Chapter 10: House Check

Upon hearing this, his friends all let out cries of outrage, their voices loud as they cursed and each looked like they were about to smash whatever was close by upon hearing something so ridiculous. However, Ace barely paid attention as he could only sit there in a kind of horrified stupor.

What happened? Who reported them? Did he do something that would've caused anyone to worry? He tried to get his brain to think back, trying to figure out what he could've done…? But nothing came to mind. He couldn't even bring himself to yell at the kid whenever he said or did something stupid so why did someone feel the need to report them?

"Who did it?" Thatch demanded, sounding uncharacteristically angry, "Who put the call through on you guys?"

"Law said he didn't know," Ace answered back, still feeling like he was struggling to breathe, "He just called to warn me by saying that CPS was in contact with the hospital and only asked basic questions about Luffy. They were asking if Luffy showed any signs of mistreatment or abuse when he was last there. Which, Law confirmed, he never saw any. But he wanted to warn me that once CPS gets involved there's a high possibility they'll either come to the house or contact me in some way."

"Don't they have anything better to do? Like trying to help kids who actually need it?" Izo grumbled as he shook his head and rubbed his eyes in irritation.

"You got to kidding me? That kid is the happiest, most lively kid I've ever met," Marco countered with a growl, "I can barely remember a time when he's not smiling! He's happy, he's healthy, and I wish I had such a devoted big brother to take care of me when I was his age! What made anyone think that he was in trouble?"

"Maybe… I don't know…? He's got a lot of babysitters, right? You think…?" Thatch went on uncertainly.

"No, that can't be it. Luffy's always coming back in good spirits and no one in our crew would ever hurt a kid! Wait, you don't think they found out about the false papers that were set up about Luffy's adoption, do you?" Izo asked in concern and Ace felt a cold sweat break out.

He had always been so careful about that. Knowing that they could get into serious trouble if word of how a fifteen-year-old was looking after an infant for three years before officially adopting him. He was always on guard about that part of their past—even to this day, only a handful of people knew the full truth regarding that secret. Even most in Whitebeard's crew were unaware of this—with these three friends part of the small collection whom he trusted enough to open up about it.

"Maybe someone was looking at those files and thought something was fishy…?" Izo continued slowly.

"I doubt it," Thatch countered with a shake of his head, "Our boys are some of the best hackers you're bound to meet. They know what they're doing so I don't think that's the problem. Maybe… someone from the school thought something was wrong…?"

"But Luffy's doing really well over there," Ace pointed out, his mind still straining for anything that he could recall that might give them a hint, "When I pick him up, I always take a few minutes to talk to Robin about how he's doing and she confirms that he's thriving with his new friends…?"

"Damn, what the hell is going on?" Izo snapped as he pulled out his phone, "Give me a sec, I'm texting Vista and the others; see if they can find anything out for us."

"You can do that, but it's not the biggest problem right now," Marco added, pulling them back to the matter at hand, "Finding out who placed the call won't change anything. Even with our buddies in the police, finding out who placed the complaint to begin with won't be easy. They're always stated as anonymous, in case the parents are dangerous people. Even if we discover who dared call them, that won't chance the fact that an investigation is taking place. No, we need to focus more on dealing with CPS before anything else. Once we take care of them, then we can focus on finding the bastard who said anything."

"But what do I do? How do I stop this?" Ace asked desperately as Thatch was trying to help him calm his breathing before he had a full-blown panic attack.

"Look, I've dealt with CPS when getting custody of Kiku so I've been through this before," Izo reassured him, still texting, but moving to sit next to Ace on the rock while adding, "Mostly, when they do an investigation, they come to the house to check things out. In cases with adopted kids, they usually just ask to see adoption forms and the like. If everything checks out, they leave and the case is dropped."

Well, that didn't sound so bad…? But… the one question that he needed to hear the most was the one he feared to hear.

"Could… could they really take Luffy away?" Ace whispered fearfully as his friends looked at each other anxiously.

"Ace, we need you to stay calm, alright? Listen, CPS is only looking into it now. That's what Law said, right?" Izo asked quickly and when he saw Ace nod, he reassured him, "Then they don't have any reason to take him away since all they have to go by is one report. They'll probably come to do a house check to make sure Luffy is safe. So long as there are no signs of violence or neglect, legally, they can't take Luffy from you."

"I promise, Ace, we'll do everything we can to help you two," Marco vowed. "I'll talk to Pops and see what we can dig up. For now, I think its best that you refrain from taking on any other jobs unless it's a true emergency. And even then, I think you should leave it all to us for the time being. You need to focus on Luffy and surviving this investigation."

His friends began making phone calls, reaching out to anyone they could think of. Before long, Ace's phone was filled with emails and text messages that were all bombarding him with questions, asking what they could do to help and if he needed anything. Watching his friends hard at work for his sake, as well as watching the number of texts only continue to rise… forced him to fight tears.

Oh, who was he kidding…? In a matter of minutes, he was hiding his face in his hands as shaky sobs broke through while Marco patted his shoulder in a reassuring way.

…

The following week was a stressed time for him.

Luffy could tell that something was wrong when he saw Ace's pale face the next morning and how he barely cracked a smile the entire day. Luffy asked him what was wrong, but Ace couldn't bring himself to tell Luffy the truth. Instead, he mumbled how he wasn't feeling good so he was taking some time off work to look after himself. That seemed to satisfy Luffy's questions for the time being, and only told him how happy he was that he'd be spending more time with Ace.

Hearing that felt like a dagger in his heart. This kid was so sweet…? Ace couldn't imagine life without his little brother in it and vowed if he ever found out who placed that complaint…? He just glowered as he focused on beating up the pancake mix with such aggression that he left a mess over the kitchen counter.

Even so, he had become a bit paranoid after that day. He constantly felt like someone was watching through the windows or even following him around when they went outside. Ace felt like they were reverting back to those first few years where he and Luffy were pretty much locked up inside the house at all times. As much as he preferred to stay away from other people for the moment, he knew that he had to take Luffy to school and get everything done so shutting themselves away wasn't a viable option.

After dropping Luffy off at the Kindergarten that next day, he went back to the Moby Dick—which was still undergoing repairs—so that he could speak with Whitebeard. Like he thought, the old man was already aware of what was going on and, thankfully, understood the problem by giving him a few weeks of 'paid leave' for his troubles.

"You don't have to do that," Ace told him, having been thinking of dipping into his savings for the motorcycle if they needed extra money.

"You more than earned it," Whitebeard reassured him, waving his massive hand with a flick of his wrist. "You got enough on your plate as it is."

"Th-Thank you," Ace told him gratefully, having a heaviness in his chest like someone was squeezing his heart. "By the way… did you find out any other information…?"

He was disappointed, but unsurprised, when Whitebeard shook his head.

"I have a couple boys looking into that but it seems that the report came from an anonymous phone call," he informed him, "Marco is reaching out to someone who is talented at tracing phone numbers to see if we can find answers. But you leave that to us for now. You need to focus on keeping your boy safe."

Ace nodded, his face full of resolve, as he returned home to get to work. Thanks to many others in his crew, they were able to give him a quick rundown of what he could expect. There were usually two agents who would show up just to check on appropriate conditions for the child in question. Such things such as having food, clean sleeping arrangements, and absence of any hazards like drugs or dangerous chemicals.

"Remember to check the more common areas in your house," Izo called him as Ace was double-checking for any safety hazards. "Luffy's not a baby so we don't need to worry about child-proofing the house as much. But simple things like making sure there are no sharp objects in reach or he doesn't have access to unsecured medications…? Oh, if you like, I can come over and double check around the house to make sure…?"

Izo wasn't the only one to offer their advice and help. In fact, several members had dealings with CPS before, either because they had family members who were reported to CPS or they, themselves, were the children who were called about.

"A lot of his clothes I found from the Grey Terminal…?" Ace began in worry before being cut off by Vista over the phone.

"Yeah, but they're clean, that's what matters," Vista reassured him, "I don't think they care if clothes are second-hand so long as they're in good condition. Plus, he's a kid, he's bound to get things a bit messy. They're not gonna blow up over a smug of dirt on his shirt. Don't worry, but if it helps, I can drop off a few extra clothes…?"

Ace had long since lost track of how many times he said 'thank you' over the last week as it felt like everyone was calling to check in on him.

"He does have a scar under his eye, we can't hide that, but otherwise he's in great health. He's never even sick, remember?" Marco told him bracingly over video chat as Ace went over all the important documents that he may need. "He's a bit clumsy but it's not like he's covered in bruises. Not only that, but they do check to see how the kids interact with the parental figure."

"What's that gotta do with anything?" Ace asked wonderingly.

"Positive and nurturing interactions," Marco explained, "Luffy adores you. So long as you act like the overprotective big brother as you usually do, I don't think they'll question anything."

"I'm not that bad!" Ace countered, holding up his phone to see the look of high skepticism on Marco's face as he rolled his eyes.

"It's not a bad thing in this case. Just embrace the truth, Papa Ace," Marco shrugged with a teasing grin before Ace flipped him off.

Still, his words did much to calm the anxiety in Ace's heart. The calls after that were just as encouraging as well:

"I just sent an email of a list of the most likely questions the officers will ask you, just so you're prepared!"

"You need me to come over and help out with cleaning?"

"It's no trouble! I'm pretty good with basic maintenance around the house and I'll just give everything a quick look to make sure that everything's working properly."

Ace was almost overwhelmed with so much support and he promised them all that that he'd one day return the favor to each and every single one of them no matter what. They just brushed that promise aside, reassuring him that this was what family does. They saw Ace as good as family and if his little brother was important to him… then he was to the rest of them as well.

Hearing that kept pushing him into near fits of weeping. More than once, he had failed to hide them from Luffy, who was afraid that Ace was really sick and in pain. Ace would just smile back and reassure him, "I'm fine, Luffy. I'm just… really lucky to have so many people in my life."

…

Despite all the help, Ace was still paranoid over the littlest things. He almost wished that it would happen already just so that he could stop himself from jumping every time he thought he saw someone passing by their house. But finally, after about a week from when he first got the warning from Law, and he set Luffy up in his room—which was cleaner than he could ever remember seeing before—he heard his phone ding with a text.

He pulled it out and saw only two words there:

They're coming.

He felt himself going cold at the sight before another text appeared:

Just heard it from one of ours in the police force. Said that a couple CPS agents were heading your way. They'll be there in ten minutes. You guys got this!

He gulped at that and told Luffy to just enjoy himself with coloring and he'd be back in a minute. Luffy only hummed happily to himself before Ace quickly went through the house, making sure that nothing looked suspicious. He quickly threw in a load of laundry just to keep himself busy as he fought the panic and focused more on the breathing exercises that Vista taught him.

Just as he managed to regain control over his breathing, he heard the knock at the door. He looked up, suddenly feeling that he was standing at the opposite end of death row, before he slowly approached. After taking one last deep breath for courage, he opened the door to face off against the newest enemy.

Standing there were two figures, one man and one woman. The woman had long, dark blue hair pinned up with a clip and wore glasses as she jiggled them while trying not to drop the clipboard she was carrying.

But his gaze was instantly drawn to the more dangerous-looking of the two. The man was tall and muscular while having two cigars hanging from his mouth as Ace's eyes were glancing over the man's stitched scar that extended from his forehead to his right eye and tapers off to the side of his face. Normally, he'd be dying to hear the story how he got that scar, but instead, he just folded up his arms and leaned up against the doorframe as he asked, "I didn't realize it was that time of the year to sell cookies?"

"Har de har har," the man grunted sourly as he seemed to be sizing him up as much as Ace was doing to him.

"Please, there is no need for open hostilities. We're from Child Protective Services and we received a call informing us that the child living here may be in potential harm so we're here to perform a house check just to confirm the state of affairs here," the woman informed him with a professional tone and stern expression.

"Fine," Ace answered back, "Can I have your names and see a form of identification first though?"

"Smoker," the man grunted as he reached to his belt and flashed a badge.

"And I'm Tashigi. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said with a smile, also pulling out her own. Though her tone was light, he noticed how her eyes were narrow as she swept over him and over his shoulder to get a look at the room, as if trying to find a trace of anything that shouldn't be here.

"I see," Ace said, still endeavoring to keep calm and polite.

"So, am I right in confirming you are the guardian of Monkey D. Luffy?" she asked. When Ace nodded in confirmation, Tashigi went on, "Just what is your relationship with him?"

"He's my little brother," Ace said firmly and with a hint of pride. "Our parents died the night he was born so… I've been there taking care of him since then."

"Our reports did confirm that. But they also state that another was given custody of him…?" she said, looking over the clipboard.

"Yes," Ace said, going over in his mind everything that Izo warned him about. "Garp is the name of Luffy's biological grandfather. He was named as Luffy's temporary, emergency guardian until I turned eighteen. That's where I took over."

"Can we speak with Garp as well?" Tashigi asked as she adjusted her glasses.

"No, we haven't spoken to him for the last couple years," Ace said, doing his best to not outright lie. In his mind, everything he was saying was technically true. The only thing that wasn't was that they didn't know anything about Garp—or if he was even still alive—not that they needed to know that. Instead, he just shrugged and said, "We can't even contact him ourselves. Who knows where he is? I'm all that's here."

"I see, I just find it strange that a grandfather would leave custody of their grandson to one who was barely of age," she pointed out.

"What can I say? I don't think he was the motherly type. He had the parental instincts of a coo-coo bird," Ace said, silently impressed with himself by how unconcerned he sounded, "Not that it matters now. Luffy was so young by the time that I took full custody that he doesn't remember him anyways. There's no point in mentioning it since he won't have a clue to what you're talking about."

"I see. Very well. I only ask because I'd like to get another family member's perspective on this matter. Is Luffy here?" she asked and he nodded before she went on, "May I look around?"

"As soon as your friend spits out his cigars," Ace countered. Upon hearing that demand, Smoker glared back until Ace retorted, "What? You think I'd want someone who smokes two cigars at once around my little brother? Either put them out or you aren't coming in."

Smoker looked ready to argue but Tashigi nodded in agreement.

"Very well," she said reasonably.

"What?" Smoker barked at her as she rolled her eyes.

"I've already told you several times that it's not healthy for you anyway. Besides, it sets a bad example for the children," she said, surprisingly agreeing with Ace. "It doesn't seem like it's much to ask for. You can go a few minutes without smoking."

He glowered at them both, but seemed to realize he was outnumbered and pulled the cigars out before crushing them in his hand.

"Better?" he grunted as he dusted the remains off right there on the front porch.

Knowing that he was delaying the inevitable, he stood back and allowed them to enter. Neither of them spoke as he could only watch as they looked over the state of the house, with Tashigi being especially critical as she checked the light-switches and running water before opening up the fridge to see food stacked inside.

Ace felt as if someone was squeezing his insides every time she made a note on her clipboard. Was it a good thing? Or a bad one? He didn't know and it was driving him crazy. But so far, she didn't seem to have a concerned expression, which he took as a win, before she suddenly asked, "So, it really is just the two of you here?"

Ace nodded and explained, "Our parents left it to me after they died. It's not much, but its home."

"And how old were you when they died?" she asked.

"Fifteen, almost sixteen," he answered, hoping that wasn't going to work against him.

For the first time, Tashigi looked at him with a sad expression and muttered, "I'm sorry to hear that. I read the report and I remember feeling so sad upon reading it. Especially since you were still so young yourself. That must've been a difficult time for you?"

He nodded, not looking her in the eyes as he felt that old wound opening up again.

Tashigi cleared her throat, perhaps realizing that she made it awkward, before going on by asking, "Does Luffy have his own room?"

"Yes, it's at the end of the hall. You can't miss it," he said before turning back to Smoker, who was leaning up against the wall, remaining silent during that whole exchange. As Tashigi went off to check, Smoker pushed his way up and did another quick glance around.

"You do everything here yourself?" he asked. "All the chores and maintenance?"

"Pretty much," Ace shrugged. "It was kinda a learning experience. But I also know a few friends who can be handy around the house. Plus online videos… that helps."

"You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard that," Smoker grunted. "The kid's about six now, right? Is he in school?"

Ace nodded before leading him to the coffee table where he kept a small lockbox underneath with all the important papers. He presented Smoker with everything in writing, watching how the man looked carefully over each form—as if trying to detect that there was anything that even smelt like a forgery.

"I even have a letter from his teacher," Ace added, showing up the formal document that Robin was kind to write for him, "She says he's doing well there. He's a kid so he's not too fond of the learning part yet but he loves being with his friends. He's in good hands."

Smoker glanced over it all, and it seemed that he was a bit impressed with all this.

"Hmmm, everything looks good. According to the report we got, one would think that the kid was chained in the basement or something," he admitted.

"Speaking of which… do you think you could help by telling me who reported me to begin with?" Ace asked stiffly.

"Sorry. But that information is classified," Smoker responded without looking up, "I usually get asked that and I always answer by reminding them that it doesn't matter. All you can do is make them look bad by being a great parent. Trust me, unless you did something wrong, nothing will happen."

Smoker did another quick glance around before adding, "Contrary to what many believe, we don't usually jump to taking them away unless we have reason to believe that they're in danger—which are the worst-case scenarios. If you were struggling, we can offer parenting classes or offer you programs where you can reach out for help. We just want to ensure that the kid is safe, that's our number one concern."

Ace could feel some of anxiety fade at that, silently thinking that this guy seemed to be alright, but he wasn't letting his guard down yet. Not until they left, anyway.

*Meanwhile…?*

Tashigi spotted how there were a few toys scattered here and there as she looked for anything out of place. There were pictures on the wall and she paused to examine them as she heard Smoker and Ace talking at the door. The boy in the pictures was always smiling, always laughing, while making faces at the camera while his big brother laughed next to him.

That was an encouraging sight.

She looked into the room at the end of the hall and got a look around. It was definitely a child's room with a small bed with a pirate ship pattern on the sheets and blankets—with even a matching pirate-shaped night light on the floor next to it. She could see all manner of toys scattered around the toy box in the corner while the walls had many brightly colored drawings taped up as if the owner was proud to display them. Even the window that overlooked the street had a childproof lock on it so that it couldn't easily be opened by small hands.

She then noticed a closet and she opened it up to get a look inside to find dirty clothes scattered about a hamper with fresh, clean ones hanging above her head. Sometimes she would look in homes and find children hiding in their closets out of fear, but all in all, this looked like the room of a typical, happy child. No signs of any kind of neglect going on.

"Who are you?"

She looked up and almost ended up cooing in awwww when she saw the little boy looking back at her with large, brown eyes.

Luffy, who had still been coloring in Ace's room, needed to sharpen his colored pencils so he went off to find Ace to do that for him. When he heard noises coming from his own room, he thought it was Ace, but instead was surprised to see a strange lady looking in his closet.

The lady smiled at him and bent down to greet him.

"Hey there, you must be Luffy," she said kindly as Luffy tilted his head. How'd this lady know his name?

"Are you one of Ace's friends?" he asked, having gotten used to the many people coming and going from the house, but couldn't recall ever seeing her before.

"Ah, not really, I'm just here to check up on you," she reassured him.

"Me? Why?" he asked curiously.

Rather than explain the truth, she cleared her throat and instead asked, "I see you were coloring?"

"Yeah, I was looking for Ace cause I need them sharpen," he explained, holding up his broken pencils, "Ace doesn't want me to do it cause he's afraid I'll cut myself cause I'm clumsy so he does it for me."

"I see. Well, I can help you with that if you got the sharpener?" she offered and Luffy nodded agreeably before leading her back to his big brother's room.

Tashigi glanced around—finding nothing wrong here either except for questioning the young man's décor choices—before watching Luffy climb back up on the bed where there were more few scattered pictures around him. As she sharpened the pencils, she took this chance to look over him. In most cases, when a child was suffering from some kind of abuse, they usually refused to look an adult in the eye or were very uncomfortable being around strangers…? But again, she saw no signs of fear or unhappiness from him as he hummed to himself while drawing what looked like the ocean…? At least, she thought that's what it was since there was a lot of blue there.

She also glanced over him for any traces of trauma or bruises…? Not that there was any save for that scar on his face?

"Luffy? Where'd you get that scar?" she asked as she handed him a bright yellow pencil.

"Huh? Oh, Thatch was chasing me around the kitchen and then we wrestled and he threw me up till I hit my head against the table!" Luffy laughed like he thought it was no big deal.

She gasped at that and asked hurriedly, "Someone was chasing you?!"

"Yeah! We were playing tag and he was throwing me up in the air before I hit the table!" Luffy giggled, "Boy was Ace angry!"

"O-Ok… and what happened after that?" Tashigi questioned as she made a quick note with this Thatch guy.

"Ace and his friends took me to the hospital to get a stitches!" Luffy answered, "I think it looks pretty cool!"

"I see?" she repeated, glad that she was just overreacting since Luffy was laughing about it. It certainly does seem like it was more of an accident than anything else. Most children who had been hurt in some way tend to shy away or avoid the question entirely because they were afraid of getting in trouble.

"Well, I'm glad that you were okay. So, Luffy, do you like living here?" she asked as he stuck his tongue out in concentration as he continued his art.

"Huh? Yeah, of course! Why?" he asked, as if wondering why someone would ask if they thought the sky was blue.

"So, Ace is a good big brother to you?" she asked slowly.

"Yup! He's the best!" Luffy confirmed without a trace of doubt, "Except when he gets mean and says I have to have more vegetables and less meat at mealtimes!"

She chuckled at that, feeling some of her anxiety fade at that. She always dreaded getting calls out to places with young children. Who knows what kind of conditions they could be living in?

But it seemed that this was a false alarm after all. While some may be annoyed at being called out for no reason, it was a relief to find that there wasn't anything wrong. She spent the next couple minutes watching Luffy drawing, finally asking him what the picture was.

"I'm gonna be a pirate someday!" he told her proudly, "So I'm gonna need a crew! So this guy will be my shipwright! He's gonna be a big, tough guy like this!"

Honestly, it looked like a mess of scribbles of the offspring of an octopus and a pancake but she just smiled back and reassured him that he looked 'tough'.

Feeling that it was safe to go, she got up, about to say goodbye, before her eyes fell upon another picture.

"And who are these, Luffy?" she asked as she pointed to it.

"Huh? Oh, that's Traffy and Bepo!" he answered proudly before she tilted her head in confusion.

"Traffy and Bepo?" she repeated slowly as he held up the picture of terrible art skills and pointed to the figure in black with a frown on his face and the mushy-looking marshmallow.

"Yeah, Traffy's my friend! He's a doctor and he fixed up my eye before! He watched me when Ace was away for work! We had a lot of fun and he let me play with his dog!" Luffy answered as he pointed them out.

"A doctor…?" she repeated, her smile fading slightly as she tried to think of a doctor named Traffy. In her career, she met many doctors, but couldn't recall ever hearing of a name like that. "Luffy? Is Traffy his real name?"

"No, but I don't remember his full name," he answered back unconcerned, "He kept telling me it was… Trafal-? Trafal-guy…? I don't remember, oh well."

Trafal-guy? Wait…?

"Traffy…? Luffy, do you mean… Trafalgar Law?" she asked him slowly.

"Yeah! Trafal-guy!" he confirmed as she stared at him. That was a name she knew all too well. She was familiar with how whenever a suspected member of Whitebeard's gang turned up at the hospital, they would suddenly disappear before the police got there. There were more than a few darker rumors about Trafalgar Law but thanks to his high success rate in the medical world—along with the fact that there was never any proof connecting him to anything in the criminal underworld… it was never proven.

"But as far I know of, Law didn't usually see children. Why would Luffy be brought to him rather than a pediatrician?" she muttered, not realizing she was talking to herself. "Especially since Law is rumored to be connected to certain gangs?"

Luffy looked up, not understanding what the strange lady was talking about before she went on, "Could it be that Ace felt the need to take him specifically to Law if he was connected to said groups…? But if he was part of such dangerous activity…?"

Luffy stared as the pencil slipped from his fingers. Ace was doing something dangerous? He remembered hearing that 'gangs' were bad people at school but…? No! He'd never do that! He knew Ace! His big brother was a good person! Why would he'd get in trouble?

But what if this lady thought that Ace was bad? Was she here because she was trying to get Ace in trouble? Was the police coming to take Ace away?

His eyes filled with tears as his imagination started to run wild at all these confusing questions that made his head spin. Was she with the police? Did she want to arrest Ace? Why? What'd he do? He never did anything wrong! Was she gonna try and take his big brother away? He didn't want Ace to go to jail?!

Tashigi realized too late that she had been speaking out loud and she saw the boy's upset face.

"Oh, no! Luffy, please don't…?!" she began but it was too late as Luffy let out a loud wail as he cried out for Ace.

*Meanwhile…?*

"So… is everything okay?" Ace asked as Smoker set the final paper down.

"So far," he answered, "It seems that everything seems to be in good order. Once Tashigi confirms everything with your brother, we'll leave."

Ace let out a sigh of relief, thinking that the worse was over before…?

"AAAACCCCCEEEEE!"

Ace immediately leapt up the second that little voice cried out to him. But before he even stepped into the hall, Luffy came bolting from his room and went sprinting straight for him, still crying as he leapt for Ace, who caught him.

"Luffy?" he asked, giving Tashigi a dark look, but kept his voice calm, "What happened? Why're you crying?"

"She wants to arrest you!" he cried, almost hysterically as he clung to him.

"What?" Ace demanded before zeroing in on Tashigi, who was waving her hands at him as she tried to explain.

"What? No! I didn't mean anything like that!" she cried out, having to make her voice loud over Luffy's cries.

"Then what'd you say to him to make him so upset?" Ace demanded.

"N-Nothing! I was just thinking that it was weird that you would take him to Doctor Trafalgar Law of all people than to a regular doctor! As far as I knew, Doctor Trafalgar Law doesn't normally treat children unless it was a life-threatening situation!" she tried to explain.

"Trafalgar?" Smoker asked with his eyebrows rising.

Ace gently shushed Luffy, taking deep, exaggerated breaths to help him calm down. Luffy could feel his lungs expanding and contracting, and he instinctually began to follow suit. Taking deep breaths until his cries quieted down and he was sniffling against him, burying his face in Ace's shoulder as the two watched on.

Once Luffy calmed down enough, Ace glared up at Tashigi with hatred—actually having to beat down the old instinct of attacking without thinking.

"Not that it's any of your business, but Law was one of the doctors on hand the night my parents died," Ace snapped at her angrily. "He really helped me that night, alright? I trust him! So why wouldn't I go to someone I trust to look after my brother? Now if there's nothing else you two need to check, please leave!"

"But…?" she began before he cut her off.

"I don't want you upsetting him more than you have done!" Ace said, trying his best to keep his voice low—which made him sound more menacing than if he had shouted.

Tashigi opened her mouthed… whether to try and justify herself, excuse herself, or to apologize, Ace didn't know nor care. He was getting ready to yell at them to leave if he had to, but to his surprise, Smoker raised his hand up, getting their attention.

Smoker was looking to the crying Luffy, who was still clinging to Ace like he was the only lifeline he had, before grunting, "Very well."

"But Smoker…?" Tashigi began but he gave her a dark look.

"I think we've seen all we needed to," he reminded her, "The kid looks like he's in good hands. We don't want to overstay our welcome any more than we have. Unless you have reason to believe that there's something wrong… we'll leave before we upset him more."

Tashigi lowered her head, looking properly ashamed before Smoker grunted, "Sorry for wasting your time. I'll make sure to fill out the report."

Ace could only nod stiffly back before he left, with Tashigi bowing to him and muttered, "I'm sorry. I truly didn't mean to upset you. Please continue to take good care of Luffy."

He didn't answer her, but he nodded once as he watched them leave. He went to the window, still holding Luffy, and watched as the two were heading back to the car—with Smoker already pulling out some new cigars before they left a few minutes later.

He felt both relief and exhaustion wash over him as he focused on calming Luffy down, who still clung on like a little monkey. Eventually, Luffy's whimpers turned to hiccups before he hung on limply.

"Feeling better?" Ace asked him softly before he felt Luffy nod his head against his shoulder. He then asked, "You wanna talk? What did that lady say?"

"She… she said…" Luffy sniffled with a hoarse voice, "She said that Traffy works for some bad people and that you worked for bad people because you took me to see him."

"Well, that's not true," Ace reassured him, "Traffy's a bit strange but he's not a bad person, right?"

"No…?" Luffy agreed slowly.

"That lady didn't know what she was talking about," Ace promised, closing his eyes as he dreaded the fact that he had been trying to hide for months now. He knew that a day would come where he would have to tell Luffy the truth of what kind of job he had. That he was part of a gang and that the many nights that he spent away were of him running around the city while doing dangerous things.

He hugged Luffy a little tighter, dreading that conversation and feared what Luffy would think of him if he learned the truth.

"Is something bad happening?" Luffy asked him anxiously, his lip trembling and eyes filled with tears again as Ace could only hug him sadly, "Did I do something bad?"

"No, buddy," he promised in that soft voice he only ever used for Luffy, "You did nothing wrong."

"But then…? What's going on, Ace? Who were those people?" Luffy whimpered, not understanding what was going on as Ace sighed and brought him over to the couch and sat down, with Luffy finally letting go so he could look at him with red, swollen eyes.

Ace knew that he made a mistake in not warning Luffy that CPS would be coming because he had been afraid of worrying his brother with the thought that he could be taken away. So he decided to try and correct that mistake by answering as honestly as he could.

"Luffy… the truth is… for some reason, someone called CPS on us," he said.

"C… P… S?" Luffy repeated in confusion.

"Child Protective Services," Ace explained sadly. "It means… someone thought that you weren't being taken care of properly here so they called these guys to come and check on us to make sure you were ok."

"But… why?" Luffy asked with his eyes wide with fear.

"I… I don't know, Luffy," he said helplessly, "I don't know who did it or why they thought you weren't being taken care of… but…?"

"Is that why you've been so worried lately?" Luffy asked, remembering Ace's behavior on keeping things clean and double checking on everything around the house like making sure the doors and windows were locked…?

"Yeah, we had to make sure that they saw you were safe and happy here. I didn't want you to be upset so… I kept it quiet for now. I'm sorry," Ace confirmed.

"Are… are they gonna… take me away? I don't want to leave here! I wanna stay with you, Ace!" Luffy whimpered, trying to hold onto his tears as Ace pulled him in again, gently shushing him.

"Not on my watch," he promised, "I'm not gonna let anyone take you away from me like that. You're safe here, with me, right?"

Luffy nodded slowly, tears still in his eyes, as he clung tightly to Ace, feeling like he was about to be sick at the thought that some strange people would take him away from his home. He loved it here! What'd they do to make them think that he wasn't safe? He didn't want to leave! He wasn't going to leave!

After a few minutes of Ace rubbing his back, silently reassuring Luffy he was here for him, Ace offered, "Hey, why don't we find something to watch?"

Neither seemed to be in the mood for entertainment at the moment, but Ace already had the remote and began to flip through the channels until he came to an animal documentary about monkeys. Knowing how much Luffy liked animals, he stopped there while letting Luffy rest his head against Ace's chest—who became uncharacteristically quiet as they watched the show.

As they watched the family of monkeys causing chaos on the screen, Ace's mind drifted over what just happened. Personally, he felt they managed to make it through the worst part, and he felt he had no choice but to trust Smoker would write a good report after this. It was the least they could do after upsetting his brother like that. He shook his head, bitter that those guys upset Luffy to a point that he cried like that. Damn, why'd she have to ask him about Traffy?

Luffy remained clingy for the rest of the day—like he was afraid that he'd be snatched away if he let Ace out of his sights. Ace didn't know how to fix that, save for constantly reminding him he wasn't going anywhere. Luckily for them both, Luffy did cheer up significantly by the time that Ace tucked him in that night after having told another exciting story about adventure.

"Ace?" Luffy asked quietly as Ace tucked the blanket around him, "They aren't gonna come back, are they?"

"No, at least, I hope not," Ace said with a frown. "Don't worry, we got a lot of good friends who're looking out for us. We can count on them. But for now, you need to promise me that you won't talk to anyone you don't know, alright? At least, not without me there."

Luffy nodded in agreement before asking worriedly, "Will they come back if I don't do good in school? Will I be in trouble?"

"Only from your teacher," Ace reassured him with a chuckle, "But Miss Robin's nice, I'm sure she'll be happy to help you if you're struggling."

"And will I have to start eating more vegetables?" Luffy asked while making a face.

"Maybe, but only because they're good for you," Ace informed him.

"Then why don't you like eating them?" Luffy pointed out.

"What? I always finish everything on my plate!" Ace cried out incredulously.

"Yeah, but you give me some of your veggies sometimes!"

"Because you're a kid and kids need food to grow."

"Then why don't I get more meat?"

"Cause I'm bigger and I need meat to keep me going!"

"I'm a man!"

"A short man!"

"Hey! You big meanie!"

This continued back and forth for some time and Ace made sure to keep going until the frown on Luffy's face turned back into a smile as they struggled to keep arguing before bursting into fits of laughter. By this point, Luffy was struggling to stay awake again and his eyelids drooped. Still, he seemed nervous, like he was afraid to close his eyes.

"Can you stay till I fall asleep?" he asked quietly.

Ace felt a pang in his heart at the innocent question before nodding. As Luffy continued to fight sleep, Ace took Luffy's hat off and set it on the bedside table as he always did before he realized something was laying on the floor next to them.

It was the toy he won back at the fairgrounds from that stupid game. He almost forgot all about it, though now that he looked over at the blue skin, the brightly-colored kimono and cheerful smile stitched onto the plush…? He was suddenly hit with some inspiration.

He scooped it up and tucked it into bed beside Luffy, who looked on with a sweet confusion, clearly wondering what Ace was doing.

"This guy's a Fishman, did you know that?" he asked and Luffy shook his head.

"Well, they're part of a special race of people who live in the sea," Ace explained seriously, "They live alongside mermaids and all kinds of underwater creatures like sea kings and sharks. Anyway, this guy is gonna be your special friend. He'll keep you company and make sure you're safe when I'm not around."

"Really?" Luffy asked with wide eyes, like always, he believed in the stories Ace told him. Ace knew this and couldn't help but smiled as he gently pushed Luffy back against his pillow.

"That's right. His name is… Jimbei," he informed him, his tone still serious, "Because he looks a bit like a whale shark. I asked him to look after you for me so just keep hold of him and he'll make sure you're okay. He won't let anything happen to you."

Luffy looked over Jimbei for a moment before he hugged the toy tightly, much of his worry finally fading as he closed his eyes and the sounds of his snores filled the room. Ace sighed in relief, glad that they managed to make it this far as he sat there, making sure Luffy didn't wake up again.

But he didn't need to worry. Luffy slept deeply and peacefully even long after Ace left the room, planning to make calls to thank everyone for their help for today, a tiny smile on the boy's face as he felt safe once again.

(Shorter chapter but I wanted to get this one out and I hope you enjoyed it! I had done a lot of research on CPS to try and make it seem realistic, and I feel that Luffy both helped them… but also got them in trouble. But I do think that they managed to make it through this part together. I just kept seeing Ace giving Luffy that toy and I couldn't think of anyone better than Jimbei to look after him. Anyway, I hope you all liked the twist and I promise that we will find out later on who it was who placed the call and why. Also, we will be seeing Sabo again very soon.)