Chapter Text
"I'm sorry," Ace said, hugging the child tight. While he couldn’t have known exactly what was wrong, he seemed to have realized that something was wrong, and his sobs soon followed. “I’m so sorry.”
Ace's mind was racing. If he had been stronger, if he had gotten there sooner, if if if. He knew that the situation wasn’t completely his fault, but still. Hadn't there been at least some time to look for the child's parents before he left? There was only one way to repent for that lapse in judgment.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure you won't be alone."
"His name is Z. Ultraman Z."
"You gave him a name?" Taro asked, though it was almost a shout.
"Yeah. I'm his new guardian."
"Brother Ace, are you serious?"
Ace simply stared back at Taro, unflinching, and Taro's outward agitation was forced into settling. Seven, of course, was unbothered by that pressure.
"Ace, you can't take in every orphaned kid you come across."
"I'm not taking in all of them. I'm taking in this one."
Seven let out an exasperated sigh. Ace knew what Seven really meant. Even so, this was his answer, and he refused to budge from it.
Taking care of a baby full-time was hard, as it turned out! That wasn’t surprising to Ace, but there was a difference between passively knowing that and actually having to deal with the situation every day. To make things worse, there were days when Z was inconsolable; he was too young to understand why his parents weren’t around anymore or why he was away from home. One day he would be old enough, and Ace was already dreading that day.
The whole thing made him realize just how much Mother of Ultra and Father of Ultra had done for him.
Z hated being alone so much that he would cry whenever Ace was out of sight for a little too long. It made things even more difficult. Ace’s energy was constantly at record lows, too. Still, every time Ace would scoop Z up and he would cheer up, even clinging to Ace as he did so. He was a good boy. He had just been through a lot, and he needed a little extra grace that wasn’t unlike the kind Ace himself had received as a child.
“I’m not going anywhere, Z. If you call me, I’ll come right away.”
Z ended up having a bigger personality than Ace expected. Unfortunately he wasn’t enthused by story time or poetry in general and that was tragic, but he was cheerful and liked to play to the point of tiring himself out. It was amazing that Z was able to smile and laugh despite everything that had happened. Seeing that helped ease Ace’s guilt and those unwelcome parallels to his past.
Ace was no hero, but maybe Z could succeed where he failed. No, he definitely would. Z would be stronger and kinder than Ace ever was—he was sure of it.
Now that Z was going to be staying with him for the foreseeable future, there was one more important thing to figure out. What were his favourite foods? Ace could only use Z’s reaction as a metric since he couldn’t talk yet, but Ace felt energized by the challenge of both making something good and making something that would be appropriate for a baby. Luckily, figuring out what Z liked turned out to be easier than Ace thought, because his eyes would light up in response. Ace actually wasn’t sure if they were literally sparkling or not. They weren’t, right?
Ace decided to take Z with him to the Garrison. Well, okay, that wasn’t accurate. It was more like Ace had to go and Z still wouldn’t allow anyone to babysit him, so this was the only choice Ace had. It was then that another battle began...
Z vs. Seven.
“He wants to see what you’re doing.”
Ace was carrying a squirmy Z who was waving his arms in Seven’s direction, and Ace knew what that meant now. Seven just stared. He made no attempt to comply with Z’s fussing, either.
“You’re serious.”
“Yup,” Ace said with a slight grin.
Just like Ace, Seven eventually lost to Z’s determination. Z was sitting in Seven’s lap, looking quite proud of himself, while Seven was both trying to get his work done and acting like he hadn’t lost to a baby. Ace’s amusement at the whole thing was obvious.
“He would have fallen off the table otherwise,” Seven grumbled.
“Whatever you say, Brother Seven.”
That earned him a glare. Z eventually got bored and fell asleep, but Seven let him sleep instead of handing him back to Ace. Seven even shushed Taro when he crashed into the room like he usually did.
Z was on the cusp of saying his first words, and Ace was on tenterhooks. What would Z’s first word end up being? This was supposed to be another one of those important milestones, right? It was even affecting his concentration as he was cooking.
Ace had come a long way from the person who had taken in a baby out of obligation and guilt.
“Pa!” Z shouted with glee, looking right at Ace.
Ace nearly dropped the pan he was holding. Was that what he thought it was, or was that a sound that Z happened to settle on?
Z was trying to wobble to his feet in his capsule in defiance of naptime.
“Z, what’s wrong?”
“Paaaaa!”
Ace’s heart leapt at that syllable before he picked up on Z’s usual tell when he wanted something: waving his arms. Ace complied only for Z to fall asleep within minutes. All that just to fall asleep right away anyway? Ace was about to dismiss it as another one of Z’s funny quirks, but then he realized that Z had probably just wanted Ace to hold him as he fell asleep.
...His little boy was the cutest in the entire universe.