We're the Same

Part 3

At 6 o'clock all of the athletes packed up and got ready to go home, and Luffy found himself lost and confused when he hadn't seen Kidd enter or exit the locker room yet. After having waited in the bleachers for several minutes, lonely, he remembered the image of Kidd from earlier, tell him to, "come find me later". Luffy sighed, wishing he would've thought of that earlier. He slung his bag over his shoulder with a glance around the gym before heading out into the evening.

Walking out into the warm, summer air was refreshing in comparison to the smell of the sweaty gym. The auditory side of life outside was crisp and welcomed. From the gym steps Luffy could hear the sound of the football being snapped and caught across the way in the practice field. Without a second thought Luffy wandered his way over, choosing to sit in the first bench of the bleachers while he waited to be noticed. He realized that feeling had been a common theme since he had entered high school.

Sitting there, Luffy was amazed at Kidd's agility. His physique was built and broad, and he could sure move. Just watching from his place on the sidelines, Luffy lost track of the time and fell victim to being mesmerized.

Taking a quick breather, Kidd stood and rolled his shoulders, tilting his head back to look up at the wispy clouds in the sky. He had a dazed look of fatigue about him. The sweat on his body made him shine surreally. Ace walked over to Kidd, patted him on the back and gave him a slap to the butt as they hustled back to the gym locker room to change. Kidd jogged past Luffy on the way and he gestured for him to follow behind. Luffy did so, obviously pleased to be acknowledged by him.

In the locker room, Luffy felt a little awkward with the two buff upperclassmen stripping in front of him. Pulling off his shirt, Kidd tossed it into Luffy's chest, who caught it in confusion. Kidd was amused.

"I'm gonna take a quick shower. I promise I'll hurry," he told him. Luffy just nodded- Kidd smirked.

Meanwhile, Ace had been silently observing the two while he went about his own business. He had shared three years on the team with Kidd, not like they were super close friends or anything, but he had never seen the redhead interact with anyone like he had just witnessed. He was itching to know what the story was.

Ace sat down and was taking off his cleats when he tried to get Luffy's attention. He dropped his shoe to the floor with a "thud" and received a glance in response. Ace gave him a small smile.

"Are you his brother?" he asked, leaning back on the bench. Luffy gave a feeble laugh in turn, looking at the ground.

"No, I'm just his.. neighbor," Luffy decided. He bit the inside of his cheek, hearing the water turn on to a shower further down the room. The heavy droplets made an echoing rainstorm within the enclosed space, and Luffy could feel the awkward tension building like the humidity. He just thought that maybe the word "friend" would sound weird, but his heart told him he had made the wrong choice of words. Ace shamelessly watched all these emotions go over Luffy's face, and the freshmen never once looked up from the floor around him. Ace only shook his head.

"It's okay. I could tell that you are close with Kidd, that's all. I just wondered," Ace explained, trying to relieve Luffy of whatever negativity was making him make that pitiful expression on his face. Luffy looked up at him in question.

"You can?" Luffy asked. Ace cocked his head and nodded, confused.

"Yeah. I've never seen Kidd smirk or grin or take time to talk to someone before," the senior explained, looking off in the direction of the showers. Maybe Luffy was not that close with him like he thought. This would be a story still in the midst of unfolding, he supposed, nodding to himself. He enjoyed the content look on the young one's face now that he had said that and he himself felt relieved, too, for whatever reason. Someone people called Ace "overly empathetic", but he didn't mind, knowing that it was because he enjoyed being a role model- a brother figure- for others.