The Apparition

Time moves on. We make mistakes and in those moments we are sure it's the end of everything we know, but life goes on. Atlantis sighed as she pushed away from the railing overlooking the docks to turn towards the intruder.

Smoker enters the courtyard attached to the small home they’ve lived in for the last few years. He carries a grimace on his face and a paper bounty in his hands. 

Atlantis tilts her head allowing her hair to drift from in the wind as Smoker hands her the bounty with a grumble, “No way! Ace already has a bounty?”

“I can’t believe it either, he set out what? Three months ago?” Smoker grumbled as he leaned against the railing and brought a lit cigar to his mouth.

“It’ll be no time before Luffy sets out as well,” Atlantis grinned as the bounty poster slipped from her hands drifting towards the docks. She leaned against the railing to reach towards it before dropping her hand with a giggle. 

“At least I don’t have to worry about you getting a bounty,” Smoker muttered as he watched the poster as well. After the thought had escaped he turned his eyes to side eye Atlantis with a huff, “Right?”

“Huh,” Atlantis turned to him before giggling with a shrug of her shoulders. “Guess you’ll know when I know.”

“Oh god,” Smoker face-palmed as he backed away from the dock with a grunt. “Go train another hour or something.”

“I just finished training!” Atlantis immediately shouted as she spun around to face him with her mouth open and eyebrows drawn together. 

“I don’t care.”

Atlantis sputtered as she moved to race after her mentor, stopping for a second to glance back at the bounty poster drifting further away in the wind. A smile unconsciously rose on her face as she released a breath. “I can’t wait to see you again, after all that goodbye was heartless Ace.”

___

“Coco!” Atlantis giggled as she crashed into Luffy. “Ace is leaving tomorrow to be a pirate!”

“I know!” Atlantis exclaimed as she dropped Luffy from the hug causing him to yelp. “Where’s that trickster at! I’m here to arrest him.”

“Arrest me?” Ace commented from where he was sitting on the balcony of Atlantis’ first home. She turned in shock to smile up at him as he smiled down at her, drawing out his words. “Whatever is my charge, officer?”

Atlantis smirked as she swung a pair of handcuffs in her hands, throwing him a wink as she answered, “Why, it's for stealing my heart.”

“I don't remember having ever stolen something that valuable before,” Ace smirked as he leaned further towards them. “I think that might be you projecting, officer.”

Atlantis huffed a laugh at his answer before holding her arms open with a wild smile, watching as Ace jumped to the ground before swooping her up into a tight hug. “You’re taller than me now,” She pouted as she huffed from the feeling of her feet being dangled off the ground.

Ace laughed as he twirled her before setting her down on the ground, but never releasing her from his hug. “You should come with me.”

“No!” Luffy objected as he crashed into the two, sending them into a pile on the ground, laughing as they tried to escape Luffy’s grasps. “Coco’s going to join my crew!”

“No she's going to join mine,” Ace mocked Luffy with a laugh as Atlantis huffed and pulled away from the two boys as Luffy’s outrage turned into a fight.

“Boys!” Atlantis interrupted getting their attention mid brawl, both pausing from where they had their fist pulled back ready to throw a punch. “I won't have time to join either of your teams because I’ll be too busy locking you boys up.”

“Boo,” Both Ace and Luffy commented with a pout before Luffy let go of his punch catching Ace off guard.

“Wha- Hey!” Ace screamed as he scrambled after Luffy who ran laughing through the town towards the mountains.

Atlantis sighed before backtracking to grab her bag from where she had dropped, then she set off towards the treehouse to meet the boys there.

Upon arriving she found a familiar scene that caught her off guard that she had to pause and catch her breath while she stared at the two.

The sun was setting behind them and Luffy was eating slowly as he gazed out with a sad expression pulled on his face, but Ace was shining. The sun was his background as he out shone it and he stared at Luffy with a smile, reaching out to nudge his brother.

“Remember. No matter how far we go from each other, we’ll always be brothers.”

Luffy nodded his head before turning with the tears in his eyes clearing up as he stared at his brother, and Atlantis saw it. 

Two years before Luffy would set off to change the world and he already was the Luffy she had known once from a story. This wasn't the boy she played with as a child, Luffy was taking one of his first steps on his journey to become the King of the Pirates.

Atlantis’ awe-inspired expression dropped as she remembered her place in this story, or her lack of a place. Then before she could unravel, Ace turned his eyes on her and she forgot her separation as she fell into her place in this world, the one she had made her own. “Did you start the party without me?”

Atlantis laughed as she jumped the boys, knocking them sideways. She was unable to control her laughter, her happiness, as she relaxed into the scent of the first family she had ever known.

Long into the night, after Luffy had fallen deep into slumber, Atlantis awoke to the lack of heat beside her, finding Ace had disappeared. Jolting up she turned before relaxing as she found him staring at the stars.

Slowly she made her way to him with a sigh, sitting beside him and leaning all of her weight onto him. “Whatcha doing?”

“I’m scared,” Ace commented as he reached out to grab her hand tightly yet never once taking his eyes from the sky.

“About what?” Atlantis muttered into his shoulder as she gripped his hand back. 

“I-I don't know,” Ace chuckled as he finally looked away to stare at their hands. “What if-?”

“Stop,” Atlantis interrupted as she pulled his hand in her own far away from him causing him to finally look into her eyes. “I don’t know what you were gonna question but I’m gonna tell you the answer to all your worries.”

Ace stared at her with hope blooming in his chest and fear bubbling under his skin as his palms started sweating. “You’re enough for me. It doesn’t matter what you do or don't do, you will always be my family. My friend. And those demons that haunt your every thought can suck my-.”

“Okay,” Ace interrupted with a flush, dropping his head onto her shoulder to hide his face with a giggle. “Okay. I’m not as scared now.”

“Good!” Atlantis nodded her head bumping into his in the progress causing them to burst into giggles once more. As they finally calmed down Atlantis sighed as she rubbed her face into his hair, sniffing it to find it freshly washed. Rolling her eyes at his strange habits, she pulled back to drape herself across the floor of the treehouse pulling Ace with her to tuck into his side.

“Plus, I don’t think anything out there can be more terrifying than Gramps.”

Ace’s breath stopped for a second as his heart beat began racing before he chuckled, “How can you say that when you’re right here. Ow. Stop hitting me!”

 “Oh,” Luffy mused as he sat up from where he had just woken up before launching himself at them with a grin, “I wanna hit Ace, too!”