Work Text:
If there was one thing that Roger loved about his job, it was the ability to provide for his family, but the huge downside to it was that he was never home. Roger was definitely not at home as much as he would like. Roger would love to be able to just spend time with his wife and son, but he needed to make sure that they could have a sustainable and suitable life.
Roger was fast at work, trying to get everything done on his business trip. A lot of his job was just traveling. Roger loved traveling the world. He loved being able to see everything. There was something far more appealing about being with his wife and child, but there would always be a part of him that loved the adventure. Loved the traveling. Roger could barely recall a time in his life where he didn’t do a lot of travel. It was one adventure after another, and Roger adored life.
Even with his schedule, he had a beautiful wife and a son at home. His wife was always there waiting for him with a smile on her face. She always looked so happy to see him. Greeting him with a smile and a kiss. Their son, Ace, was a different story. Over the years, he had started to see it more. Ace was growing distant from him. He was even starting to show anger at the thought of Roger. Ace had every right to feel the way he did, and Roger couldn’t and wouldn’t overlook that. One thing that they did have in common was their shared love of travel. Roger tried to take them with him whenever he could, but that didn’t always work out in the way that he would hope.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t just leisure travel. It was work. It was something that he had to do. Even whenever he was able to take them along with him on his travels, he was still forced to be away from them. They would get to go out and enjoy themselves, but Roger wasn’t able to come along with them. One day, he might be able to take them on an actual family vacation. One where he didn’t have to work and he could actually spend time with them. He would see it occasionally. The way that Ace’s entire mood would change the second he discovered that Roger once again had to work, and the sad smile that Rouge would have whenever she walked after their son to calm him down. It was something he had to do. He was the provider of his family. Even at the cost of his time.
If there was one thing that Roger could say is that he loved his family and would do anything for them.
Even if that meant that he had to be away from them.
Rouge knew what she was signing up for the minute that she had met Roger. She knew that some things would just never change. She knew of Roger’s love to travel and his desire to see the world. To his credit, he would take them with him. It wasn’t easy when Ace was a baby. It was much more stable to stay at home with him and wait for Roger to return. The older that Ace got, it was easier to go with him. It was the easiest whenever school was out for break.
Ace used to be so excited to go along them. That was one thing that Ace and Roger had in common. She could see that instantly. Ace was always enthralled with Roger’s stories whenever he was younger. Now, it was different. Rouge could see it happening. Ace was growing resentful. Angry. Any time that Roger had to be away, she would see it. She would get that call.
It was starting to happen more frequently now, and Rouge was finding that it was only happening whenever Roger was gone. It didn’t take her long to connect the dots to what was going on. Ace was rebelling and acting out. She knew what it was. Ace was trying, in his own way, to get Roger to notice. His anger and resentment was starting to fester now.
Rouge wasn’t sure what to do to try and comfort her son. Whenever he was little, he was completely enthralled by his father, and now it was like the mention of his name angered him. Her son was hurting. He wanted his father. Roger was always away. Even when he was here, it didn’t seem to help at all. It was coming to a point that Rouge knew that she needed to step in. Ace and Roger could be absolute polar opposites, but they were also very much alike.
Rouge had been waiting for Ace to walk out of the building as she sat in the car. It didn’t take long for him to come out of the school and slip into the front seat next to her. His hair was hiding his eyes, but she was sure she would see the range of emotions there. Ace leaned back in the seat and turned his gaze out the window as Rouge sighed, “Ace… Honey, you can’t keep doing this.”
“I’m sorry, Mom,” Ace murmured.
“You’re going to get suspended again,” Rouge stated as she shook her head and turned the car on so they could leave. Ace didn’t say anything back to her as she started the drive home.
Ace had become a bit of a fire bug. He was always fascinated with fire, but it seemed to be the main thing that he was doing now. It could also be dangerous. It didn’t seem to matter how many times she took away anything that he could use to light things on fire, Ace got his hands on another. Actually, she was pretty sure he could make something burst into flames without actually having a match or a lighter. He was strangely… talented.
“I won’t do it again,” Ace whispered as he kept looking out the window. Rouge would believe it whenever she saw it. Though, she just reached over and ran her fingers through his hair for a moment before letting out a soft breath. “How angry are you?”
“Oh, you’re grounded for a week,” Rouge stated. Those words did cause Ace to briefly look over to her. He didn’t fight the words and instead simply nodded.
“Are you going to tell Dad?” Ace questioned.
“I have too, sweetheart,” Rouge replied as she focused back on the road. She shook her head again. “You are going to end up in jail at this rate. I don’t want to have to bail my own son out because you got arrested for arson.”
“Dad’s been arrested,” Ace grumbled.
“Not the point, Ace,” Rouge shot back. “Please, you need to stop this.”
At this point, she didn’t know if Ace was actually listening to her. Whenever she caught another glimpse of his face, she could see the anger and sadness in his eyes. This might not be something that she could help with.
She was going to have to try a different way to help him.
By the time that they had gotten home, Ace had practically fled up to his room. It left Rouge standing there, sighing as she watched him go and eventually heard his bedroom door slam shut. She had barely put down her keys and purse whenever she heard her phone starting to go off. Rouge dropped her gaze down to it and saw Roger’s contact flashing on the screen.
She answered the phone and brought it to her ear as she said, “hey, my love. How’s your trip been?”
“It’s been fine. Missing you and my boy like crazy.” Roger’s playful tone came through the line. When Rouge let out another soft sigh as she rubbed at her forehead, Roger went on to say, “What’s wrong?”
“Ace got in trouble again at school,” Rouge said back as she looked over her shoulder to make sure that Ace hadn’t come down yet. “He’s…” she didn’t know the right words to say. Rouge thought about it for a second before continuing, “they said if it happens again, they might expel him.”
“What did he do?”
“He might have set fire to his chemistry lab,” Rouge stated.
“I’ll be damned, and they said it’s his fault? You sure it wasn’t just an accident?”
“Roger, darling,” Rouge continued, “he purposely put the chemicals on the counter and lit the entire counter top on fire. Someone could have seriously been hurt. He could have too,” she sighed, rubbing at her forehead again. “This is something I expect from Sabo. Not Ace. Our Ace apologizes for accidentally disturbing someone, and now he’s setting fire to his chemistry lab?”
Roger went quiet on the other side of the line for a moment before Rouge finally heard him speak up again, “But no one got hurt?”
“Thankfully, no,” Rouge stated, “Ace did make sure that no one was in the way, but that still isn’t the point.”
“So, he set fire to the lab? When I was his age, me and Rayleigh were out getting drunk and causing havoc. At least, he was safely in the school.”
Rouge exhaled sharply, scowling for a second. “This is serious, Roger. He could land in jail next time. I don’t want to see my son get arrested for making a dumb decision. The last thing I need is Garp to be on him about it,” Roger had howled a laugh for a second as Rouge had to remind herself that Roger was a bit of a wild card himself. The man enjoyed the freedoms of life even if at times it found him running from the law. She pulled the phone away, tapping it against her forehead before putting it back to his ear.
“Ah, Garp won’t do anything. Except maybe hit him for being reckless.”
“Roger!” Rouge gasped, “I get that the two of you are friends, but Ace is still my son.” Garp affectionately called it the Fist of Love. Ace had been on the receiving end of it before. Apparently, it was something that the man just did. Sometimes, she wondered how Garp was even in Law Enforcement himself.
Roger had laughed again before saying, “He’ll be okay, my love. He’s just showing teenage rebellion.”
“Teenage rebellion is sneaking out after curfew or talking back to your parents. Not becoming an arsonist,” Rouge grumbled as she pinched at the bridge of her nose, “This is actually a crime.”
“It’ll be okay, Rouge.” Roger went on to say, “We know that despite it all, our Ace is careful.”
“Roger… This isn’t just teenage rebellion,” Rouge murmured. “our son misses his father,” that had made Roger go silent instantly. “He only does this whenever you’re not home. It’s not about rebelling… He wants your attention. He wants you to show that you care more about him than just traveling.”
“I love our son more than anything, Rouge… But I have to work to make sure I can provide for him,” Roger muttered softly, “I want to be there, but–”
“I know,” Rouge murmured, “I know that Ace understands that… But he can still miss his father too.”
“I’ll talk to him whenever I get home,” Roger replied.
Rouge sighed softly, “I love you.”
“I love you too. I’ll be home in a few days.”
She hung up the call as she turned her gaze back towards the stairs. This was going to be a long few days.
Roger hung up the call as he stared down at his phone. So, Ace was acting out again. He wasn’t blind to it. It felt wrong to be the one to reprimand him whenever it was happening whenever he wasn’t home. He had to admit that it was Rouge taking the brunt of it. It felt wrong to just swoop in to discipline their child whenever he wasn’t there for it.
Roger smiled a bit as he slipped his phone into his pocket and looked up at the Gate. It would all be okay. He would make sure of it. He had too.
Ace hated seeing the disappointed look in his mother’s eyes. Honestly, he didn’t even know what he was doing at this point. Ace turned his gaze towards his nightstand where a photo of himself and his parents sat. Ace had locked himself in his room for hours. Rouge didn’t try to come speak with him. He didn’t know what to say to her. He felt awful for causing her to worry about him.
Eventually, Ace had decided to leave his room and head downstairs. As he was coming down the stairs, he stopped as he saw the door knob moving. A small frown settled on his face as he got down the rest of the steps and turned towards the door. Just as he was about to reach out for it, the door suddenly swung open. Ace took a step back in surprise as Roger popped right through the door with a beaming grin, exclaiming, “I’m home!”
Ace stood there, completely dumbfounded as his eyes widened from his father standing there. He finally snapped out of it when Rouge came into the foyer and said, “Honey, you weren’t supposed to be home for a few more days,” Roger bellowed out a laugh, shaking his head as Rouge got up to him. Ace remained standing there as he watched his father lean down and kiss his mother on the lips. Rouge pulled back from it first and muttered a “welcome home.”
Roger’s gaze then turned to Ace as he kept that bright smile on his face, “hi, son.”
“What are you doing at home already?” Ace questioned as he took a step back and leaned up against the wall.
“I got everything done early, and I took the first flight home,” Roger stated as he stepped forward. Ace inhaled sharply the second that Roger reached over and placed his hand onto the top of Ace’s head. Roger ruffled his hair, giving another soft laugh. “Heard you’ve been in a bit of trouble now.”
“I–Uh…” the words caught in Ace’s throat as he turned his gaze away and slapped Roger’s hand away from his head. “Why do you care? It’s not like you’re ever here.”
It was quiet for a moment and then Roger just laughed. It had taken Ace completely by surprise as he popped his head back up and his attention turned to his father. Roger’s smile was brighter than before. It took a minute, but Roger quieted down and his smile turned fond. “I’m sorry, son,” Roger murmured as he focused on Ace. Ace felt the air hitch in his throat as he gritted his teeth. Sorry? He was… sorry? Before Ace could speak, Roger spoke up again, “It’s okay to be angry. I know it’s not easy, and I will spend all the time I can to make it up to you.”
“I don’t need a false promise,” Ace stated as he shook his head.
“Who said anything about false promises?” Roger questioned with a mischievous smile. Ace felt the confusion and shared a glance with Rouge before looking back to Roger. Roger held up a small box of matches and a stack of what looked like reports. “We’re going to go and let that anger out by committing a bit of arson. I’m going to teach you how to properly set things on fire.”
“Roger!” Rouge gasped, “Not inside the house!”
Roger howled out another laugh, “Of course not, my love.” Roger said as he looked at her with a smile before going back to Ace. “I can teach you so many better ways.”
Ace had been expecting an entire speech about his actions. Instead, Roger threw that pack of matches at him and Ace caught it with ease. “After this, you, me, and your mother are all going on a family vacation. Just the three of us.”
“Roger, honey,” Rouge murmured as a smile came to her face.
“It’s going to be great,” Roger stated. Ace looked down to the matches for a second and curled his fingers around it. This wasn’t anything that he was expecting but a smile started to come to his face. Roger reached out, curling an arm over his shoulders as Ace found himself being quickly pulled in. He tensed up at first but quickly he had relaxed into it as Roger also pulled Rouge to him. “You are my family. I will do anything for the two of you.”
If there was one thing that he could agree on was that Roger did mean that. Ace laughed a bit, shaking his head as he whispered, “you old geezer.”
“Hey!” Roger exclaimed, “I’m not that old!” Then he stopped as both Rouge and Ace shot him a look. Then he laughed, “Okay, I’m old but you don’t have to wound me like that.”
Ace noticed the glint in Roger’s eyes as he pulled back slightly and said, “what are you not telling us?”
Roger smiled again as he held up the papers and Ace took them. Ace felt the shock hit him next. “Wait a minute… Is this what I think it is?”
“My retirement papers,” Roger stated, “I’m putting in for retirement, and from here on out… It will be the three of us. I will take you to see the world.”
Ace was shocked. He looked to his mother and Rouge was smiling brightly as she leaned into Roger’s chest. She reached out, brushing his hair out of his face. She seemed genuinely surprised too. Ace looked back down at the papers before back at Roger. “Why now?”
“Why not?” Roger questioned instead as he ruffled Ace’s hair, “my family is the most important thing to me. I will take you both to see the world in the way I see it.”
“Roger,” Rouge murmured as she shook her head, “you didn’t say anything about this.”
“Surprise!” Roger bellowed out as he pulled them to him again. “Oh, Ace?” Roger piped up and Ace looked back at him. Roger’s hand landed back on the top of his head and a proud smile was on his face, “no more setting fires in the chemistry lab.” Ace’s smile only got bigger as he nodded.
If there was one thing about Roger, he was a man of his word, and Ace believed him.