Chapter Text
He hadn’t seen the collision coming at all, too engrossed in the book he was probably holding too close to his face in an attempt to combat the fact that he likely needed new glasses and had absolutely no intention of mentioning it to his father. He could take care of it the moment classes started, find a job to pay for the appointment and new glasses himself, and start leading his own life away from his father and brother’s shadows.
He doubted it would be as simple as that, but anything would be a start. Moving well away from East Blue instead of going to the prestigious school they’d both attended was already a start.
So he was completely unaware, sitting in a grassy area by a pond, holding his book too close to his face and wondering if he was reading it correctly, something about a talking skeleton, what an odd beginning, and the next thing he knew he was basically run over by something heavy at speed. Slammed back against the ground, book flying into his face and sending his glasses god knows where, and whatever heavy thing hit him was sprawled nearly across his lap, squirming anxiously to try and right itself.
Himself, as it turned out.
"Ow, damn," a low voice grumbled, sounding briefly confused before the body on top of him stiffened, startled. "Oh shit, fuck, you okay?"
There was a sudden scramble, and he wheezed when the weight shifted over his diaphragm for a moment before lifting off him almost completely, though the presence remained, rather than disappearing and avoiding the fallout as he'd expected from someone who’d cursed like a sailor while sounding so mortified.
He opened his eyes, and while a little blurry from his glasses being lost somewhere in the grass, the man leaning over him, backlit from the afternoon sun, shining bright and warm and looking down at him in concern, was probably the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
"Are you okay? Sorry I ran over you like that, hurt anywhere?" the man asked, dark waves curling to frame his face, eyes darting over his face, seeming to linger once in a while, but he really didn't have the capacity to do much more than stare back.
"Hi," he said like an idiot, and wanted to die.
"Hi," the man replied, a smile uncurling across his face, broad and kind, and most of his brain power fled again, basking in the warmth of that smile rather than doing something productive, like answering the questions or getting up. "Here, can you sit up? Did you hit your head?"
He let the man pull him up, sitting bemused as hands moved to the back of his head, prodding gently before the man seemed to remember himself and withdrew, looking embarrassed and beginning to apologize for being forward.
"Are you pre-med?" He asked, blurting out the first thing that finally managed to reach his lips, and the man paused, looking taken aback as fingers slid free from blue hair at the back of his head.
"Ah, no," he laughed, rubbing at his own head now, an endearing gesture, and he wished he could see more of the man's features. He started absently patting at the grass around him, trying to find his glasses without taking his attention from the man. "An unfortunate level of experience with concussions, though. Lot of brothers."
Even blurry, he could see the man clock onto the way he was patting at the grass, dark eyebrows drawing together in brief confusion before he made a noise in the back of his throat and shifted, reaching past his body and into his space again. The body leaning into him was warm, smelled like sweat and spice and something almost vaguely smokey, and the man was close enough when he looked at him again that he could make out the stormy grey shade of his eyes.
The man held out his hand, carefully holding a familiar pair of navy glasses, and he scrambled to take them and put them back on, finally able to pick out the exact shade of his eyes, the freckles marking cheekbones and the bridge of his nose, thin dark eyebrows and the warmest, brightest smile he hadn't been able to properly appreciate before.
"I'm Ace," the freckled man said, seeming a little pleased now that the glasses had been returned, possibly thinking they were on steadier ground. He still felt distinctly unsteady, but maybe that was just because Ace was beautiful and he wasn't remotely prepared to deal with it. “Sorry again…”
He was waiting for an introduction in return, clearly, and yet…
He could be anyone, at this moment. Ace didn’t know him, and while the chances of Ace recognizing his name enough to link to his father or brother were astronomically low this far from home, all the way in the Grand Line, it still felt like…a chance. A moment to decide who he wanted to be, beyond the family name he’d been pressured to live up to all his life.
"Hey, you sure you didn't hit your head?" Ace asked, scooting in a little closer again and looking at him in such a clear display of worry that he honestly almost did feel dizzy for a moment from sheer disbelief. This man didn't even know him and showed more concern in the wake of a single clumsy mishap than he'd ever experienced before. "Do you know your name? Where we are now?"
"Yes. Sorry. I've been trying to come up with a pen name," he said, with literally no context and probably continuing to sound insane. Ace sat back, seeming confused but a little thoughtful. He curled a hand under his chin, tapping one finger there like he was seriously considering this comment.
"And you can't just use your own name?"
He blinked, briefly stumped by the fact that Ace was rolling with the line of thought. “I don’t want to, no. Hence a pen name.”
Ace hummed, considering once again, grey eyes tipping skyward, and he found himself examining the details of the other man’s face while he had the chance, only to startle when those eyes snapped back down to look at him a moment later, a victorious smirk beginning to cross his lips.
“How about Deuce?” Ace offered cheerfully. He blinked, stumped.
“Where did that even come from? How on earth do you come up with something like ‘Deuce’?”
“It sounds like Ace,” was the simple reply, like it should have been obvious. “It’s a cool name, you could do something like Masked Deuce, your glasses could be like a mask. Sounds all mysterious.”
He wasn’t remotely willing to touch on the ‘Masked’ suggestion. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to keep from laughing, or looking completely confused.
“If I was going to use a name that sounds like Ace, I’d just use Ace,” he pointed out, trying to fight down a smile. “ That’s actually a good pen name.”
“My name, you can’t have it,” Ace said, his own smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he crossed his arms and aimed for a put-upon look. “It’ll get too confusing if there’s two Aces running around campus or hanging out.”
Something in his chest stuttered at that, a jolt of stunned surprise, a tremor of disbelief, and the gentle tingle of something almost like pleasure, if he had to put a name to it.
“Oh really?” he asked, desperately aiming for casual, for polite curiosity. It probably still came off too eager or hopeful, but Ace looked somewhere between bashful and pleased himself, cheeks warming as he smiled.
“Sure, if you want…” Ace began, leaning forward like maybe being closer to him would make the next part of his sentence more agreeable, and it's not like he was planning to turn down whatever Ace's idea or request was unless it's completely outlandish...but a voice hollered Ace's name from nearly the other side of the pond they were sitting by, waving in broad gestures amongst a colorful group, between hair colors and clothing, and Ace's head turned to look back and wave before he sighed, shoulders slumping.
"My little brother. He'll be a terror if I don't go back and let everyone get to lunch," he said apologetically, before meeting his gaze with a hopeful sort of look in grey eyes. "Do you want to come?"
"I already ate," he replied without thought, wincing a little. The thought of meeting so many new people all at once like that was enough to make anxiety curl briefly through his stomach, but there must have been better ways to bow out gracefully. "I'm sorry."
Ace didn't look too crestfallen at least, understanding, if a little disappointed maybe. He nodded, and then pat at his pockets before pouting, actually pouting. "I don't have my phone on me, do you? Or a paper?"
He wordlessly held out his bookmark, a plain cardstock thing he'd gotten at the university library when he'd stopped by to look around earlier, and then handed over his pen from his bag. Ace grinned and scrawled out a series of numbers before handing the bookmark and pen back.
"If you ever pick a pen name," he said, the grin sharpening into a smirk briefly.
"Come on, Ace, before Luffy tries to eat a duck or something!" a girl bellowed, exasperated and demanding but not exactly rude, and Ace looked back quickly enough that he decided whoever Luffy was--the brother Ace just mentioned?--their eating a duck might be a legitimate concern.
"Gotta go," Ace said, a little hesitant, but he pushed himself to his feet and offered him a little wave. "See you around, yeah? Good luck with the first week!"
"Thanks," he said, a little breathlessly, before tacking on a quick "You too!" that had Ace flashing a bright grin his way before turning to leave. He watched the way the other man moved, long strides turning into a steady, graceful sort of loping run, before he was absorbed into the group waiting for him, a brunet man throwing an arm over his shoulder to ruffle his hair, the orange-haired girl throwing her hands in the air before linking arms with a girl with longer sky blue hair, a blond man jabbing Ace in the side before they were both nearly tackled by the slight figure of the first boy who'd called Ace over, something he thought might be a hat or backpack thumping against his back with every movement.
He sighed, pulling his book back into his lap and looking down at the bookmark in his hands. Ace's writing wasn't entirely legible, a quick scrawl making it hard to tell fours and nines apart, as well as threes and eights, but he thought he'd be able to figure it out. He put the bookmark gently between the pages he'd been reading and closed the cover, tucked carefully away until he could put the number in his phone and debate when to use it.
Once he picked a pen name, Ace had said.
He hummed to himself, packing up his things and rising to head home. He turned 'Deuce' over in his head again, smiling to himself as he made his way toward the off-campus apartment his family had insisted he'd rent, rather than use the dorms like most other students.
Deuce. He liked it more the longer he thought about it.