Disaster Comes In Threes

Chapter Two: I'm Just Dying To Apologize

x - x - x

Disclaimer: OH MY GODS, GUYS. I JUST DISCOVERED SOMETHING THAT YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST KNOW. ALRIGHT, GATHER AROUND. READY? *takes in deep breath* I DON'T OWN ONE PIECE. ISN'T THAT AMAZING?! I KNOW, RIGHT?! IT'S LIKE, 'WOAH. YOU DON'T OWN IT?! WOAH. LIKE, WOAH.' *clears throat* Okay, I'm done. Onto the story!

x - x - x

It's getting harder to sit here alone
And I've been waiting, I've been waiting, and you still ain't home
I have never ever felt so low
And I've been thinking, I've been thinking, 'Oh, where did you go?'
-Trapt (Who's Going Home With You Tonight?)

x - x - x

He didn't know how long he had been sitting on the stairs, but what did know was that all his joints were stiff and sore. He hadn't moved an inch since Ace stormed out of house. His tears had dried and stopped long ago but you could still see their stains on his smooth cheeks. His eyes, red and puffy, looked for the clock that hung on the wall across the room when it began to chime. The clock's face read 12:26. He'd been sitting there for more than nine hours. 'It's past midnight but he's not home...' A bad feeling began to curl in the pit of his stomach and it made him want to retch. 'He's still not home. What if he got hurt? What if something happened to him? What if he's dea –'

No. No, he would not go down that road.

Not now, not ever.

The clock continued to chime and it almost made Luffy want to give a dry chuckle. He remembered the day him and Ace bought the clock. They'd set it up and found it was defective. It was supposed to chime at ever hour but instead it chimed twenty-six minutes after every hour. They both decided to keep it, finding it both weird and unique. "Just like you, Lu."

"If anyone should have died, it should have been you."

The small twitch of his smile fell as the words replayed in his head. Ace really had been cruel when he said those things. Really very cruel. Luffy's hands tightned around his biceps again but he flinched when his fingers dug into his wounds. While he was crying, he'd gripped his biceps too tight and his fingernails had dug into his skin, leaving ten crescent-shaped marks on his upper arms.

The chiming of the clock stopped, leaving the house completely quiet except for the faint sound of music coming from the kitchen. It was so quiet. Luffy didn't like it. At all. It reminded him of his greatest fear; to be alone. He hated being alone, the thought of no one in his life terrified him. And this empty house...it reminded him a lot of his fear. Because Ace had promised to always be there. He promised, dammit. "You're afraid of being alone? Well, I guess you don't have to worry about that now, huh? 'Cause you have a big bro now who's never going to leave you alone. That's a promise." Luffy shook his head.

"No. No, I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid. Ace is just late coming home. He usually is when he has a job. And when he's angry. He'll be home before one o'clock. I know he will." He attempted to stand up but his joints groaned in protest and he decided to take it slow. Starting with his arms, he unfolded them and stretched him until the sore limbs popped, relieving some of the pain. Next were his legs. His knees hurt when he moved them but after flexing his legs a little, but pain slightly subsided. Reaching up, he used the railing as a support to slowly lift himself to stand. His whole body was sore from sitting in an uncomfortable position for so long but he pushed it aside and made his way to the kitchen. He was thirsty. Very thirsty.

He went over to the cabinet and pulled out a glass mug. Turning to the sink, he filled his cup with filtered water. Making sure not to drink the water too fast, he eventually emptied the mug; feeling hydrated once again. He gave a sigh as he turned around and faced the empty kitchen. Being in an empty house like he currently was reminded him of the time he lived with Garp before Ace or Shanks came around. He would be left all alone in the house with no one to talk to and no one to play with. None of his toys would entertain him, no books would catch his attention, no television shows would make him laugh.

Because he had been completely and utterly alone.

When Garp would come home, he'd throw on a smile and say he was bored but he didn't mind it so much. Because he didn't want to be a bother to his hard working grandfather. If he hadn't snuck out of the house on that fateful day, he never would have met Shanks and Makino. And if had never met them, then he never would have met Ace and Sabo. For once in his life, he had friends. He had people to pass the day away with. People to laugh with, people to play with. People who were important to him.

'Makino...' A small, distant smile found it's way onto his features as he stared at the ground, his mug still clasped in his hands. He hadn't seen Makino in over a year. He wondered how she was doing and if the business was still as good as ever for the bar. Shanks, too, he hadn't seen in a while. Four years was the last time he saw him, just before the guy set out to sail around the world. The last time he heard from him, Shanks had just anchored in Tahiti and was planning to stay a few months or so there. 'I hope he's having a great time with his friends.'

He shook his head and gave a sigh. "I guess I should stay up so I can apologize to Ace when he comes home." He turned to the container of teas on the counter and picked a nice strong but sweet tea. He filled a kettle with water and put it on the stove. While waiting for the water to boil, his eyes landed on a bag of chips. He hadn't eaten anything since noon. But he wasn't hungry at the moment. Far from it. He felt that if he tried to eat anything, he'd just throw it right up.

–ure you're holding on
'Cause it can be the one, the one you're waiting on

'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there
And everyone wants to feel like someone cares
Someone to love with my life in their hands
There's gotta be somebody for me

Nobody wants to do it on their own
And everyone wants to know they're not alone
Somebody else that feels the same somewhere
There's gotta be somebody for me out there

Nobody wants to be the last one there
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares
Somebody else that feels the same somewhere
There's gotta be somebody for me out there

The sound of the kettle whistling brought Luffy out of his thoughts as the song on the radio ended. He wasn't much of a Nickelback fan, but that one song always got to him. Probably because he could relate so much to it. Hell, all his friends could relate to it as well. They had been alone in life at some point, wondering if they'd ever be able to make friends who'd care for them. It took a few years, some longer than others, before they finally met those friends. For Robin, it took nearly twenty years; but for Usopp, it only took him a single year. Each of his friends had their own dark pasts, but Luffy made sure to pour enough light into their lives so that they could forget that dark past. Each of them now shinned just as brightly as a star.

He added the tea to the water and let it set. The boredness was starting to set it, and he began to tap his fingers against the counter. Luffy distantly remembered a time when Ace was in the seventh grade. When he waited for something or grew bored, or even if he was trying to calm himself from getting angry, he would begin reciting the periodical table.

"One, hydrogen. Two, helium. Three, lithium. Four, beryllium. Five, boron. Six, carbon. Seven, nitrogen. Eight, oxygen. Nine, fluorine. Ten, neon. Eleven, sodium. Luffy, don't make me say twelve..."

Why Ace would stop at twelve, Luffy didn't know. Maybe because magnesium was flammable and Ace didn't want his temper to flare? He didn't know. But he always made sure Ace never reached twelve. He turned to the tea and poured himself a cup. He set his cup down on the table but suddenly stopped. He thought for a second, staring at the table, before coming to a decision. He poured a second cup of tea and placed it on the other side of the table.

Taking a seat, he quietly sipped his tea.

And he waited for Ace to come home.

He awoke with a start; his hand bumping into his empty cup and knocking it over. He felt a little drool dribble down his chin and wiped it way before opening his eyes. "Ace...?" It took him a moment to wake up, but when he did, he saw the cup of tea he left out for his brother was still sitting there; the liquid cold and untouched. Luffy gave a groan as he straightened his stiff back and left the kitchen. "Ace? You home?" He went upstairs and knocked on his brother's door. "Ace?" When he opened it, he found the clean, organized room empty. He gave a sigh. He never came home yet. "What time is it?" He didn't remember falling asleep last night and he felt really tired. "It's probably seven-thirty," he mumbled. Reaching downstairs, he looked at the clock on the wall.

4:30.

'Figures,' Luffy thought as he gave a yawn and entered the kitchen. 'I only got two hours of sleep.' As he entered the kitchen, he stopped dead in his tracks. He registered what he just saw and stepped back into the living room.

4:31.

The sun was out.

The sun did not come out as early as four-thirty.

Realization dawned only Luffy.

It wasn't 4:31 in the morning, it was 4:31 in the evening.

Oh, shit.

He felt panic begin to surface in his mind as he ran back upstairs. "Ace!" He checked the bathroom, but no one was there. No no no no no! Ace hadn't come home at all yet. The possibility that something happened to Ace was starting to look more and more realistic. He ran into his room and grabbed his cell phone. Flipping it open, he found three text messages and two missed calls.

Sadly, none of them were from Ace.

He quickly pulled up his brother's number and called it. It went straight to voicemail. Dammit! He pulled up Marco's number next and tried calling him. The phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Marco? It's Luffy. Did you see Ace yesterday? O-Or today at all?"

"I saw him yesterday in the morning before he went to work. I haven't seen him today, though."

"Oh..."

"Is everything alright? Wait, Thatch just walked in–" Marco sounded annoyed at that, like Thatch didn't knock or ask to come in, but just picked the lock and entered without permission as if he owned the place, "Thatch, did you see Ace today?" There was a short silence before Marco spoke up again. "Thatch says he saw Ace earlier today when he was exiting a store." Relief flooded through Luffy like a tsunami, wiping away all panic and anxiety.

"Good. Thanks." He hung up and tossed his phone onto the bed. Ace was fine, Ace was alive. That's what mattered. "He's probably still mad," Luffy mumbled. "...And probably still trying to save up money." Did that mean his brother stayed up all night making money? Did he sleep at all? If he did, where'd he sleep? "I better go and try to make some money myself," he mused. He took a quick shower and put on some clean clothes before grabbing his keys and leaving the house. He had to help Ace make money, it was the least he could do.

"I'm still mad at him, but I can't let us get thrown out of our house." He rushed down to the busiest park and went to work.

"Sixty-eight dollars in three hours isn't that bad," Luffy grinned, pocketing his money as he began to head for home. "When I get home I'll show Ace that I can work, too. Maybe then he'll believe in me." Reaching his house, he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. "Oi, Ace! I'm home!"

He was greeted with silence.

He deflated. "He's still not home... But! No matter. He'll have to come home today. He's got his finals tomorrow and he needs to study. Woah, I worked up an appetite! Food, here I come!" Luffy ate well, but made sure to leave enough for his brother when he got home. He knew Ace had an appetite as big as his own sometimes. "I guess I better do my homework..." He wasn't very enthusiastic about his math and chemistry homework, but he had to do it. He couldn't afford to fail his senior year of high school. But still...homework wasn't exactly his thing. "I don't wanna do it," he whined, dragging his feet up the stairs. Finally reaching his room, he set his alarm, pulled out his textbooks, and began to do his homework.

Wake up, wake up, wake up!
Yeah, I'm so tired of waiting!
Waiting for us!
So wake up, wake up, wake up!
Yeah, I'm so sick of waiting for us to make a move!

Luffy turned his alarm off with a whiney groan. "I d'nt w'na go sc'ool," he mumbled into his pillow. It took him longer than he expected to finish his homework and he hadn't got it done until almost nine-fifty. He pulled himself from his warm, cozy bed and dragged himself over to his dresser where he pulled out a red tanktop and blue shorts. He then dragged himself to the bathroom where he proceeded to wake himself up. He came out of the bathroom fully rejuvenated. "Ahhh, much better!" He grinned. He skipped over to Ace's room and knocked three times rhythmically to wake him up. "Come on, Ace! Ya gotta get up! Today's the day you pass your finals! ...Ace?" He pushed the door open and met the same thing he did yesterday.

An empty room.

Luffy's arms fell to his side and his smile fell from his face. Ace still wasn't home. He felt his hands curl into fists and he set his jaw, his anger rising. Whatever. He didn't need Ace. If his brother was going to act this way, Luffy didn't care. Ace could take care of himself. If he never wanted to come home again, Luffy didn't care at all. He had his friends to keep him company and that's all he needed. He headed downstairs with his backpack to make his breakfast. He turned on the radio the fill the silence.

Bye bye baby, don't be long
I worry about you while you're gone
Bye bye baby, don't be long
I worry about you while you're gone

He poured himself some cereal and dumped some milk in his bowl. He sat at the kitchen by himself and continued to eat in near silence. He wasn't going to worry.

I think of you in my dreams
You never know just what you mean to me
To me

'Ace is fine, Ace is fine. He's just being the biggest jerk in the world right now.' Luffy knew his brother was fine, but he still couldn't help but worry. He lost one brother already, he didn't want to loose his other one. Because that would mean he accidentally caused the death of both his brothers.

Having the guilt of being the reason one brother died was more than enough for Luffy.

If Ace died, Luffy didn't know what he would do with himself.

Bye bye baby, don't be long
I worry about you while you're gone
Bye bye baby, don't be long
I worry about you while you're gone

He finished his cereal and put his dirty dishes in the sink. He checked over the kitchen to make sure everything was alright. The stove was off, the microwave was off, the oven was off, the fridge was closed, the freezer was closed. Everything was in order.

I think of you night and day
I never knew just what you meant to say
To say–

Luffy turned the radio off and left the house, his mind full of racing thoughts.

It was on the way to his school did Luffy finally see his brother. He saw him just down the street aways, heading in the direction of his college. Luffy's relief came first, but his anger ultimately blew that aside. "Ace!" Hearing his name, Ace turned to see his little brother pushing his way through the crowded sidewalk. "Where the hell have you been?!"

Anger took over Ace's expression at that moment. "Where do you think? I've been doing odd jobs! Or did you miss that part of our conversation the other day?"

"You didn't come home at all! I thought you were hurt!" Guilt shot through the older male at those words. He hadn't meant to worry Luffy, but he knew if he came home, another argument would happen and he really, really, really had no time for that. "If you're mad at me, fine! I don't care! But don't you dare do that again!" Luffy was fuming by now. His eyes were hard and his hands were curled into fists. Ace didn't fail to miss this, nor did he miss the crescent-shaped wounds on his brother's arms. "You could have had least stopped in for a moment, or called, or left a fucking note or something! Anything would have been better than leaving me thinking you were dead! So go on, go take your stupid finals! I hope you fail them!" Then Luffy began to storm off.

"Wait, Lu–"

"I don't wanna hear it, Ace! I'm over it! Go and graduate college so you can get out of my life!" Luffy turned one last time to face his brother. "It's not like you ever needed me anyway!" And then he turned and walked.

And Ace paled.

Luffy accidentally walked right into traffic.

"L-Luffy!" He bolted in a sprint to bring his brother back onto the safe sidewalk. "Luffy!" When the anger wore off and Luffy finally realized what he had done, he saw the black pickup truck heading right for him. The driver of the truck was busy looking down in his lap. Texting. He was texting and driving. 'This is it,' Luffy thought, only having enough time for his eyes to widen and his heart to quicken its beat. 'I'm going to die.' Something hard pushed against his back and it knocked the wind from his lungs. He fell hard onto the sidewalk and for a moment he wondered if a car from the other lane had hit him. But that couldn't have been right, the angle he was hit, there was no way it was a car that hit him. He was distantly aware of the stinging on his forehead and it took him a second to realize he had hit his head on the ground. He looked behind to see what exactly had hit him when he heard something big collide with something solid.

And Luffy's world seemed to stop.

Ace was airborn and the black pickup truck was still in motion. The driver finally seemed to have his eyes back on the road and had slammed the brakes, but it was too late. The truck had already hit its target. The scene seemed to play in slow motion to Luffy as he watched his brother hit the ground hard and roll several times before coming to a stop. Luffy's breath left him and he could only stare in horror as his brother laid motionless on the ground.

"A-Ace...?" Then he saw it.

The blood.

"Ace!" He pushed himself to his feet and ran over to his brother's side. He carefully and gently rolled him onto his back and leaned over him, looking over his brother's wounds. Several scratches littered his body and he could see a few bones were broken as well. Three gashes were pouring blood from his head and he could swear he saw bruises already forming. He put his ear against Ace's chest and heard a faint heartbeat. He was alive. The freckled male's eyes slowly opened and Luffy felt his eyes tear up. "Ace, say something! N-No, wait, don't try to speak, try to save your energy! Ace, hold on! Hold on! An ambulance is coming!" His brother's storm gray eyes seemed dazed and he stared up at his little brother.

'I'm sorry,' Ace thought, trying to raise hand to ruffle his brother's hair. He tried to speak but it seemed like his throat wouldn't work correctly. It took him several tries to swallow properly as he tried to move, tried to speak. His eyes wouldn't leave Luffy's frightened and watery eyes. His brother was yelling something, looking at all the wounds Ace had, but Ace couldn't hear anything. 'Luffy. Oh God, Luffy I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Please, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry.' He could feel his own eyes watering now as he tried swallowing again. Consciousness began to fade and darkness started to blur everything away. 'I'm sorry...for saying such horrible things to you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me... I'm...sor...ry...' Total darkness filled his vision and he felt himself slip away.

Nearby, somebody's stereo system continued to play the CD that was plugged into its system.

I know I know I know I know
I know that you're wounded
You know you know you know you know
That I'm here to save you
You know you know you know you know
I'm always here for you
I know I know I know I know
That you'll thank me later

"Ace...?" He gently shook his brother's arm. "A-Ace? Ace?" He continued to shake his arm, unaware of the ambulance pulling up. "Ace!? Ace! Ace, wake up! Please! I'm sorry! Ace! Don't die! I need you here! I-I need you!" He was shaking his brother's arm hard now, hoping to try to wake him up. "Ace! Open your eyes, please! Wake up! I-I'm sorry! Ace! ACE!" A paramedic gripped Luffy by the arms and pulled him away with difficulty. Luffy kept trying to reach out to Ace, to stay by his side, to wake him and take him home and apologize for all the horrible things he said. He wanted to be with his brother. He was still screaming his brother's name, but he couldn't hear his voice. He couldn't hear or feel anything.

His world felt completely and utterly numb.

x - x - x
Oh, I am so evil. Oh yeah, that's right. Muahahaha! *cough* Sorry, had to do that. Guess what? I'M UPDATING EARLY. This is amazing. I actually finished this chapter yesterday but wanted to wait till today to upload it. For the first chapter, I didn't mean to make it sad! Well, sorta, but not that much. Someone told me I'm good at writing sad things. Which is cool, you know, but I wanna be good at writing horror and comedy, not tragedy. Q^Q But oh well. Beggars can't be choosers. XD

Songs used this story: Gotta Be Somebody by Nickelback, Worry About You by Ivy, and Pain by Three Days Grace. Oh! And Wake Up by Lostprophets.

Well guys. I hope you kinda liked this chapter. It seemed to drag on, I know, and I apologize for that. The next chapter will probably be the longest chapter I've written yet. So yaaaay for that! Take my poll please! And other question: who here knows a show called Kingdom Hospital?

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! Seriously! If you're a writer or artist then you know how much reviews mean! :'D They're what keep us going!

Thanks for reading (and leaving a review, if you did), have a great morning/afternoon/night! :D

Your ice elemental,
~roo the psycho