Ace. The psychiatrist smiled. "Anyway, keep up the good work, as this seems to really be helping Ace, a lot." Marco nodded, he would
The psychiatrist then went to the door and got Ace, who sat down on the chair beside him, and the psychiatrist hummed. "So, is there anything you would like to speak to me about? While I have both of you here?" Ace lightly shook his head, and Marco hummed. "No, yoi. When will the next session be?" The psychiatrist smiled and found a spot next week, which they got before they left and headed to the car. On the way to the school, as it was just 10:30am, they stopped for some ice cream, before he drove Ace to school, and the day went on fine.
The start of the next week, when all the children were at school, Marco walked to the door when the bell rang, and when he opened it, he was shocked to see Akainu's attorney there, and Marco wasn't a happy person. But before he could speak, the attorney did. "I am most likely not welcomed here, but I wanted to apologize for trying to acquit Akainu, defend him, and represent him. What he told me, was that you were the ones abusing Ace, trying to defame him and his reputation. He was a trust symbol and had many vouch for him, and I, very unfortunately, believed these lies. And I want to give an official apology, not only to you, but to Ace. I have withdrawn all my statements, I have done all I can to not be more associated with him. If there is anything I can do, please let me know."
Marco gave a nod. "I will, yoi." The attorney nodded. "Also, later today, or tomorrow, Benn will call you." Marco frowned a bit. "Why, yoi?" The attorney took a breath. "As they launched the investigation on Akainu, even though he is dead now, they continued to investigate him, watching tapes and pictures, and they found other offenders, friends of Akainu's, who Akainu helped find victims, as well as using Ace. They will bring a case against them to get them also behind bars, and Ace might know a lot of these people, tell what they have done, help take them behind bars, find other molesters. I will understand completely if you want to shut the door now, not answer that phone and keep Ace safe, which I get."
Marco used a second to think. Yes, he wanted to shut the door, but at the same time, there could be others suffering here, and Ace could help. Ace was making huge improvements, but still, this might be bad for him. Marco nodded and gave a breath. "I both need to speak with Ace, and with his psychiatrist, yoi." The attorney nodded. "I get that, and I understand that. I wanted to apologize and tell about this. I am also working with Benn on this, to try and make up for my mistake of believing Akainu. But I can withdraw if you don't want to see me." Marco gave a small nod. "I need to speak with my fiance, and Ace, yoi. Before I make a final decision. But I thank you, for apologizing and warning me about this call from Benn." The attorney nodded. "I get that. I hope life will treat you, and your family, well. I really do hope Ace will be able to have a normal and full life." Marco did as well, before he gave a goodbye and the man left as he closed the door.
Marco was then in full thought and went and found Whitebeard, who also had home office today, and told about what had just happened and what the attorney had said. When he had explained, Whitebeard looked thoughtful. "I am a bit torn to be honest. Yes, I want to get more of these behind bars, but I don't want to expose Ace to these people when it comes to the trial." Marco nodded. "I agree, yoi. I think we both need to talk with Ace, and his psychiatrist. Ace has made so much progress, and I don't want to stop that." Whitebeard nodded. "Sounds good, when would Benn call?" Marco hummed. "He said either today or tomorrow, yoi." Whitebeard nodded. "Okay, then we are at least a bit prepared." Marco nodded as he agreed.
He then went on with his day, and after a couple of hours, his phone rang, and it was Benn. When he answered it, he heard a sigh. "I'm sorry to call you unannounced. But there is a case building against Akainu and some of his… friends, and we have some videos and pictures of some of them, but Ace would be a key witness in this." Marco nodded. "It is not unannounced, Akainu's attorney came and explained it, as well as giving an apology, yoi. But, we need to both speak with Ace, as well as his psychiatrist, to make sure this would be okay for his mental health." He heard a hum. "I totally get that, call me when you know, okay?" Marco nodded. "I will, yoi." He heard a hum from Benn. "The trial will start in a week, so I need an answer in 4 days, so we can prepare." Marco nodded. "I will call before then, yoi." He would. He then ended the call after a few more words, and he needed to find a way to bring this up with Ace. Maybe doing it in their session with the psychiatrist tomorrow would be the best. He would call the psychiatrist now and tell about this.
He then called the psychiatrist, who said that this could go both ways. Either, it could help Ace, to see how wrong Akainu was, to see and help get people behind bars, but it could also make him regress in seeing them again, they needed to have a talk with Ace about this, and have him choose, and Marco agreed. He really hoped Ace would heal and this could help him heal. All he wanted, was for Ace to live without the fear of being raped, to know he was safe and have a normal life, and he would do his uttermost best to make this happen.
And that's the second chapter! I hope you enjoyed!
I didn't want to make this too long and will therefore make this into a series and have multiple chapter instead of one super long one, to make it easier to read
If you have any ideas, don't be afraid to share them!
I hope you enjoyed, and if you want to, I do love feedback, so don't be afraid to leave a review, or send a PM!
If you also want to, I have a Twitter, my name is Azuruko, and I have a discord, my tag/username is just azuruko, as well as a server (Instant invite: discord . gg / 6hzMhbR) where everyone is welcomed! Updates is also posted there, both on discord and on twitter