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The Oro Jackson was alive with the biggest party of the year, but Ace was just sitting in what had been dubbed his sulking corner, and, well, he was sulking.
“What’s wrong lil buddy?” Shanks came over, slightly swaying, and not because the waves were particularly strong tonight. They were in East Blue, not the Grand Line where they would’ve had to be careful with the weather. “Aren’t you excited to be six?”
Ace scoffed. “There’s nothing exciting about being six.”
“There isn’t?”
“No. It’s not like you’ll give me your sake just because I’m six.”
“Nope, still way too young for that.” Shanks held the bottle in his hand up so it was out of Ace’ reach. As if Ace needed a reminder that he was small. “Hm, but maybe I could let you have a little…”
Shanks lowered the bottle, and Ace immediately grasped for it when it was in his reach. It smelled disgusting, honestly, but maybe everyone would finally see that he wasn’t a baby anymore when he showed them he could drink it. It definitely wasn’t the smell that made him hesitate. “Do you think Rayleigh will be mad at you or me if I drink it?”
“Me.” Shanks laughed. “And you, too. But less so.” Good enough. Ace raised the bottle, bracing himself. “It’s fine though, I’m just acting in my best interest.”
Wait. Ace stopped his motion, narrowing his eyes. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, alcohol stunts the growth of little kids. That way you’ll never grow ridiculously tall like your dad, and I can always be your big brother! Ah, maybe I shouldn’t have told you that, oopsie~”
“You’re the worst, Shanks!” Ace threw the bottle of sake far away from him, watching in satisfaction as Shanks scrambled to pick it up before all the contents spilled out on deck. “Ugh, where’s Buggy?”
Shanks immediately grasped his chest in the most theatrical manner possible. “Ace?! You couldn’t possibly be suggesting you’d rather party with Buggy than with me? I thought I’m your favourite brother?”
“Buggy let me hold his knives yesterday. And I even got to throw one!”
Technically, Ace had been sworn to secrecy on that, to avoid being grounded with Buggy on their next stop, but Shanks was no tattletale, especially not when he was competitive like right now. No, rather than tell on them, Shanks would just go against the rules as well and be in the same boat with them.
“You can hold my sword and swing it around! I’ll spar with you, too!”
Success! Ace’ bad mood was starting to dissipate as Shanks pulled the sword from his sash. Maybe this wasn’t quite what Ace truly wanted, to be a real crewmember and be allowed to take part in the fighting, but it was an exciting step in the right direction. If Ace could prove how strong he was, if they’d just let him try, they’d see he wasn’t a baby anymore! He could hold his own, he didn’t need to hide or be protected all the time while everyone else was having fun adventures.
But the moment his hands grasped the sheath of Shanks’ sword, a shout rang out over the deck. “SHANKS! Don’t think I don’t see you!”
Stupid Rayleigh. Why couldn’t he be too drunk to notice?
Shanks pulled his sword back, smiling apologetically. “Sorry.” Ace did his best to not look too disappointed, but he probably failed miserably. “Tomorrow, okay?” Shanks whispered. “When everyone is hungover. I promise I’ll get up a little early just for you and we can train together. I bet Captain will be so proud of you when he realizes you know how to handle a real sword!”
Yes! Ace nodded excitedly. Finally he had something to look forward to tomorrow! Well, other than the amazing food he’d get since it was his birthday. Usually, he liked living on a pirate ship, but it was definitely the least fun when everyone was hungover and just groaning at him like a horde of zombies. And since it was New Year’s Eve and his dad’s birthday right before his, of course everyone always got drunk before his birthday.
And, speaking of Dad… “Ace! My most precious treasure, there you are!”
Ugh. Dad could be annoying and clingy at the best of times, but it definitely got worse when he was drunk. And this close to midnight, with the party having been in full swing for hours, he was more than just a little drunk, his steps wavering and his words slurred.
Ace tried to run, but he was too slow, and Dad scooped him up into a tight hug, twirling around as he rubbed his cheek against the top of Ace’ head. “My sweet little prince, what’s got you so grumpy? This party is for you, too!”
As if. Usually, at least he could stick with Mom, and she’d practice cheating at card games with him, but today even she was all giggly, and spent the entire evening glued to Dad. Mostly by their mouths. Ew. Why were grown-ups so gross and liked to smooch for hours? He didn’t get it.
But there was no point struggling against Dad’s grasp. Ace could train and train and train, and still he never even got close to Dad’s strength. He just let himself hang in his arms like a defeated sack of potatoes. “I’m not grumpy.”
“Are too. Are you getting tired? Buggy could never stay awake until midnight when he was your age, but you made it this far without even a nap! That’s my boy! Ahh, Buggy and Shanks used to be cute just like you, and now they’re just drunkards like the rest of us… Don’t grow up, okay? You should stay my cute baby forever, Daddy loves you so much!”
“No!” Even if it was fruitless, Ace started to squirm. “I’m gonna grow up! I’ll grow taller than you, and then I’ll kick your ass! You’ll see how strong I am!”
Dad only laughed. “Of course, of course! You’re my son! I can’t wait to see how amazing you’ll become when you’re an adult!”
“That’s not what you just said,” Ace grumbled, but he decided not to seriously argue it. It was Dad’s birthday, after all. Ace could let himself just be smothered by him for a few minutes, if it made him happy.
It didn’t take long for Dad to start fidgeting, though. “So, Ace, you know, I’m a grown-up, I can be patient if I want to, but it’s only going to be my birthday for a few more minutes now…” Oh no. Couldn’t he just stay quiet until the end? “You really don’t have anything for your old man?”
Ace grit his teeth. Why did Dad have to sound so disappointed?
“It’s not like that,” he admitted. He clutched the satin bag in his pocket that he’d tried the whole day to work up the courage to hand over, with no success. “I just couldn’t get you what I really wanted. So the present kinda sucks.”
“Aw, that’s too bad. But you don’t have to worry, I’ll like anything you give to me! I still have the rock you picked up and gave to me when you were two.”
Ace flushed. “I was two! You can throw it away, I don’t even remember it! This one’s better than just a rock!”
With a huff, Ace pulled the bag out, holding it up to Dad. Dad’s eyes immediately began to sparkle, as if Ace was actually handing him treasure like he’d wanted to. Dad hoisted him even further up, depositing Ace on his shoulders so he had his hands free to open the present.
“Ohhh, a necklace! Did you make it yourself?”
Seriously, why did he sound so excited? It was obviously self-made. “It’s just trash.” Seashells and wooden beads, not gold and jewels like Dad usually wore. “I wanted to get you a real one, but you never let me go on an enemy ship even after the fight was over. And that one time I tried to fight those thieves you intervened too, so I couldn’t take their stuff either. I didn’t manage to get any treasure, so it’s just worthless stuff.”
“You shouldn’t talk with Buggy so much. Treasure isn’t just about how much money something can make you. You put effort into this, so it’s worth way more to me than some gold we find.”
“I don’t need anyone to tell me what treasure is.” Ace pouted. “I just thought you’d be proud of me if I showed you I can get loot, too.”
“I’m already proud of you, Ace. Getting loot isn’t everything. I mean, you made this! Yourself! It’s probably better than anything I could make. Look how much talent for art you have!” Dad pulled the necklace over his head to prove his point, and he really did look proud as he beamed up at Ace.
“But I don’t want to be an artist! I want to be a pirate!”
As expected, Dad laughed it off. “I know, don’t worry. Being a pirate is just very dangerous, you know? So you’ll have to forgive your old man for worrying about you. But I picked out all your presents with the assumption that you’re growing to be more and more of a pirate, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy them.”
“Ohhh, what do I get? What is it?”
“I don’t think it’s quite midnight yet. You’ll have to wait.”
“Noooo, I wanna know now! Tell me!” Ace started swinging his legs back and forth, hitting Dad’s chest with them, but to no avail.
“Now, now, calm down, sweetheart,” his mother’s calm voice interrupted him, “it’s only a minute now. Let’s get ready for the countdown, yeah?”
Ace didn’t have much choice in the matter, as Dad took Mom’s hand and they walked to the center of the deck, where everyone was partying. Gaban handed him a mug so he could take part in the big cheers, but sniffing at it, it was definitely lemonade.
Well, he hadn’t expected anyone to give him alcohol while Mom was watching and ready to throw them overboard, anyway.
“Alright, it’s time for the countdown,” Rayleigh announced, and the entire deck fell quiet, breathing in together.
“10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5!” Dad, instead of getting a drink himself, took Ace off his shoulders, holding him up right into the middle of the party, with everyone turned to him. “4! 3! 2! 1!”
Everyone raised their mugs in his direction.
“Happy New Year! And happy birthday, Ace!”
The crew erupted into cheers, and everyone scrambled to clink their mugs against Ace’ lemonade. More than one person spilled some of their drink over Ace’ arm in the process, but thanks to his high vantage point, most of his clothes avoided getting soaked in alcohol.
Ace took a chug of his lemonade, then grinned. “Is it time for presents now?”
“Yes!” Buggy jumped forward. “Mine first! After all, I, the great Buggy, have made great improvements with my pyrotechnics this year, and you, great birthday boy Ace, have made great progress learning to read in the same timeframe, so please, Ace and all the other plebs here, direct your attention toward the sky!”
With a fancy twirl that almost made him fall over, Buggy turned to the fireworks he’d set up, lighting a matchstick to set them off.
Ace looked up, and was surprised to see a letter in the sky instead of just a colourful circle.
“H-A-P-P-Y-B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y-A-C-E,” he spelled out, his eyes widening as he realized what the letters together meant. “You made it say ‘happy birthday Ace’ in the sky, that’s so cool!”
“Right?” Buggy grinned, clearly extremely proud of himself. “That’s not all the cool stuff I made, either!”
And really, he actually put in a lot of effort. Ace couldn’t even keep track of all the cool stuff exploding in the sky. One looked like a tiger, and one like a hibiscus flower, some were like simplified playing cards, there was a bottle that got a lot of cheers, and one even looked like their flag. And then another pirate flag. “That’s my Jolly Roger, for when I set sail and make my own crew,” Buggy bragged.
“What? I want a firework of my flag, too,” Shanks immediately complained. “Where is it, huh?”
“You’re way too late! Don’t underestimate pyrotechnics! If you wanted that, you should’ve submitted a design months ago!”
Ace decided to stop paying attention once Shanks jumped on Buggy. He’d seen them fight often enough, that was only entertaining when he was really bored. Right now he had presents to get to.
Half the pile everyone had hastily created right in front of him was just meat with ribbons tied around the bone, but Ace absolutely wasn’t complaining about that, and he dug in as he opened everything that was actually wrapped.
He got a sash to wear and some other clothes, but most importantly, a beginner’s guide to navigation, complete with a compass, a log pose, and a small telescope. His mom gave him a storybook full of adventures, just in case they ever got stuck without wind for too long.
His dad only stepped forward once he’d opened everything else.
“The best is saved for last.” With that, he handed Ace a rolled-up paper.
It looked old. Ace’ eyes widened. Could it be…?
He carefully took it from Dad, spreading it out on deck once he found a spot that wasn’t dirty or wet. “A treasure map,” he whispered, awe in his voice. “Is this real?”
“As real as it can get. Had to fight a whole lot of people to get my hands on it, that’s how you know there’s something to it. But there’s no name in the map, so I don’t know what island this is. Do you think you can still lead us there?”
Ace contemplated it for a moment. There was just one island on the map, and while it would be easy to find the treasure once they arrived at the island, they had to know how to get there first. Hmmm… The island had a pretty distinctive shape, though, almost perfectly round, with one long protrusion that looked like a mountain range on the map. Maybe if he looked at other maps he could find the island there? As long as the island wasn’t on the Grand Line, surely someone had mapped it before without knowing about the hidden treasure.
“Yes.” He nodded decisively. “I already have an idea how we can figure out where it is.”
“That’s my boy!” Dad ruffled his hair. “So tomorrow, you can figure it out while the rest of us gets properly sober, and then we set sail for an adventure to wherever you tell us to go. How does that sound?”
“Perfect! Thank you so much, dad! This is the best birthday present ever!”
He pushed the map to the side, jumping into the waiting arms of his father, who laughed happily.
Tomorrow, he’d show him Ace was a real pirate! He could definitely find that treasure! And then he’d have his first loot, and he could give it to his parents. And he’d finally be a real crewmember, not just the captain’s son.
He yawned.
Yes, tomorrow. Tomorrow sounded good…
Ace nodded off in his father’s embrace, already dreaming of the exciting adventure awaiting him.