Chapter 7: The Emergency Babysitter
Despite his initial fears, Ace continued to take Luffy to kindergarten over the next couple weeks. Luffy seemed to thrive being around other kids his own age and he looked forward to going there to play more than to learn, but he was making progress. Ace made sure to spend a few minutes with Robin every time he came to pick Luffy up, making sure there weren't any problems and to keep track of Luffy's progress.
He was also thankful Luffy hadn't been in anymore fights since that first day. Instead, he would often hear how attached Luffy had become to Usopp and Zoro. Ace had been surprised to learn that Zoro and Luffy were getting along like they knew each other for years instead of just a few days. Apparently, they were constantly coming up with all kinds of competitions to try and prove who was stronger, though it usually ended with the two wrestling in the mud for some reason? Yet Luffy always went home at the end of the day telling Ace about something cool Zoro did, so he could only assume that it wasn't out of malice.
As for Usopp, the two of them were like partners-in-crime. Since the two shared many similarities, they often got into mischief—and every day Luffy seemed to keep falling for one of his pranks or lies before school was let out. But as far as Ace could see, the boy meant no harm and just loved to make things seem more exciting than they actually were.
Soon enough, Luffy made another friend, this time a girl named Nami. One day, when Ace was picking him up, he saw Luffy talking with a girl with bright orange hair—who was a scam artist in the making. He learned from Robin, that it started off with Nami sharing a tangerine with Luffy at snack time before informing him that now he owed her. So if he wanted to pay her back then he had to offer to take her chore the next time Robin assigned the clean-up chart.
Upon hearing that, it led to the two spending the afternoon arguing before it descended into a war of throwing all manner of toys at the other—before it led to the two of them becoming friends…?
"How does that work?" Ace asked Robin incredulously, who could only shrug when she tried to explain the situation.
"I don't know myself," she confessed. "I just exited the room to take one of the kids to the bathroom to clean up the finger paint he spelled on his clothes. When I got back, the two of them were throwing stuffed animals at the other's heads while screaming about 'unpaid debts'."
"So where does the 'becoming friends' part fit in?" Ace asked and she could only shake her head with suppressed laughter.
"I'm afraid your guess is as good as mine," she answered with a laugh.
Ace just ran a hand through his hair, really wishing that he could sit in for some of these crazy events just to make sense of it all. But then again, when involving Luffy, he learned a long time ago to just hang on for the ride and hope it worked out—which it usually did.
In any case, he was glad that things were going so well for his brother. As for himself, Ace was able to finally take some time to just relax for a change. For a few hours a day, he was able to catch up on sleeping or just go out in the afternoons with his friends for some fun without worry. Sure, he missed having his brother around all the time, but it was a welcomed reprieve and he did always enjoy listening to the crazy stories that Luffy seemed to come up with whenever he picked him up.
As for the school today, Shanks liked to invite people of various talents to the school to meet the children. It was this day that a teacher from another school came, eager to share his talent with the children, and he greeted Robin happily outside the classroom as she prepared to introduce them.
"Now children, we have a special guest with us here today," Robin called, getting everyone's attention. The class looked up as she stood back and allowed the man to come bounding inside as he swung a violin about with practiced ease. He was a tall and very thin man who wore an old-fashioned suit, purple-tinted sunglasses, an afro that was so thick you could hide a zoo in there, and was wearing a smile as wide as a jack-o-lantern as he greeted them.
"Hello everyone! It's a pleasure to be here! Yohohoho!" the tall man laughed, bowing to them all as the children stared up at this tall figure in wonder. "My name is Brook! But you can call me… Brook! Yohohoho! Ah, excuse me, allow me to properly introduce myself. I am here at the request of your principal to visit you and tell you all about my career which, in my case, is music! I'm a professional musician and I'm also a teacher so please feel free to ask me any questions…?"
"Wow! You're a musician! That's great! You like to sing?!" Luffy called out in excitement.
"Luffy, if you have a question, please raise your hand," Robin corrected gently.
"Ok! Brook, you like to sing?!" Luffy asked again before remembering what Robin just said and he added his hand up in the air after he asked the question, causing Robin to just shake her head fondly.
"Yes, indeed I do!" Brook confirmed proudly, "Music is my passion! My reason for living! There's nothing I love more than sharing my greatest joy with others. In fact, I feel a good song coming to me right now! If you would all gather around?!"
As the children came in close, Brook began to play his violin as a cheerful tune sprang to mind. And then he began to sing:
"Compass left behind,
It'll only slow us down.
Your heart will be your guide.
Raise the sails, and take the helm.
That legendary place…
…that the end of the map reveals…
…is only legendary…
…until someone proves it real!
Through it all, through all the troubled times
Through the heartache, and through the pain.
Know that I will be there to stand by you!
Just like I know you'll stand by me!
So come aboard, and bring along…
…all your hopes and dreams.
Together we will find everything that we're looking for!
There's always room for you…
If you want to be my friend!
We are, we are, on the cruise!
WE ARE!"
Everyone stared as he played, in awe at the music he was singing, and when he began to play it again, suddenly they were all jumping and joining in. Though they were greatly off key and some couldn't pronounce the words correctly, Brook didn't seem to mind at all and was just happy they were all enjoying their time together.
They clapped and applauded, begging for more songs, and Brook was left with little choice but to continue playing all manner of songs to their entertainment. This must have continued for a solid hour before Robin felt that she had to interrupt and give the children time to ask questions, which ranged from funny—usually from Luffy—to inquisitive from rest of the class.
By the time that they were wrapping up, it was close to play time and Robin urged them to go find activities since it was time for Brook to leave. However, Brook's ride was running a bit late, so he asked if he could wait inside the classroom for a bit longer in case the children had any other questions, which Robin was happy to allow. As Brook began to pack up his violin, one of the children came running over to him to talk for another minute.
"Ah, I remember you, you're Luffy? Correct?" Brook asked politely as the little boy jumped up in front of him.
"Yep! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! And that was a lot of fun today Brook!" Luffy told him.
"Yohohoho! Why thank you for your kind words! It's always nice to meet a fan," Brook said happily as he sat down, "Tell me, Luffy… do you love music?"
"Yup!" Luffy answered brightly.
"Are you interested in learning how to play an instrument?" Brook asked curiously and Luffy laughed.
"That would be cool but I don't think I can," he said happily, "I'd probably break it. But I love hearing you play."
"Yohohoho, that's quite alright, I know that it can be difficult, but if you ever change your mind, don't be ashamed to just ask," Brook reassured him as Luffy gave him a wide grin.
"Thanks Brook! I hope you come back and play more songs for us soon!" Luffy told him before waving and went running off to rejoin his friends as Brook watched on happily for a few minutes. He chuckled to himself as he remembered another young man whom he used to teach just a few years ago. It was uncanny, really. In fact, he remembered asking Ace that very question…?
"Me? Learn to play? No way, sorry Brook. I mean, I think it would be cool to learn an instrument but I got no patience and would probably just break whatever I'm holding. But I love hearing you play. You can play just about anything, right? That's amazing!"
He chuckled at that as he finished tuning his violin as the children continued to sing around him. There truly were few things more precious than to hear children singing.
It was music to his ears.
*Meanwhile Outside*
Ace wrapped his coat around him as he walked along the street, his breath just barely seen as he gazed at the falling leaves that he crunched right on through when the school appeared at the end of the block. He blew some hot air onto his hands to try and warm them up, mentally thinking that he would have to look into finding a car or something before the snows came; he was getting tired of walking everywhere. But he arrived at the kindergarten a bit earlier than usual to drop off Luffy's winter coat. He hadn't thought to make Luffy wear it today since it was warm earlier when he rushed them out the door. But by the time he got home, the weather turned surprisingly cold and he knew Luffy would be needing it by the time recess came. Unable to bear the thought of his little brother pouting inside the classroom while his friends got to get rid of their energy outside, he made the effort to return to the school with the coat and hoped he didn't arrive too late.
But judging from the lack of kids running about the playground, he could only assume that recess hadn't happened yet, which was good since he didn't think he could deal with an energetic Luffy tonight.
Ace was allowed inside, and after explaining the situation to the cranky secretary, he was allowed to drop the coat off to his brother's classroom. But the second he entered the classroom, he walked in with the children being unbelievably loud as their voices sung out random songs.
The loudest were his brother's group of friends, who were dancing around the rugs—well, three of them were since Zoro was just drinking his juice box as he watched, but even he was in on the game as all three of them called out:
"We may not be related
But the bonds we've created
Are strong enough to call family! (When we're sailing the sea)
When other tides have faded we will still be here-
We're more than friends, we are family!"
Then Luffy began to sing high off key:
"You can go and explore every wave and island in the ocean,
But even then you won't find a crew that holds a candle to ours!"
The orange-headed girl, Nami, then interrupted with a big grin:
"The crew on our ship is all misfits,
But we're the best misfits around!"
To his surprise, Zoro then added:
"Abandon logic, we don't use it-
Let go and you're ocean bound!"
And then Usopp stepped in as he leapt up onto Luffy's back:
"Every day, danger is here,
But somehow we all survive!
And then all four sang out together:
We risk our lives on a daily basis, with treasure on our minds—the ultimate find!"
Well, it was official. Luffy got them all hooked on the idea of pirates. Ace just shook his head as he laughed, wondering just what he walked into? But it seems that his arrival hadn't gone unnoticed. Because someone, who happened to have been thinking about him, somehow heard his laugh above all the noise and glanced up to see who it was. His jaw all but hit the floor when he saw him standing there.
"My oh my! Is that who I think it is? Ace! Is that you? Why are you here? Yohohoho!"
Upon hearing that unmistakable laugh, Ace knew immediately who it was but couldn't believe his own ears. There was no way he could be here! What are the chances?! Ace's head jerked up in shock, having never thought that he'd hear that voice again as a familiar man, he hadn't seen in almost six years, stood up to greet him.
"Brook?" he gasped as his old music teacher all but skipped over to him, a big grin etched upon his face and his afro as bushy as ever.
Ace stood there, just stricken dumb with shock, as Brook grabbed his hand to shake it enthusiastically.
"Yohohoho! Now this is a surprise, Ace! I didn't expect to see one of my old favorites here!" Brook laughed.
"Neither did I," Ace smiled, getting over his shock. "I sure didn't expect this either. But damn…? Not that I'm not happy to see you. But why are you here?"
"Oh, I'm volunteering! Shanks likes to bring people in to get the children excited about certain subjects and when I heard that he was looking for a musician to entertain the children, I jumped at the chance!" Brook explained loudly in excitement, like there was nothing in this world that would've make him happier than this little teaching moment.
"Really? Wow, that had to be a real treat for them," Ace laughed, shaking Brook hand, truly glad to see him again after all this time. "Your music was always the best. Seriously, it's so good to see you again. It's been… wow, almost six years since we last spoke?"
"Indeed it has been, time sure does fly, doesn't it?" Brook asked in joy.
"How are you doing back at the school otherwise?" Ace asked curiously.
"I'm doing well enough," Brook confirmed, "The batch of new students from this year has some real promising music-lovers so I'm excited to see where it will lead them. Yohohoho! I was just singing a few songs with the children here and before I knew it, it kinda got outta hand."
He had to speak up a bit louder to make himself heard over the noise, so they were almost shouting at this point. Ace was wondering if they should go out into the hallway to finish their talk before Robin seemed to have had enough, and stood up to call the kids to settle down. Thankfully, she managed to make herself heard over the racket, reminding them not disturb the other classrooms. It was almost time for recess anyway so it was time to put away their toys before going out.
Upon hearing that, the kids started to pack their toys away, their noise dying down considerably so Ace could continue their conversation against the door as to not get in anyone's way. They spent a few minutes talking about Ace's old school, some of the teachers, and the new programs that were happening there since Ace last saw them. He enjoyed hearing about the changes and even more so when Brook told him about how he was planning a new music program soon and there was a great deal of interest in it already.
"Ah, but enough about me, how about you, Ace? I must say I didn't expect to see you here in a kindergarten of all places," Brook asked, upon realizing where they were. "Ah… but wait… why are you here, Ace? Do you work here or…?"
"ACE!"
The two looked up to see Luffy running over towards them, almost tripping over his own feet in excitement before landing right in front of him.
"Are we leaving already?" Luffy asked in surprise.
"No, I just came by to drop off your coat," Ace explained, holding up the red coat for him. "I didn't think it was gonna get so cold today and I'm not risking getting you sick."
"I never get sick, Ace," Luffy pointed out.
"And it's an attitude like that, right there, what causes people to get sick," Ace pointed out knowingly, "I just wanted to make sure you got it before recess because there's no way they'll let you run outside with the others without one."
"Really? Thanks for bringing it, Ace!" Luffy said happily, a big smile on his face as he leapt up into his brother's arms, who laughed as he caught him.
Brook stared at him, his jaw having fallen open as he stared from Luffy to Ace and back. Ace, suspecting exactly what Brook was thinking, just heaved Luffy up into his arms again so he could introduce them properly.
"Luffy, this was my old teacher when I was in school," he said with a clear voice, "Brook, this is my little brother, Luffy."
"Your… little brother? Oh, good. For a second there, I was thinking that you weren't as responsible as I first thought," Brook gasped in relief as Luffy looked on in confusion.
"Huh? What do you mean? Ace is the best!" he declared with a frown, not wanting to hear anyone say anything bad about his brother.
"Oh, don't I know it!" Brook laughed, "I was just getting ahead of myself. You don't need to worry about that, Luffy."
"You having a good day so far, Luffy?" Ace asked as he set him back down.
"Yes!" said Luffy's voice before he told him about how Nami came up with a game and she keeps winning all their fruit snacks.
'Monsters come in all shapes and sizes,' he thought to himself before he told Luffy how great it was and to have fun out there—but perhaps try not to play anymore card games with Nami. Luffy nodded and even planted a sloppy kiss on his brother's cheek before running to rejoin his friends—pulling his coat on as the kids filed out of the classroom. All the while, Ace overheard Usopp and Zoro arguing with Nami about how she needed to give them back their fruit snacks.
"No! To the winner goes the pot and I won the game!" she pointed out as she marched out with her many snacks, causing the boys to grumble behind her.
Ace just laughed at the sight, deciding to take a few extra minutes to watch them before heading out himself. He was planning on doing some quick shopping before coming back to take Luffy home anyway, but he wanted to watch him playing around with his friends just for a second.
He was glad that the classroom window had a good view of the playground and he leaned against the window to watch them running around. Brook also came to stand beside him as he also watched.
"So Luffy is your brother? What a surprise! Ah! But now that I think about it, I had a feeling that little boy reminded me of someone, though I couldn't think of why that was till now," Brook laughed.
"Yeah, he's a handful, but he's my brother so that makes sense," Ace chuckled fondly as they stood in silence for a moment, enjoying the sounds of the children's shrieks of laughter.
They stood there in silence for a few minutes before Brook spoke again, his tone a little more melancholy than it had been before as he confessed, "I was quite surprised, and a little upset, to hear that you dropped out of school."
"Didn't they tell you the reason for it?" Ace asked, wondering what they said to his old teachers about his sudden departure with no prior warning, "Or are you upset that I never turned in that last homework assignment?"
"No, they never really gave a full explanation. I remember how they said your parents were in a terrible accident but they didn't say much more about it," he said worriedly before adding, "And we both know you never would've done that homework assignment anyway."
"Well, yeah… you're right. Sorry about the homework. But, I have an excuse. My little brother was still just a newborn and… they didn't make it. I was all Luffy had left and he needed me," Ace said softly, leaning up against the windowsill. "Besides, it wasn't like I had a future in the classroom. I hated going to school anyway so it's not like I was really sacrificing too much. I wasn't even planning on going to college or anything so, I think that it all worked out."
"I see," Brook said softly, the two of them returning to that comfortable silence as they continued to watch the children play. Brook's eyes soon found Luffy, who was watching his friends play some kind of card game with Nami—which didn't look like it was going well for them.
There was a tense pause.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there to support you," Brook said quietly, not looking at Ace though he could feel the younger man's eyes upon him while he continued, "You up and left so suddenly…? I remember fearing that something bad happened. It wasn't until a few weeks later did I learn of your parents and..? Well, I wanted to reach out but…?"
"No, it's alright," Ace reassured him kindly, "I'm not gonna lie and say it was easy. It was… difficult, to say the least. Especially in the beginning. Even now it's hard. But we're making it work. Luffy's happy and healthy and I've got a pretty good support system with a job where I'm making decent money. Not at all what I thought would happen with me, but I'm in a pretty good place now."
"Good. I'm glad to hear it," Brook said with a kind tone, "I always knew that you were a resilient young man and Luffy seems like a ball of energy. I think that he's got a bright future. How can he not with such a devoted big brother? He's lucky to have you."
Ace smiled proudly at that, feeling oddly comfortable with Brook's kind words.
"You always were my favorite teacher," he informed him and Brook laughed again.
"Yohohoho! How flattering!" he said happily, "I do love teaching music and it's always a delight to hear someone enjoy my classes."
"Will you be working here from now on?" Ace asked, momentarily forgetting that Brook already said he was only visiting.
"No, I'm only volunteering for today," he said, "But I do hope to be able to visit here a bit more often. I do love singing songs with younglings like them. Yohohoho. It is a nice change from the grumpy teens I'm usually dealing with."
"That's not a dig at me, is it?" Ace laughed.
"No, you were always a good student, even if you don't believe it," Brook reassured him, "But ever since that little incident with Charlos…?"
Ace turned red at that and looked away with an innocent whistle that wouldn't fool anyone as Brook laughed again.
"Children can be just as challenging in their own way," said Robin's voice and Ace looked back to see Robin had entered with another kind smile. "It's always a pleasure to see you, Ace. And you came at the perfect time. I was wondering how to break the news to Luffy I couldn't let him out without a coat."
"Yeah, sorry about that, I didn't think that it was gonna be this cold until after I dropped him off," Ace said as he scratched the back of his head. "But he's doing alright? He's not having any problems?"
"Ace, you ask that every day and my answers are always positive," Robin reassured him patiently. "Luffy is a bright, inquisitive, and fearless little boy. Sometimes a little too much. But he is a true extrovert and loves being around other people. He is struggling a little with paying attention in class, but he is still a child so that's to be expected for someone who has so much energy."
"Yohohoho! He sounds just like you, Ace," Brook said approvingly. "I don't think you need to worry about him fitting in here."
"Oh yes, he's become very good friends with Usopp and Nami—especially with Zoro," Robin chuckled. "To think that fight on his first day was enough to cause Zoro to respect him and now they're always together."
"A fight? Oh, maybe he's a little too much like you, Ace," Brook pointed out.
"Alright, I admit that I wasn't the best student but I'm not gonna let Luffy go through all that like I did," Ace reassured him.
That was when they heard loud cries of annoyance that echoed all the way back to them. All three looked up to see that Luffy and his three friends seemed to be arguing with Nami about how she kept winning each round of her game. She just grinned back with a sly smile—like a cat who got the cream—before she took all even more fruit snacks from them.
"Seriously, do they just suck that bad at that game?" Ace asked Robin as he stared at the pile of snacks next to Nami.
"Honestly? They don't know they're being played," she laughed, "Nami's just making up her own rules and taking their snacks. I'll have to have a few words with her later about that."
At that, Ace burst out laughing, having to hold onto his stomach from how stupid it was but he wasn't at all surprised.
Brook could only smile as he watched the two the embodiment of brotherhood.
The Ace he first met in school… he never would've laughed like that. That Ace was bitter. He was so sure that the entire world was against him so he always had his defenses up—never letting anyone close. And even though he knew Ace loved his parents, the Ace back then would never have been honest about it. But now…?
"What?" Ace demanded, giving Brook a weird look when noticing when the older man was observing him with a smile.
"Oh… nothing," he grinned. "Just thinking how people grow up and change… but you really turned into a big softy now, Ace."
Ace spluttered and snapped at him with glowing cheeks as Brook could only smile in understanding.
He understood now. The Ace he sees now… was thanks to Luffy.
*Two days later*
Dr. Trafalgar Law was savoring one of the few weekends he was off from work as his snowy-white dog—Bepo—was happily chewing on a new toy Law picked up for him on his way home earlier.
He lived in a spacious apartment on the borders of Edge Town and the residential district in a secure apartment complex. He was sitting in a chair next to the wide window that overlooked the city, enjoying a warm drink and a new medical book that he heard good things about.
He had just settled down and was relaxing when there was a knock at the door. Surprised, Law looked up before glancing at the night sky outside the window, not sure who it could be since he wasn't expecting company over this late.
Upon realizing they had guests, Bepo immediately trotted over to the door, whining in excitement to see who it was.
Law, however, was wracking his brain to try and figure out who it was. His sister, Lami, was away at college, and none of his friends mentioned coming over tonight? He slowly closed his book and got up, wondering if something serious happened, before he opened the door. He blinked in bewilderment when he saw Ace, of all people, standing there with a kind of wild desperation in his face as he held a sleeping Luffy in one arm and a small backpack in another.
Bepo let out a couple small barks as he wandered out into the hall to get a good sniff at the newcomers as Law could only stare at Ace. His eyes quickly trailed over everything in front of him, his doctor's mind examining everything logically: Luffy was fast asleep, a small coat over his pajama's as he snored lightly on his brother's shoulder all the while Ace looked at him pleadingly.
After a few seconds, Law was able to guess to what was going on here and tried to close the door before Ace dropped the bag and stuck his arm into the doorway.
"Please, wait," he begged.
"No," Law said, already knowing what he was going to say.
"I just need to ask a favor?" Ace whispered imploringly, keeping his voice down so as not to wake Luffy up.
"No."
"I'm not asking for that much…?"
"I said, no."
"It's only for tonight! I'll pick him up tomorrow."
"What part of no do you not understand, Ace-ya?! I'm not watching him," Law warned.
"I didn't even ask that," Ace pointed out.
"You don't need too, I can guess," Law pointed out, jerking his head to the still slumbering Luffy.
"Just let me in and we'll talk about it," Ace whispered.
Law was about to tell him to get lost but he knew Ace was stubborn and the last thing he wanted was to draw attention from one of his neighbors because Ace decided to have an argument in the hall. Or worse… wake Luffy up and be stuck with a crying kid this late?
"Fine, but only because I don't want to argue out here," Law hissed as he stood back and let them in, making sure to grab Bepo by the collar before dragging the dog back in as well. As soon as he put Bepo into his bedroom, he turned back to find that Ace had carefully set Luffy on the couch, letting him continue to sleep.
"I am not a babysitter, Ace-ya," he warned him in irritation. "Unless there's something medically wrong with the kid, you're looking at the wrong person."
"I wouldn't be here if I had any other options," Ace whispered back. "But there's been an incident and its all hands on deck. Most of the crew has been called out to help. I need to go as well but I can't find anyone else who can stay with Luffy so…?"
"What could be that serious that Whitebeard had to call for everyone out?" Law demanded.
"Apparently, someone tried to bomb the Moby Dick," Ace said.
Law stared, completely taken aback by that as he asked, "What?"
Ace just shut his eyes in frustration before telling him what he knew.
*Earlier that Evening*
"S… Su… Suuu… Suuuunnnn?" Luffy tried to read out the word that Ace was pointing to.
"Sun," Ace corrected patiently as Luffy sat up on Ace's lap, going through the book with him. Ace had taken Robin's words to heart whenever he heard Luffy was struggling in school, and she offered a suggestion on to help him improve his reading.
"He's caught up with learning the alphabet and we're in the process of teaching him to read. Though it is going a bit slower than I would have liked. But he has told me that you read to him every night so how about you help him practice if you have the time?"
So, by using Luffy's favorite story as motivation, Ace would sit Luffy up in his lap and have his brother read a few words here and there to help encourage him to want to learn to read. He was glad to see that Luffy's easily distracted nature was able to focus more when he had a task to accomplish. He would point out the words he thought he could spell out. He was making progress, and Ace couldn't help but smile proudly as Luffy would try hard to master the art of reading.
"Sun!" he repeated happily, able to recognize the word as Ace ruffled his hair so that it was messy.
"You're getting there, soon enough you'll be reading this book all by yourself. You won't need me to do it for you anymore," Ace informed him.
"What? No! I love it when Ace reads to me!" Luffy whined at the thought.
"Well, we have time before that happens. Maybe you'll be reading to me soon? Then you can do all the funny voices," he offered as Luffy perked up at that. With that promise, Ace turned back to the chapter, still reading out about 90% of the story as Luffy 'helped' whenever coming to an easy word.
The bedtime story took a lot longer than usual with this, but Ace was delighted to find out that it helped put Luffy to bed a little easier. It was honestly cute seeing Luffy work his mind to exhaustion just by reading and he hugged Luffy close as he fought a yawn. Ace took that as a sign that it was time for sleep and he closed the book.
"Not… sleepy…?" Luffy grumbled as Ace tucked him in.
"Yes, you are," he promised back.
"No…" Luffy mumbled before he lost the fight with his eyelids and was soon snoring under the covers. With that taken care of, Ace took off Luffy's straw hat and plugged in the little nightlight before leaving the room. He stretched out, glad to have the rest of the night to himself to relax and enjoy.
He was about halfway through an action movie, making sure the volume was down low so that he didn't wake Luffy, and was eager to see the next battle scene come up when…?
He had to set down his bowl of popcorn when he noticed his phone buzzing. He glanced at the screen to see that it was Marco and he answered it with, "Hey, Marco? What's up? Is something wrong? Don't tell me that there's another party going on?"
"Ace!" Marco called, his voice sounded rushed and panicked, "We need help down here!"
Ace quickly sat up, shutting the TV off, his heart racing in worry.
"What happened?" he asked quickly, "Is it another gang war going on? Things were quiet all week!"
"No, it's not that!" Marco gasped and Ace could hear the sounds of yelling and crashing behind him, "Someone attacked us at the Moby Dick! There's been a fire! It's all hands on deck! Someone set an explosion and a fire spread throughout our place! We need all the help we can get!"
"Shit… alright, I'll be right there," Ace promised, tripping over the rug as he tried to get his shoes on, "Just let me call Kiku and…?"
"Sorry bud, but she's here with Izo. In fact, just about everyone is here or on the way," Marco said apologetically, "I don't think anyone nearby can look after Luffy right now."
"Crap," Ace hissed, trying to think of how to get out of this mess, his mind racing as he began looking through his contacts, trying to find someone whom he could turn to.
*Present*
"I don't know what happened either," Ace whispered softly, "I just got a call from Marco earlier saying that someone had set off an explosion in the parking lot of the Moby Dick. There was a fire, and so everyone's being called out to help find out what happened. I'm joining in to help because a few were injured. No deaths, but there were some who got caught up in the explosion and were taken to a hospital. I don't think they were taken to your hospital though, so I don't think you need to worry about being called in."
Law had no idea what to say to this before asking, "Did they have any theories to who or why they did it?"
Ace shook his head helplessly and confessed, "No one knows anything since the attack was so quick. I'm thinking it was a rival gang that wanted to try their hand in taking the old man's head…? But Marco seemed to doubt that. I don't know. I just need to go over and help out. Maybe catch the bastards who did it, but I can't leave Luffy home alone."
"None of the others in Whitebeard's crew can do it?" Law asked incredulously.
"Kiku and all the others I usually turn to are either hurt or already heading over there to help," Ace reminded him bitterly.
"What about Makino? Or one of Luffy's new friends at school?" Law asked, having heard that Luffy was going to kindergarten.
"Makino's busy out of town visiting some relatives so I can't go to her," Ace said, "And I don't know any of Luffy's new friend's families yet so I don't even know how to contact them."
"So why come to me?" Law demanded.
"I didn't know who use to turn to," he moaned out desperately, "Please, I am begging you here. Just look after Luffy for one day. I promise to be back tomorrow to pick him up. I swear I wouldn't be doing this if I had any other choice. But I literally have no one else I can turn to. I need to be there to help them, Law… but I can't do anything if I'm constantly worrying if Luffy's alright or not."
"I have an important meeting with someone tomorrow, Ace-ya, I can't take a kid with me," Law tried to justify.
"Please," Ace begged, "I'm not leaving him alone. I'm screwed here."
Law glared at him, trying to think of the best way to tell him to screw off, before a slight grumble could be heard and they immediately looked to the snoring child on the couch. Luffy was kicking out slightly as he mumbled in his sleep, a tiny speck of drool in the corner of his mouth as he rolled over onto his back, completely oblivious to what was going on around him.
At that, Law felt some of his stress fade away. He would rather die than ever admit to it but… the kid was seriously cute. He looked at him as the image of his own baby sister appeared in his mind's eye and he felt himself hesitated before everything else faded away and he gave a defeated sigh.
"You can put him in the guest room," Law growled, hating himself for giving in so easily, "But I swear, I am not an emergency babysitter. This is a one-time thing. You best come up with another solution than me because I will not be doing this again. You got that?"
"Thank you," Ace sighed in relief, "I understand, thank you so much."
Ace went back to Luffy, carefully scooping him up in his arms and heading down the hall to the room that Law indicated. Ace stepped into the room where a large bed was waiting and he carefully set Luffy down and tucked him in after he took his coat off. The whole time, Luffy didn't so much as stir, still dreaming and giggling slightly in his sleep, causing Ace to smile sadly at the thought of leaving him here. He set Luffy's coat to the side and took out the few things he packed in Luffy's backpack. A fresh set of clothes, Luffy's straw hat, a few of his favorite snacks, crayons and paper… just a few things that he hoped would keep Luffy entertained while he was here. Once the bag was empty, the stuffed Chopperman—which was really becoming worn down from so much love—was set next to Luffy like a favorite teddy bear.
"You be good," he whispered, brushing back his bangs to kiss Luffy's forehead, "I'll be back to pick you up as soon as I can. Just listen to Law for me, okay? Hopefully, he'll be better at keeping an eye on you than Thatch was."
He made sure that Luffy was safely tucked in before he left, heading back to the living room where Law was sitting with a deeply annoyed frown—his book and hot drink completely forgotten about. Law gave him a hard look as Ace bowed low and thanked him once more for this huge favor.
"Whatever, just make sure you pick him up tomorrow," Law told him, "Anything I should know about before I change my mind?"
"He doesn't have any allergies so feeding him shouldn't be a problem. I promise to pay you back for it later," Ace promised as he began to pull his jacket back on, "You can put some kid shows on for him or give him one of the toys I left if he gets bored. If that doesn't work just take him outside for a walk to a park or someplace nearby. Just don't take your eyes off him. I swear, he will wander off at the slightest chance. In the morning, just tell him to be good and to listen to you and I'll be sure to take him to that festival that's coming up if he behaves. I'll call you when I'll be on my way to pick him up."
"Just go," Law grumbled as Ace bowed low once more before quickly moving out the door, sliding down the railing to get out as quickly as possible as he silently prayed that he was doing the right thing and that his friends were safe.
(Hey! I wasn't expecting to get this next chapter out quite yet but what can I say? Inspiration struck me and I had to write it out. Bet you didn't expect to see Law again so soon though, huh? Well, I figured that we could use Law as the emergency babysitter in this case so the next chapter we will be seeing Law's day with Luffy! I'm grinning just thinking about it. And as for Sabo? He will be reappearing very soon and he will be meeting up with Ace so please look forward to that. Can't say for sure when the next chapter will be up, but probably after Valentine's Day. Still need to finish a special project for a friend before I can continue writing these chapters, but I hope you're all enjoy it. The kind reviews make me smile when I see them.)